hutchwilco

I have a 2002 250rs. Previous owner lowered it with cobra springs, I'm not a fan. SAU member M35 kindly supplied me the factory ARX springs he removed from his. I don't have any spare cash but eager to get rid of the low height. At a guess it's 25mm lower than standard. Anyone see any problems if I just swap in the ARX springs? Don't mind a tall look so much. Also, any tips/traps I should know about? Planning to buy some spring compressors and do it myself. Have changed shocks on my C34 in the past. Keen to get advice on the practicality of using ARX springs and on the actual job. Goes without saying that I'll get an alignment done... Cheers

Incase anyone in nz has this stuff: I have mounts and electrics for a towbar but the previous owner removed and dumped the steel- wtf!?! Looking for replacement, assume most should bolt straight up? Also: (for black 2002 interior) Rear boot liner (rubber tray) Rear boot cargo net Rear boot cargo hide/ pull out cover

Incase you're interested I have a straight pipe pulled off my m35( I put factory on). Previous owner also dumped his factory and put this pipe on. Bolts straight up to the rear flange, and has a fixed angle iron to bolt up to the underside. Personally don't know why you'd want the damn droning noise but each to their own I guess. See photo. Visible pipe looks decent. I'm in christchurch nz.

Cool I'll keep the seat idea in mind. Think I'll try to raise the mirror first.

Ok then I guess I'm a freak. I have to say I may be contributing to the problem by having a bad back and needing the seatback straight up. Yes my head almost touches the sunroof trim, but it's gotta be done. I'll see if I can take a decent photo to demonstrate how much it blocks the view.

As I've said in a previous post, just bought an nm35. It's a great car but one thing doesn't work for me: the seat height/mirror combo. I'm not that tall, 185cm last time I checked, but the mirror completely obscures a good portion of the left side of my windscreen. Any left turn or roundabout approach requires me to lean forward and crane my neck under the mirror - I got a bad back so something's gotta change. Anyone got this problem and solved it? I'm think either I remove and re-adhere the windscreen mount up higher, and/or find an aftermarket mirror that's lower profile, or just mount the mirror via some custom method to the drop down sunglasses holder. ( yeah ok that might be a bit dodgy). Another option may be to lower the seat, but not sure how practical this would be. Interested to hear if I'm not the only one with this problem.'

I'm in North Linwood. Car looks mint but actually needs a bit of peeling paint work done... ...when I get round to it. I could be interested in your ARX springs. I'd just like to know how much bigger than standard they are and would they look stupid with 17" wheels? Otherwise I'm keen on more clearance.

Thanks dude that's all good advice.

Hi Guys, It's been a year or so since my C34 was nicked and I've been on the lookout for an M35 I could afford. finally got a 2002 250RS with almost everything I needed. First up - very nice car to drive, just what I expected, and as a family man, fantastic for going on holiday with the family and fitting everything in. I have a few issues I need advice with: Exhaust: I bought this off a young fella who'd lowered it and replaced the exhaust with a straight pipe - not my style. I've put a standard muffler back on, but all the wreckers cut the damn rubber hanging mounts. I've bodged mine up with wire, crimps, and some rubber mounts from a cefiro, but i need the three rubber mounts to finish the job. Can anyone help? 2 of them are 90degree twisted. As I said, all the wreckers cut them! Suspension: I live in post-earthquake Christchurch NZ, and driving a lowered car on streets that are buckled and torn is a nightmare. That and I'm not into driving a lowered car for all the bad attention it gets. The springs it has currently are red and have Cobra 12263 tags (at least the rears do, I cant read anything on the front). So what are my options? Can I replace the rear springs since they are separate (I actually already bought some factory springs from a wrecker), or do the shocks need changing too? I don't know if the shocks are stock or changed when the springs were. Can I just replace the front springs? Or do they always have to be replaced with the shock? I'm thinking of getting the spring shock assembly from the wrecker for the fronts also. Alternatively, can I increase ride height - say to the ARX style? I believe ARX have bigger wheels and different suspension. Wheels: I have 17inch nissan mags and bridgestone potenza 215/55/r17s. is it possible to get even larger rolling diameter (to reduce the effect of earthquake road holes) by putting bigger tyres on he same mags? ie 215/65/r17s - does that even make sense? Handling: Since I'm talking about raising the car, I expect that I'll get a bit more roll when I put higher springs in - right? Can I offset this by putting in a better sway bar? should this be done front and back? My front bar currently has a number sprayed on it looks like 4181 - does anyone know if this is stock or custom? I'll be checking out the service info on this forum to see what I should be doing to the car since it's done 160k. Cheers

Ok cheers, I guess I could expect that answer if I asked it in this forum! Now to find an m35 for 5k...

Just before christmas and a new baby arriving, I had my series 1 nicked from outside my house. Got paid out for it eventually but cops found it sitting in a quiet neighbourhood, they had tried to light a fire in it and had nicked my music and odb interface cable. I'd just put a new cambelt, waterpump rear shocks and front bumper on right before it was nicked. gutted. Anyway, enough sob story: I need a new car. I loved the open road handling, and I'm loath to go back to something shittier. While I'm entertaining the idea of another stagea maybe the m35 if I can afford, I'm also seeing cefiros - think they have different engines, but seem fairly similar otherwise. Does anyone know how they handle compared to a stagea? do they have simliar chops with regards to body roll etc. I'm not into lowered, race performance, with giant wheels, just a good family wagon that handles nicely on the road. And I like 6 cylinders. interested to hear anyone's thoughts

yep cheers, will have to test both those theories. I bought a consult kit for nothing on trademe, so will set that up to watch what the solenoids doing. Thing is it stutters when not in OD. guess that could still be a rogue activating solenoid.

I've only just got it back into one piece - did cambelt, (water pump (was leaking)) etc then found the rear shocks had leaked out, and brakes were skewee so only bout to start it up again in months. I found while I was doing the cambelt that the exhaust cam was one notch -7.5 deg - retarded, dunno if that could cause some kind of stutter but we'll see. I see a transmission on tardme for 80 so I might buy that as insurance. Should know by next week if the stutter is still there.

that would be nice and easy, but their wiki software seems pretty clunky and overly busy, as well as slow. plus less control than if we kept it aligned with this forum. If I can find some free hosting - ***or if skylinesaustralia.com are interested in hosting it**** I'd set up a dokuwiki version or something similar...

not to drag an old thread back from the dead, but I have just been thinking about a stagea wiki and searched and found this thread. I'm setting one up at my work (power electronics design/manufacture) to capture all the knowledge that stays in our heads when working on products. The beauty of the wiki is that things can be debated/discussed in the forums and the wiki is the distillation of the consensus. that and all the facts can be put in place. We are using Dokuwiki which is free and super simple to setup and easy to use. The only issue I can see is that it would be ideal to have the same or linked logins as on these forums. Perhaps the software that runs these forums can be connected to a wiki...

Thanks for the info guys. One thing I'm not clear on is what shocks are interchangeable if I were to get second hand - eg, can I use rear shocks from a Rwd? how about a 4wd turbo ?(since mine is 4WD N/A) I'm in the process of setting up an inhouse wiki at my work place so that all the engineers can share and record their designs as well as facts/specs about the products. I reckon what is needed is a stagea Wiki, so that you don't have to wade through hundreds of conflicting forum posts to get the lowdown. The forums are good for discussion, but to get a simple piece of info. Maybe I'll look into setting one up...

Ok cheers, will need spring compressors. A mate at work is telling me they are separate and I wouldn't need compressors. Guide looks good but some photos blanking so maybe I'll make another version. I also see from a sticky topic here that the wgnc34 can use the same rear shocks as the r33 gtst. Would I be likely to get a cheaper deal but just as appropriate shock if I got quotes asking for r33 gtst shocks? I'm wondering how a heavy ol 4wd stagea could have the same shocks...

While my s1 was sitting for a month or two waiting for me to finish the water pump and cambelt replacement, it turns out the rear shocks leaked out and are now good for nothing. Earthquake ruined roads here are partially to blame. I've seen some advice on here about replacement shocks, mostly upgrading or lowering, neither of which I'm interested in. I just want to replace the standard shocks, unless it's no more expensive to upgrade. I've sourced a local supplier $153+GST each - Anyone in Chch/NZ know of a better price than that? (bear in mind 4WD) Is there anything particularly tricky to this replacement? Do I need special tools? If there is no guide on SAU (I couldn't find one) I'll see about documenting my steps. I'd appreciate any advice/tips on this job... Cheers

If by 3rd gear you mean Drive without OD then yeah it does. Keen to know what you find out about your old box - sounds similar to mine. Haven't joined SDU - didn't seem to be much (any) technical/mechanical info there...

Yeah the OD button seems to work ok. If I'm cruising and it starts to stutter, I can back off throttle, punch throttle or turn off OD and it will stop. But if I stop if by turning off OD, it will usually start stuttering again (while not in OD) within a minute. That's whats the transmission guy thought was strange - it stutters out of OD. I'll check out the OD connection once I have the radiator back in (pump and belt change in progress).

OK interesting idea - any advice on where to source a new one? Do you think if I disassembled mine and eliminated the chance of the circuit closing electrically that would help troubleshoot whether it was the button? I'm guessing the switch wobbling in the shifter was making yours go in an out of OD really quickly? I'm wondering if we have the same type of stutter - when mine starts it's very regular and keeps 'in time' - a bit quicker than once per second - and never just does one or two stutters - once it starts it always continues and worsens in amplitude until I change throttle or brake. It doesn't seem like an electrical button or wire that's loose - but I guess I'll see what I can check out. If you have any good ideas for where to get a known good button (new?) let me know.

yep got the pump, belt, tensioner and idler in a kit. surprisingly local Nissan dealer seemed to have the best deal $315. Super cheap was 290 something but not OEM. Tried the starter method but it didn't work for me - possibly because of the shitty battery the previous owner bought for it. Ended up wrapping a strop three times round the crank pulley and ratcheting up the tension between both tow hooks. Worked a treat.

Cheers, I'll get it lined up. Would be nice to have an idea of what the misalignment would do/sound like when driving. But I guess I'll find out if fixing it improves anything. I've tried quite a few google suggestions - twisted belt locked to the alternator - broke one belt. I have actually borrowed a 12v impact wrench which would work a treat if it fitted down in the gap. So I tried removing AC radiator, only to discover that even though it was dented and bent from a crash by a previous owner, and the AC belt had been removed, it was still fully charged. Vented freon all over me - not the most pleasant! MIght try the starter motor crank method next...

I'm midway through changing Stagea water pump, belt and idler & tensioner, reason being that the water pump started to weep. 1. I've got sight of the cam pulleys and when I align TDC on the crank, only the inlet cam marks align - the exhaust side cam is ONE tooth behind the mark. I'm wondering what if any noticeable effect this would have had on the engine or the way it ran? Obviously the exhaust valves would have been slightly behind the rest of the engine. The one problem I had with the car till now was stuttering at cruise (but it was determined not to be lockup as it showed same symptoms when out of OD) - could this contribute? 2. The other issue I have yet to solve is holding the engine still when I undo the crank pulley bolt. Manual says remove starter but it appears difficult to get to (I'm doing this on a sodden uneven driveway so jacks are difficult) and I don't have the ring tooth stopper to put in there. cheers,

OK cheers for the ideas. Still yet to have the mechanic get a live output monitor for the ECU that tells you what the sensors and solenoids in the transmission doing as you are driving. Hopefully that will tell me something The attessa 4wd fluid seems all good at normal levels. Will try the 2wd method next time I take it out. Definitely won't be doing a manual conversion, the mechanic I had look at it said it was a PITA and expensive. I'm not into hotting this thing up, I just want a good solid car that handles the open road well. The shudder is usually from 80-120 but I've had it come in from about 60. there is a barely noticeable, very high frequency shudder when you're accelerating around 30-40 and it's cold, but not even sure if it's the same mechanism. Incidentally just replaced the thermostat, found the old OEM one had a rubber seal that had perished and partly disappeared (into the engine or radiator I guess) and the resulting gap was stopping the thing from warming up properly (explains the awful mileage I was getting). Put in a new one and new coolant and voila, a new leak from the waterpump weep hole. Awesome.