# Time to call it quits?



## Beater (May 15, 2007)

I bought my first Z car just over a month ago, a 1986 300ZX N/T. I was in the market for any kind of A-B car. After a couple of other deals went through, I found this one. The owner said it needed a new alternator to get it going. We jumpstarted it using my friend's car, and the engine sounded very nice. The owner assured me that was in good running order otherwise. I took a chance and bought the thing for $800CDN. 

A battery from the wrecker's and an alternator rebuild got it going again. It was very nice to feel that solid power transferred from the engine through a manual gearbox. It still needed body and suspension work, but it was still a pleasure to drive regardless.

Unfortunately, about 2 weeks after I bought it, things started going haywire. I went on a short drive to do some shopping, and noticed that every single idiot light on the dashboard was flickering. Then I noticed that the clutch pedal wasn't returning all the way to the top, but the clutch seemed to be engaging fully. A slight thud when putting the car into first from neutral lead me to believe that it wasn't disengaging completely, however.

Last week, the clutch finally gave up the ghost, and wouldn't disengage at all. Then the brakes started to fail! I replaced the clutch master cylinder, but didn't have the facilities necessary to jack up the car so that I could bleed the clutch. 

I decided to take the car into an auto repair shop that I've had a lot of luck with in the past. They bled the clutch, but it still didn't work, so they think that it needs a new slave cylinder. They also said that the front brakes are toast, the car needs new front calipers and a new brake master cylinder. The rep said it would be about $1000 CDN, and even if I could get a good deal on parts, I'd need to really love this car to warrant sinking the money into it. 

I do like the car a lot, but I am feeling overwhelmed right now. Even if I somehow got this other stuff fixed, it still needs body and suspension work, and there is that electrical problem, and electrical problems can be a one-way ticket to an insane asylum. I'm living in an apartment right now, and am parking on the street, so a project car isn't something I need right now. I'm thinking to offload this car either as a parts car, or to someone who wants a very big project. Does this sound reasonable? If so, what sort of price should I be asking for it? The interior is ratty, but all of the power options work as does the cruise control. The only rust holes on the body are on both quarter panels. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Yeah, welcome to the world of 20 year old automobiles. This isn't anything anyone with an all original '69 Camaro hasn't experienced. Except parts for those cars cost 1/5 as much........ Personally, I would acquire a little more equipment so that you can do these things yourself. It's going to cost you a lot more to have other people do this kind of work.


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## Beater (May 15, 2007)

Thanks, though I'd say that the welcome is rather belated.  I knew I was getting older once my cars started being younger than I am.



Zen31ZR said:


> This isn't anything anyone with an all original '69 Camaro hasn't experienced. Except parts for those cars cost 1/5 as much........


And there's more room to get your hands inside and do the work as well. 

If I was going to fix this thing, I would probably get rid of the clutch damper first of all, would take one possible cause out of the equation. I think it's time to cut my losses though. I appreciate your reply though. Take care.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Wouldn't give up on it just yet. Do some research here first before you throw the car away. You flickering dash could be the power supply (if you have the digital dash) or a bad battery or alternator. Should take you less than an hour to figure out what it is. Brakes and suspenson can be done in your own driveway with the right tools. Your dealing with parts that typically wear out after this long a period of time. You aren't having to deal with anything major, like the engine, transmission, or diff, so I'd say keep the car and plug through it. Electrical is deceptively easier to diagnose and fix than you might think. The Z31 electrical system is neither extensive nor complicated. Major problem points are the climate controls, dash lighting, digital guage functionality, and alternator and battery. All of which as been covered here at one time or another. Don't give up just yet.


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## Burn 17 (Dec 1, 2004)

the clutch problem sounds exactly like a slave cylender. typicaly you can purchas a rebuild kit for this, cheap, 12 to 20 $$, this will give you a new boot and all the seal along with the piston and several other items. a slave cylender is typicaly easy to do, altho i have not done one on this car yet. and as for the rest good luck and i may get back to you on this shortly


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## Beater (May 15, 2007)

Thanks for the advice guys. 

My clutch master cylinder cost me $44CDN, so I can't imagine the slave cylinder would be too much to buy from the same parts store. I may have a person who will sell me some used parts, so I'll see how it goes. If I do any clutch work on this thing myself, I will definitely get rid of the clutch damper, less parts = less problems.

The guy at the auto repair place told me that I'd really need to love this car to pay $1k to have the brakes and clutch fixed. He said that the floorboards were in bad shape. If I do the work myself, I may be able to get at least a few good years out of this car. Unfortunately, I don't even have a driveway, as I live in an apartment. Maybe I'll see if I can find another place to park it.

BTW, I tried to remove a caliper before, and the bolt was frozen solid. Didn't want to go spraying penetrating oil on that bolt, since it was so close to the brake rotor. I couldn't get good leverage on the thing, since the car was only a short ways off the ground. Anyone have any advice on this? I could try a squeeze bottle of liquid wrench and apply it carefully, I suppose...

Thanks again for the replies. If I do keep this car, at least I'll be a part of a nice community.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I would take a hammer and smack the bolt head a few times (CAREFULLY), and that should shake any rust and junk out of the threads, or move the bolt a few microns. Basically any way you can apply a vibration load directly to the bolt will help loosen it. Coupled with the Liquid Wrench it should just be a few seconds work. Works wonders on 20 year old bolts every other car I've had. You don't want to apply main strength to the bolt head because that's exactly where all the force goes, and it can snap off. And drilling Grade 8 bolts out is a major pain....... As far as spraying anything around the brake disk, if you are that worried about it you can go buy a can of Brake Parts Cleaner from the parts store, and that will remove any oil and grease residue.


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## Beater (May 15, 2007)

Thanks for the advice, I'd forgotten that trick. I actually bought a can of brake parts cleaner in preparation, I just wasn't sure if it could completely remove all of the residue from the rotors. 

BTW, about the clutch damper. I am unfamiliar with the internal workings of one, and a google search proved frustrating, and fruitless, as is often the case with things such as these. Anyways, I am wondering if this thing could get jammed inside, and be what is preventing my clutch from engaging properly. If that is a possible cause, I'd go ahead and bypass it right away, but if not, I'm still curious as to what it feels like to drive this car stock when everything's working right, and will decide later on whether or not to eliminate the damper. If anything, I suppose that one less (and unnecessary) part in the system is one less possible problem. I'm guessing the clutch will bleed better without that part, if anything.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I've never had a bad experince with a clutch damper, But it might as well be removed anyway when it's this old. Easy enough to bypass, frm what I've read elswhere here. What you might want to do to find out the source of your problem is search the entire board for similar experiences. A guy in the Z32 section is having clutch problems too. And certainly there must be others in here.


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