Hey guys new z33 owner here. Just bought perhaps the highest mileage 2008 base model Z in existence at 121k. I'm wondering if you guys can clue me in to anything in particular I should be looking out for around this mileage, things that wouldn't be mentioned in the factory service recommendations. I realize there probably aren't many people that have HR's with quite as many miles but any advise is appreciated. The car has been sitting for over a year so I will need to rectify a few things because of that as well. From what I have read so far they are pretty solid cars that don't need much in the way of maintenance. Also, haven't actually seen the car yet as i'm away at school so please accept these mediocre pictures taken by friends and family.

 

i would recommend first doing complete fluid change. Trans fluid, oil change, coolant change, power steering fluid change, brake fluid and clutch fluid. You will probably need to change struts if they are still on originals and other suspension parts. Rotors and brake pads. Clutch and flywheel might need to be replaced if there is any slipping. I would highly recommend doing slave and master cylinders with the zspeed kit if you are going to change cluctch and flywheel. New spark plugs and probably a new car battery since it is about that time to change the battery out. Oh and tires too if it needs them. good luck.

 

I forgot you will most definately need new tpms sensors.

 

Congrats, welcome. How old are your tires? I had an old Mercedes that didn't get driven much, and my tire shop refused to balance them when they were 5 yrs old. Gl

 

I've seen some higher mileage 08 Z's in my area while I was looking for a new one this week. I think the highest was 141k but definitely recall seeing one that had 128k.

 

+1 on Zmandriving's recommendation for baselining the car.

Also, clean out the spider webs on the air filter. Not driven, indeed.

Looks nice. Welcome.

 

Thanks for the rundown Zman, I was thinking along a similar line with regards to fluids, especially because I don't think the previous owner was big on maintenance and care (the interior is dirty as hell). As far as struts go, I work at Fat Cat Motorsports so hopefully I will be building a nice set of Bilstein monotube coilovers for the car in the near future. I'm hoping the clutch is good, I had a friend who is a long time 350Z owner drive the car for me in my absence and he said it felt fine, so fingers crossed there. There was a single maintenance document with the car and I believe it was brought in for new TPMS sensors at 119k, so should be covered on that. Everything else sounds like standard type maintenance which is what I was hoping you guys would tell me

The tires are definitely questionable. I wont be doing any type of performance driving on them for sure. But pending my initial inspection I may commute on them for awhile while I save up for something fun (Lookin at you Hankook RS3)

Oh good i'm not the only one The guy I bought it from seriously must have lived in the car, he parked it at the end of 2013 and moved to Hawaii so thats 121k in 6 years which is 20k a year...

Haha I noticed that too, that intake has caused me headache already since there was no EO sticker on them and the smog guy told my dad to get stuffed. Had to bring a printout from the AEM website for him to accept them. Plus I've never been a fan of open element filters, especially sucking in hot engine bay air.

 

Congrats! I'm a new Z owner myself. I haven't had a chance to introduce myself to the group yet, but I purchased an 08 HR touring with 133K.

All fluids, plugs, brakes, clutch/flywheel/cylinders are all on the to do list for me.

Something I had to replace on mine were the air/fuel sensors (sensor 1) on both banks. Some how, both failed. Another item I'm tackling now is the factory radiator, it's leaking from the upper cap (or expansion cap? no sure what to call it), and just overhauling the whole cooling systems with new hoses, water pump, thermostat, thermostat gasket, etc.

Congrats and enjoy the new toy!

 

Thanks for the heads up on the oxygen sensors, I know those can go bad here and there. And I'll keep a close eye on the cooling system, I think mine is OK for now, and I have aftermarket gauges to install to keep close watch on the coolant temps in case there are any faults.

 

Luckily these engines are extremely reliable and they have timing chains so you don't need to worry about a belt change. I would start with changing all fluids and go from there. Plugs should be done as well but use caution removing the throttle bodies as I've read about owners having idle issues after reinstalling. I changed my plugs without issue.

 

I hope they put the battery cover back in place before closing the hood.

The tires certainly cannot be original. Probably on third set, at least.

Manual or automatic?

 

Definitely thankful for the timing chain. I usually own older Toyotas (last car was a turbo SW20 MR2) and feel like i do at least one t belt a year hahah. What a pain. Good tip about the throttle bodies I'll be wary.

Haha I'm sure the battery cover was put back. Although if a broken plastic cover is the only issue I have I wouldn't complain Yeah found out the tires are bald Bridgestone RE760 Sports, so I'll need to replace them. On a student budget so I was thinking Hankook V12 Evo. Had them on my old IS300 and they seemed to be good bang for the buck. Its a manual btw.


Update: My dad was checking fluids and cleaning up in the engine bay a bit, and he noticed a puddle of oil in the valley of the engine. There was also a bolt laying in the oil. It's right where the magnet is stuck in this photo. Photo of bolt also attached.






I'm thinking three possibilities

1) Spillage from adding oil
2) Valve cover gasket is leaking
3) Front cover of the engine was off for some reason and was not sealed properly.

Unfortunately I think it may be #3 because that bolt looks like a front cover bolt to me, and I know they can be difficult to seal because it requires a lot of silicone. Let me know what you guys think.

More general pics, so you can get an idea of overall condition. Made my dad clean the cobwebs out of the air filters per MicVelo's recommendation Also can see the bald *** tires, and Tanabe Medallion exhaust.

 

I would be very curious why the front cover was off.

Holy craps those tires are bald as a baby's ***.

 

Yeah I am curious for sure, there is one maintenance document with the car that mentioned a CEL on, so im wondering if it was a cam sensor or something along those lines. It runs fine now so I dk. May try to contact the shop if it does turn out to be a leaky front cover. And yes the tires are hashed, the car was cheap enough that I dont mind though.

 

How much did you get it for? I'm planning on selling my 07 with just under 38k miles.

 

Paid 6k for it. But it was an unusual circumstance where my neighbor's uncle moved away, left his car and the family just wanted it the hell out of their driveway. I'm sure you won't have a problem selling your car at or above kelley bluebook due to its low mileage. Mine's got like 3x the miles yours does haha.

 

That is a steal man and it came with some good mods. Any work at that mileage isn't too bad these cars last forever

 

Oh man, that's pretty awesome. Enjoy the Z! I have for the past 2.5 years. I'm moving to Germany so I'm trying to sell mine lol

 

Yah got super lucky!

Stoked to drive it! Can't wait for the semester to be over so I can go down to socal and pick it up.

UPDATE: You guys missed that my rear diff bushing appears to be dumping silicone all over the cover lol. Also Apparently 07-08 clutch slave likes to go out and stick the pedal to the floor out of nowhere?

 

Leaky diff bushing is a universal Z issue, link to cure: http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_..._number=KDT911

"Newest" solution to slave issue, developed by a highly reputable Z aftermarket company: http://www.z1motorsports.com/350_g35...oducts_id=7340