Guest bastaad525 Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 Man... if there's one lesson this turbo swap has taught me... is that the old adages "when it rains it pours" and "what CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong" are very very true. I've decided today that I can and will no longer expect this turbo Z to be a daily driver. This was a really hard realization for me to come to terms with, as I've owned 3 1/2 Z's now (two ZX's, and this 240, I say 1/2 because the 240 with the turbo is a much different car than it was with the N/A motor!) over the span of seven years and until the turbo swap I had come to believe that they were among the most reliable cars ever built. My ZX's had 220,000 and 285,000 miles on their stock motors and ran perfectly minus a couple EFI gremlins (both ZX's and the turbo EFI I have now seem to HATE running with the 02 sensor connected!). I had only ever been stranded and needed a tow once, up until the turbo swap, due to a bad fuel pump, and it was my fault as I KNEW it was going bad. I'm sure most of you know how many times I've been stuck since the turbo swap.... five or six times in like 6 mos. Most of them due to mechanical issues, which gets me even more. Lately I'd been enjoying a relative 'quiet time' since the head gasket blew a couple months ago, with the only real worries that I needed new bushings, and to replace my rear main seal. But now.... In the last few weeks my car has started to run way too warm, or at least, much warmer, relatively, than it ever had before, even after replacing every replacement item of the cooling system minus the radiator itself, has started making a very strange rattle noise at 1500rpm from the rear of the car, has started making grinding noises from the clutch, is getting very hard to put into 1st gear when sitting still, has started leaking gas badly from the gas cap every time I make a left turn, and now yesterday my brakes started acting real weird, getting very soft for no apparent reason, and my fuel pump has started acting weird, a brand new MSD... refusing to turn on instantly when I turn the key, sometimes taking as long as 10 seconds before it turns on. And of course there's still the everpresent smell of exhaust and cooking oil to contend with any time I want to roll the windows down.... and now fuel too any time I make a left... So... I give. I'm going to take the money I was saving up for the rear seal, new clutch, fuel pressure regulator, and bushings, and try to find myself a nice reliable daily driver... hopefully I can find something halfway decent for under $1500. The Z will be relegated to... hell I dunno. Joyrides around where I live are nearly impossible... unless I take them at 3 in the morning, and as it stands now I dont trust the Z to drive it too far from home. So... I'll take it for an obligatory weekly spin just to keep the fluids fresh and moving. Otherwise it will stay parked and slowly worked on as money allows (read: very slowly). It really breaks my heart that, after all I've put into this car, I can't even trust it to get me to work every day or take me on an out of town trip and get me back. I know there will be benefits to not driving it every day... but it still sucks. So guys... $1500.... any good suggestions for daily transpo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 Well, it won't be a Z, but for $1500 you could probly pick up a decent little Suzuki Swift GT. They are small, good on fuel, Reliable, and somewhat quick (for what they are..) And ussually when they need work, the parts are DIRT cheep! Throw a set of 15" rims w/lo pro rubber, and you'll be suprised how well they handle too! Or if you can find one, a Nissan NX1600 or NX2000 (dono if you got those where you live..they were somewhat rare around here) They are kinda the Nissan equivalent of the Suzuki, but a better overall car (and faster ) There are a lot of other choices out there that fit the "Reliable/Cheep/daily driver" classification.. These are just my two picks off the top of my head.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 Sorry to hear about your continuing problems Bastaad. BUT... Joyrides around where I live are nearly impossible... unless I take them at 3 in the morning, and as it stands now I dont trust the Z to drive it too far from home. What about these: Topanga Cyn Rd Mulholland Stunt Rd Decker Cyn Trabuco Cyn Encinal Cyn Latigo Cyn Potrero Cyn Tuna Cyn Man I miss those roads... better get your brakes fixed first. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 And now at least one more person understands why I opted for a "stock" LS1. It runs day in and day out at 180°F, with and without AC. It starts every time, needs a tune-up once every 100,000 miles, and absolutely whumps on most imports and domestics while still getting 20-22 mpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 My turbo conversion has been rock solid since I solved my ignition problems and swapped in the Z31 stuff. The car can be a daily driver, nothing I've fixed once has failed again. Of course I haven't used it as a daily driver for 2 years now, but that's the thing with older cars - expect to repair it and keep up with the maintenance. Several advantages I notice with not using my Z as a daily driver: Less tickets, less wear and tear, and the most interesting - the boost addiction isn't so strong. I drive the slowest car on the road every day. When I do get in the Z it could still have stock boost, and it would feel dangerously fast!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 Are the Suzuki's reliable? I always had the impression they broke down all the time. Jmortensen - yeah i've utilized a few of those roads in the past. I meant joyrides as in just going out for a cruise with my wife, not going on my own private roller coaster ride. And anyways, more than just the brakes are keeping me from wanting to try any mountain roads lately. I used to hit mullholland all the time with my built N/A motor.... but I just dont trust the turbo to do it. Sleeper - dont get me wrong bro I know mine is more of an exception than the rule. Not trying to make it sound like turbo cars in general are unreliable, though that was the way I used to feel. A lot of the problems I'm having now have nothing to do with the motor being turbo, anyways. And the stock ECU is working alright, I mean it starts right up, idles fine, and drives fine. I haven't had a ticket in about 5 years with a Z as my daily driver... the last ticket I had was for speeding... in my wife's Camry!! And before with the N/A motor I used to drive like a NUT! Mountain roads at 80-90mph, late night freeway driving at 120+. I have always seemed to have a good "spider sense" that goes off in my head when cops are near... sounds rediculous but I swear it's true!! And you are right about one thing... driving a slow car definately gives a new appreciation for my Z and makes it feel fast and scary!!! I experienced this big time after I drove my wifes Geo for two weeks. Phantom - bro... if I could afford it, I'd have one too Well there's always the option of selling my Z now... with the blown gasket guys were offering me $3500 in a heartbeat. I figure $4000-5000 for the way it is now, and add the $1000-1500 I'm saving, and buy a done V8 hybrid? Heh... tempting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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