The Z clutch master cylinder hose is a common fault in these cars, they tend to deteriorate internally pushing all of that gunk into the pump causing it to fail over time
That's a Nissan fault.

Top problems, well... that's convertibles for you especially anything that has angle/proximity sensors

Oil overheating problems... How's your driving? usually these engines wont climb in temperatures unless they've been spirited for a while and since it's your first rodeo it will teach you. Many vehicles overheat their oils and you would never know. Be thankful of that gauge and install a cooler.

The rest..... Well..... Spend a couple of weeks here reading this way you can come up with a plan on the most likely failures of this car so you can get ahead of them.

By the way there is this little penis looking like gasket that will introduce some baldness if you still have hair and it's called the Gallery gasket.
keeping oil temps that high will kill this gasket prematurely as well.

Welcome to the Forum;)

Make sure you run a high quality Dot 4 brake fluid such as Motul RBF600. It helps a lot. The master cylinder could have been damaged by the previous owner. He may have ran it dry on fluid. Sometimes they don't die right away. It takes a bit of time if they were ran dry.

Do you know which clutch the old owner installed? And from where it was bought from?

Sorry to hear about your troubles op. These cars are great if you get the right year. 2013 and up are only years I recommend when someone asks. 09 to 12 have too many issues. Live and learn, good luck.

Happy wife, happy life.

You’re going to lose your mind when your “reliable Japanese sports car” gets the dreaded steering wheel lock.

Look it up. You’re welcome. :tup:

Wifey digging hole with steam shovel. I'm throwing the dirt back in with a pitch fork. :shakes head:

...

Knock on wood, I've owned my 09 for 4 plus years and only changed the battery. When purchasing a used vehicle the main factor is how it was treated prior to the new owner...

Perhaps only my Master cylinder is bad, not my slave.

I am going to start another thread about that issue. I will provide more details and link to it later in this thread. Thanks.


The Top Whisperer in San Diego that I was lucky enough to find says the 370z top is among the worst of the worst. He has never known a 370z Roadster owner that didn't have problems.

His highest praise was reserved for Porsche tops. Although apparently, most convertible tops are made by a small handful of suppliers. I think there are 3 or so primary rag top makers that nearly all automakers use.

The base of Little Cottonwood to Snowbird is about 10 miles and 3000 ft elevation gain. Driving spiritedly (3000 to 6500 rpm, mostly in 3rd) with 50 degree valley temps cooling to 40 degrees. She would get up to just under 260 (255?) degrees.

IMHO, the car should have come with an oil cooler, stock. It appears, perhaps due to noise generated on this forum, that Nissan, admitted as much as well.

I ended up installing a Fast Intentions 34 row to deal with what I perceived to be a heat problem. She hasn't been over 240 since.

I've recently seen some posts about gallery gaskets, I was a little afraid to read them.

Thanks man! :hello:


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I figured you wouldn't. So predictable.

I am already aware of that issue, but nice try.

I don't own a “reliable Japanese sports car.” I'd need to buy a different brand of vehicle for that.


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Thanks.

There is only so much one can do. Looking at consumer reports, carfax, get vehicle inspected etc... No one is going to wait 6 months while you research every aspect of their car for sale.

I had been reading this forum when I started to consider purchasing this vehicle, but it's often hard to tell if a problem is affecting everyone or perhaps just a very vocal few.

Nonetheless, the info the previous owner gave me about replacing the clutch led me to think that the previous owner had perhaps dealt with the slave issue when he replaced the clutch.

Yes, they are a super fun car to drive. For me there was very little learning curve with this car. The steering is fantastic, she goes exactly where you point her. She corners like it's on rails, the power curve is very smooth and linear from 3k revs on up and she'll pull from as low as 1500 revs if you ask her to. The brakes are awesome as well.

She gallops between 20 and 120 mph like a track star and I have had some glorious top down driving on 5 star twisty roadways between San Diego and here. Just Sunday, going up the Ocoee and down through the N. GA mountains was like a top down "Sound of Music" fairy tale dream filled with sport bikes and race cars. LOL


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Thanks to all that have provided advice and suggestions.

Double thanks to all that chose to exercise sympathy and understanding during my bitch fest.

Sorry to start my forum tenure with such a rant. I had just went from a nice little top down drive through the sights of Savannah to needing to use my toe to tug up my pedal, to having a mechanic fiddle about resulting in informing me that now she wouldn't move an inch and that they did not have time to work on her. To having a dealer say that they refuse to work on (or sell) 370z's to being informed that I needed to purchase thousands in parts and nearly as much in labor, but those parts were currently unavailable, even if I could find someone to install them. To paying $20 for a cab ride back to my room that was less than a mile away after waiting over an hour.

I walked across the street in the 97 degree humidity, bought a couple of whiskey pints, went back to my room, made a big cocktail, then checked my email only to find my the370z.com forum approval, so I logged on and started typing.

It was an exercise in catharsis really, and in the end, I felt better after doing so, even though I made the good members of this forum absorb the brunt of it.

Nonetheless, I have started a different thread to ask questions about my current mechanical issues and would appreciate any advise that may be proffered.

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ml#post3999209

Again, thanks to all that bore with my rant and offered sympathy and/or advice.


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As surprising as it sounds, that is all that it takes to overheat the oil, even great oil would have you around the same temperatures. This is a manufacturer defect but one that with the proper research can be mended. You'll notice the difference right away with that cooler.

If you want to prepare for the gallery gasket, install an oil pressure gauge. You can have it visible or hidden. At that mileage it shouldn't need constant attention and if a worry ever rises you can compare your pressure numbers to the ones here which are pretty constant.

FYI I saw the repair order of a 2018 that had a full top replacement under warranty. $19,000 for a brand new "Nissan" top.

Safe to assume that a convertible top tech will have business for centuries
There is a guy in the G37 forums called Guy Menard that makes billet gears for the G37 top. Unsure if the Z has gears like the G but if they do then these gears are PLASTIC.

Start putting somethings on paper to set aside a budget for the car to take care of these pesky issues and it will last you a lifetime. No kidding.

sorry to hear about your problems and glad things are working out for you. If you are that close to the North GA mountains, did you happen to take the Z on the tail of the dragon....

:tiphat: to you..