Duncan

rattle can scoop is totally in keeping with the style of the car, I'd just go for it.

Yeah that sucks, not much you can do to guarantee clean fuel from stops that probably don't sell a tank a year though You should be able to get an oil analysis done pretty quickly before deciding to pull the engine, at least you will know if there is bearing material there - I take it there is no knock yet since you didn't mention A fuel problem might hurt the big ends if the run wasn't stopped when detonation was detected, but it shouldn't hurt the main bearings unless there is a lot of crap in the oil

Yes, a brand new box needs to wear in a little, and the "big box" is actually pretty beefy compared to most. Just treat it nice for 500klm then change the oil, see if it improves

Mark, I love your total lack of self-control when it comes to cars.

If you've done 500klm at 500kw and it sounds and goes good, then your engine is fine. You would have heard or seen a major failure by now. I can see the glittering in the oil, but is there anything at the bottom of your oil drain pan after you slowly poor the oil out? Bearings etc will fall to the bottom of the pan, you would expect bearing material for a bottom end issue or potentially aluminium if there was a head problem

Always nice to pull the engine apart just before it gets expensive, instead of just after...I had the same luck in my recent stagea rebuild, it was ready to spin at least 1 big end too. How old was the engine, and did you have any sign of oil pressure trouble?

hmm, my website has obviously disappeared along the line somewhere, this thread must be kind of hard to follow now. Here are the oil setup pics, the temps have been good in both hot and cold weather although they do creep up on long runs on hot days like Bathurst last year which was 35 ambient, 20min session.....might go for next size larger core next time

link no work....I wanna hear pod-dy vq!

Thanks for the pics, they don't make those specifically for Fuga but based on that I'll have a closer look at them. Anyway, enjoy the extra zoom

That is a great outcome considering the easy mods. Do you have single or dual intakes? I'm waiting for the uprev guys to release the update to support HY51 and will then start with something similar, I had assumed I would need to address the headers as well but you've got good results without that hassle

Are you trying to replace the steering wheel or get the horn working? If only the latter you can just add a momentary switch somewhere to connect the 2 horn wires to the steering wheel. It also looks like you've lost your HICAS steering wheel angle sensor but perhaps HICAS is disonnected

I'll bet the issue in the switch itself.

Possibly...there were differences across R33 air cons and I'm not sure what they were. Late R33 and Stagea are *apparently* the same. The mounting is the same, the wiring is either the same or interchangeable (1 wire) but the fittings to the car can vary. I'm sure others know better than me. You can confirm the exact part# using your VIN through FAST or parts websites.

I recently went through this with my w34 stagea and was unable to find new genuine or aftermarket options. I ended up taking a punt and buying 2 used ones off yahoo japan, and the first one I fit worked so I have a suspect spare. I suspect AC compressors are going to become one of those impossible to find parts over the next few years until someone works out a non genuine alternative including mounting

sorry, I should add....yes the relay is an easy test/fix because you can just steal one form anywhere else, swap in and flick the headlights. but also be aware it is getting pretty common for these switches to fail, the full current runs through the switch and they have 30 years of use on them. They are available brand new from nissan

Yes, the lows go off when hi is on, either stalk back or stalk forward.

Yes, with the original factory wiring, when the Hi comes on the Low goes off. And yes, the flash function (stalk back) uses the brown relay in the engine bay (can't remember off the top of my head if it has a different fuse, but I don't think so). The hi on function (stalk forward) just uses the switch and no relay is involved

I can't agree with that; there is nothing wrong with a PowerFC's ability to meet the needs of 95% of cars. Why spend a couple of thousand on an ECU and tune when the PFC can do the job fine While you should get a workshop to look at it, the issue is much more likely to be electrical or mechanical than an issue with the tune.

I've got a Hardrace rear inner lower control arm bush and a Just Jap sump baffle?

Not in our experience. In our current place we need to optimise for morning sun in winter (heater) and afternoon (AC) in summer. Pretty much all year round in the middle of the day to mid afternoon the battery is full and we are getting 5c to export which is a waste of time

Definitely write it off. In an unrelated point, I'll give you $20 each for the tail lights, boot and rear bumper

plus interest of course

dammit, I was going to get by this weekend, I swear.

What is your Vin number?

Damn straight....the machine shop should do it but I always treat it as though they haven't.... Just one thing to add to the approach above. When you put the head on, the crank should be at (or just before) TDC, and the cams should also be set for TDC. You can determine that from the pin on the front of the cams or if necessary just put the cams gears on temporarily. Once the backing plates / timing covers are in place it is then ready for timing belt straight away