New to the Z world!
04-09-2010, 11:38 PM
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Barksdale AFB, LA
Posts: 5
New to the Z world!
Hi everyone! I'm very new to the Z world, I converted over from a '00 Hyundai Tiburon, so I just bought a 91 NA Auto Z32 about a week ago! I, very soon, hope for convert that auto to a manual! I would post pics up but I would get my post rejected since I don't have my two posts yet 
but that's ok, there will be plenty of time for that later! Alright, so I'm very thrilled about the body of my new baby, very minor blemishes in a few places, but nothing noticeable unless you're looking for them. Mechanics... not so good... and seem to be getting worse by the day...
When I bought it, the guy told me it has a minor timing issue, so it idles rough until it warms up. "that's ok" I thought, "no biggie" So I get it home, and took the wife for a ride with the T Tops off. I hear the high pitch squeeling, and said, "crap the brakes are bad"... So I took it to a really good shop I know and had them do an inspection on the car. I was told that my brakes are 90% gone, my rotors are warped from the brakes being in bad shape, my struts are pretty much dead, and that a lot of my steering needs to be replaced... Well, we ordered some new parts and the steering is good now.I'm looking to pick up the brakes part after payday, so any recommendations are most welcome! (I'm not looking to do any upgrades, yet, so I'm on a tight budget!!) I may just go with the Rotor and pads combos that are all over Ebay right now... just till I can get something good. Then I'll do my struts on the the next paycheck... lol
So, I've been reading around to see if anyone else has had this issue with the rough idle and sluggish feeling when I hit the gas pedal, and there are a few things around talking about it. So this weekend I'm going to pull a few parts off, clean them, and inspect all connectors, and survey my hoses and such and see what happens... I may have to make a doctors appointment to get this resolved though...
But, hey, this is the fun of "wee-hicles" is it not? Besides, it only gets better when you start tuning!
04-10-2010, 11:51 AM
#4
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Barksdale AFB, LA
Posts: 5
Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
I think I searched for a good 4 to 5 hours last night about my issues. I pulled codes today and got a 34. I looked at the Det Sensor connector, reattached it, giggled all the wires around, found a horrible splice job that someone before me had done. I cleared the ECU and now I have a 55 code so "all is good" (knock on wood).
Started the car up. There was a bit hesitation at start up, but a tapped the gas and that cleared up. My idle was sitting about 6 to 700 RPMS, which is a bit low but not to bad that I'm really worried about it, since it is supposed to be about 9ish? yeah? The drive.... oh the drive... My God it felt like I freed up 600 extra horses and 1000 ft lbs of torque!! Of course I was used to the sluggish drag until I hit around 4500 to 5000 rpms... now there's no lag at all! I just can't belive it was something so simple as my Det Sensor was loose... Thank God though it wasn't something else.
Now I just need to fix my brakes to get rid the squeeling and I can be a proud member of the Z community!
lol
I think I searched for a good 4 to 5 hours last night about my issues. I pulled codes today and got a 34. I looked at the Det Sensor connector, reattached it, giggled all the wires around, found a horrible splice job that someone before me had done. I cleared the ECU and now I have a 55 code so "all is good" (knock on wood).
Started the car up. There was a bit hesitation at start up, but a tapped the gas and that cleared up. My idle was sitting about 6 to 700 RPMS, which is a bit low but not to bad that I'm really worried about it, since it is supposed to be about 9ish? yeah? The drive.... oh the drive... My God it felt like I freed up 600 extra horses and 1000 ft lbs of torque!! Of course I was used to the sluggish drag until I hit around 4500 to 5000 rpms... now there's no lag at all! I just can't belive it was something so simple as my Det Sensor was loose... Thank God though it wasn't something else.
Now I just need to fix my brakes to get rid the squeeling and I can be a proud member of the Z community!
lol
Last edited by Hobgoblin; 04-10-2010 at 12:27 PM.
04-10-2010, 12:26 PM
#5
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: virginia
Posts: 4,617
welcome to the forum! this site will be of great help to you as you go about fixing all the quirks that arise from poor maintenance. can't wait to see the pics.
i wouldn't trust this guy that the issue is timing. he was probably just taking a guess. the z is a pretty unique vehicle requiring a specific knowledge base. there are very few people you can trust to work on it. you should check the ignition timing before you go spending money to remedy this guy's diagnosis. post back with results.
ebay parts... the way i look at it is that the z is more like a Ferrari than it is like a honda. a ferrari is a high performance machine where every part is pushed and depended on. the z is the same way. putting ebay parts on your z typically causes a weak link and the part will fail prematurely. you can really never get parts that are of less quality than OEM for this car. no matter how good that deal on ebay looks, you're going to regret it in the vast majority of situations that ebay will bring you as far as z parts go.
good vendors for parts for this car are:
www.importpartspro.com = good for most things. look here for your parts first.
www.courtesyparts.com = good for all of your more obscure OEM parts. their aftermarket stuff typically isn't so great unless it's NISMO. it can be difficult to find stuff here, but the search function works pretty well.
www.specialtyz.com is good for a lot of stuff too, especially exhaust. the best exhaust on the market for your z.
pretty much, you can stick to the top two and make out just fine.
i wouldn't trust this guy that the issue is timing. he was probably just taking a guess. the z is a pretty unique vehicle requiring a specific knowledge base. there are very few people you can trust to work on it. you should check the ignition timing before you go spending money to remedy this guy's diagnosis. post back with results.
ebay parts... the way i look at it is that the z is more like a Ferrari than it is like a honda. a ferrari is a high performance machine where every part is pushed and depended on. the z is the same way. putting ebay parts on your z typically causes a weak link and the part will fail prematurely. you can really never get parts that are of less quality than OEM for this car. no matter how good that deal on ebay looks, you're going to regret it in the vast majority of situations that ebay will bring you as far as z parts go.
good vendors for parts for this car are:
www.importpartspro.com = good for most things. look here for your parts first.
www.courtesyparts.com = good for all of your more obscure OEM parts. their aftermarket stuff typically isn't so great unless it's NISMO. it can be difficult to find stuff here, but the search function works pretty well.
www.specialtyz.com is good for a lot of stuff too, especially exhaust. the best exhaust on the market for your z.
pretty much, you can stick to the top two and make out just fine.
Last edited by KasbeKZ; 04-11-2010 at 07:49 PM.
04-11-2010, 08:08 PM
#7
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Location: virginia
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oh yeah, i forgot to mention, before you put new rotors on, you should have your hub run-out measured. if that's out of spec, your rotors will wobble inside your calipers and warp VERY pre-maturely. that's something your mechanic won't really be thinking about, but it's a very real problem to worry about with this car. if you're actually going to go through with it, i'll look up the spec for you.
04-12-2010, 12:22 PM
#8
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Barksdale AFB, LA
Posts: 5
Well, I hope to change them out this weekend... so if you have the measurements handy, or where I can find them... I would greatly appreciate it. Although I could be a good noob and search for it. 
lol
lol
04-12-2010, 12:31 PM
#9
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Barksdale AFB, LA
Posts: 5
Nvm, found it! heh I'm a good little noobie! 
there are lots of misconceptions going around on the z32 brakes though. here are the facts, as research on numerous websites along with personal experience of my own and of others has provided me:
1990 n/a models have 26mm rotors whereas the rest of the z32's have 30mm's. therefore, are more prone to warping. if your car is a 1990, you'll want to upgrade to a 30mm brake system on the front to prevent future premature warping. nextly, a common cause of premature warping is that the hub begins to wear and the "run out" falls out of spec. this allows the rotor to wobble between the pads and cause thin spots, extra stress, and premature warping. so, to sum it all up, you have to get your hub run out checked before you bother putting new rotors on. i've been quoted at $15 per side to check that run out. if it's more than 3 1000ths out, you have to replace the hubs. these go for $150 each + shipping and they have to be professionally installed, as they are pressed in, unless you are an extremely mechanically inclined and balsy person.
rotors on these cars also cannot be turned off the car. you have to go to special shop or dealer where they can turn the rotors while they are on the car. i used to be able to explain why but i forgot. this brings up the question of if you should get your new rotors turned on the car as soon as you get them. i don't know. can't find a good answer to that. i wouldn't worry about it. people do do successful brake jobs without that.
1990 n/a models have 26mm rotors whereas the rest of the z32's have 30mm's. therefore, are more prone to warping. if your car is a 1990, you'll want to upgrade to a 30mm brake system on the front to prevent future premature warping. nextly, a common cause of premature warping is that the hub begins to wear and the "run out" falls out of spec. this allows the rotor to wobble between the pads and cause thin spots, extra stress, and premature warping. so, to sum it all up, you have to get your hub run out checked before you bother putting new rotors on. i've been quoted at $15 per side to check that run out. if it's more than 3 1000ths out, you have to replace the hubs. these go for $150 each + shipping and they have to be professionally installed, as they are pressed in, unless you are an extremely mechanically inclined and balsy person.
rotors on these cars also cannot be turned off the car. you have to go to special shop or dealer where they can turn the rotors while they are on the car. i used to be able to explain why but i forgot. this brings up the question of if you should get your new rotors turned on the car as soon as you get them. i don't know. can't find a good answer to that. i wouldn't worry about it. people do do successful brake jobs without that.
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