1989 300z problem

[Broncodriver]

I just acquired an 89 300z turbo. I have a few questions to help solve some problems it has. The car has 96k miles, i am the 3rd owner and the past owner just replaced the timing belt maybe 300 miles before parking it. Now onto the questions.
When going down the road it runs great, but the factory boost gauge isnt showing any boost, stays around 0 or below, could this be a vac. line?
Also, i have been told that the turbo seal is blown. When going down the road it doesnt smoke, but as soon as you stop then smoke comes out of the exhaust pretty heavy. Is this a turbo seal, and could a rebuild fix this? Also the exhaust is cut off right before the axle so the smoke comes out from around the sides and not directly out the back.

Headlights go out when turned on bright. Dimmer switch or wiring problems? And yes, the bulbs are new lol.

[Broncodriver]

anyone? nothing? sale the car? come on guys, something would be helpful here.

[stprasinz]

Well the oil may have caused the the sensor to go bad.. From what I have heard (no first hand experience) I would say it is the turbo seal....
Probably easiest to buy a new one from a reputable dealer (try and stay away from an ebay special).... I purchaced mine from turbochargers.com (I bought a much larger turbonetics t3 t4 60-1 full size, Awsomely powerful turbo not alot of lag) But long story short Get a new turbo I'd lean towards turbonetics 1 year hassle free warranty.. But a garrett can be had for alot less... Depends what your looking for.. More power, just replacement, cheap as possible, more throttle response etc...

Ok I started to ramble sorry... good luck

Advice replace turbo, and have a reputable mechanic check your boost sensor

good luck

[longlivetheZ]

As far as the headlights go, it's a VERY common issue with these cars. It's just the switch on the column. I've seen it go bad making the headlights go up and down opposite eachother, turn on and off opposite eachother, one headlight work while one doesn't, etc etc etc...when it starts to go bad, all kinds of weird stuff can happen. Do a search for Z31 headlight switch fix and you should find the write up on how to do a really good temporary repair. I would look it up for you but I don't have time at the moment.

The Z31 from mid 87-89 is a VERY cool car...DON'T GIVE UP ON IT!!! lol They have the rare W series engine, clutch LSD, another 5hp over all the other turbo Z31s (205 total), a KILLER look...they're the whole package and VERY hard to find (especially an 89 Z31 turbo with a 5 speed...is this what you have?). Whatever you do, DON'T JUNK IT!!! It doesn't sound like anything is TOO wrong with it.

As far as the turbo goes, take it apart and see if you see anything wrong with it...just keep an eye out for anything that looks out of the ordinary as far as seals and all that goes. If nothing else at all, this is a primo time to mod it!

If all else fails and you wanna sell it, lemme know...

[DeleriousZ]

turbo seal is cooked... that happened to me right in a long trip, and it ended up dying just as i got to my destination, not a fun time...

anyway you can buy a rebuild kit for the turbo, or have someone do it for you... having someone rebuild it is going to be way more pricey, but at least you're sure it's done correctly then... whatever you do, don't drive it for too long because once the seals go, then the bearings go, and then this happens:


as for the headlight issues, 99.9% of the time it's the switch. the procedure for fixing it can be found here:
http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/84HowTo/84hlswitch.html

good luck with it, like LLZ said, it's a gem, don't junk it.

also, if you're looking to rebuild or strengthen the LSD in it, this goes for all of you guys... check out this clutch group buy on hybridz.org

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread...=112921&page=4


LLZ when are you going to sign up at 88hybrid.com?

[longlivetheZ]

I've been a member there for ever. That's a great board!

What's goin on, D?

[DeleriousZ]

in the midst of finals... they lick balls... i hear you're a daddy now?