Hey all, I've got a 95 NA aus spec and I'm about 200km away from 300k, I use mine as a daily city driver + open road country driving so need a timing kit asap and I've been checking for Rob to restock with no luck so wondering if this car craze one is any good? https://www.carcraze.com.au/genuine-nissan-300zx-z32-vg30-timing-belt-kit-valu More concerned about mine being a 95 so I believe some seals are different and don't know if this kit have the right ones. Aswell looking for advice on any other things I should do given my motor is completely stock and outside of basic servicing untouched. Lastly one concern, sometimes when a bit cold if I accelerate and press in the clutch and completely let go of the accelerator revs will drop so quick the motor dies, is this just a cold motor thing? Vacuum issues? Worn motor? I do all my own work so can do any recommend tests and checks while I'm in there. This is also the most modern car I own so used to cold motors not wanting to run on my 50-70's cars. Thanks in advance and have a great day.
Not loving how much it skips out on compared to Robs kit but my hands are tied for options... Also seems it is the wrong stuff, any alternatives or timeline for Rob to restock?? I thought I'd have more time but I've done 7,000km just in the last 2.5 months alone.
As much as an OEM kit is nice to have, I'm am going to be trying to use aftermarket OEM equivalent alternatives for my next 100k service kit. I've already purchased my diy aftermarket kit with a gates water pump, thermostat and drive belts. For the timing belt kit itself I've gone with a nasons timing belt kit which included a gates timing belt and a full set of cam and crank seals as well as full set of tensioner pulleys. For the timing tensioner I went with a dayco tensioner which I'll have to install onto one of my previous OEM tensioner assemblies along with a new pulley. I'll be reusing the crank sprocket as I have 3 spare now The only OEM parts I had to purchase was the cam gear tension springs and o-ring seals from Nissan. As I work for Repco the kit ended up costing me around about $500-$600 total in parts which I think is a decent saving compared to the OEM kits out there atm. Most of these parts can be purchased at Repco, Supercheap etc from local suppliers if not in stock besides the OEM parts. If you need assistances PM me and I'll help any way I can.
timing tensioner is a Dayco p/n is hat44, the camshaft seals are available online, look at the part number on the old seals. in fact all the necessary parts can be sourced online, Or even better take up the offer by ADAMZX.
Also there is no differences for any of the timing components on an early model or later model vg30 engine.
Hi, First I totally get the frustration of parts not being in stock when you want them, and in the case of the Japanese components I use in the kit it can often be a long wait for manufacturers to provide the stock to me. Believe me it is just as frustrating not being able to sell them to you That being said, the missing parts are sitting in a box waiting for DHL, so with any sort of luck I'll bave kits available to order next week. Re aftermarket parts they can be just as good, but often not, the trick is to know what's what. The Dayco tensioner for example mentioned above; I have personally seen three, maybe four fail prematurely. I will never fit, nor sell one again as it just isn't worth the assosciated risk. The OEM tensioner assemblies make up nearly half the value of the kit I sell, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Take that with as large a grain of salt as you like.
If that’s the case I’ll wait till next week to pick one up! As well as the EGR delete do you have any recommendations for preventative maintenance on a well traveled Z while I’m working on it?
Not disagreeing with you at all, Rob. I know you’re a very knowledgeable Z owner/mechanic and you’ve serviced far more 300ZXs than I ever will. I respect that experience. That said, after working in the automotive parts industry for over 10 years at Repco, I’ve learned a few important things about how the industry actually works. One of the biggest is this: Nissan doesn’t physically manufacture most of their own parts. Like most car manufacturers, they contract OEM suppliers to produce parts to Nissan’s specifications. Those suppliers manufacture the component, package it in a Nissan box, and it’s sold through Nissan’s network. So in theory, if we can identify the actual OEM manufacturer of a part—say the hydraulic tensioner—there’s potential to source the same (or equivalent) component without the Nissan markup. Cutting out the middleman could mean better pricing on what is fundamentally the same spec part. Wouldn’t that be ideal? Rob, I’m genuinely curious about the Dayco tensioners you’ve seen fail. What kind of failures occurred? Did they directly cause engine failure, or was it a combination of contributing factors? I think that context matters. My Z has had two 100,000 km major services in its lifetime. Both times, I followed the common advice: “Only use OEM parts for a 300ZX.” But after a decade in the parts industry, that blanket OEM-only mindset doesn’t make as much sense to me anymore. Since Nissan contracts manufacturers to produce their components, OEM doesn’t always mean uniquely superior—it often just means branded and priced accordingly. This time around, I chose to use my staff discount and go the aftermarket route. So far, that decision has saved me around $500 on parts alone. With that saving, I was able to include additional items—spark plugs and a set of Rob’s alloy coolant bypass pipes—adding more overall value to the service than a typical OEM 100k kit provides. I understand there’s risk involved, and I’m willing to take that risk on my own car. If nobody ever tests alternatives, how can we say with certainty that something will fail every single time? You mentioned you’ve seen three Dayco tensioners fail. That’s definitely worth noting. But I’d also be interested to know: How many Dayco tensioners have you installed in total? How many have not failed? What’s the overall failure rate from your experience? A sample of three failures alone isn’t enough, in my opinion, to completely rule something out without knowing the broader context. I plan to document my experience with the Dayco tensioner during my next 100k service and report back over time. My Z is a daily driver, so I’ll get real-world data over the next 5–10 years. Now, let’s talk warranties—because this is another big factor. I sell parts every day. Most aftermarket components come with at least a 12-month manufacturer warranty, sometimes longer. If a Dayco tensioner failed within that period, I’d be covered. That raises another question: what does the warranty process look like for OEM parts purchased through places like CZP, Z1, or even a local workshop? What’s the turnaround time? Do parts need to be shipped away for assessment? At least with Repco, I can walk into a local store and begin the warranty process immediately, face-to-face. I’ve handled those claims myself for customers many times. That convenience has value. Thankfully, OEM tensioner failures seem rare—but they’re not impossible. And if one did fail, I imagine dealing with an online warranty claim could potentially be slower or more complicated than an in-store process. Lastly, here’s something not many people talk about: what happens if Nissan discontinues the OEM hydraulic tensioner altogether? These cars are getting older. If the OEM part becomes unavailable, what are owners supposed to do during a 100k service? Hunt for new-old-stock at inflated prices? Pay double or triple because “OEM only” has driven up scarcity? We’ve already seen similar debates—like some UK Z32 owners insisting on OEM oil filters only. But again, Nissan doesn’t manufacture oil filters either; they contract a supplier. Often the aftermarket equivalent is produced by the same or comparable manufacturer, just without the Nissan branding. At the end of the day, I’m not telling anyone what they should or shouldn’t use. I’m just sharing perspective based on my experience in the parts industry. Everyone should make their own informed decision. For me, the cost savings, warranty accessibility, and understanding of how OEM sourcing works make the aftermarket route worth trying. The ball is always in your court—I just think it’s important for people to have all the information before deciding.
Thank you very much for the offer, if Rob’s stuff ends up having further delays I’ll shoot you a message.
Also every time I come back to this forum I’m reminded how much Alex loves to write essays ahah, your English highschool teacher must of loved you. Appreciate the commitment though
Always here to help other Z owners where I can. I think you mean Adam right . To be honest chat gpt is the one that fine tuned my response. I hated English to be honest and almost failed it back in the day. Which is why I've turned to using chat gpt to properly fix my posts lately and the differences is amazing when comparing from what I wrote to what chat gpt wrote. In my original post I had written a few long winded bunch of paragraphs to explain my point of view on the topic which I thought relayed my thoughts the best I could write them down on but then I used chat gpt and it was able to shorten my post, corrected all of my grammer and punctuation mistakes as well as improved it to say what I was trying to say in my post in a much more formal and professional manner and it turned out to be 10x better then anything I could have written myself. I love it. I just hope that the information I provided in my post might help to change people's minds in the future about buying spare parts for our aging cars where maintance costs are only going to get more expensive and some not so wealthly owners may need to use cheaper aftermarket alternatives to keep their pride and joy 300zx on the road like me but not at the cost of quality and reliability.
Hi Adam, there's a little bit more here than I have time to respond to directly but I'll get to the main questions I don't disagree that Nissan doesn't make parts, and I don't disagree that the OE parts can often be bought with the manufacturer's label. However, the Dayco hydraulic tensioner, which is also sold under a few other labels, is not the OE one. The hydraulic assembly collapses prematurely and does not maintain correct tension on the belt. In the instances I've seen no this did not lead to catastrophic engine failure, but it could well have. You should absolutely do what you like with your own car. I am simply sharing my experience. I don't know if it will fail every time. I do know that I have never experienced an OEM tensioner failing within the recommended service interval, and that's good enough for me. Too many. I'm not sure what broader context you're referring to. The parts were installed per manufacturer's procedure, including belt tension set correctly with a force gauge (that I am willing to be most people don't bother with) per the FSM, and it failed. I don't really see what other contextual data is relevant; there's nothing that would mitigate the circumstances of the failure. I sell parts every day, too. I warrant the parts for two years, regardless of what the manufacturer does or doesn't offer. Yes the failed tensioner is covered by a manufacturer's warranty, the time taken to replace the part is not, nor is damage that may result from the failed component. This is a bit of a red herring. Again I'll speak to how I do business. I have a clearly outlined procedure for warranties that is outlined in the T's & C's, and I imagine the other retailers you mentioned do, too. If an OEM tensioner purchased with one of my timing kits fails within the warranty period you return it to me in Sydney (post or in person), I confirm the fault, and then either refund or replace the part. I am confident that I will never have to do this with an OEM tensioner, but that is the contract entered into at the time of sale. To be clear I couldn't care less what somebody else chooses to do with their car. I am interested in exchanging accurate information on this platform. The Dayco product is not the same as, or equivelent to, OEM. Use that information as you will.
I think Rob has done a solid job responding and I agree with what he's said. The key point to highlight here is what is the degree of risk with the part failing, and what is the value of the vehicle it's going on? A Z32 timing belt tensioner failure will almost always result in catastrophic engine damage, is that worth the risk for a relatively small cost difference between OE and aftermarket? There are a lot of parts I will happily use non-genuine, and some brands are definitely better than others. But there are some parts I won't cheap out on because of the risk if they fail, or time involved to do the job again if they fail prematurely. Would I run Gates drive belts? Absolutely - Would I run a brake seal kit off aliexpress? Nope. While OEM's contract out the manufacture of a lot of their parts to other brands, this does not necessarily mean they will produce a part to the same standard as they do for the OE. Case in point I recently purchased a timing chain kit for my VQ40 Navara which included a Hitachi water pump, Hitachi being the OE supplier for Nissan. The casting and build quality was so poor I ended up getting my money back from the supplier, so Hitachi clearly have different quality standards. Just because you can go aftermarket, doesn't always mean you should.
