Z32 Mechanic for service Melbourne - preferably SE

Hey all - so I have 2 z's that I want to get serviced - we have a solid mechanic but really would like a z specialist to look them over.

Lindsay from z shop is fully booked. Heard he is quite good. Researched another shop Dontex, apparently there was a guy Joe that is also a z specialist that ran it or worked there - they have changed owners a couple of years ago.

Prefer SE suburbs.

Any suggestions.

 

Westside Automotive Solution in Truganina
0404153375

I take mine to

Concept Automotive Industries in Greensborough
0427266584 Brent

 

Joe has worked at many shops over the years but he's been retired for a long time now.

You don't need a Z specialist for a regular service. If it's just an oil change your local Ultra Tune or small mechanic can all do it since the oil filter and drain plug are right next to each other. Not

Go buy a jack, pair of stands, oil + filter will cost you the same as the service itself.

 

Wallards Automotive in Bulleen have been working on Z32s for many years. Speak to Brett there, he'll be able to help you. Unfortunately, Z32 specialist mechanics in Melbourne are a rare breed these days. There was a time, many years ago where we had a few options. Bot not anymore.

 

Mike you forgot the cost of a sledge hammer and blocks of hardwood, for belting the radiator support frame back into shape. Gah, how many DIY'ers and even mechanics have jacked these cars up via the rad support?

Ah the memories

 

Spot on Mark. It's largely down to the diehards these days. Sad to see this forum no longer being used as a technical resource for DIY.

 

True Mick. I still DIY most things, but I'm getting lazy. Also, I haven't worked on the Zed for so long (outside of just normal servicing), that I think I'd need to muster up some courage again . Still, there are some thing that I still wouldn't tackle myself, and for that, you need a trusted mechanic. But they are few and far between these days. Although, if some serious work is required I'd be visiting Wallards or Revzone here in Melb.

 

I totally get that, about "the courage". We both binged on getting our Zeds just so, you moreso than me
We both ended up with fairly bullet-proof cars so we put the tools & service manuals away and got on with life. And over the last 10 years or so we might have lost the edge, if that makes sense?

Actually, we earned the right to some trouble-free motoring after all that work

Agreed, and living in rural Aus the choices are listed in the dictionary under Z ( funnily enough )
They are zilch zip and zero

 

This thread has popped up at the right time. Took my zed for a quick spin the other day to keep the battery charged and it dawned on me that a service is due - then I realised that Joe was the last one to give her a service - oops! So Wallards is the way to go for SE side?

 

I might need to give Wallards a go at some point too, report back Col!
Tekky has serviced my zed in the past too, before he moved to the city though, any idea if he still does work?

 

Will do.

 

Give them a go Col. Good ol Dougy used to bring his Zed there all the time. And I know they've had a couple zeds there in the last few months. In fact, Tony from NDSOC was out there just a few weeks ago addressing a tuning issue with one of the cars. The days of relying on Joe are over unfortunately, so we need to put our trust in someone else. My car is also nearing the next 100km service. It hasn't done the kms, but its been about 9 years now since Joe did the 100km service for me when he was still at Dontex. Its probably only done about 40000km in that time, but still worth doing after 10 years I think. So I'll be paying Wallards a visit as well at some point.

 

I'm in the same situation mate, around 40K km's since the rebuild 10 years ago.
As for the 100K service? Hard to justify in our cases. I'm thinking of just replacing the timing belt. The bearings are spec'd for km's, not age. Same for the water pump and camshaft seals. The belt tensioner? it's just a spring loaded plunger in a lubed chamber with a seal on it as far as I can recall.
The most likely to fail part from age alone is the timing belt, the other bits no so much.

Happy to be corrected though

 

Thanks Rob. That seems counter-intuitive but coming from you I'll take it as gospel.
And after posting I realised I was wrong about the belt tensioner, ours are not old skool spring loaded types. So, should those of us with low usage cars be more concerned about the tensioner than the belt?

 

Thanks for the info Rob and Mick . Looks like I don't need to rush to get the belt replaced then.

 

You should still change it based on time, it's under tension for a long period of time and would have stretched. Between 5-7 years regardless of KMs is good practice.

When I bought my 34 the orig owner did maybe 25,000kms in 10 years and simply couldn't be bothered doing the timing belt major and said it's fine haven't done anywhere near 100,000kms. I managed to get some $$ off because of this and when comparing the brand new timing belt and the 10 year old one, it had stretched and they were different lengths. It was marginal but do you really want to take the chance of it snapping?

 

I'm nervous about opening a can of feral worms here Mike but I think the belt is only under serious tension while the engine is running. At rest you can wiggle the belt and it gets noticeably slack, especially in the longer sections.

I thought their normal mode of failure is that the teeth wear out from mileage or just randomly strip off, usually from oil / coolant contamination. Or from lumpy dirt build-ups on the idler bearings and tensioner, causing the belt to weaken along some of the internal ribs and fail to support the teeth across their entire width. Or forcing the belt off it's centreline, making it rub against flanges or panels and get very hot, plus thinner over time in extreme cases. Visual inspection ftw.
Remember this pic of a chafed timing belt from Chrispy? Around 2010

 

The chances of a belt snapping is actually pretty low. They're tough and I've never actually seen a snapped timing belt. It will however fatique with time as the rubber becomes older and harder, hairline cracks starts to form. Whether you should change it or not is purely for peace of mind as the small cost of doing so (at the right time) far outweighs the cost of a rebuild.