I'm officially a new guy. I got my first Z! I'm pretty happy about that. My question is what is the best oil (grade, make, synthetic or non?), plugs (regular, platinum, iridium), wires, etc. everything for a decent tuneup without breaking the bank. I'm going to bleed the brakes because they feel a little soft, I may just flush the system while I am at it. Also, this is my first carb. car. Is there anything I should keep an eye on (do's/dont') to owning one. The car has 53,000 miles on the original motor. Suggestions welcome!

Craig

Black260z formally Blue81z

 

Use conventional oil unless it was already using synthetic... NGK normal spark plugs (platinum / iridium are just costly hype... they make no improvements).

 

DON'T: Wreck It.

DO: Keep it Sexy.

DON'T: Rice It

Do: Bring it to the Shady Invitational next year.

DON'T: Drive it in the snow.....EVER!!!!

 

umm, arent the NGK's platinum anywho? ididium is pointless though, i use taylor hi-pro wires and love em. autozone's cap and rotors are kinda cheap so i would order yours from someplace good and re-nowned like thezstore or if nissan still has em. change all your fluids and you can use synthetics in the tranny and diff and motor if you want. i love my synthetic fluids, but in the motor you probly dont have to switch and should just use a blended brand. and carbs require tunning every now and tehn and the triple carbs are supposed to be a bitch to tune and synch though. need a pro im guessing to do that right.

 

not all NGKs are platinum.

 

Toronto is very fat from the Shady Invitational...

 

you just hurt Toronto's self esteem.

 

Ok thanks, what weight oil should I use? 5/10w30? I have heard of some people using 10w40 synthetic in older cars thats why I asked if I should use synthetic. I plan on changing the oil, maybe drive it for a week with a permit, then its going into my garage for the winter. I will do the full tuneup and the safety in the spring.

 

sorry, I didn't mean to call your city fat

 

So I picked up the car today instead. I absolutely love this car. It sounds and drives like a go kart lol.

Some bad news though, I asked the guy what oil he put in it and he said synthetic. And he said the car was good to go. I drove it home (hour drive) and I thought to myself... I took his word for it.. how much oil does this thing have? I let it sit for 15 and look and its right at low mark, at the bottom of all the |XXXXX| on the stick. And there was some steam coming out of the oil cap when I took it off. I run to the store and back and throw in 1 liter. After this I got paranoid and started looking for sounds like rocker/valve or bearing noises.

I hear one rocker or valve making a noise, but it is pretty faint. Hard to hear past the header.. But do you think having the oil that low for over an hour hurt the car? Or could this just be normal engine noise.. I wasn't going above 50mph and no flooring it. I'm just paranoid right now, I don't want to think I hurt it the first day I got it.

 

first thing to do with any new to you car is an oil change anyways. while not the best thing to happen, i doubt you did any permanent damage though.

 

cars fine, not like it was out of oil, ive seen many cars run with no oil and still turn out ok. lol. but since its synthetic you have to stay synthetic, no going back.

 

I don't remember hearing it before, but now I am looking to find a sound. So it could have been there before. Its very very minor, but I know better that is why I'm upset about it. The oil still looked fine, it was just directly on the bottom line..

Anyway, what weight oil would you recommend I put in 10w40 Mobil 1?
Would you recommend using Lucas Synthetic oil stabilizer or anything like that? This is a summer only car and it is going away in 1 week.

 

-Change the oil (use 10w-30 for now).
-Check the rocker to cam gaps.
-Don't use oil additives w/ synthetic.
-As long as you had oil pressure, the motor will be fine.

 

the oil pickup can still get oil until the oil level is way past the bottom mark on the dipstick.
The rockers in the straight six will always make noise. Some engines are noisier than others. Don't worry about it too much, but do some looking around on this forum for an article on doing a valve clearance adjustment. That'll be a good thing to try on your car. Also, find a Haynes manual on eBay for $5 or so for the 70-78 Z cars. Do not buy the Chilton's manual.
...or, if you can find a Nissan Factory Service manual for a 260Z or 240Z. Those are hard to find. eBay prices may be close to $100

 

The oil will be in the car from now until April. The car will be stored in a semi heated garage. (Apartment underground at my friends) I started my camaro once every two weeks during the winter, just to keep the oil flowing. I ran 5w30 when i stored it. Should I still use the 10w30?

 

Tomorrow I want to change the transmission and differential fluid on the car. Is the tranny and the diff both 80w90 gear or oil something. What fluid should I buy, and how many quarts of each? Do you guys have a preference.

I've noticed the tranny feeling a tad stickier then normal after Ive been driving for a while, and the tranny also starts to get really warm. So I think ill take the time and change every fluid.

P.S. - the trans is from a 280zx. 5spd, the rear end, he said something like 37 gearing? Not sure, but it looks like a stock rear end.

 

use a quality gear oil. Redline, Royal Purple, or Mobile1. and watch out, that stuff reeks.

 

thanks, how much fluid do I need for the transmission? And what weight gear oil would I use in the differential, and how much of it do I need.

 

All those questions can be answered in the 280zx Haynes manual. You really need to invest $14 in one. (Usually less than $14 on ebay).

-Fill the tranny till it's full... it will be full when the fluid starts to come back out the fill hole.

-Use the stock recommended weight.

-The Haynes manual / your local parts store will have the fill capacity.

 

welcome, noob-----pretty car----righteous mileaGE--LUCKY WITH LESS THAN 100K-----oops......toronto is COLD........ouch......

 

update - retarded kid rides his bike onto MY driveway and left a waffle sized scrape along the driver door, I don't even know this kid.. his red bike paint on my black car... his parents are refusing to pay for the damages. wtf is this world coming to... so angry

 

why are tehy refusing? call the police ****, they can match the scuff on your car to the scuff on his bike and you saw it and kids are to scared to lie to police. not like its something you can truly hold against him and press charges against teh little **** but you can at least get teh parent to pay for teh damages if they are more than a scuff/scratch.

EDIT: that of go ride your bike into their car. even steven.

 

go ride your other car over his bike.

 

There was 4 of them, I told them to get off my property because they were hiding around my car and one tried to hide inside my garage. They were coming close to the car with their bikes as I was washing it. I ran inside to get a sweater because I was leaving. I come out 2 minutes later and there is a bike beside my door with a scrape. The bike belongs to my neighbor but the kid riding it lives down the street.

I find the kids house and knock on the door, and his parents start yelling at me for accusing their kid. They say that if i didn't see it happen, they will not repair it. Even though the 3 other kids say he hit the car, dropped the bike and ran off. Its ironic how the story adds up but they deny it.

The scrape looks like it is mostly transfer, one chip by the door handle, and one longer scratch from the handle bar. The scrape might buff out, and the long scratch is not deep at all. A touch up pen and a good buff should hide most of it. I will take it to a body guy and see what they can do for me.