Old Lady to Young Lady Part 1

The more I drive my Nissan Fairlady Z, the more I am annoyed at my inability to shift from the 3rd to the 4th gear. Almost 80% of the time, I hear the gear grinds and I thought I had been making mistakes while shifting. Even when I fully stepped on the clutch, it felt like the gears did not stop spinning and caused the gears to grind. I started to skip the 4th gear and go straight to 5th from 3rd. Nevertheless that is only a temporary measure. I knew I had to get the car properly checked by an expert. I talked to a buddy of mine, who I knew back in my Celica club days because he drives a Nissan Skyline V35 now and it has the same engine as the 350Z. He told me to visit a workshop named Redsun Motorsport and I know a little about this workshop. This workshop specializes in Nissan sports car but it is also famous for being expensive and geared more towards modification. I was reluctant but I knew the owner is the expert that I need and I sent my car there as soon as possible. 

Workshop CCTV image

During my 350Z's first week stay at the workshop, there was no update from the workshop and I only get to see my 350Z's photo from the workshop's Facebook page. One day I visited the workshop, I found out that the De-cat pipe and Y-pipe were removed together along with the transmission. In the beginning, the owner mentioned that there was no need to open up the transmission because after 15 years, most of the gears would have received some damage. However, I came to the shop and found out that every gear was removed from the transmission for checking. I was shown how most of the gear had chipped or missing a tooth especially the synchronizer rings. In the end, replacing the transmission with another unit is the best solution to this. The owner will be buying a replacement transmission and install it. According to him it would take around another week to complete the replacement. 

De-cat pipe with Y-pipe

Transmission Gears

Transmission Gears

Transmission Gears

Besides the main problem with the transmission, I also had the owner look into some other parts of the under carriage of the 350Z. During the last check, the front crossmember and rear M-shaped crossmember require replacement and also the lower arm bushes. The owner looked at it and from his analysis, he told me something that I was affected deeply. Judging from how both crossmember is dented, he concluded that the previous owner might have driven the 350Z of the ground and landed on a divider because both the front and rear crossmember are dented at the exact same spot in a straight line fashion. This damage definitely will affect the car's handling and the lower arm bushes are wear and tear items. Judging from how the rear crossmember was dented, it would require some machining to get to the screw to remove the crossmember. The owner will source for used crossmember for replacement. The lower arm bushes need to be pumped out and replace with new lower arm bushes.

Front Crossmember

Rear Crossmember

Since the gearbox was removed, it was a good chance to take a look at the condition of the clutch disc. During the previous check up with the other workshop, the owner told me the clutch is still thick. He came to this conclusion by driving the 350Z and suddenly stepping on the clutch pedal while driving to test the reaction. However, looking at the clutch disc now, it is so thin that with just a little more use, the head of the screw on the surface of the disc would be shaved off. That is why figuring the bite point of the clutch was difficult. It definitely needs replacement and Redsun's owner ordered a stock OEM clutch disc for my 350Z which is enough comfort for daily drive. No sports clutch needed here and that is good news for my left foot.

Flywheel

New Clutch (left) and Old Clutch (right)

Exedy Clutch

This is just the beginning of the process of reviving my 350Z with many more to come. I know my 350Z is in good hands and I can not wait for this to be done. I was told it would take another week. Stay tune for more update.