Sammy Daniels

Where can I buy a rebuild kit? Just got my grandpa's 300 ZX 50th AE edition, 5-speed manual! I just want to pull the engine and redo everything so I am worry free!

rogerz

depends on what you think redoing everything entails. First thing you need is a bucket full of money. Change the timing belt #1. pulling the engine gets you a new clutch. here is some not reallly expensive things to do that will improve the car significantly:

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Courtesy parts good place to get timing belt kit. Other parts Black Dragon and MSA. Junkyards will be your friend. Boost controller quick and easy horses improvement.

Sammy Daniels

I was thinking I would change all of the seals and gaskets, maybe some rings and have the heads and blocks cleaned.

Can I just go to a Nissan Dealership for the rebuild components or would it be cheaper to get them aftermarket?

Cant wait for the boost! My first car was a turbo but then it got totaled while parked on the street :/ ever since I have been needing another turbo in my life haha.

ken99

Any good reason why any of this needs to be done?

Sammy Daniels

Well The car has been sitting for 10 plus years and my Grandpa can't remember what happened to it, so I figured I would just rebuild it...or should I just change the fluids and belts etc and see if it starts up?

rogerz

what you just said above is the smartest. You should do the timing belt because if that goes you incur a lot of engine work. then do the things I suggested. If you get it running you will discover what needs to be done rather than just shotgunning it. My experience is that the car in general holds up pretty well but there are a lot of small things that need some care. You will need the fsm - free download from xenon. If you don't have some mechanical ability the car will eat up money.

Sammy Daniels

I guess Ill give it a go then, and I can do anything, Ive read the manual on engine tear down and most of the fsm and I currently do ALL of my own work on my current car so I think I can handle it.

Getting ripped off by one too many mechanics is the best thing that ever happened to me, I now have a passion for cars and doing my own work!

rogerz

don't even worry about the engine except the timing belt of course. they are fairly sturdy. My 85 had over 200k on it and would still be running today if the guy I sold it to had changed the timing belt as I recommended. my 86 has over 100 and runs strong. what does go wrong is the goofy idle gizmos on the driver side of the plenum. suspension. vacuum hoses for the climate control. when you change spark plugs be sure to blow out the holes they sit in as they are great junk collectors. get new plug wires. Magnacore are great and not a lot more than bosch or ngk. use Redline MTF (or Royal Purple ) in the tranny. get a good synthetic in the diffy. Redline has done well for me smooths out a rough tranny. Haunt junkyards. if you can score the ignition module and a dizzy grab it. take a inside door handle mechanism there is a plastic bar that breaks in there and then can't open from inside. replace the clutch hydraulics master and slave they go out at inconvenient times. replace the damper or whatever it is in the circuit between the master and slave by jumping over it with a 280zx front brake hose. Makes maintaining and bleeding a whole lot easier. anyway you stumbled on a beauty. Get it running and enjoy it.

Sammy Daniels

Thanks!

I have an air compressor to blow out the spark plug wells/holes, should I spray WD-40 or brake cleaner in there?

rogerz

I usually put some anti seize compound on the plug threads. if you spray stuff in there it turns liquid and then runs into the cylinder keep it dry but blown out. you might want to loosen the throttle cable mount to get at #6 cylinder plug. the supplied plug wrench works but if you get a magnetic socket with six inch extension makes things a lot easier. here is one but there are others. . check the fuel injector connectors for broke or loose. Volvos in the junkyard have really good connectors you can usually clip them off for a buck or so. hope you know how to solder. If you have running problems depending on engine temp there are two things that can be bad and affect that. O2 sensor and the chts (cyl head temp sens). you can test the chts by the manual procedure. if you see a Mass Air Flow sensor at the junkyard any year z31 take it. they can be tested with an ohmeter per the fsm.

Sammy Daniels

My Grandpa finally remembered why the car initially ended up sitting. He said the clutch went out and the battery died. He had 5 kids so his priorities changed and the car just ended up sitting (which is good for me ).

So I know I still need to change the fluids and belts, but does this change anything?

I figure I will pull the transmission along with the master cylinder.

Am I missing anything else?

ken99

Unless grandpa divulged more info than you shared, I'd diagnose the clutch problem a little more before dropping the transmission. The car has a hydraulic clutch. I'd bled the system and test the integrity of the master cylinder, slave cylinder and modulator (mounted on passenger side frame rail) first. You will need to perform this service anyway. Reman parts are relatively cheap if replacements are needed. Once the hydraulics check out and the clutch is still bad, then you can dig deeper.

Sammy Daniels

So I should check all of the other components first just incase it is not clutch?

ken99

What other components?

Sammy Daniels

What I mean't to say is, Do you mean it might not be a problem with the clutch?

ken99

More or less. What I discussed is all part of the clutch system perse. I merely suggest checking the external, hydraulic portions of the clutch first. If grandpa's problem can be solved without dropping the tranny (at least for now), wouldn't it be worth the time spent looking at the hydraulics?