JimX

G0DF4Th3R, did you sort this out? I got the exact same problem the other day - handbrake light went on when I was going around a corner, then stayed on for about 15 minutes then went off again and has been off ever since. I was thinking it was a sensor detecting low pads, or the brake fluid level as has already been discussed. It seems too freaky a coincidence for it to be something like a short. Out of all the wires in the car, what are the odds that I have the exact same short as you in the handbrake switch? I think it's gotta be something else.

You can't use compressed air to clean injectors, the holes are way too small. The only way to do it aside from fuel additives in your tank is with a special injector cleaning machine that uses ultrasonic sound waves to rattle the built-up particles free. Try the bottled injector cleaner first, if that doesn't seem to work or not do much, fork over the $200 for the professional clean. Make sure you go to a reputable workshop. I had my Commodore's done, was quoted around $220 before I took it in, but when given the bill I saw I was slapped another couple of hours labour on top for removing and refitting. I could have them in and out in under half an hour.

Yes, aftermarket exhaust. I guess that's possible, it might be something rattling on a flange and then as the metal heats up it kind of "seals" the gap so to speak. The noise isn't getting any worse (been this way for like 6 months now, maybe longer) so I'll get the workshop to take a look when I upgrade the dump pipe in a month or 2.

I've got a rattling noise coming from the engine somewhere (seems to be low-down, not in the head) that disappears as the engine warms up. At first I thought it might be the cat, because I had a similar rattle in my Commodore and it was the cat, but that noise didn't go away when it got hot. I tried muffling the cat with a towel anyway just to make sure but that didn't make a difference. It's hard to tell whether the noise is coming from the front or back, but my current theories one of the timing belt pulley bearings or maybe the clutch thrust bearing. I'm not sure if either of these noises would disappear with the engine warming up though. I don't think it's anything too far into the engine because it doesn't sound muffled by anything other than the firewall and bonnet. Has anyone got any ideas?

The reason why oil from your fingers on globes causes them to fail early is because they form a heat sink on the quartz. In a halogen light bulb, the tungsten filament gets so hot that some of it evaporates into the halogen. Normally the evaporated metal condenses back onto the filament again because of the halogen, within a couple of milliseconds. When you get oil on the quartz (glass would melt because these bulbs run much hotter than normal bulbs), it draws heat away from the rest of the bulb, and the metal starts to condense on this cooler spot in the bulb instead despite the halogen. Eventually you will then the bulb will fail in the exact same way as your house light bulbs fail. There will be a weak spot in the filament because too much has condensed onto the quartz. This is also why you don't have to worry about touching normal vacuum type bulbs. With these, either way the filament will evaporate and condense onto the glass, and it doesn't matter if it does this in one spot or evenly over the inside. Because of the way normal filament bulbs fail, in theory it shouldn't matter if you get oil on a HID bulb because they don't work by evaporation. For anyone looking at upgrading their bulbs, have a look at Daniel Stern's Lighting page. This site has convinced me to get some Philips Vision Plus bulbs as my next car purchase.

The S-AFC uses static ram to save its settings, so even by cutting the power for years it shouldn't erase your settings. There is a reset button on the unit that does that. In theory the ECU learns off the exact same AFM signal whether standard or modified by AFC, the only variation in the fuel injector output comes from the ECU itself. The ECU reset shouldn't care whether or not it has to re-learn everything from a standard or modified signal, it should end up exactly where it was before the reset whether the AFC was in use or not. If it "knew" about the AFC, then it would gradually end up compensating for all the AFC settings and you'd have to reset the ECU every few weeks. That's all in theory of course, because it still doesn't explain why my economy has suffered. Maybe I just need to give it more time to learn an optimal mixture. It's been 3 tankfuls so far and it's in the low 14'sL/100km, whereas before it was as low as mid 13's.

That's not what he was asking, if you read his original message properly. He knows the settings haven't been lost, but he wants to know if the ECU is "re-learning" a wrong fuel mixture because of the S-AFC. I don't know enough about it to determine one way or the other, but my mechanic said an ECU reset won't affect it. However, my fuel economy seems to have suffered recently after I got some speakers hooked up, which would have been the first time the ECU had been reset since my S-AFC was tuned. Could just be coincidence, I don't know. I'd really like a definitive answer on this. Wish I could afford a PFC

I've never seen an intercooler kit except in bits and pieces on various sellers' websites. Is all the piping already welded together? If not you'll have to weld it up yourself. Not knowing much about kits I would have to say it all depends on whether or not the kit is targetted towards the DIY market. Going off a gut instinct I would say it isn't, and you may be better off getting a workshop to do it. Should only take a couple of hours if that.

Ah ok, I think I saw some holes like that in the disc. I'll keep it in mind.

As it turns out I didn't need to take the discs off anyway (yet). I discovered on the pads that it was the run-out marker on the pads that was causing the squeal, but there was around 3-4mm of pad left. I pushed the indicator back a bit to around 2mm, so the next time it makes the noise I'll change the pads (and machine the discs).

Ah ok, so it's just kind of wedged on. Rubber mallet it is then. Thanks! Red900ss, I can't find any screws. Not in the front anyway, and I can't get my head around the back (can't see why there'd be one back there anyway)

Ok, I give up. On all previous cars I've had after you pull the calliper off the disc just falls off. But on this R33, they seem to be held on by something. I tried punching the centre bit out with a hammer and screwdriver but it doesn't want to move. I didn't hammer too much, didn't want to damage it. Can someone please tell me how to get the discs off?

Why bleed them if you don't disconnect the brake hose? Air won't get into the braking system unless something's wrong with it.

Just FYI: The series 1 is not a lemon compared to series 2, as with Commodores and Falcons. If you can swing a series 2 for the price of a series 1 then go for it, but the differences are not all that great apart from styling. And I personally prefer the series 1 seats. I hear plenty of people saying to steer clear of any series 1 VN or EA Falcon etc due to many faults in those cars, but there's really nothing wrong with the series 1 R33. The only thing "wrong" with it is it's missing a couple of features like passenger airbag. Many people tend to have that "series 1 is a lemon regardless" mentality though, so this can be used to pick up a bargain. Edit: I didn't mean to sound so presumptuous. Presumption removed, but information remains.

Guilt-Toy, I don't care that R33's are common either, but I do get annoyed to hear the "R33's are everywhere" thing, when they are still far far short of Commodores and Camries and Falcons etc. No one ever comments on that, not even me because I really don't give a toss

Firstly, I was actually talking about the dump pipe with split waste gate plus front pipe, plus fitting. And I was actually quoted over $300 for that. It wasn't meant to be the focus of my message. Secondly, the car has new paint (as of October last year) anyway. I can get new paint matched exactly by the workshop that did the respray, and I even have a little left over. Thirdly, I'm not concerned about the underside damage of the bar which I know will happen regardless. I'm mostly concerned about the big scrapes on the front/side from the miniature boulder I nudged. Fixing up the 4 or 5 other stone chips in the front/upper part is just a bonus. And I don't know how you think a front bar rusts, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and presume you didn't read my message properly (I didn't say anything at all about respraying the bonnet, just the front bar). Ok, so what you're saying is you don't have any information at all on my questions. Thanks.

I've got one big stone chip on my bonnet, plus lots of driveway damage on my front bar. The final straw was from a rock, which someone had moved from its usual location on the grass in one of my fairly regular parking spots to be in the path of my front bar, resulting in some sizeable scratches through to the plastic on it. It will cost me around $300 to get the front bar resprayed, but that still leaves the bonnet and a couple of other stone chips here and there still to be fixed. I'd rather not fork out that much money to have this all fixed up, because that's $300+ I could be putting to a new dump pipe. I know that there are some paint chip repairers out there that specialise in fixing this sort of thing, but I was wondering (a) how much they cost roughly, and (B) how good the end result is? One of the shops I've heard of that do this is called "Chips Away" I think, are there any alternatives that are better or worse?

You can get most aftermarket adjustable shocks rebuilt, but it doesn't come cheaply. Talk to a good suspension shop about it, you might have to get the parts imported.

I'm sure it happens to plenty of Skylines. I've just never actually seen it before*. Last night I saw a brand new BA Falcon with the right tail light 1/4 full of water! Well, it was in Sydney, it was probably at least 2 weeks old and gone through all the rain we had last week * - ok, what's the bet I've jinxed myself now and the first one I'll see will be in my own car?

Wow, this is the first Skyline I've heard of with this problem. I've seen countless Commodores and Falcons with it though! Usually it happens for one of 2 reasons. One, because the sealant used around the lens has come apart for whatever reason (age usually). The solution is to take the whole thing apart and re-seal it. Another is if there is a tiny hole in the plastic somewhere, which is what I had in my Commodore. You can fix this with a bit of super glue or Araldite or something.

I can hear ticking from my Profec, but usually only at idle. It's fairly muffled, being near my pod and inside the air box, so with even a moderate amount of exhaust noise I can't hear it. Even the stereo on at a moderate level will drown the tick out.

I think it's funny in that thread there is someone saying "2 many R33's round these days" in a Commodore forum!

There are exceptions to every rule, but almost every sale I've seen on the net, whether in these forums or others, where a seller hasn't listed a ballpark figure to start from, it ends up wasting everyone's time and it doesn't get sold. Many times (note: not ALL times) the seller won't even sell unless he gets a ridiculously high (clueless) offer.

They say "offers" usually on the off-chance that they will find a sucker that will offer them way more than they wanted for the car.

Series 1 would be better, but check the condition before you buy. ie, I'd rather a good condition S2 than a worn out S1.