joshuaho96

It's a huge PITA. I've done it recently and probably the most annoying aspect is how much fighting is involved at the back of the engine. I did it by pulling the rear manifold studs and basically the moment you pop it into the locating dowels you don't get to change your mind about how it's installed. That's how little space there is, the dowels on the ITBs sticking to the collector will be the difference between fitting and not fitting. I recommend just pulling the brake booster and whatever else is in the way instead of doing it how I did it. Some people claim you can use the clutch master cylinder bracket that holds the booster hose straight, I have no idea how they did that considering it's a bear to get on in the first place and once you get it in you'll realize the hose is resting against the collector and isn't sitting straight anymore, at least on an R33. I'm pretty sure when I read through the manual for installation it also mentions that you aren't supposed to use that bracket anymore. The two things you can expect to fight the most are the coolant/vacuum combo pipe bolt securing to the brake/clutch booster pipe and the bolt that secures all of that to the plenum. Getting the bolt and everything else to line up is just kind of a nightmare. If there's enough clearance you may want to have the brake/clutch booster pipe bolted up to the underside of the collector before you slide it onto the intake manifold. Then you have one of the two really difficult bolts already done. Securing the coolant pipe bolt I recommend using painter's tape to secure the bolt to the socket. You will need a 10 and 12mm u-joint socket, probably quarter inch.

The R33 I think makes a lot more sense to do a GTR conversion, the GTST front end is just kind of strange from the factory for reasons I don't quite understand. Even then I'd struggle to justify all the work it takes to do the change properly. Parts are insanely hard to source and cost a mint when you do.

Top two relays are accessory relays, bottom-most is the ignition relay. That last bit makes me wonder if your ignition barrel is damaged as robbo mentioned.

Meh, it's not really a huge deal IMO. But the GTR bumper definitely does not fit a stock GTST unless you do the whole front-end swap. The R33 GTST 40th anniversary supposedly has this optional bumper though that I think looks pretty good and theoretically should fit up like OEM?:

You sure your accessory relays aren't sticking closed? They hang out under the the interior fuse panel.

If you have a shop nearby with a Hunter Engineering alignment machine it will have all factory data for alignment on these cars. I was surprised when my local tire shop pulled up all the data no problem.

Good to hear you got it fixed and it wasn't something nightmarish.

Nope, to my knowledge only way to retain the dual mass flywheel with an aftermarket clutch is the ATS silent clutch series.

Neither of those are PCV valves, as others have said those are just breathers. This is also a super bad idea to run as-is because the moment your engine breathes more than a non-trivial amount you are going to start spewing oil mist all over your engine bay. No track in my area would be ok with this setup, you would almost certainly start dripping on the tarmac. Also worth mentioning that uncapped manifold hose barbs are vacuum leaks, maybe less of a concern with a MAF delete but still not recommended. I would also run a fan shroud if you can source one, the engine fan is going to be far more effective with proper ducting to pull air through the radiator instead of just vaguely moving air around it. The PCV valve is long gone on your car as far as I can tell, reference this diagram to see the original setup where 11810 is the valve:

I’m saying your reported compression test values show a 20% difference between the highest cylinder and lowest cylinder.

If the compression test was done after the problem started I would definitely borescope the low cylinders to look for signs of detonation like damage to cylinder walls, that's a pretty critical detail. 20% difference between highest and lowest is not great. It's kind of unfortunate you parts cannoned everything but at least you didn't pay mechanic labor which would've made this sky-high in expense.

I checked the parts diagram, it's really there and it is listed as a camshaft sensor on the EPC. It is also actually connected to the transmission, not a cam cover or whatever that drawing is supposed to be. Checking the FSM shows that it is a "ring gear crank position sensor", that bit under the conrod drawing is not present in any other version of the NEO engines:

P1320 is basically a signal fault between the ECU and the coilpack. Make sure the connections are solid there. I have had a connector subtly work itself loose ever so slightly causing a no-start condition. I would investigate a few different theories here. One is you have a fueling issue as others have mentioned. Could be your FPCM dropping out, fuel pump, etc. A misfire will cause raw fuel in the exhaust regardless, even if it is leaning out you'll smell the gas. As others have mentioned you can try the somewhat sketchy method of putting fuel lines to a fuel pressure gauge and then somehow tying it to the windshield wipers so you can see it as you drive. Or running it into the interior. Obviously the "correct" way is to use an electric sensor for pressure and run the wires into the firewall grommet and then wire up the gauge that way but if you're only planning on running it like this for like one or two diagnostic drives it's maybe ok. The other theory I have is maybe your camshaft drive pin for the CAS or possibly the internals of the CAS itself is worn out causing the ECU to really lose the plot as far as setting correct ignition timing goes. If you can get it to reproduce revving in neutral at all you can get a timing light on it and use NDS1 to lock ignition timing to something safe like 15 degrees. If it goes completely haywire at random, skipping ignition altogether or jumping like 20 degrees that would definitely cause the symptoms you're talking about.

Have you tried the environment-destroying method of an upside down can of bitterant-free "compressed air/air duster" sprayed into the fill plug to freeze it as much as possible? This is how I got the rear block heater pipe fitting out on the engine. You freeze it so much that it starts to shrink relative to the transmission case threads and it can also make the RTV/silicone seal easier to break. The plug still looks like it will engage the 13mm socket so I'd try it first to see if it'll come off as is. My personal experience is you'll need a floor jack and a breaker bar to get the kind of force needed. If you think it's going to slip and damage the fill plug you're going to have to sacrifice the fill plug and use a welder or somehow get epoxy to cure very, very well to replace the damaged metal and bond to the socket.

You've basically parts cannoned everything. Start with a compression test + leakdown test on all cylinders. Then do a leakdown test. Then make sure your cooling system is holding pressure and isn't leaking into a cylinder.

Shockingly on the RB26 R33 ECU it definitely looks for the neutral signal for idle target. If I coast in gear and then press the clutch in it will idle high like 1200 rpm, then if I go into neutral and wiggle the stick it will drop it to 950 rpm. FYI, you can use the logging function in NDS1 instead of taking a video. I'll try to read through it anyways but something to think about in the future.

https://ithurukaramu.lk/2020/02/14/lubricants-for-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration/ Looks like DH-PR is PAG 100. If the compressor is dry reference the underhood sticker or look up a picture of one online to figure out how much oil you need to add.

CarVX is the nearest equivalent to Carfax in the US. White rust on aluminum parts like an intake manifold usually also means there is rust elsewhere on the chassis.

Reads like a bot IMO. It’s got that meandering say nothing with a lot of words quality to it.

Shrug, I would vacuum it anyways just in case but yeah most likely it has all vented out anyways. HA section of the R34 manual details how to remove it, doesn't appear to be anything crazy but it will almost certainly be annoying anyways because Nissan. Expect to remove power steering bits in the way, also the intake piping. I would be surprised if you have to remove the AC lines at all, should be able to disconnect much closer to the compressor and call it good. You may want to flush the system if you've had a leak and replace the receiver/drier as well.

That's just the assumption the system makes in the controller programming (any front-rear speed differential is slip, not just different ratios) and the transfer case is not designed for a ton of slip for long periods despite being a wet multi-plate clutch. Modern cars absolutely do have different front-rear final drive ratios, Acura even did a variable rear final drive ratio with some versions of their SH-AWD system. Ferrari also did a different front final drive ratio on one of their AWD systems so it only works in certain gears before disengaging entirely. It's also not like Nissan didn't know this was possible back when they were designing ATTESA ETS for the R32 Skyline, the Porsche 959 rather than using a different front final drive ratio ran slightly larger front tires to reduce transfer case slip at the steady state torque split. Nissan could've done the same trick but their design goal was a true RWD feeling normally with a bit of AWD when needed, not true AWD. You can kind of see their logic in this video:

Porting refers to improving the flow through the wastegate, if your wastegate doesn't flow enough you'll get boost creep.

You need a different manifold for top mount. The factory setup is fine even if you want to bump up the power, it's not like an EJ where the intercooler is barely adequate even at stock power levels. Most front facing manifolds make less power at low RPMs compared to stock. Personally I would stay away from Maxpeedingrods considering I've heard their coilovers have failed in surprising ways. These engines are too expensive to gamble on garbage parts. Same goes for Private Label MFG, their parts are also garbage and they've started moving into the Skyline world after getting their start on Hondas. If you just want to bump up the power talk to Hypergear about high flowing your stock turbo if you still have it. The less stuff you change the more time you get to spend actually chopping your mates instead of just talking about it.

Yeah the front fitting was bad enough I didn't even try. Mercifully it wasn't pitted after sanding off the corrosion. I believe it's pressed in so I have no idea how you would get it in or out without pulling the engine. Probably the cheapest way is to use plumbing solder to fill the pits in after cleaning out the rust.

I agree but someone local to me had rocks rattling in a tin as the symptoms and it went away with load/revs. Turns out he was wrong to ignore it and it wasn't just a bad input shaft bearing or something like that. It's surprising how idiosyncratic failures can be.