ThreeFiddyZ's OEM+ 350z Rev-up Build Thread

[ThreeFiddyZ]

So, after my 10th consecutive year of Zed ownership passed by last year, I thought it was about time to start a build thread to document at least some of what I've been up to with my Zed during my ownership, particularly more recently.

Since the beginning, I've always wanted any changes or improvements made to seamlessly blend into and compliment the rest of the car, with the aim of an 'OEM+' style (so I have been known to be quite particular with my build to say the least!) whilst at the same time, doing my best to keep on top of any issues to make sure it is maintained to the highest standard.

Anyway, to get the ball rolling, here is a picture of my Zed from a few years ago and I will begin to add some updates to this thread shortly to show some of the more recent work!

 

Edited 13 minutes ago by ThreeFiddyZ

[ThreeFiddyZ]

So, now that I've broken the ice somewhat, let's get started.

As many others will probably agree, unfortunately the plastic lenses on 350z headlights don't tend to stand the test of time too well. Whilst the headlight internals are pretty reliable (providing you have your wheelarch liners still fitted and don't remove them!) the lenses deteriorate and become cloudy. 

Although I did wet sand and polish the lenses on my original headlights, although most would have been happy with this, the perfectionist in me still wasn't happy with the result. I am really my own worst enemy. So, anyway, I went hunting and thankfully after a year or so, I managed to buy two new genuine Nissan facelift headlights for a decent price, so naturally these were the first to be fitted.

Before


During (with one of the old headlights photobombing the picture...😄) 


After 😁


It's amazing how simply replacing the headlights has already taken years of age off the front of the car, very happy with the results.

The only issues I ran into when dropping the bumper and swapping the headlight out for the first time was that there were actually three bolts in the liners that had to be undone to release the front bumper, and the headlight washers needed to be removed as part of the process. This can be achieved by simply gently pulling the headlight washer covers forward as they are spring loaded, which gives access to unclip the headlight washer covers.

Funnily enough I was more nervous about breaking the headlight washer covers more than anything else, so big thumbs up up to @davey_83 for the video he made on this below, this was a huge help.
 

 

Edited 32 minutes ago by ThreeFiddyZ

[ThreeFiddyZ]

Next on the list...

For the last few weeks, I'd noticed a small leak of washer fluid on my garage floor. After pulling back the drivers side arch liner and inspecting the pumps, I found that the front washer pump itself was leaking, rather than the washer bottle or pump to bottle seal. This also seems to be a common issue but is thankfully easily addressed.



I took the opportunity to replace both the front and rear washer pumps, using the below.

Front Washer Pump (Starline OE equivalent) Part No: OE-48870001S
Rear Washer Pump (Blueprint OE equivalent) Part No: ADN10316

The front and rear washer pumps can be obtained from a few different places using the above part numbers. I bought my front pump from Halfords for £11.99, but had to buy the rear pump from Amazon for £22. Don't be fooled like me and assume the front and rear pump are the same. I assumed they were and ordered two front pumps, but the electrical connectors are different. 

To replace, it's dead simple. Whilst it is probably easier to jack your Zed up and remove the wheel, I opted to turn the steering full lock left, unscrew and peel back the arch liner, and go from there. To disconnect the existing pumps, whack a drain tray underneath and then simply move the pumps downwards slightly whilst you pull them out. Mine were quite stubborn but eventually popped out allowing me to replace them.

Job done and onto the next one.