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Greetings

2K views 9 replies 2 participants last post by  Phlash_riot 
#1 ·
Hey-o
Noob member. Pickup the car on Sunday and kind of excited.
I have Had many different kinds of cars, mainly American muscle or trucks but my kids are getting to the age to start driving and ran across a pretty good deal since it’s though a co worker so I have a toy and my daughter will have wheels.
It’s nothing special, 2003 touring with a slush box. 124k miles. No oil leaks and doesn’t burn oil. The biggest issue is front bumper messed up and a dime sized chip in the apparently famous 500$ plastic cover on the top of the car for the driver size. But it’s in a place where water won’t drip inside, so no worries
The bumper I already have and actually just got done repairing with epoxy the Couple of rips where the bumper connects to the upper brackets. Worse come to worse bumper facias are fairly cheap. Then just a general maintenance upkeep
I’ll work on pics later
 
#2 ·
Keep in mind that a major service should have been done on your Z at the 120K mark. If your car has had this done, no problem. But if not, do some research and get your daughter involved in changing parts and fluids at home. This is a great opportunity for some father/daughter bonding!

Also, the urethane front bumper has been available on ebay for very little ($125/shipped). Unless you have a quality plastic welder, it might be worthwhile to simply replace your damaged bumper.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the tips. I did intend on getting her involved for that and so she has a basic understanding of what goes on under the hood. The bumper looks pretty good now and you can tell there were rips. the whole cars paint is showing signs of age so I will be vynil wrapping myself the car so any imperfections should be fine for me. I have some left over ugly vynil i will test with before i put on the good stuff. At that price it isn't a big deal if I have to get a new one though. however I am not looking to dump money into a hole. 1500$ car to start with.
I doubt that the 120k service was completed. I did intend todo a general run through everything to ensure it is safe.
But already running into hiccup #1. It is throwing an engine code. He had a Kingbolen KW850 scanner in the garage he said I could have and I was able top see cylinder #2 misfire. I already knew there was a misfire cause I could hear it. I took a video for audio sample as well. Odd thing is that is it not consistent. the stuttering comes and goes at idle. It also comes and goes while driving. You can feel the differance in power. While at idle when it changes to the "I'm not happy idle" there is a distinctive ticking. almost sounds like a large spark. Also has O2 sensors 1 and 2 (the ones close to the exhaust manifold) throwing codes. he has replaced all the others but could get to those two. he has the replacements though. Just have to look into finding out if the O2 sensors could cause a intermittent misfire.
I didnt bother too much with it since i wasn't at my house with all the tools. I had only gone over to bring a battery charger to let that go until Sunday. Injector, spark plug, and coil are my main ideas. but if I can't seem to get traction I will post questions in the appropriate area
 
#4 ·
It's difficult to offer any diagnostic ideas from behind a keyboard, but since you have to change the sparkplugs anyway at 120K, that maybe the place to start. After you get a set of new NGK plugs (suggest you consider the Ruthenium coated ones), take a close look at the old set. The VQ35DE has been known to have plug seal failures in the valve covers. That can lead to oil seeping around the plug well and causing misfires. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
Fair enough. I ordered the NKG set 6402...

From the limited videos and articles I’ve come across I probably switch out plug then will do some electrical checks on the injectors and coils. then if i cant get anywhere I will just pull the plenum off and check the injectors more thoroughly.
Is there anything special about injectors. Can I just get a elcheapo set off amazon; can I just buy one from autozone and replace the faulty one. This thing isn’t going to be hot roded ...ever
Hopefully the cable cover isn’t leaking into the plug area. But I see no signs of oil leaks anywhere else on the engine. It was my a one owner girl driver in HI for most it’s life and has almost no rust, and no rust in the typical spots that rust out.
 
#10 ·
Actually have 3 down. The battery was toasted but it was still under his warranty. So we went down and got it replaced for free saving 200 smeckles. And replace the rear trunk compressed air lifters(sure there’s a better and easier name but you get the point.
Throwing O2 sensor codes I already knew about will be the next big item but until I get the ramps from previous owner. I’ll do some work inspecting and probably replacing the brakes. There’s a sequel that needs quieting. And now that I can safely go forward I need tobe able to stop as well I suppose
 
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