When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Since I drive so little these days...these tires should last until they start cracking.
I highly recommend "Mud Tire Gel" from Larry @ AMMO NYC. Been using this stuff on my Z's Michelin Pilot Super Sports, which I purchased and had mounted back in 2018. My side walls still look mint! Even the little rubber pegs from the mold process are still intact! As is the case for RWD cars with summer tires, the rear tread is going to give out long before the fronts do. This stuff rocks, it smells great, doesn't sling, and leaves a nice satin finish. Bonus - You can use it on exterior plastics. But the "
Weds night gave my month old her first tow -for one brand, new cat! Got her back Friday for the low-low-low price of $1.8k ($300 labor). Grrrr!
One more repair like that and she's officially a money pit. OTH, I practically have a brand new car after all I've done. The downside to 100k mile cars is you are likely to inherit the previous owner's deferred 100k mile maintenance.
The downside to 100k mile cars is you are likely to inherit the previous owner's deferred 100k mile maintenance.
Very true, especially with Z33s. The vast majority have been modified (in an unhealthy fashion), neglected, and abused. There are some clean ones out there, but expect to pay considerably more for a well maintained & sorted example.
Cheers!
-Icer
Let me start by saying I am not a mechanic, I took on this job because I didn't want to pay someone $5,000 to do the job for me. Not to mention I don't have that kind of of money that's available to use . . As of Sunday October 13, 2024 I have managed to pull two engines and install one all by myself . I started this journey on Wednesday October 9th and finished Sunday evening. It doesn't run yet, I still have to sort out the harness and power steering. Other than that, I think the hardest part is done. I have had so many hang-ups doing this job.. yes I understand its my first time and i am not a pro.. but damn it I did it!!! I set out to do the swap and I made it happen. NOW, I just got to make it run .. lol. This amazing site helped me with a lot of things in the pas 5 days.
i gotta take a break from this car maybe i will have it running in the next few weeks.. but for now its on hold gotta rest lol.
Congrats on getting the lion's share of the work done. Hope you can get it up and running without much issue.
Cheers!
-Icer
I hope so.. I put a auto DE engine in a manual DE car.. gotta sort our the harness and deal with the power steering I stall... then hookup everything else .
Harness would've been best tackled while the engine was out. Meaning it's best to start with the harness connected at the engine side, vs. the ECU side. It snakes in under the windshield cowling and goes through the firewall behind the passenger dash. It's just easier to access everything that way, but it can still be done with the engine in the vehicle, it's just going to be more difficult to route and connect certain items. The accessory install/setup should be straight forward. You'll get it done, just take your time, don't rush.
Cheers!
-Icer
yeah it was a task .. took me 5 days.. i have never done such hard work like that ever.. once i started i instantly regretted it . but had to see it through
Around the same time I was rebuilding my alternator, I also replaced the rear coil spring sleeves. I should have tackled this when I 1st purchased and installed the OEM Nismo Coil Springs with the Bilstein B6s. It was obvious that the original sleeves were toast, but I didn't have the patience to wait for an online order. These are not something you can pick up from a local parts store (sadly). You also need to know the diameter of the coil and order compatible sleeves accordingly. So, instead of fixing it the right way, I used exterior Tessa tape to shore up the roached sleeves. It was a literal band-aid measure.
Why go through the trouble? I noticed some light knocking coming from the rear suspension ever since I installed the Nismo Coil Springs with the Bilstein B6s. I was going nuts trying to track down the root cause.
Note: I've already replaced the upper strut bushings, rear diff bushings, sway bar bushings, sway bar end links, axles, and rear wheel bearings...AND thoroughly inspected all other rear suspension components which included the lower strut capture bolt issue as part of my Z refresh project. If you didn't know, there is an issue with some rear lower strut forks where the capture bolt hole diameter is larger than needs be, this can sometimes lead to the strut fork walking up/down and making a knocking sound. I wish it was something this easy, sadly this was not my issue either. I also replaced all the original rubber exhaust hangers since the MD TDX2 only uses 3 of the original 4 hangers, I did start having issues with the mid-pipe muffler impacting the W-brace shortly after installing the MD exhaust system. The rubber was simply old and fatigued/stretched, new OEM replacements solved the issue. So with all that work done and checked over, I was struggling to find the answer to this issue.
Finally it dawned on me, coil spring slap! This phenomenon occurs when the layers of coil compress/decompress through suspension movement and impact each other. The spring sleeves help quiet the noise while also adding additional protection to the coil coating (rust kills coils).
I ordered replacement sleeves from 034 Motorsport. LINK. These are high quality replacements and fit the stock 350Z coils perfectly. Unfortunately, I haven't put enough road test time on the Z to determine if this has completely resolved my issue. My initial/short test drive tells me there's still some subtle knocking, but it's not as noticeable as before. I suspect this is something I'll just have to live with due to the design of the Nismo Coils. The bottom 3-4 layers of coil are very close by design and making contact with each other when the vehicle is at rest (weight on wheels/suspension). Still, this is just another one of those little things that should be considered with an aging vehicle. Neglecting this could lead to coating failure and rust creeping in, especially if you live in the rust belt.
Enjoy the pics!
Cheers!
-Icer
1st coil out, old sleeves removed. State of the old sleeves. Rubber is dry rotted, rocks/pebbles getting embedded in it. New Sleeves installed. Coils have paint marks on the coil for indexing the sleeves. Coil back in the Z! Right side Coil back in the Z! Left Side
Last edited by icer5160; Oct 24, 2024 at 09:31 PM.
Icer, I do believe those coils are upside down, not sure if this is your issue. I've looked at pictures online and the springs were oriented with the cone through the tight coils like the S-tune suspension.
picture of mine for reference, hope this helps!
The thought had crossed my mind. I oriented them based on painted dots and/or the coil spring isolator locations (top and bottom rubber endcaps) as I received them when purchased. I'll do some more digging on this to confirm the correct orientation, but I do believe you are right!
Thank You!
-Icer
@DarkZ03 you're 100% right! Boy do I feel stupid right now. It's pretty clear in the FSM. 2-dots = down, 1-dot = up (see pic). Needless to say, I'll be correcting this ASAP.
I fixed the upside-down rear coils this past weekend. I also gave the Z some much needed paint love which entailed ONR wash, clay bar, Polish (using Optimum Compound & Polish), chemically cleaning surface with 50/50 Iso/dist-h20, and finally laying down a Ceramic Coating. I even took some time to do some paint chip touch-ups using Dr. Colorchip. For those interested in detailing... more details below.
Polisher - Rupes LHR21 Mark III (Bigfoot)
Pad - Rupes Fine Polish Pad (Foam/Yellow)
Polish - Optimum Hyper Polish (Spray bottle) & Optimum Hyper Compound (Spray bottle). I like this stuff, it doesn't dust up, easy to apply to the foam pad, long working time.
Ceramic Coating - AMMO NYC Reflex Pro II
Towels - Rag Company
for drying after wash (Best drying towel I've ever used, does the entire car, no issue).
I'll post some pictures of the Z when I'm done detailing it. Planning to add a 2nd coat of the Reflex Pro, refresh the Swissvax wheel wax, and give the tires some sidewall love.
