entropy31

yippee, coolant puddle. pull off the plastic shield, and its dripping off the crank pulley. whats right above that??? you guessed it . i hate dropping it off somewhere, but with my new job, i hardly have time to get into it, out of town too much. i read the writeup, doesnt look too bad, but the time thing...... tough decision.

entropy31

you know what, screw it. i think i will just take it in and have the whole 60k package done. if its getting taken apart that much, it may as well have all of that stuff done. the previous owner said it was done, but hey, better safe than sorry. i just wish i had the time to do it myself.

silvrhand

yah better to just have it done and over with.

entropy31

well, i think i might have time to do the pump, but not the time to get to the rest of the stuff. havent been able to get ahold of any shops (saturday) and i leave for a week on monday. i read the writeup, and it does not look to be a difficult job, just lots of removing crap. is this something i want to tackle in a limited time schedule? i hear 2 hours if you dont hit any snags. only water pump i have done is on a blazer.

CanyonCarver

You should be able to get it done in 2 - 3 hours. Have a crank pulley puller handy. Install new upper and lower radiator hoses while they're out too.

entropy31

well, got an appointment with the stealership . gonna do the full 60k. i just dont have time to wait for the parts. i have heard they have a good z guy, so fingers crossed. luckily i got to take a company van for the weekend.

RodMoyes

Probably the best way to go with the sole exception of the cost...


Rod.

entropy31

you know the z32 motto. "you better have a few grand set aside just in case".

hoov100

holy $#!^ if my car ever needs more then 1.5k i better have a blown motor, totaled car, dea....because i would be fu**ing screwed if my car would ever needed alot of work..luckily the PO is paying for my 120k service because he didnt do the first 60k..

entropy31

oh, its not gonna be a couple grand. actually, about a grand. when i figure in the cost of parts, i dont feel TOO raped.

z-hag

dog! i'm female, and i have never had to take my car to stealerships--been clued in re: specialty and independents since race work days, and i always fixed my VW's myself--but, even at retail in a specialty shop on my z31, i never paid more than 500$ for that work--i guess they were right--having a z32 is like having a boat--break out another thou-------!

entropy31

trust me, i would not be taking it there if i had the time. i would prefer a specialty shop, or really i would rather do it myself. but i am gonna be out of town, all the specialty shops are booked for at least a week, and its my only car. so, necessity takes precedence. as for the price, i had a z31 before this, and yes, it cost a good deal less to maintain. z32 is not for someone that has a problem with maintinence costs. wish i was in san diego, it would be going to z-whizz.

snwbrderphat540

i thought the 60k was only neccessary on the TT and it was a bit more miles until an N/A needed it. where the hell did i read that?

hoov100

well, im at 117k on the original belt and drive it to the limits and back weekly and it hasnt broken YET

entropy31

the manual says 105k for the NA, at least on later models. i have heard that this is a mis-print though. either way, on an interference engine, i would rather be safe than sorry. as long as they have it apart that far, there is no reason not to do everything. that is the idea behind preventitive maintainance, you PREVENT problems before they arrise,

RodMoyes

Z-Whizz isn't what it used to be... They work on everything now and rarely do I even see a Z there anymore at all...


Rod.

CanyonCarver

Wow, you're pushing your luck. T-belt at the stealership is cheap compared to having your heads rebuilt anywhere. Do you just plan on junking the car when the belt breaks?


~$1k isn't bad at the stealership. I just hope they replace the tensioner, pullies and seals. I'd make sure and get the old parts back when they're done so you will see what they actually replaced.

entropy31

yeah, i'll be leaving instructions to save all parts and return them to me.

hoov100

"Do you just plan on junking the car when the belt breaks?" no, either a TT swap or a vq swap (mainly so i can say i did it..)

90zx'er

dude, got a 50 its not your pump...its the hoses conecting it to the flow tubes..they are held on buy those stupid compression clamps, not a hose clamp..the hoses leak out around the alluminnum tubes..mine had corrosion between the rubber and alluminnum causing water to slowly leak out.. most likely from not correct amount of coolant to stop corrosion on alluminnum..
as far as repair time.. i came home from work like 3 days in a row and did it..its as easy as takeing parts off and putting them back on..did have to buy a puller and allen wrenches.. i replased the pump because i bought ALL new parts. they were corroded and was not going to do it again.. i also added a alluminnum crank pully..my point is though that its most likely a leak

damn thing feels like driveing a cruise missle....

entropy31

no, it was deffinately the pump. i know how a water pump leak behaves compared to a hose leak, and had a pretty good idea what the problem was before i even opened the hood. i had it apart a bit before i decided to take it in. as for the time factor, i had to leave on a buisiness trip, and being that it is my only car, i needed it to be running as soon as i returned from the trip. so i just bit the bullet and took it in. bright side, i will have all new timing parts, hoses, belts, basically everything on the way to the water pump.

nismo619

I dont know who told u 2 or 3 hours... the first time i did the water pump on my 1993 300zx it took me a half a day just to figure out were and what to take off never the less i got everythign apart.. i sanded and polished the intake and outlet water pipes.. but when i got down to the water pump i ran into a problem there is a sheild that seems to hold everything on.. i gave up.. and put everything back on.. my car doesnt keep good pressure because of water pump small leak... 2 or 3 drips ever few days

Goofyz

yes, the Z 's waterpump is a pain, but you can take one out and put a new one in if you have 4 hours to kill and have done it before. You have to take off the belts, the crank pully, the timing belt covers (nevermind the hoses drain the radiator, remove the radiator, the shroud,the fan and remove the PTU (off to the side). Get a good allen set for your rachet as it will come in handy for the shrouds, the crank will come off pretty easily IF you have done it before and there is no rust...if there is get a 2x4 and place it over the crank and smack the lumber a few times then spray the liquid wrench in the slot where the key is and take your time with the puller, nothing worse then snapping one of those bolts. believe it or not you can, in a pinch use 2 of the longer shroud cover bolts to pull out the crank. if you have a dremel use it to smooth the two pipe fittings that are above the pump and have those silly little hoses attached to them as they do tend to corrode a bit and WILL leak after you put everythign back together if you don't remove the corrosion. That pump will want to stay where it is and you might have to get rough with it to break that hold the RTV has on it but before you do it...make sure that you have all the bolts out of it.

just remember there isn't any shorcuts to doing this job and don't leave the shrouds off cause you think it looks cool cause they do a really good job of keeping oil and dirt and water off the timing belt.

I know all this cause my belt was overtightened and caused my pump to fail after only 7k miles and i have done this job a few times now... I have also done the A/C compressor (removal/install new) and i can do that job in about 1.5 hours complete. But to be honest, once i hit the lotto, ill pay people to bring me cheese and wine while i watch someone else struggle doing these jobs on a car.