Oil drops on wheels, brake disk and tires (Update)

[Afi]

Hello everyone, how are you?
This morning, I realized that there was a couple of oil drops on my wheel, brake disk and tires for both wheels on the driver side. It was particularly noticeable on the front tire since the cement was humid on both sides of the tire (inside and outside). I started the car but couldn't see any fluid dripping. Hopefully, it is related to a brake line and not something worse. What do you think?

After further investigation, it seems as if the tension rod bushing is leaking (driver side). I couldn't find any leak around the caliper, though it is definitely brake fluid that was on the outside of the wheel.


I also took a video of the whole sector (you clearly see the bushing leak at the end of the video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... lq6NsI34FI


While we are on maintenance issues, lately the car can't keep a straight line and has a tendency to steer to the right. Hopefully, it is just an alignment issue. How much should I expect to pay for that?

Thanks!

[nexus08]

Sounds like a leak in the brake cylinder, maybe.

[DCaff300ZX]

Your brake line could be loose at the caliper and leaking when you brake, check your brake fluid reservoir and you would see drops on the line.
Your springs will be sagging over the years causing excess camber which affects handling, especially if your upper control arm is also wearing. This should be found with an inspection before your alignment, and may need be fixed before aligning.

[Afi]

Thanks! Though the reservoir is full, I think you are right. It probably is the brake line at the caliper because even the Nissan writing on the caliper has now yellow stains due to the fluid. I'm surprised since the brake master cynlinder was changed back in 2008 by the previous owner (I have the receipt) though I just realized that it was not changed by the OEM part but by the Centric brand (1 inch):
http://www.conceptzperformance.com/Cart ... 4.57.45.67

[Afi]

Since other members might run into the same issue, I decided to provide an update on my this issue.
Finally, I had it all fixed at the dealer for a grand total of 1225$ (Canadian currency, tax included).

Here is the list of what was purchased (dealer prices):
2 Tension Rods (NIS 54468 33P20) : 410$ (205$/each) (for the record it seems the TT part is NIS 54468 33P00)
1 Front Brake Caliper rebuilt kit (NIS 41120 30P25): 78$
1 Rear Brake Caliper rebuilt kit (NIS 41120 43P26): 82$
Brake Fluid (NIS 99998 50012): 6$
Clutch/Slave Hose Washer (NIS 46237 A4600): 2$

As for the labor (76.45$/hr vs 90$/hr usual rate).
My dealer as a special rate for cars that are 5 years or older or past 60 000miles and a 10% discount on parts

Labor cost for the 4 brakes rebuilt + bleeding the brake system: 380$ (5 hours)
Installation of the 2 tension rods : 76$ ( 1 hour)
Alignment for the 4 wheels: 75$ (actually the back is still off by 1/64 of an inch but wasn't worth the hassle and money to get it perfect)

Like I was told when I bought the Z: always have a grand aside for maintenance...especially if you are to bring it to a dealer! And now off to storage for the winter!

[Z-owned]

Glad to see you got it fixed though I didnt see this thread the first time you posted sadly. Seeing the prices they charge you for the parts on top of labor really hurts lol so glad I do my own work cause I could have done all that for under $100 minus the alignment.

[z32loverboy]

Yeah, that's not very much less than the last time I took my Z to a shop. Though that was clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, master & slave cylinder and clutch line by a nissan engineer who got flew in. That's a pricey brake job to say the least.

[Afi]

Yeah, that's not very much less than the last time I took my Z to a shop. Though that was clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, master & slave cylinder and clutch line by a nissan engineer who got flew in. That's a pricey brake job to say the least.

That's pretty good service if they manage to fly the engineer.
Maintaining a 300ZX that was in top shapecondition when I bought it, is still costing me a pretty penny. All the stuff I have been doing is preventive maintenance/normal wear on a 23 years old sports car. If someday I manage to get my 2 other dream cars, I can only imagine how much maintenance will cost me: MB R129 SL500 and BMW 850i (or CSI ideally )!

[300ZXttZMAN]

Since you have to replace the tension rod bushing you might want to look at going with an aftermarket alternative. Power trix and SPL make great products for our cars.

[Afi]

Since you have to replace the tension rod bushing you might want to look at going with an aftermarket alternative. Power trix and SPL make great products for our cars.

Thanks. Actually, the tension rods have been replaced already by OEM ones. I know, these alternatives perform better than OEM but since I want to keep the car 100% OEM, I tend to always pick the OEM part even if the aftermarket performs better as long as my life is not in danger using the OEM part .

[z32loverboy]

Thanks. Actually, the tension rods have been replaced already by OEM ones. I know, these alternatives perform better than OEM but since I want to keep the car 100% OEM, I tend to always pick the OEM part even if the aftermarket performs better as long as my life is not in danger using the OEM part .

A purist.... haha kidding, OEM parts are good parts and if that's what you're going for, more power to ya. That's hard to do, just about everything is easier to replace with aftermarket stuff.

[Afi]

Thanks. Actually, the tension rods have been replaced already by OEM ones. I know, these alternatives perform better than OEM but since I want to keep the car 100% OEM, I tend to always pick the OEM part even if the aftermarket performs better as long as my life is not in danger using the OEM part .

A purist.... haha kidding, OEM parts are good parts and if that's what you're going for, more power to ya. That's hard to do, just about everything is easier to replace with aftermarket stuff.

Haha, I try to be a purist. Ideally, my car would be exactly what you'd see if you were to step in a Nissan dealer back in 1990. Unfortunately, I'm not a purist with endless pockets. At first, I wanted brand new OEM calipers instead of a rebuilt. That was until the dealer told me that brand new OEM calipers would be a special order at a price of 650$ each caliper. Now, I wonder if I could get a special order for an OEM cat-back .

[z32loverboy]

That's dedication right there. $650 a caliper is outrageous. Dude's crazy.

[Afi]

That's dedication right there. $650 a caliper is outrageous. Dude's crazy.

Still "reasonable" to a certain extent. If Nissan (or the official Nissan supplier) has to build a "one of" of a 23 year old caliper, I can "understand" that they'll try to make a maximum profit on it. I don't know how the caliper was made back then but it probably involves digging out some old drawings, setting up all the machines to do the manufacturing required, etc.

[DCaff300ZX]

That's dedication right there. $650 a caliper is outrageous. Dude's crazy.

Yeah, the Stealerships really have no conscience with their pricing. I was in getting oil filters and at the time OEM air filters for the TT just after I got it, and casually asked since I was there what they'd charge me to flush the brake system. First they think that means just top off the fluid/check the brakes and say "about $100" until I press to find they would actually want $800 to flush out and replace all of the fluid and bleed the entire system.
I tried as hard as possible to not laugh, but was unable to do so and walked away giggling like a schoolgirl...800 freaking bucks for a max two hour job and 10 bucks of fluid???
Oh, those poor idiots who just pay the bill...

[Afi]

That's dedication right there. $650 a caliper is outrageous. Dude's crazy.

Yeah, the Stealerships really have no conscience with their pricing. I was in getting oil filters and at the time OEM air filters for the TT just after I got it, and casually asked since I was there what they'd charge me to flush the brake system. First they think that means just top off the fluid/check the brakes and say "about $100" until I press to find they would actually want $800 to flush out and replace all of the fluid and bleed the entire system.
I tried as hard as possible to not laugh, but was unable to do so and walked away giggling like a schoolgirl...800 freaking bucks for a max two hour job and 10 bucks of fluid???
Oh, those poor idiots who just pay the bill...

Ok, that is a WHOLE other level of stealing even for me who brings his Z to the dealer for maintenance.

[RubyRed300ZX]

Maybe we should have a separate thread for dealer over charges. Have a very good friend out on the east coast. About 10 years ago, we were having a casual conversation when he happened to mention that he had his wife's Mercedes SUV in for a brake job. His expertise with cars is limited to simply paying for them. Dealer charged $2,600 for a front only break job, on a SUV with only 38,000 miles on it.