[QUOTE=slayer3032;49060416]Coil driver is a possibility Chrysler didn't exactly understand how computers work, have a buddy who messed around with $500 grand cherokees for a while. He shorted an o2 wire chopping the exhaust off and fried the ECU. He had to get an ECU that was "coded for his vin" or something ridiculous, those things are not designed well at all.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like the bullshit I went through when I installed my O2 sensor in my Mercedes and it shorted my idle controller.
[QUOTE=Lerlth;49061873]Why is it everytime I bring one of my cars to an alignment shop they give me some bullshit answer as why they can't do it? This time it's because the brakes are "bad". IT'S GOT BRAND NEW HEAVY DUTY BRAKES AND ROTORS ON IT.[/QUOTE]
They want to take your money and run
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/dkKB7FD.png[/IMG]
Did the math on parts and the car itself. Rebuilding a car is expensive.
Is that for rebuilding the whole thing?
[QUOTE=Gulen;49064627]Is that for rebuilding the whole thing?[/QUOTE]
A lot of it, not entirely the whole car.
Fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel sending unit, all four rotors, heavy duty front and rear brakes, new front calipers, cv shafts, cv shaft seals, head gasket, head gasket bolts, door guide pins, cv ball joints, tie rods (inner and outer), all the filters, and camshaft seal.
There's more stuff like trans/engine oils, and other shit, but yeah.
[url]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/143I6OvTn03jyyf_Z3kcDGvz3S1g8gykwj2UcIRksT4Q[/url]
Yeah, that makes more sense, I added up the cost of rebuilding my engine, and it was about $380.
[editline]7th November 2015[/editline]
Actually more like $1000 with the stuff I'll have to buy.
[QUOTE=Lerlth;49064862]A lot of it, not entirely the whole car.
Fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel sending unit, all four rotors, heavy duty front and rear brakes, new front calipers, cv shafts, cv shaft seals, head gasket, head gasket bolts, door guide pins, cv ball joints, tie rods (inner and outer), all the filters, and camshaft seal.
There's more stuff like trans/engine oils, and other shit, but yeah.
[url]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/143I6OvTn03jyyf_Z3kcDGvz3S1g8gykwj2UcIRksT4Q[/url][/QUOTE]
Weirdly enough you have only one ignition related item.....
oOOOPS I was on a phone and did not see anything else.
[QUOTE=Lerlth;49064862]A lot of it, not entirely the whole car.
Fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel sending unit, all four rotors, heavy duty front and rear brakes, new front calipers, cv shafts, cv shaft seals, head gasket, head gasket bolts, door guide pins, cv ball joints, tie rods (inner and outer), all the filters, and camshaft seal.
There's more stuff like trans/engine oils, and other shit, but yeah.
[url]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/143I6OvTn03jyyf_Z3kcDGvz3S1g8gykwj2UcIRksT4Q[/url][/QUOTE]
I don't even want to add up the money I've spent on my cars, the Civic I've spent a little more money on than I should have in areas like wheels, exhaust, engine harness and springs. If you factor those out though the money I've spent has been insanely well spent for the amount of work done.
I'm starting to really dislike Rockauto on cheaper parts, sure cheap parts can suck hard and what not but the cheaper brands seem to be really strange with how and where they source parts. Excuse the reduced camera quality, tried buying a replacement lens cover for my phone and it's far lower quality than my scratched up stock one. I'll mess with this tonight probably.
Dorman FLCAs and Mevotech lower ball joints both look top notch.
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/EF%20Pics/2015-11-06%2016.00.11.jpg[/t]
Mevotech FUCAs totally fall apart quality wise on one side, one arm doesn't even come with the proper item number. Bushing design is totally subpar and the arm does not fit to the chassis mount bracket bushings along with ball joint design being crap compared to the other.
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/EF%20Pics/2015-11-06%2016.00.37.jpg[/t][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/EF%20Pics/2015-11-06%2016.00.46.jpg[/t]
[t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/EF%20Pics/2015-11-06%2016.00.58.jpg[/t][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/EF%20Pics/2015-11-06%2016.01.08.jpg[/t]
[editline]6th November 2015[/editline]
Rockauto is wonderful to deal with as always(phones are open until 10pm CST!), I'm just gonna ship it back since it didn't even come with a cotter pin and the bushings are quite loose in the arm compared to the other. Hopefully I don't get the same part.
[QUOTE=slayer3032;49060416]Coil driver is a possibility Chrysler didn't exactly understand how computers work, have a buddy who messed around with $500 grand cherokees for a while. He shorted an o2 wire chopping the exhaust off and fried the ECU. He had to get an ECU that was "coded for his vin" or something ridiculous, those things are not designed well at all.[/QUOTE]
Crummy thing is it's a Mitsubishi computer.
I did find the coil driver on the board. It's a tiny transistor with no marking on it. UGH.
[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/user/clutch1234/media/clutch1234054/DSC00430_zpss3dbprn3.jpg.html][IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/clutch1234/clutch1234054/DSC00430_zpss3dbprn3.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I don't really have a good way to check it, though. Never learned board level diagnostics/repair with a meter. I *did* check it with my multimeter set to 'diode' check to pull forward voltages. Here's what I got.. (I don't know what's Base, Emitter, or Collector). red and black circles relate to meter probe positions. Anyone good with circuit boards / components can interpret this?
[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/user/clutch1234/media/clutch1234054/CoilDriver_zpsnnit5xfm.png.html][IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/clutch1234/clutch1234054/CoilDriver_zpsnnit5xfm.png[/IMG][/URL]
I see in this document there's supposed to be more than one OL when check it.. I only have one.
[url]http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-4/meter-check-transistor-bjt/[/url]
Heck, even if it was bad I have no idea what to replace it with. Considering just re-flowing the solder and seeing what happens.
There's lots of other little transistors on the board, of course. But all seem to meter differently, so I have nothing to base my readings against (short of getting a 'good' PCM and checking).
Also.. worked on this car today :v:
[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/user/clutch1234/media/clutch1234054/DSC00428_zps6eqkcnyh.jpg.html][IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/clutch1234/clutch1234054/DSC00428_zps6eqkcnyh.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Fucking hell. My moms car didn't pass emissions with a p0300 and p1441 codes.
Have you pulled the wires for plugs 4/5 and checked them for spark? One at a time pull the wire, stick a screw driver in there and set it so it's about 1/4" away from engine metal and then start it and watch for it to spark.
I can't fucking catch a break lately. I got off work tonight and got home and took the Talon across town to get food and when I got home it was running like straight shit. Injector 2 and 3 could be unplugged without changing how it was running. Pulled the wires.. no spark. Both of those are on one coil, so we know one coil isn't firing.
It's a damn good thing my house is a DSM graveyard pretty much.. swapped a coil, nothing. Swapped the coil igniter.. bingo. It wasn't turning one of the coils on/off properly. Time for a new one of those, it never ends.
Even with a turbo a DSM isn't very fast running on 2 cylinders. Big surprise.
No luck on the Stratus. I resoldered the 3 point on the board for the coil driver 'just incase' and it didn't do anything. I didn't expect it to, but oh well.
[QUOTE=clutch2;49067328]Have you pulled the wires for plugs 4/5 and checked them for spark? One at a time pull the wire, stick a screw driver in there and set it so it's about 1/4" away from engine metal and then start it and watch for it to spark.
I can't fucking catch a break lately. I got off work tonight and got home and took the Talon across town to get food and when I got home it was running like straight shit. Injector 2 and 3 could be unplugged without changing how it was running. Pulled the wires.. no spark. Both of those are on one coil, so we know one coil isn't firing.
It's a damn good thing my house is a DSM graveyard pretty much.. swapped a coil, nothing. Swapped the coil igniter.. bingo. It wasn't turning one of the coils on/off properly. Time for a new one of those, it never ends.
Even with a turbo a DSM isn't very fast running on 2 cylinders. Big surprise.
No luck on the Stratus. I resoldered the 3 point on the board for the coil driver 'just incase' and it didn't do anything. I didn't expect it to, but oh well.[/QUOTE]
No idea if you'd be interested in doing this or if you even could but when googling stuff last night I found a coil on plug retrofit using Denso Honda coils on Evos. Parts could possibly be cheaper than stock stuff.
[url]http://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo-how-tos-installations/586394-how-make-cheap-coil-plug-setup.html[/url]
Ugh. Mazda Protege guy said 9 to 11 am Saturday and he's not replying. Bummer.
Pls. My uncle said he'd trade his mr2 for it in a years time if everything turned out okay.
Get a message from someone who I know, but due to recent events shouldn't be contacting me. They were asking for a good mechanic in the area.
I didnt have an answer since I've been to one mechanic in my life. Would have liked to tell this person off for even having the guts to message me, but that wouldnt be very nice to them or the situation that happened that lead to this.
[editline]7th November 2015[/editline]
also in other news, my friend is selling his shitbox prelude and is somehow making money on it.
[QUOTE=Code3Response;49071019]Get a message from someone who I know, but due to recent events shouldn't be contacting me. They were asking for a good mechanic in the area.
I didnt have an answer since I've been to one mechanic in my life. Would have liked to tell this person off for even having the guts to message me, but that wouldnt be very nice to them or the situation that happened that lead to this.
[editline]7th November 2015[/editline]
also in other news, my friend is selling his shitbox prelude and is somehow making money on it.[/QUOTE]
I'd let her contact me any day. :smug:
[QUOTE=clutch2;49065981]Crummy thing is it's a Mitsubishi computer.
I did find the coil driver on the board. It's a tiny transistor with no marking on it. UGH.
[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/user/clutch1234/media/clutch1234054/DSC00430_zpss3dbprn3.jpg.html][IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/clutch1234/clutch1234054/DSC00430_zpss3dbprn3.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I don't really have a good way to check it, though. Never learned board level diagnostics/repair with a meter. I *did* check it with my multimeter set to 'diode' check to pull forward voltages. Here's what I got.. (I don't know what's Base, Emitter, or Collector). red and black circles relate to meter probe positions. Anyone good with circuit boards / components can interpret this?
[URL=http://s22.photobucket.com/user/clutch1234/media/clutch1234054/CoilDriver_zpsnnit5xfm.png.html][IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/clutch1234/clutch1234054/CoilDriver_zpsnnit5xfm.png[/IMG][/URL]
I see in this document there's supposed to be more than one OL when check it.. I only have one.
[url]http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-4/meter-check-transistor-bjt/[/url]
Heck, even if it was bad I have no idea what to replace it with. Considering just re-flowing the solder and seeing what happens.
There's lots of other little transistors on the board, of course. But all seem to meter differently, so I have nothing to base my readings against (short of getting a 'good' PCM and checking). [/QUOTE]
The top leads are likely the actual diode in that transistor, on those boards there is a light film that's sprayed on it so as to block out moisture. You [i]may[/i] be able to scrape it off with your fingernail and with a magnifying glass or something find what the numbers are on it. being that small, it's prolly got some kinda manufacturer specific numbers on it but in my searches for stuff I've come up kinda lucky. I know resistors and capacitors have one or two numbers on them and those are the resistance and capacitance values but the more intricate specs are usually in the documentation for the circuit.
If your ballsy, and skilled, unsolder the chip and test it via ohms instead of the diode setting as most meters pass a small amount of current through in order to test them and I wouldn't want to risk damaging the chip passing current willy nilly through it. Although the system it's self is mostly rated 12v alot of the components are not, and can be damaged by testing in that manor.
On the chip itself, it looks like from the picture that the lone pole side leads off to a switching IC, probably for detecting misfires and sensor data. there's a hole on the right that goes under the transistor which could either go to the lone pole or the lower right one. I'd wager to bet the lone pole is the emitter, and I'm going to guess the base is the lower left one.
One more thing, in order to get accurate readings on circuits that are connected to each other, an oscilloscope is needed as it's the only tool that'll be the least effected by rouge current traveling around.
I just so happen to have an O-scope :) .. at work.
I'm going to swap in the known 'OK-ish' distributor/coil tonight and see what happens. If that doesn't do it.. I may pull bring the Oscope home tomorrow and have a look at the wave form. That tiny little bugger ONLY has to turn off a bigger transistor inside the distributor itself (the bigger transistor then turns the coil on/off). I don't see how it could get over worked.. but you know how it goes.
Good info on testing that, though.
Kabstrac, if those 2 injectors aren't firing let's try a little electrical diagnosis. Before that, grab a stethoscope and hold it against a working injector.. listen to it's clinking. Then try the non-working ones. Make sure they don't sound the same.
1. obviously we want 12v on the 'common' wire that feeds 12v ignition to all the coils. Check for that first to make sure there's no dumb breaks.
2. Make a quick run to Autozone and rent a set of noid lights. They're just little low current test lights that plug into the injector socket. From what you're telling me they're not going to flash, and thus that indicates a problem. (on the flip side you could check the voltage wave form's pulsing on/off with an O-scope probing into the plug w/ it plugged in). Noid light's easier, lol.
3. If it has voltage on the common wire but doesn't pulse, time to check continuity/ 0 ohms between the non-common (switching) wire and where it goes to on the PCM (assuming the PCM commands them on/off). Make sure there's continuity. If there's not, fix it.
4. Of course with the injector/PCM unplugged, check for continuity to ground between the switching injector wire and ground.. there should be none!
Some places to start. Make sure there's no teeth missing on the cam sensor wheel or anything.. but if it's firing the plugs on those 2 cylinders it should know that it also needs to fire fuel.
It's all blueee. Looks nice.
Oh also, in step #1 I wrote, I meant injectors, not coils. Sorry ;)
Working on the thought process for the Stratus still here. I went out and did the old 'crank it quick and pray' and of course it failed.. This may have been enough to flood it. So I pulled the junkyard distributor out and swapped in the original distributor. Keep in mind.. it was idling with this one in, albeit poorly.
With them both out I was able to test resistance in the ignition coil which is part of it. The primary coil in each was .9 or 1 ohms. So about the same. The secondary coil in the junkyard one was 7,400ohms and in the original one was about 10,400 ohms. The junkyard one was in spec, if only just, and original was in spec. (according to online readings anywho).
I DID notice something stupid. The goddamn wires for cylinder 3 and 5 were swapped. :V: When my dude was swapping the plugs/wires the other day in the morning it was without me there and I just went out right as he was finishing on my way to work. So ever since it got the 2nd new set of plugs and new set of wires (which WAS after it died at my house) it's had 2 cylinders completely off. When I was cranking it I did notice the "fwoof" sort of sound and engine makes when the wires are mixed up. So that explains that.
So, either way it failed to start with the original dizzy in there. Smelled like fuel really really bad as usual.
I disabled the fuel injectors (wrapped the chip key in foil, LOL) and pulled a plug wire to check for spark again just for funsies. It was still sparking, nothing new.. looked like a decent spark, jumping a the 1/4" gap I had it set up with. So I cranked with with the throttle wide for a bit, unwrapped the key, and tried it again. No luck.
Still not neat ideas. I still don't think it's a clogged cat (the one time we did have it running after the exhaust was welded up the rear exhaust exit had exhaust coming out of it (nasty white rich gasoline smelling exhaust, lol). It sparks.. it has fuel, apparently way too much fuel even. It can't be a leaky injector, because that wouldn't soak every one of the cylinders, it'd only cause a 1 cyl miss.
Gonna check the plug gap. He installed those and I didn't get a chance to check on them.
Edit: nope, plug gap is OK. The plugs I pulled out were soakkkkkked though from fooling around with it. It's gonna sit until after work tomorrow before we try that dumb thing again. Might have a tip on a GOOD dizzy.. friend's got a 3G Eclipse 3.0L parked for the winter... hope he lets me borrow that. I might be barking up the wrong tree, but a quick free swap isn't a bad thing.
So this isn't really important, I'm just curious.
Going at the absolute top speed for about a minute or two makes the car smell burned without the engine temperature increasing, is it too far off to guess that the clutch is slipping just so slightly?
It's an insanely cheap E36 316i, top is 195 ish at 6.5k RPM.
[QUOTE=Oscar Lima Echo;49078836]So this isn't really important, I'm just curious.
Going at the absolute top speed for about a minute or two makes the car smell burned without the engine temperature increasing, is it too far off to guess that the clutch is slipping just so slightly?
It's an insanely cheap E36 316i, top is 195 ish at 6.5k RPM.[/QUOTE]
There are many things that can smell burnt when the car gets up to temperature. I've noticed that if I hold 130 km/h on the highway stretches that allow it, it will smell sligthly of oil. In my case, it's the undercoating anti-rust stuff heating up.
Anyway, if it only happens at 195 km/h, I wouldn't even think about diagnosing it. The car is old and you got it for cheap, if you push it to the max, you need to expect the odd rattles and smells. You could throw money at it, but it seems useless if it only smells at max (but do open the engine bay and check for obvious signs of something getting too hot). Nonetheless, I'm not quite sure what you are doing at 195 km/h (and for more than a minute at that?) in Norway. I can't think of any stretches that can actually support such speeds. :v:
Ehh its the norwegian autobahn
I'm thinking about getting a Nissan z31 300z. Should I? I love the look of the thing and it seems like a good price for a nice GT. I also have love the amazing digital dash that it has. Does the voice system also come with the digital dash versions? Should I try to get this car?
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/j4t7MDZ.jpg[/thumb]
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/FQNvJ28.jpg[/thumb]
It just happened really. I was probably doing 120 in 110 on a completely empty highway and got overtaken and wondered what it would take to catch up with him, but he definetly went past 200 once I caught up with him.
Felt pretty stupid once I hit the rev limiter and realized how fast I had gone, never doing that again.
[QUOTE=Oscar Lima Echo;49078836]So this isn't really important, I'm just curious.
Going at the absolute top speed for about a minute or two makes the car smell burned without the engine temperature increasing, is it too far off to guess that the clutch is slipping just so slightly?
It's an insanely cheap E36 316i, top is 195 ish at 6.5k RPM.[/QUOTE]
Probably your oil temps going up and up, water temp doesn't really paint a very good picture of your oil temps. Being that it's a 316i, I'd assume the cooling system is overbuilt for the motor being that the same cooling system is expected to manage the M3 as well. So it's possible that your oil temps could be going up significantly while the water temp was able to stay under control. Your exhaust would also be cooking pretty well as any grease, oil and dirt around those areas.
Top speed runs are basically one of the worst things you can ever do to a car, it's incredibly taxing on the motor to run wot extended periods of time. I'm not saying don't do them or anything but just keep in mind that if anything is prone to failure it absolutely will when you do something like that.
I know a guy whose 240z got knock after a top speed run :(
[QUOTE=SpartanXC9;49079341]I'm thinking about getting a Nissan z31 300z. Should I? I love the look of the thing and it seems like a good price for a nice GT. I also have love the amazing digital dash that it has. Does the voice system also come with the digital dash versions? Should I try to get this car?
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/j4t7MDZ.jpg[/thumb]
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/FQNvJ28.jpg[/thumb][/QUOTE]
Hello, I am Banana Lord, and I will be your resident Z31 advisor for this evening.
What is your budget? Do you have the ability to perform your own repairs? Are you looking for performance, or okay with something that's "not bad for 30 years old"?
Bitchin' betty was available on all GL and GLL models from 1984-1986. The digital dash is pretty cool! I love mine!
You've pictured two Kouki Z31s. I have a Zenki. Zenki is 1984-86, Kouki is 87-89. They're both pretty similar, biggest changes being in styling and the Kouki models getting a smaller turbo (to reduce turbo lag). The quickest way to tell a Zenki and Kouki apart by looking at the front is the fog lights. Zenki models have the fog lights next to the headlights, Koukis have them on the lip.
The first thing I recommend doing with these cars is a timing belt job. That's a timing belt, water pump, thermostat, associated gasket, timing tensioner, and timing tensioner [b]stud[/b]. Doesn't hurt to do plugs, wires, cap, and rotor, but make sure you use the factory replacement plugs and wires. [b]ONLY[/b] use OEM cap/rotor - the ignition system on these cars really do not like non-OEM parts. After that's out of the way, I [i]highly[/i] recommend converting the system to electric cooling fans. Clutch fans have a small parasitic drag on the motor and frankly it just gets in the damn way constantly. I was so happy the day I removed mine. Bastard.
Rust looms in the rear hatch. The side windows and tail lights love to leak. You'll likely find rust under the tool kit and under the spare tire. Mine has both. If it's not savable, walk away. Also check under the license plate panel for rust - mind has some bubbles there too. Check t-top seals as well but they aren't a huge problem on these cars. The biggest issue at this point is simply the rubber dries out - not poor design. Also check that the windshield washer is operational. It's very common for the Zenki models to have the hose that runs to the hood squirters snap off the plastic nipple on the pump. [b]Regardless of what online sites say, there are no replacement models[/b].
Turbo models can easily be identified using a few tricks. EVERY year has BLACK trim around the windows and t-tops on turbo models, chrome for N/A. For the 1984 and 1985 model years, turbo models had an off-center hood scoop. This is because in 1984 the turbo was only oil-cooled. The hood scoop, which IS functional, regardless of what the uninformed like to say, was necessary to keep the turbo cool. That being said, you do have to take special care and drive in a tame manner and give it a few minutes before shutting it off after parking. 1985+ all were water cooled as well, but the scoop remained in 85. For the 86 (and all subsequent) model years the hood scoop was removed.
You'll also probably stumble across some Anniversary Edition Z31s. These were only produced in 1984. They came standard with every feature, including the digital dash, and were all turbo charged. A fully optioned turbo model would have nearly identical mechanics and features, but the AE had a few bonus features, including "body-sonic", an in-seat vibration system that shakes the seat with the beat of the music playing, as well as mirrored t-tops, a car cover, unique gold keys, side skirts, fender flares, a unique silver-black-gold paint job, and option of automatic transmission (although this was the ONLY option for this trim level)
Almost every single Z31 has an open-differential. A [i]few[/i] turbo models, specifically the 87s, got limited-slip differentials for a few months. The only Z31 to ever have a limited-slip diff for its entire run/model year was the SS, or Shiro Special, which only came in pearl white and had a few more "performance-minded upgrades". These models are very rare, usually moreso than the AE, and are much more sought-after.
[url=http://imgur.com/a/ks7r4]Here's some shots of my digital dash[/url]. It sucks ass to read during the day in direct sunlight (read: impossible to) but it's [b]SO FREAKING AWESOME AT NIGHT[/B]
Any questions?
[QUOTE=Banana Lord.;49080239]Hello, I am Banana Lord, and I will be your resident Z31 advisor for this evening.
What is your budget? Do you have the ability to perform your own repairs? Are you looking for performance, or okay with something that's "not bad for 30 years old"?
Bitchin' betty was available on all GL and GLL models from 1984-1986. The digital dash is pretty cool! I love mine!
You've pictured two Kouki Z31s. I have a Zenki. Zenki is 1984-86, Kouki is 87-89. They're both pretty similar, biggest changes being in styling and the Kouki models getting a smaller turbo (to reduce turbo lag). The quickest way to tell a Zenki and Kouki apart by looking at the front is the fog lights. Zenki models have the fog lights next to the headlights, Koukis have them on the lip.
The first thing I recommend doing with these cars is a timing belt job. That's a timing belt, water pump, thermostat, associated gasket, timing tensioner, and timing tensioner [b]stud[/b]. Doesn't hurt to do plugs, wires, cap, and rotor, but make sure you use the factory replacement plugs and wires. [b]ONLY[/b] use OEM cap/rotor - the ignition system on these cars really do not like non-OEM parts. After that's out of the way, I [i]highly[/i] recommend converting the system to electric cooling fans. Clutch fans have a small parasitic drag on the motor and frankly it just gets in the damn way constantly. I was so happy the day I removed mine. Bastard.
Rust looms in the rear hatch. The side windows and tail lights love to leak. You'll likely find rust under the tool kit and under the spare tire. Mine has both. If it's not savable, walk away. Also check under the license plate panel for rust - mind has some bubbles there too. Check t-top seals as well but they aren't a huge problem on these cars. The biggest issue at this point is simply the rubber dries out - not poor design. Also check that the windshield washer is operational. It's very common for the Zenki models to have the hose that runs to the hood squirters snap off the plastic nipple on the pump. [b]Regardless of what online sites say, there are no replacement models[/b].
Turbo models can easily be identified using a few tricks. EVERY year has BLACK trim around the windows and t-tops on turbo models, chrome for N/A. For the 1984 and 1985 model years, turbo models had an off-center hood scoop. This is because in 1984 the turbo was only oil-cooled. The hood scoop, which IS functional, regardless of what the uninformed like to say, was necessary to keep the turbo cool. That being said, you do have to take special care and drive in a tame manner and give it a few minutes before shutting it off after parking. 1985+ all were water cooled as well, but the scoop remained in 85. For the 86 (and all subsequent) model years the hood scoop was removed.
You'll also probably stumble across some Anniversary Edition Z31s. These were only produced in 1984. They came standard with every feature, including the digital dash, and were all turbo charged. A fully optioned turbo model would have nearly identical mechanics and features, but the AE had a few bonus features, including "body-sonic", an in-seat vibration system that shakes the seat with the beat of the music playing, as well as mirrored t-tops, a car cover, unique gold keys, side skirts, fender flares, a unique silver-black-gold paint job, and option of automatic transmission (although this was the ONLY option for this trim level)
Any questions?[/QUOTE]
Thanks dude! The info dump was pretty useful! I'm pretty new to gearhead stuff for cars but I'm trying to learn. I had no idea there was that much of a difference between the models!
My budget is mainly 4,000$ to 7,000$ the last 2 cars I was looking at was a Supra MK2 and a 73 Mustang Mach 1.
How hard is maintenance on the z31? Is it possible to restore the voice system to how it sounded back when the car was first pushed out? I know that after 30 years of use the voice sort of gets wonky. How hard is replacing the lights in the dash? I fear that after 30 years that it might burn out on me if I get one. All that engine stuff and body stuff you gave is really useful in case I buy one that's why I'm not asking about that haha. Thanks for all the info!
[QUOTE=Banana Lord.;49080239]long ass post[/QUOTE]
Well I'll have you know that my Blazer is rocking a Jimmy third brake light.
Take that. :weeb:
I wish somebody would be looking for a Crown Victoria so I could do that kind of info dump :c
That budget would most likely get you a decent Z, but don't spend it all on the car! It's 30 and will need SOMETHING replaced, regardless of its condition.
The thing that sucked about maintenance in the beginning was the goddamn clutch fan blocks the entire front of the motor. Once that fan is gone you have so much more room to work on things there.
The voice never gets wonky on these. They are a digital module, not analog, so the only time they stop working is when the module itself breaks - which isn't common. The usual culprit is someone replacing the awesome stereos (relative term, but awesome for their time, and as someone who doesn't need audio equipment worth more than the entire car in my trunk, does the job damn fine) and unhooking Betty.
As for the dashboards, their killer is almost always the power supply or the solder joints on the dash itself. Fixable, for sure, but it takes time. If you drive a digital dash model and ANY part of it is not working (note: the gallon readout only starts working when there's 2 bars of fuel, or 5 gallons) it's an indicator that the power supply may be going out. Smacking the unit (it's housed in the kick panel by your right leg) will usually get it back on, at least for a bit. Expect to replace or repair the power supply. Power supply isn't such a big deal, replacing the entire dash itself is.
The engines are almost identical for the entire lineup, minus the differences in 84 and 85-89 for turbos. Aside from that, parts are mostly interchangeable. The other biggest issue with doing maintenance on these is that Nissan kinda threw everything on top of everything else. It could be worse, but it could be a lot better. You need a LOT of patience working on these.
Anyone have a 90's-98ish Suburban here?
I swear My front heater is luke warm, but my rear heater is like non existent.
And I can only find heater hoses going to the front heater core....
;_; I hate when I hit a bump and my knobs for my Climate Control fall off. Curse you small children that were in this vehicle before my dad bought it and pulled off the switches and me not wanting to permanently glue them on.
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