speedwell

I'm pleased to say that I've sorted a long running irritant on the Z. It's the old chestnut that many on here have experienced,the rattling/knocking noises at urban speeds over rough surfaces. It's great that,with the help of the forum,i've been able to cure it and without any unnecessary parts replacement,unlike many. When I first heard the knock I wasn't sure where it was coming from so i concentrated on looking for anything obviously loose,both inside and underneath. This got nowhere,so the next step was to disconnect both front and back roll bar drop links...still no joy. I then had first a friend,a professional mechanic, look at the car,followed by the local garage but neither could find any apparent fault. By this time we were sure that the sound was coming from the nearside front so,after reading everything relevant on the forum I took a chance and acquired and fitted a new n/s compression (banana) arm...problem solved The mystery bit is that my mechanic friend, who helped me do the fitting ,examined the old arm and shook his head because there was nothing that appeared wrong with it,no discernable movement could be felt in the balljoint. But, on the road, the noise had gone!!! So how can a balljoint with no detectable wear produce a knock? One of life's great 350z mysteries that may never be solved

I think it's the ball joint,or rather hope it is...the guess work that is the 350z front suspension,don't you just love it!

Is there a guide anywhere as to how to do this? (search done,nothing comes up) Would like to know what's involved to decide if I can tackle it myself. Thanks, John.

To confirm what's been said, traders can no longer cash these in and,furthermore,don't expect to, so it doesn't enter their calculations.You keep it and cash it in.

No-one seems to be doing after market blades for the 370 yet and Nissan are expensive...just buy replacement rubbers from Nissan,a lot cheaper!

It's lacking a front number plate plinth which,again,is not a sign of a totally proper repair. I've thought about cat c/d buys before but always passed...even if you get one with no fault issues, what about re-sale time?...OK,you've bought cheap so can sell cheap but your market is very restricted, and if you fail to sell privately and go for a trade-in the dealer will either show you the door or offer you some totally insulting amount.

I take a slightly different view.A basic feature of insurance law is that you the insured are under obligation to inform your insurer,without them necessarily having to ask, of any circumstance that could effect their judgement in setting the premium. So anything that makes the car go faster or makes it look different (and so have more theft appeal),OK,tell them. BUT, it depends on what modification you do...if you can properly state that the brake mods can only improve the vehicles braking in standard road conditions then I would see no need to inform them,because that could not give them grounds for a premium increase...although you might want to inform them to ask for a reduced premium I apply the above rules,I think people can get paranoid over these issues...how far do you take it,what if,for instance,you just fit braided brakelines?

When a battery is failing you can recharge it to get you going but it will let you down again,either by not starting the car after it's been left for only a few days as you experienced (as a general rule it should still restart after 3/4 weeks) or failing to restart in the winter after just one cold night...so i suspect you do need a new one.My new battery sorted out the problem,but bear in mind you may have a fault in the charging system, e.g.alternator, and only getting an auto electrician to test everything can identify the problem for sure.

I got one of these recently,came next day too. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-350Z-3 ... 41626567bd

Ok,that's one way,but why is it there in the first place?

...under my front bumper is damaged and should be replaced, but is there a DISCRETE after market sustitute?,i.e something small and simple that's a bit better (don't mind if I have to paint it),but NOT some huge spoiler /splitter that sticks out a mile and sits about 1mm off the ground!!!

Any pics?...and how straightforward are they to fit?

That seems like the same bright silver shade used on 370 wheels...have a search to see what's recommended for them.

Clutch low...usually a hydraulic system fault,in master or slave cylinder,which is confirmed if fluid is being lost. Clutch high..worn out! Either way,seems like a garage job,as already said.

The "stop first,handle second,go third." mantra is the best way to achieve faster track lap times. The order in which to do things for road driving is influenced by other factors,mainly personal preference.

I assume your is a Rev 1 (280ps) car...Nissan did make the steering (and gearchange) slightly lighter on the later cars. As pas cars go, the steering is a bit heavy but IMHO has got good feel and is one of the best things about the car. My daughter had a early 350 and never complained, so unless you have a physical issue in your arms and shouders perhaps there is a mechanical fault.Do you know anyone with another 350 so you can make a comparison?...if that's the same as yours then,sadly,the 350 may not be the car for you.

OK,thanks a lot

Simple question,how to you get to the inside of the window to clean it? It seems weirdly inaccessible...???

No..it used to be good, but since it's gone to a greener formula it's poor.

To be fair,there's one point you roadster fans have missed,it's a quieter cruiser than the coupe because the rear bulkhead/seperate boot largely eliminates the road noise from the back that the coupe suffers from. ...still wouldn't have one

...and there're heavier, so slower than a coupe and don't handle quite as well because there's more flex in the chassis....(and I have driven both). It comes down to whether you really value having an open car or not,personally I've had many open cars over the years,like them for a bit, but later sell them without too much regret.

I think this is theoretically posible... A lot of short trips means the oil never gets hot, so condensation and other contaminents of combustion are not evaporated away, as they might otherwise be...so the oil gets thinned,hence the reduced pressure. A lot of motorway work gets the oil up to temp and puts things right. Well it's a theory...

They do stick on the splines.Loosen the nut,then you need an assistant if you haven't got a puller tool. Apply outwards force underneath the arms via a screwdriver or better still, a pry bar.At the same time the other person should apply a suitable drift to the end of the wiper spindle and give the drift a good tap with a hammer to unstick the arm from the splines on the spindle.This worked for me,but be careful not to damage anything. Obviously it's best to remove the blades from the arms first,since they get in the way when carrying out the above.

On the other hand the DVLA themselves happily sell,and for large amounts in some cases,registrations that only make sense if mis-spaced or otherwise mis-represented...official hypocrisy at its worse!!

I also wish you well with the new car, but getting too emotional and rushing into things rather than selling privately appears to have cost you money...a lesson to be learned.