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Get some electrical contact cleaner spray from Radio Shack or your auto parts store. Tape up a flat bladed screw driver (To prevent scratching the plastic panels) and pry up the plastic panel that holds the power window switches in the arm rest. From the bottom of the switch and from the top, spray liberal amounts into the switch and cycle the switch many times to try and clean the contacts inside. Do this with the ignition turned off! Allow ample time for the fluid to evaporate from inside the switch, turn on the ignition and give it a try. You may have to repeat the process several times. If it works, great. If it doesn't, its time to replace the switch, which should be fairly obvious as to how to do at this stage, since you already have it apart. Good luck!

My 90 Nissan 300ZX now has a late model Toyota Camry power antenna mast in it. Same manufacturer for both.

First off, you should flush out all of the old brake fluid every 3 years, and replace it with new fluid. The darn stuff absorbs water from the air and rusts out your steel brake lines and calipers from the inside. Start by topping up the brake reservoir, being careful not to spill any fluid on your paint, as it will strip it right down to bare metal. Also, if you get any on your hands, don't touch any plastic parts of the car as it attacks certain plastics as well. Crack off each wheel nut on all 4 wheels, jack the car up, put safety stands under all 4 corners (or just do the rears first, then switch and do the fronts), and remove all of the wheels. Start by bleeding the wheel farthest from the reservoir, and then do each wheel that is next furthest away, and so on. Use a 6 point socket to break free the bleed screw (it might be slightly rusted in place and a 12 point wrench could slip and round out the bolt head pattern) and then tighten it again. Switch to a box end wrench and place it over the bleed screw. Slide one end of about 2 feet of clear plastic hose over the bleed screw and put the other end in a clear container that you can throw away when finished with. Now get a partner in the driver's seat to push down on the brake pedal and hold it onto the floor. You now crack open the bleed screw and watch the fluid rush out the tubing along with bubbles of air and old rusty coloured fluid. When the fluid stops moving, close the bleed screw and tell your partner to let the pedal up. On your cue, tell them to push the pedal to the floor again and hold it there while you watch for bubbles, then close the bleed screw. Repeat as many times as necessary until no more bubbles can be seen and you see clear/clean fluid when opening the bleed screw. Now tighten the bleed screw and wipe up any fluid spills. Now, refill the brake reservoir and do the same thing to the next wheel and so on. Remember to use the same DOT 3 or DOT 4 brake fluid that is stamped on the top of the brake reservoir cap, and to always top the reservoir to the "maximum" level marked on the reservoir side after bleeding each wheel. That's it in a nutshell other than to say "test the brakes in your driveway at slow speeds in both directions afterwards, before you venture out onto the streets". If you have any qualms about doing the job as described, or as to the quality of your workmanship when you are finished...don't drive the car! Have a professional check your work or take it to a professional to get the job done. Anyone else on the thread that can add anything that I've missed, please jump in! Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Been there, done that. Yup, I've even turned a bolt the wrong way on the opposite side of the car till it broke.To do the job with the least chance of injury to you, the least chance of botching it up to where you need to tow the car to a professional, and the least frustration, undo the flex hose from the caliper and remove the caliper from the car. Put the caliper in a vice and drill out the bolt, using a drill press if possible. Bleeding the wheel after everything is back on is no big deal, if you get a helper to pump the brake pedal at the appropriate time. Its a 2 man job if you don't want to buy a brake bleeding tool. Make sure that you use an actual brake wrench on the flex hose fitting! If you need further directions on that part of the job, get back to us and we'll give specific instructions. We salute you for tackling the job yourself!

The amount of debris that lodges between the hood deflector and the hood is VERY little. I've had mine on the car since 02 and I can't recall the last time I had to fish anything out from under it. As far as the tiny scratches that anything like that would do to the finish... I'll take them to any stone chips that give rust a place to start any day of the year. As far as a bra is concerned, I've had one on my 90 Nissan 300ZX (just a toy) since new...and my experience is exactly the same as with the hood deflector.....tiny scratches that can easily be buffed out....whereas a stone chip cannot. The only downside to the bra...if it gets wet, given enough time, if you don't take it off to let it dry out before reinstalling it, it will fog your paint. Again in my case, it never gets wet because I never take the toy out in the rain.

My 97 OBW developed the piston slap at 23 000 km. I lived with it until I sold the car at 140 000 km to buy my 02 OBW. It was annoying but did no damage to the engine all that time. My 02 has a less severe case of it as well (72 000 km) and I'm not concerned about it in any way. The car's other attributes make up for it in spades, looks, utility, gas mileage, and lack of white-knuckled winter driving. The 97 had one rear wheel bearing replaced under warranty at 56 000 km. The 02 had head gaskets replaced under warranty (they were leaking very tiny amounts of coolant onto the header pipes) at 38 000 km. I received the company recall notice last month concerning the coolant additive to prevent future headgasket leaking problems, and have not as of yet got to the dealership to get it done. I must do that soon.

The job is time consuming, not difficult, but will have frustrations. First, who's going to remove the rack from the wrecked car? It will take some time=money if the junk yard workers have to do it for you, meaning they may not let you remove it yourself. In both cars the A, B, C and D pillar mouldings (mouldings at the sides of the windshield, between the doors,and between the glass panels in the rear of the car) will have to be removed, and then the ceiling liner dropped down. Remove the mounting bolts and the rack lifts off. You then have to accurately measure the new mounting positions on your car, accurately drill holes through the roof and seal the edges of the holes to prevent rustout. You may be able to use the old gaskets from the other car, or make your own from rubber innertubes or gasket material. Mount the bolts, tighten them up, and replace the headlinner and all of the side mouldings. This isn't something that can be done in an hour or two, it will take some time, but should not be beyond the abilities of the average backyard mechanic who has been in the backyard awhile. You'll have to ask yourself if it will be worth this much trouble to you, and this much cost.

If there is no plug behind the door handle to pry up and reveal a screw, then the plastic surround of the door handle will just pop out if pried up at the ends. There should be a screw underneath. As far as the CD player is concerned, buy a CD multichanger that is FM modulated. That is, it connects to your existing radio system at the antenna. Basically you unplug the antenna wire from the back of the radio and plug it into a small FM unit of the CD player, and then plug a shortened antenna routing wire back into the radio. Install the CD changer anywhere in the car, power it and you're all set. The one I have has a wired remote to run the CD, but there are wireless remote models on the market. Now, all you do is turn on the radio to FM Stereo, tune to a preset frequency where there are no stations (mine was set at 89.1), turn on the CD and away you go. Your radio now broadcasts the CD signal throughout the car. You adjust it for volume, bass, etc., and the remote chooses the CD, track, fast forward, etc. The neat thing about it is that you can take it with you when you trade cars.

Don't know if this is what you want, but I leave my wiring harness inside the tool tray under the floor until needed. Then I lay it out the back of the car as close to the tailgate latch as possible without danger of it getting caught in the lock assembly when closing the hatch. Its worked for me on my 97 OBW and now on my 02 OBW. Its never out in the weather longer than it needs to be. When I'm done with it, a quick wipe to clean it up if necessary and then back under the floor.

Never seen an 05 but it can't be too different from my 02 OBW. Your approach will be similar in most areas, can't say for sure, as I've never had to pull my door panels on this car, but many others from many other cars over the years. If you have the tweeter speakers at the mirror, pry them off using a taped screwdriver blade (to keep from scratching the panels and plastic). The wires underneath are very fine and very short, so don't pull it out too far until you disconnect the harness connectors. If you have a clear or red lower panel side light at the bottom of the panel, pry off its lens, undo any screws you may find and disconnect the harness connector, if it is visible at this point. If it isn't, be aware that as the last step of disassembly of the door panel, you will have to reach in behind the panel to disconnect this harness. Under the door handle (pull it open and hold it) there is a cap. Pry it off and undo the screw underneath. Pry up the power window/door lock switch plate and disconnect the wiring harness connectors from the switches. You may find another screw in the opening that has to be taken off. The armrest may have a plug that can be pried off to reveal another screw underneath. In the front of the panel two thirds the way up from the bottom, may be another plug to pry out and unscrew another fastener. Now there will be at least 7 plastic plugs around the outside of the panel, evenly spaced, going along the bottom and up both sides. Put your screw driver blade in the space between the panel and the door's steel edge and slide it along until you feel a plug and pry it out. Repeat all along the door until the panel is free down both sides and across the bottom. Now lift the door panel straight up (don't forget any wiring harnesses still connected up). Putting the panel back on is just the reverse, except that when you slide the panel back into place, push the top against the glass as you slide it back down to centre it. Reconnect any harness connectors, align the plastic plugs with their holes in the steel door, and strike them with the flat of your hand to reseat them. The rest is straight forward. Yours can't be too much different from this. Give it a try and let us know how you make out. Good luck!

BE CAREFUL!!!!! The airbag assembly has an onboard capacitor that retains an electrical charge for as long as a half an hour after the battery has been disconnected. It could still fire off in that time if you are not careful. Pull the battery cable and wait 30 minutes to be safe, before you mess with the steering wheel. The backup system is designed into the airbags in the event that some severe collision should quickly cut the battery out of equation. In the case there would still be enough juice to fire off the bags and prevent injury to the occupants. Please don't quote me, but I believe this is what I have read somewhere in the last two or three years, I just can't recall where. Anyone else out there who can verify or update my information?

My 97 OBW had a similar problem, a Check Engine Light and a misfire code, but everything checked out fine. The dealer was given permission to change one component at a time to find the problem. First thing changed was the ignition coil and bingo! The problem was solved.

Got 4 sets into the back of my 02 OBW on the weekend and they fit perfectly. I ended up stacking 2 sets on top of the bottom two, but everything still went in just fine, with the back seats in their normal position.

Change your fluid to RedLine MT 90. I follow the Nissan 300ZX forum, called TwinTurbo.net, and the same problems you describe have been corrected by just changing the fluid. I've not done it to my 300, since there is nothing wrong with its tranny and its very low mileage, but so many respondents to that forum just rave about the shifting/grinding problems that the stuff cures. Its not cheap, but it certainly would be what I would try if I were in your shoes. Don't take my word for it, though, check out the website I gave above, and search the topics on grinding gears, transmission noises and problems. Good luck!

Modern day engine computers learn the driving style inputs of daily driving, and tune the car's systems accordingly. Many garages will tune up a car and then test drive it thrashing the daylights out of it for ten minutes or so. This reteaches the computer new performance demands. Then when the customer picks up the car, barely touches the accelerator and is shot back into the seat, they are convinced that they got their monies worth. Your short commute maybe have lulled your gem into complacency. Take her out onto the highway, give her the gears (using common sense of course) and clean the carbon out of her. Whether you have a manual or automatic, drop her down a gear from where you normally would drive at that speed, and watch your tach so that you don't overrev and hurt something. Ten miles or of hard performance driving may clear up your concerns. If it doesn't, then its time for a technician to have a look and pull some codes. Hope this works for you. Good luck!

For years now the guys and gals with 90-96 Nissan 300ZX's have been religiously using Redline MT90. There are hundreds of excited persons who had shifting/grinding problems that were corrected or substantially improved using it. Check out the TwinTurbo.net forums and search for transmissions, gear oil, etc. to check it out. I haven't noticed any difference thus far in my own 90 300ZX, as I only use it as a toy for maybe 2000 km a year, and the car is so low mileage that there is no wear yet in the gear set.

Been there, done that. I'll bet that the switch is just dirty. Get some spray electrical contact cleaner (Radio Shack or auto parts dealer). Pry the entire switch housing assembly out of the arm rest with a screw driver that has been taped so as to not scratch the plastic and panels. The switch, when turned over, will have some seams that you can spray the cleaner into liberally, as well as in through the top of the switch. Cycle the switch a dozen times or so to move the fluid over the contacts. Give the fluid time to evaporate (5 minutes) and try it. You may have to do it again to get results. That worked for me. If that still doesn't do the job, you may be able to take the switch out of its garnish and disassemble it to get at the points. You've got nothing to lose if it still doesn't work and you ruin it. Just be prepared for tiny springs and contacts to go flying if you're not careful. While your tracking down another switch, just swap the wiring to your other front passenger window switch, using short pieces of wire a crimp blade connectors. Good luck!

Well....have I got an answer for you! I've owned a 1990 Nissan 300ZX for many years, and I've got to say that there are few cars that hold their looks like this thing. Its a blast to drive, is dependable and gathers admiration wherever it goes. It will never date itself. I must admit that mine is just a toy that gets driven say 2 000 km a year. It is not a cheap car to fix if something goes wrong, but there is lots of help on line. They are now in the price range where you can get one very reasonably, just check it out carefully. The NA (normally aspirated) is loads enough, but the TT (Twin Turbo) with 300 HP will put you on a first name basis with every cop in town. Better yet, the Mazda Miata has been built since 1990, are dependable as houses, cheap to fix and run, and would be my next choice. Top down, five speed, high revving, wind in your hair fun. Low mileage/winter stored examples in all years and price ranges are all over the place. Used parts are easy to find and make the upkeep more affordable than the MR2. Take a good one for a test drive on a winding road and I believe that you will fall in love. Check out the consumer reports and owners reviews to see what I mean. Good luck!

I agree with you about the head gasket having nothing to do with the fans not working, but it could be the other way around, no fans=overheat=blown head gasket. You may be ok if you caught the problem quickly enough. I'm surprised that you didn't find the three missing bolts from the window regulator at the bottom of the door. Good luck!

Take the money they want to charge you for the extended warranty and put in into a bank account for future repairs, and forget the warranty. You might even add to the account from time to time to build up the nest egg. If you need to use it for large repairs, do so. If you don't, its sitting there for use with your next car. Consider this. You pay $1700 for an extended warranty on the car today...and next week some idiot runs a red light, broadsides your car, and totals it. It really doesn't take much of an accident any more to have the insurance company write off a new car. Where is your extended warranty money now? Good luck which ever way you decide.

I'm jealous that you can consider either car! I wish I could rationalize that decision, but....Turbos need high test fuel, so does the H6.....Turbos need more frequent oil changes.....Turbos, if you have spooled one up for any length of time, need about 2 minutes of idling time BEFORE you shut off the engine, or you'll shorten their life expectancy substantially.....Turbos will eventually need to be rebuilt or replaced= much dollars.....The XT goes like stink and will embarass most other cars on the road that dare to challenge it, even though it looks like mother's grocery getter (all the better), the H6 is not quite in the same league, but should not be as breakable....You really can't make a wrong decision here, because you'll be more than satisfied with either car. The decision for me would be, "am I prepared to give the Turbo the extra care, and money it needs down the road", assuming that you're going to keep the car for a lenghty time. Good luck with your choice....and get back to us and let us know which one you chose.

I have the factory unit installed on my 02 OBW. In my opinion, it really sets off the pearl white paint and taupe lower painted sections on the front of the car. It has stopped the stone rash on the front of the hood, and it has claimed more than its share of bugs. Does it cut back on the number of bugs that make it to the windshield? I don't know. It fits well, does not rattle or vibrate, and I like the looks of it. Yes, my next Subie will have one as well.

First off, you can probably fix the cable click, if that's what it is, by removing the cable from the back of the speedometer, pulling the inner cable out of its sheath, lubricating it with some white lithium grease, and reinstalling it. Secondly, don't discount that the noise you think is coming from the dash may actually be coming from the engine compartment. One of my cars is a 90 Nissan 300ZX. On ZX forums there are frequent complaints of a squeaking that comes from the dash. In almost every case the culprit is one or both of the rubber hood height adjusters at the front of the car, even though it sounds like the squeak is coming from inside the dash. Good luck!

Most places will power bleed the brake system when they flush the entire system to remove the old brake fluid, which should be done every three years. It is much quicker than the 2 man system where one person in the car pumps the brake pedal while the other person opens and closes the bleed screw on each wheel one at a time, or the system where you leave one bleed screw open until air bubble free fluid flows from the bleed screw, close it and move onto the next wheel and so on. Most shops can't wait the time it takes to do the job any other way than power bleeding. Its quick, cost efficient and just as good as any of the other 2 methods.

I'd take a look at your front brake pads to see if they are hanging up some.