Auto Gurus help Needed, Recommend specialist shop in vic(long)

Adam, have you ruled out a good condition second hand box? I know you like new parts but if it's going to take you 6 months to save for the rebuild/new box then maybe a second hand would be better, just so you're back on the road sooner.

 

It's not such a bad idea. You can sell the 'temp' gearbox once your main box is back in for most of the cost you bought it for. You just lose out on a little bit of labour, but at least the zed is back on the road for summer.

 

dude what are you so depressed about ? lol. its only an auto you can pick them up for n/a for really cheap and there pretty easy to change over, consider yourself lucky iv just spent 6k on the z and its still not on the road

 

your lucky man you have this info, when i went to nissport cost me for a brand new tranny, $3200...should have done a manual conversion and gone to someone else...but adam hope things work out for you soon mate

 

the thing that depresses me is how the auto went bang in the first place. I really made an effort to look after my zed and still this happened and without warning. i also thought autos would only blow up if they were looked after or thrashed but not in my case, hence why i never did any preventative maintance. I do see the point about a second hand tranny, i just dunno, what if the spare auto blows up as well. I really need to find out why this happened first so i can fix it and it wont happen again. if i need to buy an aftermarket oil cooler then thats what ill do. The cost for the repair is what scaries me the most. $3000 is something i wont have for months and ive alrady promised to order more parts from cresta. I do feel silly doing that but i am doing a major overhaul of everything on my zed so mayb i could fix everything up now and not need to worry about it ever again.

 

3k? dude, buy a box for like 900bux and do it yourself. its pretty easy dude, just read up on it you will be surprised.

 

Adam, please don't take this as criticism, but I feel this is a good time for a few gentle reminders for you & the wider zed community:

* All of our cars are now old. Even a 2000 model is 7 years old (ie a long way from new). A 1989 model is postitively ancient in performance car terms.
* Being performance cars they are going to have had a hard life. It is a testament to Nissan engineering that they last as long as they do.
* If someone has abused your car prior to you owning it, things will just break.
* Hell things will just break anyway some times. Don't be afraid - get out there and enjoy your car (ie come on some twisty cruises and feel your car come alive)
* Preventative maintenance is mandatory - not optional. Anyone who skips on this is asking for trouble (and usually gets it).
* These cars do cost money to own and operate. If you are short on funds, spend money wisely (ie spend it on making sure your car is solid rather than making it look pretty). Do not forget these cars were $90k when they were new.

Keep your chin up. There will be a way around this problem. Maybe you try the 2nd hand gearbox. Maybe it will blow up. But maybe the 6 month layoff without driving the car causes other issues. Only you can make these decisions. I understand that you want a 100% reliable car, but you pretty much have 4 options:
1/ Sell the zed and buy a toyota corolla.
2/ Sell the zed and buy a 2000 spec that has only 7 years wear and tear.
3/ Magically get $100,000 and spend it on replacing every concievable component on your existing car.
4/ Adjust your expectations: You own an old performance car. On a shoe-string budget. It is only a matter of time before these cars bite you. It is all about minimising issues.

** All said with the warmth from one zed owner to another - no malice intended ** :zlove: :zlove:

 

That's about right for a tricked up auto. Tony makes some serious modifications - firm shifting that you won't believe.

 

no chance dude. you could replace it with a great box and it could blow on you any minute. get a 2nd hand box that is in good condition. should be able to find out about less than 600. fit it in and drive on. untill you can afford such a gearbox that you want then fit that later on and sell the one you would have installed. if you get a good condition one, hook up an external cooler, with an aftermarket oil temp gauge im pretty sure you wouldnt even think of getting a newer one if its running sweet. almost all auto boxes in these cars that blow are from heat...

 

new tranny? no chance, maybe a reco one with warranty dude. a brand new tranny for our cars will be $$$$ if you can find it. i think you were told a fib

 

thanx for the comments guys. I can tell everyone now i will never sell my zed no matter what. I understand the Z32 is an old car and thats why i thought i would treat her right and maintain here as the nissan bible stated to. I now wished i had got my auto serviced by joe back in jan when i did the 100k serivce but i think at the time no1 said it was nesscessary and that would have cost mayb an extra $700 ontop of the $1700 i paird for just the 100k serivce which was pushing my budget yet again.

The $3000 estimate is a worst case senerio im looking at for a proper recon auto. This i asked both tony and Joe and both agree this could be the amount of money i need to fix the auto, but thats if i had totally ****ed my auto. I am taking it on the chin as best i can and trying to look on the bright side of things, i did have big plans for my project i wanted to show everyone, but thats now gonna have to wait. I will make it through this obsticle one way or another, and i appreciate everyones adivce and support. I want to wait and see what joe says about the auto first, before i consider a spare auto transplant, if joe knows where i can get a auto from and suggest i do that and he organise that for me i might go that route, but its too early for me to consider that.

 

mate just put a second hand Auto in, a rebuild will cost $2500++++
Should be able to find an second hand auto localy for about $500.

 

Old age killed it ...

... high operating temps (120+ degrees=normal) + wear and tear on clutch plates, bands and bearings eventually destroys an auto tranny.

Mine went a couple of years ago and I fitted a $500 second hand tranny but upgraded the valve-body to provide better lube of planetry gears etc. This may also be known as a shift-kit mod, although not all shift-kits include re-machining of valve body to provide improved lube/cooling & solenoid packs are often not replaced.

I fitted a seperate oil cooler as per t/a; an absolute must for longevity! [Transmission, not me ]

Karl 90TTZ has a modded auto F/S, which you might consider buying, as $3k may not cover a full rebuild + VB upgrade + R&R.

 

Update

Ok today is the day i find out whats wrong with my poor zed. I just had it put onto a flat bed tow truck and its being sent to Joe in Vermont as we speak. Ive now concluded the information i first posted gave people the idea i crunched my auto gears but i think now the auto actually went bang not crunch. So i hope this may lead to less damage then what people have been post for me. I may be wrong but until joe calls me back to tell me what is wrong i am just guessing whats happened to the box.

Wish me luck and hopefully i can get the zed back on the road sooner rather then later

I would like to thank Ryan for giving me Jack's number from City Wide Towing who only charged me $120 for the towing of the zed from altona to vermont.

 

good luck man and i hope everything is resolved quickly...also did jack remember me...but he is a good towy and he doesnt charge anything really...he nearly uses that much fuel just towing the truck that far...but good luck man

 

Fingers crossed for you mate! Never nice to see a broken zed Lets just hope whatever it is, is easily fixed and that Joe has all parts required for a quick in and out fix

 

as i mentioned you could have joined racv days before, total care for $168. this would had entitled you to get towed even accross australia if you wanted to. you get the membership for the whole year etc. good luck with the results but if you unable to get it repaired this means your going to have to pay for another truck, when it would have been all covered by racv towing. not to mention you could also get taxi included to go pick your car up or go somewhere you need to be included.

regardless good luck with results dude

 

Adam,
I know exactly how you fell,having the same problem two days after i got the car.Faced with the major decision of such a large repair bill.
I had my car towed to DTM Racing Transmissions in Geelong [ Nissan send their autos there ] the cost was $3000 with 3year warr.

If i had to do it again as has been said in other posts I would go the second hand option as I only do 4000 ks a year.

I hope it turns out ok so you can enjoy the ZED.

 

Another Update

Ok yesterday i called Joe midday as i hadnt heard from him the day before. Now he has removed my Auto and has sent it off to the auto specialist to get checked out. He stated the oil leak on the mainfold was due to leaking rocker cover gaskets which would require 8 hours for a plenemn pull, and as im short of funds and just want the car back on the road i told him to leave it for another day. Now he will get replacing my leaking rear main seal as well, so hopefully the auto is only around $500 - $700 to fix or i may need to consider other options. He also stated he will install a separate oil cooler as well to protect the auto from this again.

 

Well i got the bad news tongiht

Well i got a meesage from my parents telling me I got my quote for the repair of the auto and it is the worst news i was expect.

$2700 for a full auto recon and rebuild. I cant afford this at all and im now having to look at my other options which is probably a second hand auto.

I still havent got the exact details but it seems a small part broke and totally destoryed the auto making it not even worth fixing. The quote is for a fully rebuilt and reconed auto to be put it.

Atm im thinking i need to pay joe for the labour they have gone so far (roughly $300 - $400) and get my car towerd back home. Im not going to leave my zed there and get charged for storage. I dunno how long this will take but im really shocked thw auto broke in the first polace with no signs of problems for 1 full year of driving. I also figure ill get a supper oil cooler from caz and have joe install that while im at it.

Anyone know where i can get a working second hand NA auto from 2??