JimX

The "big" noise I got *was* when I pushed the clutch in. It was just the very small squeaking noise when I didn't have my foot on the clutch that made me think something was wearing out before this stage. My Torana had very similar symptoms although the noises were slightly different. ie, a very small squeaking noise when foot off clutch, noise stopped with very small clutch pressure, then big grinding noises when foot all the way in. But I'm hoping it's just that plastic bit like Kamikaze said. If I'm not too lazy I'll get under the car this weekend and take a look. Or if I am lazy just wait until the groaning noise comes back Edit: The big difference between Skyline and Torana is the Tornana noise never went away until I fixed it. ie, it just got louder and louder over time. Hopefully my Skyline has some sort of auto repair system that's fixed it

Kamikaze, that's very interesting! Is this part accessible/cleanable without pulling the clutch out? Like can you get to it through the engine bay or from underneath or something. If so please put up some simple instructions on what to do exactly please

Anyone know what the consequences are if we don't fix them?

I've got no idea. It came with the car when I got it over 20000km ago. The previous owner said it had been recently replaced but I forgot to ask what clutch it was. I guess I'll just leave it for now, and save up for a box overhall in the meantime as well so I can do it all at once.

I have a problem which I think is the thrust bearing. Hoping someone can provide advice. The car has been making a quiet but repetitive "ticking" sound for a few months now in neutral, I guess it's kind of like a squeak or a click. When I put my foot on the clutch even slightly (like 1-2cm) the noise stops. I've had similar noises in a previous car and it was the thrust bearing, which is why I think it's the same deal again. Recently after a long trip, the clutch area started making a horrible groaning noise when I pushed the clutch pedal in while in neutral. The noise continued while I put it into first, but then stopped as I started the car moving and there was no noise between gear changes. It did the same thing the next morning after leaving it overnight, so it wasn't dependant on the temperature. But then by the same afternoon, the noise went away apart from being back to the original ticking/squeaking. And it's been ok for the past few days. So, my questions are - Firstly, is this the thrust bearing? I can't think of what else it could be. Secondly, even though the major noise has gone away, I expect it to come back. Is there anything I can do to fix it, or should I just wait for the noise to come back and stay? Thirdly, I believe to fix it I have to drop the box and remove the clutch. Are there any cheap ways of fixing it? Lastly, how much is a workshop going to charge me to drop the box and lubricate/replace it, if that's what needs to be done? Any advice appreciated!

Kingscorp, pm me anything you have on synthetic oil. I'm always interested

The thing is, my car did 80 000km with god knows what oil and probably without any flushing. So now that it's all clean, I won't be flushing it for quite some time, if ever again. Good quality oil should contain enough detergents to keep the insides clean and I plan on using just those detergents from now on to keep it clean until I see something wrong. For anyone that thinks that just because an oil is "cleaner" after an oil change, you should probably revise that thought. Oil is supposed to turn black as it absorbs soot. If the oil stays clean, that means the soot is going elsewhere. And I don't remember the last time Ferrari produced a turbo car. Why would you go off a recommendation for a non-turbo car for a turbo Skyline? Also, I have never read a non-biased review which said that Shell Helix was anything other than an average oil. Perhaps a bit above average and almost certainly better than Castrol, but really nothing special compared to the better synths. Don't judge the oil quality by its colour after changing, is all I'm saying. Forget all the marketing hype and just do some research outside the advertising. I didn't buy the Fuchs oil because of marketing or advertising, I bought it because I heard from a few sources that it was a good quality oil which many other companies buy their synthetic base from, and that was good enough for me. If it turns out to be dodgy then I'll have to research more and find out which companies use Fuchs, and also rule them out. But I'm pretty confident that it's above average in quality. There are several reviews on the web about oil. Probably the most common comparison is comparing Amsoil to Mobil 1, because Mobil 1 is meant to be the premium synthetic oil (and almost the same as Fuchs synth). Everyone should probably be running Amsoil if they could afford it, but all of the comparisons are slightly biased in favour of Amsoil. Mobil even refute some of the tests that Amsoil use. I personally think there is not that much of a difference between Mobil and Amsoil after reading up on both of them, provided you do regular changes and don't subject your engine to extreme temperatures. I'd rather save a few bucks between changes and be able to just pick a new bottle from any spares shop, than have to send away for it every time. In the long run I doubt I'll see any difference.

I didn't blame Motul for the blockage. I (and the shop guys) think that it was because Motul was so much "cleaner" with better detergents that it loosened up all the crap that was put in by either Castrol or whatever oil before the Castrol. It was meant to be a good thing to make the exhaust run dirty for the first sump full of Motul, but because I had so much crap in my engine it was obviously too much and it blocked the lifter/s. The proper engine flush was the only thing that could get it unblocked. Autobarn stock several different products so that the shopper has a choice. They gave me advice based on their own experiences, they said Motul was good in their experience, but they hadn't used Fuchs much but had heard it was also good. Why wouldn't I believe them? They aren't a Motul dealer. I too am wary of running too much engine flush. Now that this Fuchs oil is in I think I am going to just do straight changes and see how I go. Hopefully the detergent in this stuff is good enough to get by without the engine flush.

Busky2k, you didn't read what I wrote properly. Where exactly did I say that I did any engine flushes at all before this problem happened? The engine flushes FIXED this problem. Without them I'd still have 1 or 2 collapsed lifters and all sorts of associated problems with it. Can you say no starting for 2 solid minutes of cranking, no power once running, and HORRIBLE valve noises? This is what it came to and I had to get the car towed to the workshop. I don't understand your reasoning with the Motul oil supposedly having nothing to do with making the exhaust dirty either. Why would it have to burn a litre of oil to make the exhaust dirty? It's the gunky buildup in the engine making the exhaust dirty, not the burning of the fresh oil. Sorry man, but I'm inclined to believe what the shop guys and the workshop told me in this case rather than you with a statement that doesn't make any sense. And why are you comparing Motul with Mobil anyway? It was Castrol that I was using that supposedly did something wrong whether by contaminating or not cleaning previous contaminants. If you read what I wrote, you'd find that I'm now using Fuchs which is virtually the same as Mobil, so I think I'm probably agreeing with the last bit of your statement of them having equal amounts of detergents. I'm really not sure what you're getting at, at all. Edit: Maybe there's a misunderstanding about what I said about my exhaust being "dirty". I couldn't notice any difference in the actual exhaust colour itself, but what happened is I got some faint stains in the catch can lines for the first time, as well as horrible brown stains on my rear bumper over a period of several weeks after the oil change. It was only a very small amount of pollutant coming out, but obviously enough was still circulating in the engine to block a lifter or 2.

Engine flush isn't as bad as I first thought. It's mostly diesel fuel I think, and shouldn't be much of an issue with fresh oil in the tiny quantities that remain in the engine after draining. I imagine that it would even be similar to the detergents used in most synthetic oils. I wish I had done engine flushes on previous services, but I don't think they would have been needed if I had used Motul instead of Castrol.

Anyone considering Motul - I would go for it, but make sure you do a Nulon engine flush before the oil change. Because otherwise the detergents will disolve the gunky bits in your engine and circulate them around until they block something important like a lifter. It may not do any damage but it may ruin your day.

I was using Castrol Formula R 5W-30 too. I'm not 100% sure it was the Castrol oil either, because I have no idea what the previous owner was using. But what I *do* know, is that the Castrol was not cleaning out the engine if it was the previous oil causing the gunk buildup. In either case, it was a good enough reason to swear off Castrol. No you probably haven't had a problem with Castrol, same as I didn't, because it's either not cleaning up the gunk in your engine or depositing new gunk in your engine and it may be 20-30k km or more before you notice anything wrong. I doubt the engine is running at peak efficiency with all that crap in the engine. If you do an engine flush between oil changes you are probably going to be ok with Castrol. But the fact that Castrol Formula R needs the engine flushes to help stop gunk buildup problems makes me want to avoid Castrol full stop. That and other reasons such as its propensity to absorb water and lose viscosity more than better quality oils. Do some research on the web, you'll find that Castrol is a pretty average synthetic at best. They are running on marketing and the famous brand name.

Because the oil that the workshop used after they did the engine flushes was Fuchs, and I decided to stick with the same brand for awhile. I've only heard good things about Fuchs anyway, like they make many other company's synthetic base, which then often gets diluted down to something cheaper. But after this experience, I've no qualms about switching to another brand. I'll see how Fuchs goes for at least a couple of oil changes. Now I'm just trying to decide if I should do engine flushes between oil changes, or just see how the detergents in the oil do the job. I don't believe the Motul 100% synths would need any engine flushing at service time, at least not very often, but I'm pretty sure there are other good quality oils in the same boat.

I have seen some people in threads that say "Stay away from brand X of oil, I used it and I got problems." I was even tempted to join them, after swapping from Castrol (because I had read too many dodgy things about it) to Motul. When I did this, my exhaust started running really dirty, and I started to get noticable residue in my oil catch can line for the first time. Until then it had been very clean. Then one day I found a lifter had blocked which took a couple of hundred dollars to diagnose at a workshop and fix (repeated engine flushes). So I thought that this Motul oil was crap, and that I should change to something better. But I had read too many good reports on Motul, so I had to question what happened. I then thought, well what if it was the Castrol that was crap (which I had already read from many sources) and that it was just the Motul was cleaning up the engine which ended up unfortunately blocking my lifter with the crap created by the Castrol. I spoke to one of the guys at Autobarn Auburn and asked him about Motul (which he said was very good) and told him about my blocked lifter, but that I wasn't sure if I would blame the oil or if it was just cleaning out the old crap. He asked if it was on my first oil change of Motul and I said yes. He then called over his co-worker and said "What happens on the first change of oil to Motul?" and the guy replied "The exhaust gets really dirty as it cleans out the engine." So that basically summed up what happened to me without either of us giving the other guy the story about what happened. There are people that say you should never change your brand/type of oil. Pick one and stick to it. I am now of the opinion that unless you're sure of your oil's reputation, then you should be changing your oil type. I would say that it's very possible that if you change oil brands and you experience problems, it's likely that it's not the current oil causing the problems but the stuff you're replacing. I'm now running Fuchs 5W-50 synthetic. I'll see what happens after a couple of oil changes. I did a full engine flush before changing it, so I think my exhaust and lifters are going to stay a lot healthier at least for the next 5000km.

Jeebus, NOW you're testing my memory. Let me think.... Oh yeah, I remember now. It was my wastegate (internal). The pivot was borked due to having been welded shut at some point by the previous owner and then cut open again. The result was that it was sticking and not closing all the way when cold and rattling. I got it repaired at Garrett for around $150 (I removed/replaced the turbo myself), after which the noise stopped and I also noticed a power increase because the wastegate could then shut more easily and properly. I did have another rattle more recently, this was due to a blocked lifter. I spoke to a guy at Autobarn who also owns a Skyline, asked him if he heard of anyone having problems with Motul oil, which I had just switched to. He said no, but asked if it was my first sump full of Motul. I said yes, and he said to his co-worker "What happens on the first oil change with Motul?" The guy said that you get a lot of blow by and a really dirty exhaust, as the Motul cleans out the old crap that was in there because it's got a lot of detergent in it. That's exactly what happened so it wasn't really the Motul oil to blame. The car's running fine now. I have switched to Fuchs for now, because it's also meant to be a "clean" oil like Motul and Mobil. Apparently Fuchs make a lot of synthetics for other companies too and they re-badge it. I'll try Motul again if I have any problems with Fuchs.

Can someone lend me an RB25 fuel rail for a couple of weeks? I need one to clean my new injectors and the only other option is to pull my own off and be without a car for that time (not to mention spend hours removing and replacing it and the old injectors)

Franks, I have no idea. I rang up Brant and they quoted me around $800 for their 3 point one, and $1100 for their 6 point "Nemesis".

No and yes respectively.

If you just want a 3 point immobiliser, forget Brant. They are over priced. You can pay about half as much for a similar 3 point immobiliser from Incar Options in Wetherill Park. If you want a 6 point immobiliser then you will probably have to get a Brant, but expect to pay around $1k for the privilege. I don't think any thief is going to bother trying to get through even a 3 point immobiliser. If it's going to take more than 5 minutes to hotwire he will just tow it. If it's parked in a garage and the thief *knows* you're on holidays for a few days then even a 6 point one won't save the car.

It's the brake fluid level dude, like Jay said. I had the exact same problem. Solution is to change brake pads and flush brake fluid.

Oh fair enough, I just thought all questions were answered and everything had been resolved. Either that or Predator got killed by his petrol fumes!

For what?!

You've hit the nail on the head with that last part. The main thing people seem to focus on about the 1J (and 2J) is the power it can handle. But what about the rest of it? Does the head flow the same, does it rev similarly, does it sound as good (), does it respond the same way to mods, is it as cheap to mod, etc? If all of these are similar in both engines as I think they are, you're just back to the strength of the bottom end, which is only one part of the engine. Doesn't really put it in "a class ahead". I think it would be better to say that the RB25 or 1JZ are a class ahead of Holden's Buick 6 because there are a lot of fundamental things better on the former 2. Sydneykid can also be quoted on these forums for saying that the Supra box is agricultural compared with the R33 GTS-t's. But man, why would you bother thinking about that when you're hung up on the bottom end

Better at what?

I don't mind them at all. They are "pretty good" when cold, and they only get better and better as they warm up. This is very subjective though, you might find they're as bad as the Ultimates. But with mine they seem to be perfectly fine by the time I get to the end of my street (braking for my driveway and the street corner). Personally, I think the RB74's are the best bang for buck street pad out there, period. Yes the Ultimates are cheaper and if you don't take it to the track you may never get them to fade, but the amount of extra time you'll spend cleaning will quickly decrease their value. Yes the RB74's get dusty, eventually, but so does any high performance pad. The difference is that the RB's get about the same amount of dust in 1000km as the Ultimates get in 100.