The cars themselves are very reliable even when pushed on a bit. The main issues that I've had with mine in the last few years have been created by me. So if you take me out of the loop then I've only had typical 20 year old car proublems that are bound to arise. Things like this are items that eventually wear out like the fan clutch, water pump, new radiator, struts, etc...

The prices on parts can vary widely depending on the quality and where you are purchasing them. I would encourage to shop around before purchasing anything big. I'm sure the parts situation is not much different than with the 300 zx you already have.

Overall I've been very happy with my car. It's got over 170,000 and is still going strong.

Cody 82 ZXT

 

They're great reliable cars, but if you REALLY want it to last long, and especially if you plan on raising the boost AT ALL, you should look into protective measures for your turbo, like a turbo timer, adjustable blow off valve, and intercooler. Other little safetly measures like this for both the motor and the turbo unit itself really go a long way and save you money in the long run. The biggest problem i know of with turbo ZX's is that many times the owner didn't know that there are some different things you should do when you drive a turbo, like letting the car idle down after hard driving to keep the turbo from cooking the oil inside it. You can get a decent idea if the person you're buying from seems to know their stuff. If they don't, there may be a chance that the turbo unit wasn't properly maintained and wont last long.

 

I can say that my ZXT has been extremely reliable and the cost of replacement parts are quite available and affordable. I enjoy driving my car and owenership has been great. I drive my car quite hard and it pulls like a bear. I have 143,000miles on my car and I would never get rid of it.

Good luck - Yasin

Make sure that you do a thorough inspection on the car that you are thinking about buying. Inside the engine compartment (looking for leaks) and making sure it runs right and underneath thecar looking for rust and if its been hit. Also talk to the owner and you will be able to decipher if he/she has been diligent maintaining the car and not neglecting it.

 

put it this way its gonna be much more reliable then your 300 and also cheaper to work on and easier

 

I agree. I was new to Z's when I came across mine 2 yrs ago and so far I replaced a battery, tie rod ends, and ball joints. It has 170k+ mls. and still pulls hard and is a blast to drive. Maybe one of the other guys can verify, but I think it has more power potential (300hp w/stock internals?) than your current car.

I'm just now thinking about an I/C, upgrading shocks, etc., etc. ....

Mag

 

As a former owner of an 83 ZXT I purchased new, my opinion after many years with this car -

1. I will never ever buy anything with a turbo for a daily driver again
2. I will never own another 280 car with stock fuel injection again.
3. I happen to be the proud owner of two tektronix ocilloscopes purchased expressly to troubleshoot that 83ZXT
4. I will never own another car that talks to me
5. I will never have a Borg Warner T5 in anything I drive again
6. Do not even pretend that the A/C in those cars can keep up with Texas heat and a turbo in the summertime.
7. Do not expect to be able to afford to buy parts from the dealer, even if they are available.
8. Do not expect the car to actually work when you need to use it to get you somewhere critical.
9. I nearly cried when I totaled that car. I sure miss her.

JB

 

I disagree

1. If properly taken care of the turbo can last a very long time (155K for mine)
2. stock fuel injection is good for up to like 12psi, whats wrong with that?
3. what happened there?
4. I like many others like the "sexy lady" it adds character
5. the t5 is almost bullet proof and is in tons and tons of different cars
6. the R12 refergant is great (much better then the crap we have these days) and the ac system is great if working correctly
7. buy parts from the delar being affordiable, since when were any parts cheap from ANY delar?
8. What are you smoking? The Z (again if proparly taken care of) is a great and reliable car. Many people have 200K plus miles on the original engine
9. I would to


Bottem line is if you find a car that has been taken care of, and you take care of it you WILL have a great and reliable car.

 

oops

I must be on crack because my spelling and punctuation are horrible! Sorry guys, just in a hurry I guess.

 

Aaron-Some of your answer is in your question (sound like Yoda don't I). Performance comes at a cost. That said, if you realize that the car you'd buy is likely at least a couple of years older than the one you have and you're careful to find a ZXT in good shape, you should be very happy.
The 280 zx is about 3-500lb lighter than the car you're driving now so you'll immediately notice a "snappyness" to the car that you don't have (it'll probably ride a bit stiffer too). The interior is not as "modern' in that it more resembles the 240/280 series setup. Of course there's the turbo power (sort of a big hand that pins you to the seat). I think the ZX looks "like a Z".
As to reliability, when I bought my car, it barely ran as it suffered from several crippling but not fatal issues. I've worked most of them out and my '81 ZXT is my daily driver, 44 miles a day to work and back. In a year and a half, it has not failed to start and run, regardless of the conditions.
I love this car, if lightning struck her today, I'd be looking for another tomorrow.
dan 81zxt portland oregon

 

GREAT CAR!!

my 81 280zxt was my first car, took me until jan of my junior year in high school to purchase her from a little old lady for 2400 bux, 68,000 original miles. she is almost ready to break 100,000 soon. she had given me very little trouble, nothing i couldn't fix in a couple of hours, alternator, fuel pressure regualator, and other small stuff like struts and springs. even in stock form she can hang if not kick the $hit out of many new "sports" cars. get compliments daily and would never trade her for anything, well maybe a viper!!!

short story, i went with my gf to the dealership, she was looking at this 4-runner. my car was clean, very clean and sitting in the sun with the tops off. i was talking to the dealer about the cars there and asked him what he would give me for my car. he said 1000 bux and then said "you'd take that wouldn't you??" in short i told him i wouldn't trade him my car for any of the POS he had out there.

 

Re: GREAT CAR!!

By the way... just thought I'd mention that the L6 motors, whether turbo or not, are soooo much more reliable than the V6's that replaced them. My stock 2.8 L6 non turbo lasted a whopping 280,000 miles no joke before I decided to rebuild it... not because it was having problems at all but because I wanted more performance! So as long as you find one that has been maintained well you'll have a great car. Again, the weak link CAN be the turbo if the owner(s) weren't aware of how to properly maintain one. And some had kind of buggy fuel injection.... another thing to watch out for but many times you won't be able to tell right away or before you buy the car. Many times this will just lead to bad gas mileage, but could also cause problems like hard starting and most importantly problems with passing smog. These types of problems can be very hard to track down even if you take it to the 'experts' or direct to the dealer. My ZX had a bug for five years that no one was able to solve... I had to run it with the O2 sensor disconnected or the car would run like crap. Even replaced with the factory Nissan unit it just wouldnt' run right. All the mechanics that worked on this problem were baffled, and the only solution I didn't try was to rewire the WHOOOOOLE frigging car, which wasn't gonna happen. Anyways with the O2 out the car ran great, so eventually i let it go. I must say I never had a problem bad enough that the car wouldn't start and get me to where I was going though.

 

well from my experiance my z seems to be reliabull when it is running but it just seems to oftin that its not but parts for me are cheep, i found the hook up, if you can find one that is in good shape id say go for it and make sure that you take and do all the mods to keep it in good shape as soon as you get it, but if you like to wrench and can do evrytihng quick go for it

 

Re: I disagree

Well, there you have it. Two completely different opinions of the reliability of a ZXT. Both aparrently from first hand experience. The weak points, in my opinion do remove this Nissan model from the "reliable" category.

On turbos, Modern synthetic motor oils will help to prolong turbo life these days, but I feel turbos are an unnecessary complication to the system for a daily driver and contribute to premature thermal failure of other components under the hood and do reduce reliability factor of an otherwise extremely reliable platform.

On the fuel injection, too bad about the prehistoric electronics prone to thermal and/or mechanical failure.

On the T5, The input shaft pilot end melted melted more than once - poor engineering design.

The AC (R12 refrigerant not withstanding) hasn't a snowballs chance in h*ll in keeping up with the heat in South Texas _plus_ the added load of the heat from the turbo.

I am smoking Marlboro. I am a 48 year old mechanical engineer. That doesn't necessarily mean I know what I am talking about, but I should.

Best Regards - JB