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Duncan

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Everything posted by Duncan

  1. Duncan
    Despite the good progress on switch panel and engine in, yesterday was one of those frustrating days where lots of little things went wrong. I stripped a bolt in the upper control arm while torquing it up (probably had it threaded all along because my UCAs are a PITA for some reason, presumably something has been bent over the years). Also the steering splines were short and the starter motor wiring was as well. Today started with more of the same. Went to put the tailshaft in... The problem is really not obvious to look at, but when I had the tailshaft reco-ed they replaced the centre bearing, and put the bracket back on to hold it in place. In fact they took the initiative and welded the upper and lower halves of the bracket together. With the bracket backwards. Took me a while to work out, particularly since it all looked one piece since they painted after welding it on. Anyway some angle grinder loving to sort that, and the tailshaft is in
  2. Duncan
    Correct. The OS box lets you go faster in first gear although it will take longer to get there (as long as you haven't broken traction). The patrol option would get to 1st gear redline sooner but at a 20% slower speed. Patrol's focus was ability to pull heavy stuff from idle, OS's was to let you run a high power car with less gear changes. Horses for courses. Of the options you have, I'd jump at the patrol option and see how it goes because your shop is familiar. Personally I think the OS gearset isn't a great option, if you really need a stronger gearset there are stronger options, although they cost 3-4x more.
  3. Duncan
    I haven't seen one, a quick check of SEVS say Fuga aren't eligible for import. It looks like Infiniti are selling the Y51 model as a Q70 for about $80k though.
  4. Duncan
    OK, engine is back in, everything was very straightforward there. Down about 70% of the motor's height with the hoist, then subframe/engine up on the lifting platform. Actually I can't remember any issue at all with this, it was good Lots of bolts and stuff to do after that of course, the upper control arms have always been a bastard in this car (something about the alignment/chassis) and I managed to strip a bolt in the upper arm while doing it up to Nissan torque spec which is a prick as it's an unusual thread and I don't have another. Also the steering splines are not quite right, and I have to re-wrap the starter motor loom because it's not in the right place. Also, Neil put together the switch/light panel, just needs the carbon fibre sticker and no-one will ever know it's MDF. Still needs to be wired of course.
  5. Duncan
    Then, pick some lifting points for the motor. On the GTR I loop an old seat belt around the top radiator hose and across to a bolt on the rear right of the motor, GTST may be different, but the important thing is you need to be able to change the angle of the engine if it’s wrong, so the lifting loop must go from front to rear. Connect the engine hoist (at full extension). You may bash the wheels, if so remove them and support the front of the car/subframe on engine stands (as low as possible). Slowly lift the engine out, looking in particular for any wires you (or I’ve) missed. In your case, with the reo cut out it will be pretty easy because you only have to lift the sump over the sway bar and lower radiator support/intercooler. Some general suggestions Spray lots of degreaser, then wd40 on the main bolts as they’ve been there for 25 years. It can be really frustrating and you are likely to lose skin Always use a full contact tool (socket or ring end of a spanner) when you can to avoid rounding things off, and try and pull towards you rather than push away as you're less likely to slip and mash skin Old electrical contacts can be a bastard to remove. Avoid pulling on the wires. There is almost always a tab you have to unclip to undo the connector, undo it with a small flat screwdriver as you pull the connector apart Keep all bolts separate and labelled. Sandwich bags are good, or even little boxes/spray can lids/whatever. Just keep each set separate and label them all to make re-assembly much easier. Always check carefully as you lift because there are about a billion connections between the car and chassis, and I'll have forgotten some for sure...
  6. Duncan
    Then, underneath.... remove the exhaust (for anyone doing a gtr, also remove 6x p/s driveshaft bolts, and the d/s lower control arm ball joint (2 bolts to the lower control arm), then pop the d/s driveshaft out of the front diff, you'll need pry bars/big screw drivers and it can be a PITA) Undo the engine mounts (bottom nuts, they come out with the engine) Remove the driveshaft from the gearbox. On a GTR it’s 4 bolts but I think GTSt is a yoke that just slips out? Put a jack under the rear of the gearbox and take the weight off the gearbox cross member. Then undo the 4 cross member bolts and lower the gearbox somewhat (as far as you can in a gtst, ie until the head is touching the firewall or on a GTR until the attessa line at the rear of the gearbox is about to be stretched). If you are taking the box out as well remove the speedo sender plug (or cable in 32), reverse and neutral swtches. In a GTR you need to remove the attessa line at the rear of the box. Next is possibly the trickiest 2. (You don’t need to do these if you are taking the engine and box out together) Undo the starter motor bolts. Best way is to get a stubby 14mm spanner and a length of rope. Put the spanner on the top bolt and the rope around the other end of the spanner and pull down to crack the bolt, then undo it. Remove the bottom starter motor bolt and pull the starter out. If you skipped the battery disconnection/removal step you probably just set the car on fire. Top engine bolts are the next trick. The easiest way is with 4x 1” long extension with a 14mm socket, going over the top of the gearbox. If you can’t do that you may be able to get to the top bolts with a spanner from above, or possible with a spanner from below if the motor is tilted back enough. It can be frustrating to crack those top nuts, especially if they’ve been there for 20 years. Then undo all the other engine/gearbox bolts (no real trick here)
  7. Duncan
    Then, from the top, Remove the fuel pump fuse near driver's knee and crank the car a few times to clear the fuel lines. Then remove them from the fuel rail take the battery out. undo positive first so no shorts will happen once it is off. drain the radiator, remove the bottom of the shroud, remove the fan nuts, pull the fan out the bottom. undo the radiator hoses (easiest at the radiator) and overflow hose and pull the radiator out the top. drain the oil (and front sump in a gtr) if you want, it can lead to less mess but expensive repairs if you forget.... remove the throttle cable undo the intake piping to the intercooler (stock or front mount, either way) undo all electrical wiring to the engine. this includes the injector plugs and any temp senders, CAS, earth at the front of the motor, connector to the coil packs (coils, coil loom and plugs stay on the motor), 02 sensors, alternator, starter motor, oil temp and pressure senders, engine sub loom (one plug to AAC, PCV, knock sensors etc). also the earth from the chassis to the engine mount and you may also have others on the exhaust manifold(s). First time doing this you'll miss some wires for sure so take it slowly and keep looking as the motor comes out remove the vacuum lines to the carbon canister (almost forgot this one, lol ) remove the 2 water lines from the motor to the heater box in the cabin. connection is behind the dump pipe on the passenger side. remove the power steering pump from the engine and leave it on the car. you may want to cable tie it to the car to keep it clear. remove the a/c pump as well and leave it in the car (almost forgot this too ) make sure there is nothing between the rear of the head and the firewall (because later you will tilt the engine into this space)
  8. Duncan
    Well definitely give that other key a go, but I think it's more likely to be electrical in the barrel than the key. Removing the lock isn't as bad as it looks; you remove the steering column cover, one plug which has all the key's wires, and 2 bolts. The bolts will be either easy or hard because they are antitamper....if you can get them undone (sometimes you're lucky) it's easy, if not you have to drill them out which can be a pain.
  9. Duncan
    lol yeah that's why I was asking, but I think it would be a pain without a hoist. if you're not using this shell again the key thing I'd do is remove the radiator support panel; cut it at both end with a recip saw, angle grinder etc. And take the front bar and reo off too, then you will have plenty of space to take out the engine and box together. If you need that part of the car intact it is better to seperate the gearbox from engine if you are coming out the top.
  10. Duncan
    sorry I've got nothing! But hey there's an internet full of people out there
  11. Duncan
    Great to see a full track at Eastern Creek, and on a non-working day, well done to the committee! I'll be along Not sure what in yet but hey, I've got 5 months to work that out. Entry details and payment sent today and I'd like #32 thanks
  12. Duncan
    It does sound like an ignition barrel issue, the ACC and IGN are separate within the barrel so only the ACC might have failed/be loose. I understand you should be able to change just the barrel and have it rekeyed, you'll need to talk to a wrecker or car friendly locksmith
  13. Duncan
    Interestingly, I've never seen a good one on SAU, even though we have lots of DIY threads....please take detailed notes and pics when you do it. First question, what space/equipment do you have? A hoist? An engine crane? A couple of jacks? First decision is whether the engine and box are coming out the top or bottom. And second question; do you really need to remove the box or is leaving it in the car an option? Depends what you need to do....
  14. Duncan
    Sorry to hear about the problems, although it's kind of good to know there are shops that don't know what they are doing on both side of the world.... Good luck with the reassembly, and I'd also have to give some credit to the engine shop for covering the cost of a new head; they are expensive and lots of times shops try and duck responsibility for their mistakes...
  15. Duncan
    got to here, but Neil wouldn't let me press the down button. something about blah blah check everything blah something blah
  16. Duncan
    Good to see this is still going Dave....it's amazing how much longer some projects can take than you might hope....
  17. Duncan
    for sure, and even KYB is just an OEM replacement. If you buy a set of specific shocks you will get the springs to match (or vice versa, but the point is they come as a set once they move too far outside standard parameters). I ran lowered springs on stock shocks then KYBs for years on my 33 GTSt including track days and it was fine for a cheap upgrade. In fact probably better than most $1000-1500 spring and shock sets because they tend to use really cheap shocks and overly hard springs.
  18. Duncan
    Had the front of the car painted to deal with stone chips, and the rear bar done too due to some gronk scraping it while leaving a park. Just got it back from detailing, I reckon it's come up great for 15 years and 200,000klm Ahh those big sexy gtt wheels....
  19. Duncan
    just buy local on this, it's not a top line motorsport application, just a slightly lower car. Kings, Lovells, whoever has them at your local repco....
  20. Duncan
    slow progress with the hot weather and fidly jobs today, but both master cylinders are back in (clutch new, brake only used on a sunday), brakes lines cleaned and back in including the modified front line with brake pressure sender Also finished the looms and plugs for the new Haltech senders (oil pressure, oil temp, brake pressure, fuel pressure, e85 and wb02). Hopefully engine and front subframe back in tomorrow
  21. Duncan
    To the most recent change….the brakes have been a problem for 2 reasons; the discs and pads don’t match anything locally which is a pain with all the klm I do with this car, also they’ve warped a couple of times. So, I decided to move to larger brakes, stuffed round one afternoon with the racecar brakes trying to measure offset etc. At the end I figured 32 GTR was a good enough match to fit OK and headed to the justjap website to order some 330mm/6 piston fronts, only to find they had a listing for F50 Cima on there anyway! Couldn’t believe it….how many limo drivers need 6 piston brakes anyway. This is the size comparison Sadly I had to swap up from the 16s as well…I wanted to keep as close as possible to the awesome stock ride with high profile tyres. Old wheels and old brakes I picked up some cheap 34GTT 17” wheels in the same width and offset as stock, cleaned them up with the dremel and then Chris at Craved did an awesome job powdercoating them back to standard colour after the repair. The only problem with powdercoating factory wheel is the centre caps are plastic and have to be painted instead, still need to get that sorted. This is how they look with the ATTKD 330mm rotors and calipers And that’s hopefully it for now….get the misfire sorted and put another couple of hundred 000 klm on it
  22. Duncan
    Anyway, with a recent change of plans, I’ve decided to keep the Cima longer term…so the only sensible thing to do was to modify it a bit I took it up to Castle Hill Exhaust to see what they could do with the stock system (it came with 2 cats in the manifolds, 2 cats and a muffler in the mid pipe, 3 mufflers in the rear pipe and even a factory installed valve that closes off the main exhaust and just uses a pea shooter when putting around town). This is what was replaced The main issue was that it was way too quiet so I asked them to fix that The manifolds and mid pipe stayed, and the rear pipe was replaced with 2.5” and one large muffler in stainless. Much lighter than the old rear pipes too. Can’t show you a pic of how awesome it sounds…..so I’ll try and take a quick vid one day. On the down side, the before and after dyno runs confirmed my suspicion that it was misfiring at high revs. Yes that sounds silly not to be sure but it’s very hard to hear the motor and it runs so damn smooth it’s hard to pick the issue. look at those AFRs diving and the power get uneven as the missfire kicks in from about 3000 (the scale at the bottom was wrong, redline is 6,500 ish, not 7.7) I’ve replaced the fuel filter and it’s a bit better (it was veeeeeery overdue), but I think I’ll let Yavuz work out what else is wrong, I’m hoping it’s just the intank/low pressure fuel pump (since it runs direct injection it has a mechanical, high pressure fuel pump at the engine, and injectors are as dear as poison to replace. Could also be the coils as it’s approaching 200,000klm but I’d rather be sure before spending on 8 coils as a guess.
  23. Duncan
    Another couple of days on the car, and the progress is not obvious....but it's there the factory looms are all tidied up and back in the car (temporarily), and all the wires have been run to repace the fuse box/relays etc with the smartwire. next up is the switch panel and it's wiring, and the haltech's extra senders and their wiring. Also need to get the clutch and brake lines and masters back in, and throw the motor/front subframe back in. Oh and then test every damn thing.
  24. Duncan
    Good to hear. The trick once the input shaft is in is to turn the gearbox back and forth a little from the tailshaft flange so that the internals rotate and line up with the clutch splines
  25. Duncan
    Yeah I think the very conservative external looks really don't help it. It's not ugly....just very boring. But on the other hand it's probably the best car I've owned for it's purpose of highway cruising so I think it's been an awesome buy. And the ones for sale seem mostly to be overpriced which wouldn't help considering they are not common in the first place. And I'll come the the wheels etc later, but I guess the point is I really didn't buy it to be a pimped VIP car, just a super comfortable highway car....so much bigger wheels would not help at all. It definitely had bigger wheels in it's past some time because I could see wear marks on the strut and inner guard from some rubbing....
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