im bout to purchase a 300zx TT.... they guy said the head gasket was either blown or on its way out..... now... i need to know where i can either get a new engine.... or a re-build kit... the car his 140,000 miles on it and the body is in perfect cond. im getting a great deal i think .... i need to know also if the gasket being blown or on its way out would make the engine knock.... and make the steering hard to turn??? plz help me out with as much info as you can! thanks

first of all, how much is he selling it to you? and there is one thing you should know about z32's, if you don't know much about the vg or don't have a friend that does, plan on spending tons and tons of money on labor alone. some shops won't even touch the vg.

Um...I can't see anyway it would make the car hard to turn....did this previous owner do something stupid like pull the power steering pump belt?

Anyway, if the head gasket was truly blown in any place you would know. Oil, coolant leaking everywhere, car barely running...it wouldn't be pretty. Anyway...a replacement VG runs 1500-2500 depending on where you get them. Quality varies wildly between a really clean low mileage JDM motor (like the one I bought, $1900) and a tore up barely functional engine that was only taken out and put on sale because someone rear ended the car it was in. Take your time with that search.

Pulling the motor to install a new gasket on the existing motor isn't too terribly hard for someone with experience and access to all the right tools. If you can't do it yourself then have cash on hand because labor on a VG pull or swap can run 2000+ easy. But if you are going to build the bottom end for huge power numbers then this would be the time to do it.

If the engine is the original and has 140k on it then I'm sure there is plenty wear and tear. TTs get run hard and unfortunately don't always get the maintainece they need. These aren't some peckerwood hondas with an exhaust kits. These are serious performance machines capable of 400hp with simple upgrades. Bear this in mind when purchasing. Any engine knock (detonation) would only be present under high boost levels. If its got a knocking sound going on at idle, then there is surely a problem somewhere, like with a ready to blow head gasket or gasket with a small compression leak somewhere. Or as was in my case, one of the nuts holding the number 1 piston to the crank was close to coming loose, then did so while I was driving it home.

And remember this, if it ain't for driving back and forth to work (and TT Z really isn't that type of car) then don't buy something thats not exactly what you want. If it isn't the perfect car to you, don't waste your money.

ah yes... broke as ****, king of "well while i'm there i might as well...."

Shut up...I don't go crazy with it.

Like this link to titanium connecting rods? I have no clue how that got there.

http://stillen.com/Sportscars_detail.asp?cat=2&subcat=201&Brand=&id=3581&page=1

These forged pistons don't exist either. (http://stillen.com/Sportscars_detail.asp?cat=2&subcat=201&Brand=&id=3586&page=1/)

Inconel exhaust manifolds? (http://specialtyz.com/manifold.htm) What the hell?

Go completely off the deep end what? (http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=165572541&dealer_id=&car_year=1993&make=NISSAN&distance=any&max_price=1000000&model=300ZXTURBO&advcd_on=n&end_year=1996&min_price=00000&first_record=1&certified=n&address=98047&search_type=used&advanced=n&start_year=1990&=&color=&cardist=1005)

No one wonders why his name is "Broke as ****"...:p

Everything he said is true. Be careful when looking.