dani_mae

Hey everyone, totally new here.

I recently picked up an 85 turbo, and have been going mad getting it into reasonable running condition (much less everything else it needs). I will probably be on here a lot. Anyway, it's so great to finally own one of these.. puts a smile on my face every time even though it's downright frustrating!

Part of that frustration stems from the fact that the CHTS is sheared clean off into the head. I plan to drill it out, but wanted to double check that the OEM location under the distributor is indeed NOT a coolant passage. The last thing I need to do right now is drill it out only to find out I just deposited a bunch of brass shavings inside the block. From everything I can find, it's just drilled into the head and doesn't make contact with any coolant. I wasn't able to verify in the FSM though, so I wanted to check with those of you who have removed one before.

Ok super long post for a quick question. Don't worry, I'll have more!

visco

If everything is out of the way like the belt cover, and you have a straight shot to the unit, I would think a left hand drill bit could get it removed without even getting close to cylinder head metal. Maybe a little PB blaster to help. The sensor should not be very tight

NismoPick

I believe it's not in contact with coolant. I wouldn't drill it out though... just weld on a bolt and back it out.

dani_mae

Thanks, I will give this a try first.


I would love to except that I don't have a welder or know how to weld. Also the remaining bit of wire is still kind of in the way but it could probably be burned/pulled out if I remove the cover and everything.

visco

Just to clarify after reading your OP again, the hole the CHTS sits in is a solid metal hole. The sensor tip touches metal not coolant. hope it helps and good luck. Just incase, a left hand drill bit requires drill to also run counterclockwise which should unscrew the fastener/sensor

rogerz

like visco said it shouldn't be very tight unless the reason it is sheared off is some moron over torqued it. If you just take off the support piece for the a/c belt idler pulley (four bolts) you can probably work on it easily it would be easy enough to take off all the tin just twelve or so small bolts but you also need to get the fan out of the way, drain the coolant to get the downcomer coolant pipe out of the way. . the up side is you can also inspect the timing belt. replacing it if you have no history on the machine is also recommended. it isn't that complicated there are some good posts on line to guide you along. check the fuel pressure because if you have a bad fpr it is also right there after you get all the gizmos out of the way.

rogerz

Oh by the way here is my general advice to z31 owners that covers a lot of things that improve your experience:
Get your battery load tested. Be sure you have clean, tight corrosion free terminals on both ends of your battery cables. Be sure the ground (negative) cable goes to a bolt into the frame before going to the starter. grounding through the starter is not a reliable connection. Z's don't like low voltage. causes the electronics to act funny. it is possible to have enough amps to crank but not enough voltage to run the electronics. If you have one size fit all cheapo clamp on terminals they are a problem waiting to happen. Usually on a rainy night around Oh Dark Thirty.

Clean the connectors for the maf or afm, ecu and tps. Deoxit by CAIG is probably the best connector cleaner on the market. spray with CorrosionX after cleaning and before putting together this will help prevent any further corrosion. DON'T USE DIELECTRIC GREASE.

Replace outer tie rod ends, and ball joints. replace the bushings with poly (don't forget to lube them as directed unless you like squeaky things). New shocks. Get new boots for power steering. all those things will make you think you are driving a different car. doing them piece meal is a waste you won't see a great improvement until you do the complete job. You need to get the car realigned after messing with the front. Have your tires in good shape and rebalance. Rear bushings nice too but more work and you won't notice as great an improvement. Rear shocks also because if the fronts are gone so are the rears. if car squats when you jump on the gas the rears are gone. If you have the electro adjustable shocks they are DEFINITELY GONE.

If you are doing a turbo car shocks (electro adjust I think may be only on the turbos) then you need the adapter plates to fit modern shocks to the car. Easiest way is find an n/a at the junkyard and take the mounting plates. They may be available thru NAPA (listed) but I had the n/a plates.

you might also consider changing the master/slave in the clutch hydraulics one of them will usually fail at a very awkward moment.

PredatorZ

Congrats on the new car, now that you have your 1st Z, most likely you will own a few more over the years. These cars are a lot of fun and addictive. As long as you don't mind doing your own wrenching, these cars can be very rewarding. These guys know a ton about these cars, and can be very helpful. Most anything someone has wanted to do to these cars, be it mods or upgrades or just basic repairs, there will be previous posts to cover most questions. I would use googles search, ,then just keep an eye out for ZDriver threads, if you get that far and still need help, just drop us a quick note, hopefully one of the Gurus will sort it out. If you can't find something in particular in your FSM, pm me and Ill find it for you, I have become very comfortable with Nissan s service manual format, not everything is in a logical spot, at least it seems some things get buried in the wrong section on purpose.