New owner 1992 2+2

[tsflstb]

Hi. Just joined the forum after purchasing a 1992 with 143,000 miles a couple weeks back. I'm turning 40 this year and remember drooling over the Z32s when they were unattainable in high school. I've played with motorcycles (still race a little motard) but have sold off the street bikes to give cars a shot. With 2 kids the 2+2 seems like a safer and more family friendly alternative. I'm leaving some performance behind compared to the Ducati, but giving the family less to worry about.

The Z seemed to be in good shape and sold by a decent guy, but I'm learning it's tricky to buy a used car vs. a bike. Owner assured me water pump/timing belt was just done. I drove about 200 miles when the pump failed completely. A teardown showed neither had been done recently. I paid to have the 120k parts installed, got it back on the road last week and am enjoying it. All in all, I'm into this car for the fair market value and at least know the important stuff has been done.

Sorry only pic right now is the ride of shame after water pump shat itself.


One thing I need to do immediately since I'm getting old and cranky is replace the LOUD cat back exhaust with a stock or repro setup. It seems the 2+2 is different from the regular Z and I'm having a hard time finding the OEM part number. Is there a car site like bikebandit for bikes that has illustrated parts lists and numbers?

If anybody around Houston has a good OEM 2+2 exhaust and wants to trade, I'm game for that also. Thanks.

[DCaff300ZX]

Welcome to Nico!
Sorry to hear about the 120K discrepancy, it really has become too common for people to find it in themselves to lie and or leave out some very important details without concern for the potential buyer.
I'm glad you were able to find out in the least-expensive way possible (tbelt failure is death for a VG30DE) and get that all done!

As for the exhaust you are correct that the 2+2 has a differing setup, and exhaust from other Z's will not fit. I believe that Z1 offers used parts and possibly exhaust catbacks, and check our classifieds for 2+2 partouts as well as craigslist and any other source you can find...guys swapping out the OEM catback for an aftermarket catback is the easier end to find.
Maybe you can even work a straight trade...

Good Luck!

[Ace2cool]

Dishonest people suck....

[NolimitZ32]

Welcome man, great to have another Houstonian here. congrats on getting into a Z and sorry about getting lied to but isht happens. If you haven't already give Dane Millar @ Houston-Z and Kyle @ Import Parts Pro a call, both great guys, both honest, and both know more about the Z32 than almost anyone I have ever spoken to. Also Dane parts cars from time to time and may have the exhaust pieces you're looking for. again welcome aboard and if you ever need any advice or want to take a cruise to Galveston let me know, mine will be done very soon and I'd love to have another Z to cruise with.

[tsflstb]

Thanks. I called Houston Z and left them a message. Maybe they have a stock exhaust in the back dumpster I can rescue.

I cobbled together a 2 3/4 down to 2" reduced insert and stuck those in the muffler outlets to make the exhaust spend more time in there. It helped quite a bit but I've still got that drone at 2500 rpm. Reading up on 1/4 wave resonators but I'd have to find a decent muffler shop for that.

[DCaff300ZX]

Although it's not OEM quiet, my Z guy found an HKS catback that he used on mine and it has zero drone, and not too loud.
I do have some larger tips on it which if you went smaller might quiet that setup down even more, so if you hear of an HKS setup in your hunt you may want to try it out.

[tsflstb]

Thanks for the help and suggestions. I'm finding some good info here.

I added about 4" to these exhaust inserts last night and am really happy with the results. I realize it adds some backpressure but it seems to help midrange in this otherwise stock engine. About $20 worth of tubing and fittings and my 3rd grade welding ability was enough to get it done.



There's a bar welded across so I can reach in and yank them out if needed.



I also adjusted the idle which was up around 1200 RPM down to a smooth 700 RPM using the tech articles here. That and the exhaust inserts really calmed down the ride.

This place is a gold mine. Next I'm going to replace the flaky flip-out stereo that when flipped out blocks the center a/c vents. I've got a cheap little Panasonic with Bluetooth (and no CD player) coming today. Haven't messed with car stereos in many years so I'll poke around here for some installation tips. Thanks again.

[NolimitZ32]

The stereo may be a bit of a B if you have the BOSE amped system however if it already has an aftermarket unit I would be willing to bet that most of the rewiring is done, unless you are like the many sad souls that pull their AM HU out to find that whatever genius did the wiring was actually a drunken chimp. I have a 2+0 NA catback off my parts car BTW, it wont fit straight up but if you want to screw with it I'd be willing to let you have it, just come pick it up . . . . . in Pearland.

[tsflstb]

Thanks for the offer on the exhaust. After extending those inserts the drone is pretty much gone and I think I can live with this aftermarket setup.

I swapped out the flip-out head unit yesterday for a Pioneer mvh-x370bt. It took a little fabricating because the new unit is so tiny (no CD player) but went OK once I read up on connecting the amp wire.

My left front and right rear speakers are dead. Pretty sure they were out with the old head unit and I've double checked, soldered and shrink wrapped all the new head unit connections with a new harness. The Bose speakers have an integrated amp on each speaker right? If those fail I'm guessing you can bypass them and go direct to the speaker? I'm hoping for a no-cost fix there since the power steering pump needs replacing now.

Hopefully we're getting caught up on maintenance and will be able to enjoy the car more.

[NolimitZ32]

The factory signal wires that run from the head unit to the amps are tiny and generally not sufficient to push the proper power from the amped outs in your head unit to the speaker, having said that, they will still work but you wont get the volume or the peaks and valleys out of your sound that you should. When I redid mine I actually re-ran proper speaker wire to all the speaker locations and abandoned the factory preamp wires. You are correct BTW, if the amp burns the speaker wont make sound, if your outs form the head unit are amped then yes you can bypass the individual amps and go straight to the speaker but be warned: the tiny BOSE speakers are trash, they sound horrible even if the car is in great condition because over time the paper-fiber cones disintegrate and tend to produce a lot of buzz. Replacing the speakers is fairly easy so once you have all the wiring figured out it wont be an issue for you to swap some better speakers in later if the mood hits you.

[tsflstb]

I replaced all the 4" Bose speakers and removed the individual amps. There are some JBL 4" that have the same triangular mount and drop right in. A guy on ebay sells those and the wiring to use the stock harness and it's a really easy job. The sound is pretty good...never had all four speakers working together until now.

Now I know this is totally unrelated but I went to drive the car after having the door panels and trunk disassembled for the speaker install and the car was hard to start. That's happened once or twice in the past but it usually starts up and clears its throat with no problems. It takes a couple tries and some finessing the gas pedal. It finally started now I'm pretty sure its missing on at least one cylinder.

What could have gone bad in the last 5 days since I pulled into the garage? It's been humid and raining in Houston and even though it's been garaged I checked and cleaned all the connectors I could get my hands on.

I've recently replaced the IACV and brake booster hoses with silicone hoses. I've driven the car about 300 miles since the hoses were changed and everything was fine. Really have no idea where to start, the car will barely start and runs very rough like it's missing on one or two cylinders? I've seen lots of similar issues here, just wondering if there's any one obvious thing to check since it was an all of a sudden kind of thing.

[DCaff300ZX]

Try checking both PTU connections for corrosion, and injector connectors if you haven't already. The wet humid weather is possibly the culprit as when working on my TT one weekend, later that week I had the same thing which turned out to be PTU harness- I'd just relocated it which with the same weather caused the corrosion to become a problem.
Also check the MAF connector, and CTS and coolant gauge connectors.
Also, check for codes.

[tsflstb]

Thanks, I had a code 13 for coolant temp sensor. Cleaned it up and now have code 55, which is "all good" I think. I took it out for a drive and it seems to be ok now. I can tell it's going to be an adventure owning this car in the swamp we call Houston. I guess driving it daily and heating/drying the engine bay is the best thing for it.

[DCaff300ZX]

Your best bet is to make a project of going around and replacing the non-weather-proof connectors on the engine with Wiring Specialties replacements, or upgraded ones from CZP or Z1. There are a few harnesses as well that benefit from upgrading (IACV, knock sensor) and also replacing the small vacuum hoses is a plus due to their age and ability to give you vacuum leaks. Also consider PCV and hoses, and if your intake hardpipes are well-beaten as is common, new silicone ones are a bonus both for sealing, and removal/replacement over OEM.
Possibly the cheapest and most effective smaller projects you can do to improve your Z32 experience...

[tsflstb]

Hello again. Instead of making a new intro thread I figured I could update this one. After selling my white Z and playing with a couple more motorcycles I still had the urge to own one. Things fell into place and I found another 1992 2+2 a couple of weeks ago.



It's in decent mechanical shape with 122K and the 120k service done. So far I had the failing window tint replaced and the shifter bushings were shot so I went ahead and installed the Z1 short throw shifter. The best tool I can recommend for that job is having a 9 year old with small hands on standby to retrieve whatever you drop.

A/C is currently out so that's the next thing on the list. The clearcoat is also failing in spots, but after wetsanding and buffing the whole car it's not as noticeable. The interior is pretty well preserved.

Looks like the rear main seal got the memo that I owned it and just started leaking. I'll probably have Houston Z do the clutch and seal pretty soon.

[nissanfreak12]

Make sure its actually not the half moon plugs and the cam covers leaking vs the RMS.

Very clean looking Z, I have always liked the red ones, stand out very nicely!!!


BTW, which JBL speakers did you get for the Z? Im hoping they are still around somewhere so I can just drop in those vs new speaker and covers.

[tsflstb]

Thanks, I'll have a good look around under there and make sure to take care of everything.

The guy is still selling those JBL speakers on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-Direct-Fit- ... cC&vxp=mtr

[Ikon_1911]

Hello there fellow 2+2 red Z guy..!

1995 300ZX NA 2+2 auto with SS Magnaflow 14805, xpipe, JWT POP charger, aluminum intake, 200 CEL cats & custom 26" drone branch resonators

http://youtu.be/vSSPp5iAZgw

[tsflstb]

Just cant quit these cars. My 3rd is another 2+2, but modified a bit. Headers, full exhaust, intake, coilovers, etc. Wheels came from one of those 3 wheeled Slingshot things. Runs good but needs a good servicing and some bodywork eventually.



Not sure how to flip the pic, sorry.

[Z-bass]

Congrats & welcome to NICO !

Looks sharp ! Even if it's sittin' on a flatbed !
My Z is identical, with the exception of chromed OEM rims.........really "pops" with the pearl color!

Not sure how far you got with your audio redux........see my post "Can I have some bass with that Z?" if you need some ideas.........