DaveB

I decided to try to remove the accumulator anyway, since whatever I do on the car I'm going to have to remove it. Turns out it just unscrews like I was told. Had to use a G-clamp to get it off but I didn't need huge force or anything. Just make sure to remove the hydraulic pressure first via the bleeder (with ignition OFF) and you should be right. So here's what an accumulator looks like: that's the little SOB that causes the ATTESA relay to make all the noise. So annoying it is... not for much longer. The plan is that I'll just unscrew the accumulator on the car, and screw this new unit (well 2nd hand) on in place; it has a known working history so it should hopefully be charged up OK. I'll probably see if I can get the garage to do it while it's on the hoist, as it's a bit of a pain to get to mine with my 3" exhaust hanging just under the diff'.

That's right - sorry about the dodgy pic', can't find any better ones just now: This was before I lowered it, but there's plenty of room in stag' wheel wells for BIG wheels

Ok well, I've done some investigation and found another post on SAU about this relay problem with GTRs and added some pics and details to that - check it out here: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/R3...18#entry5041918 Then a PM from another guy who has seen a similar issue with Aristos (they apparently have an electro-hydraulic brake setup which is susceptible to the same problem) just seemed to make a lot of sense. I think I know what our problem is (and this was probably painfully obvious to anybody who knows anything about hydraulic systems)! The accumulator unit is actually a cylinder of high-pressure nitrogen, and the hydraulic pressure is stored against it, it is like a constant weight that keeps pressure in the hydraulic system. (I am wondering if the '32 system doesn't have one of these - this might be the "pre-load" that people talk about on '33 and '34... but I digress) Anywho, just like a dodgy gas lift chair, the damn pressure vessel leaks out over time and goes flat. As this happens, less and less hydraulic pressure can be stored, and the pump has to be switched on at shorter and shorter intervals, thus the relay clicks more and more... it all sounds plausible to me... So apparently it's as simple as removing the cylinder and taking it to a gas strut recharger to get recharged! Might cost all of ~$150 ? At any rate, I'm now thinking it's not the pressure switch itself. And it's definitely not the pump. So the accumulator is the only thing left. Beware if removing it - I know nothing about the correct procedure and the instructions on the canister warn against disassembly; I'm unsure whether removing it will vent the high-pressure gas or not. But I have been told by one forum member who says he has done it, that the procedure is to release the hydraulic pressure (with ignition OFF) by opening (CAREFULLY) the bleed nipple(s) on the attesa unit under the car to release the hydraulic pressure, and then once that's gone, to remove the gas canister and take it to be recharged. Sounds all too good to be true. But I probably won't be able to say for sure myself whether this method will work because I'm probably just going to swap the whole damn lot for a known working unit which I got for a good price second-hand here's hoping someone will try it and we'll solve this mystery once-and-for-all... DaveB

Ah well I just did some quick googling on basic hydraulic storage system types (I suddenly thought... HTF do you store hydraulic pressure anyway???) and it seems that the ATTESA setup might use a "hydro-pneumatic type" hydraulic storage type. ie, there's a piston or diaphragm or something in-between the compressed nitrogen and the hydraulic fluid, and the pump pressurises the fluid against the compressed nitrogen, and the pressure is thusly somehow held in the system... rather than dissipating as soon as there is any flow of fluid (regulates better that way I guess)... anyone who knows anything about hydraulics care to comment on this? It may still be possible to simply screw the accumulator unit straight off & replace... but death may await the first person to try it!!! (or loss of hands/eyes/etc). I might just swap the whole unit from a second-hand one. I could try to keep my pump however if I can remove it without opening this gas system.

Hoping you've solved this problem now and can enlighten us all!!! ...but yeah ATTESA info' is damned hard to come by eh. Nobody knows what's going on. It's all one big black box. Only it's not; it's two boxes. Which are more like cylinders. They're mounted above the diff'. I'm pretty sure that the momentary engaging that the motor is doing is quite normal; I have exactly the same trouble in my R34-vintage series 2 stagea (with the R34 ATTESA system) and I have 4WD working fine; I have run the ATTESA diagnostic for the stagea and received a "pressure switch" fault. So I think what has happened is, the pressure switch reads low, and it triggers the pump to activate to bring the pressure up. As soon as the pump activates, the pressure switch reads high, and it switches off again. So by this stage most people with this problem should have arrived at the realisation that the trouble is not, in fact, the relay. It's doing it's job; switching on and off. But it's WHY it's switching so often that's the trouble (apparently it's normal for them to switch every x seconds or minutes - can't remember what it is). I have discovered that the accumulator unit is actually a pressurised nitrogen canister, a bit like in a gas lift strut assembly I suppose, and the label on it warns against dissassembly. I was just going to replace mine as FAST shows it as a separate unit: The arrow points to the accumulator. I'm assuming here that R34 stagea is similar to R34 GTR ('cause that's all I've got to go on ) Here's a pic' of the unit: ...so, not knowing much about how this unit works, I guessed before that the accumulator was just a sort of 'reservoir' for hydraulic pressure. But now I find that it's a pressurised gas container??? So either the pump pumps hydraulic fluid, and the gas is just there to prevent foaming or to provide a reference or...??? or it might pump gas. But if the accumulator unit is pre-charged at the factory with nitrogen then removing it might let the gas escape (bad). Or, it might be charged by the pump, in which case removing it and somehow replacing the switch might be a good idea. If the relay clicking is driving you nuts like me, you might like to check the part number on your accumulator unit and see what a new *accumulator* unit costs from Nissan (I know a complete pump assembly is 6+ grand so just the accumulator ) I'm going to keep investigating and see if I can't find where the damned switch is, because replacing the switch might fix the issue too. I think it's one of these two culprits. *please* if anybody knows more about how this unit works post up and enlighten us - 'cause this clicking relay is driving me nuts (and wearing out my pump!)

...no

AHA! thanks guys!

Cool idea, i might do something similar. I currently have a black & white printout stuck on with tape. Thanks Dennis.

Hi all, There was a post on here a while ago detailing the wiring colours for the series 2 tiptronic controls (the micro-switches on the gearstick) and how to re-wire it to reverse the direction (ie. up with the stick would become change from 3rd-2nd-1st instead of how it is stock). Anyone know where it is? I've searched high and low but I can't get old sphinx to play ball

Kinda but it's a really tiny image Any way of attaching a larger one?

Follow these two stages... you insert it into your post by clicking on the attachments icon... hopefully these pics will be fairly self-explanatory. The second pic' shows where to click to insert the image into your post: ..hope that helps. DaveB

Great howto thanks Chris! Now I have a better idea about what's involved and it looks reasonably straight-forward... as usual, the hardest part is getting the damn car far enough off the ground safely! Whenever the mech' removes mine he always removes the (big, 30A) fuse. It's not hard - takes 5 seconds or so and has at least these advantages that I can think of: - saves wear on the ATTESA pump by not running it all the time - lets the system know that it's in RWD mode (and the driver by illuminating the 4wd warning light) - stops that infernal clicking! (the dreaded ATTESA relay) ...so why not do it and take advantage of the benefits or however SK puts it... just my thoughts

I too am interested; I just tried trial-fitting them to mine without one pad in the caliper (but only with bolts finger-tight - ran out of time) and there seemed to be some binding (though this could have been just friction from the remaining pad) but at least the offset appears correct this time. Thinking about it I wouldn't expect clearance to be too bad as 6mm diameter = 3mm radius difference, therefore the clearance is only decreased by 3mm and I would've thought there'd be a larger margin than that between the caliper and the disc edge. But then again, maybe it needs to allow for thermal expansion?

Good tips, I did that. Also I replaced the air-conditioner filters with new ones off ebay, which I think has helped a lot. I have never finished the roof though; too worried about getting it too wet and streaking through. I have seen the Meguiars interior cleaner at work though and I might give that a go. It's about 90% gone at the moment; smell only returns when the car's been sitting with the windows up getting hot for a while in the sun.

Well Bob (KiwiRS4T) has already helped out with detailed photos, part numbers and removal details so I think it is possible. I should soon know

No worries Josh. I think the CD's you need are A1 and A2 (actually I think all stageas are on A2, mine is). Anyone who can confirm this? I have A1, A2, A3, B1 & B2 working.

Got them now, thanks for that. If I can get this sorted, I will post a "how to" for people who are being driven mad by the infernal clicking like me

Yes if you want to join a possibly long queue, you could PM SydneyKid about it; some of us have got lucky It does take patience though.

Thanks Bob PM replied - I just didn't get the attachments

Well I think mine is clicking more now than it used to (unless it's just the hot weather or something) and it is starting to annoy the (*#&% out of me... if anyone has a second-hand known good attesa/accumulator unit (from above the rear diff') please let me know... if I can find one I will get the mechanic to install it.

OK hopefully this will help... I'm not an expert so bear with me... the below is not guaranteed to be accurate but it has got me by before: Here are two screenshots showing the rear and front suspension, in that order. Interestingly the rear suspension shows the forked shock option of the manuals. Note that, to the best of my understanding, the numbers next to the components in these shots are *not* "part numbers", but "part codes" (ie. they tell the guy in the Nissan spares department that you're looking for a "shock dustcover" but not much more... not which vehicle it fits etc). So, in this next shot, is a list matching "part codes" to "part numbers", of all the components which I thought (and which FAST told me when I highlighted them) were called something like "dust cover" or "bump stop". I think that the dustcover and bump stops are integrated for the rear, although I have included the funny doughnut-looking thing above them (55248N) just in case because they were called something like "cover-bound bumper, rear". You can see the names in this diagram. Here's a text version if the image above gets lost at any stage... Part Code Part Number Description 54050M 54050-33P20- BUMPER ASSY-BOUND 54055M 55248-15U10- COVER ASSY-BOUND BMPR 54055 54055-33P20- COVER-DUST 55248N 55248-0V000- COVER-BOUND BUMPER,REAR 55240 55240-0V000- BUMPER ASSY-BOUND REAR SUSPENSION 55240 55240-0V001- BUMPER-SUSPENS * I don't know why there is an extra "-" at the end of the part number, anyone know why? Is there a missing column or something? Is the "part code" supposed to go there? I'm pretty sure I just used the part number on the phone to the Nissan spares guy and he knew what part I wanted (after giving him my VIN / chassis number of course). By the way, if ordering this way and giving your VIN, don't confuse the poor spares guy with the bit at the beginning - the Japanese VINs all start with the "WG..." part, the rest is added at compliance to make it into an Australian VIN. Those part numbers you *should* be able to use to order spares direct from any decent Nissan spares staff (I have had success before). In my experience, sometimes the part numbers are old and have been superseded by newer ones which are intended for the same purpose/car (being a series 1 you might find this a bit) but they should have a record of this, showing the newer part number. Good luck DaveB

Lol @ the last post! Thanks dirtyRS4 I'm glad to hear that the airbag still works. I've always disconnected the battery when I swap wheels. That means then, hopefully, that R34 wheels will fit S1 and S2 (as I have had a R34 momo wheel in my S2) and airbags work in both.

Would like to help but I am without a VIN for series 1.

Ah, bugger... so the airbag is not compatible? What is the different with the tiptronic version wheels? (I found that a 34 one fits series 2 stagea and the tiptronic buttons work also). Pulling the airbag fuse will render the passenger side airbag inoperable as well? cheers for getting back with more info DaveB

Nice thanks