madmoomoo

Seeing you guys are so good at getting stuff off, any hints on how to unscrew the stupid O2 sensor? I barely had enough room to get the socket wrench in there, but used all my force and nothing moved. I bought some anti rust stuff today that i'll spray on it tomorrow, and also got closed/open ended spanner to fit. Is this enough to get this sucker off? Is it easier if I put the car up on stands and get underneath? In regards to the "on car machiner", is there something I can get to machine the discs myself? hmm.. very interesting... I thought it had to be done on a lathe or something....

sweet. I'll go with that. It needs to be changed, so I'll go grab one of these babies and wire her up later. By the way, I changed over the fuel filter yesterday. I took off the bracket so I had a bit more room to twist, but it took me a good 20 mins of pulling and twisting and destroying my hands to get the stupid thing off. Is there a better way of doing this without annihalating one's own hands? (I've got 2 cuts and my fingers are killing me). Cheers!

Alright. Totally understood now. Thanks once again. New question: Has anyone had experience using a ford EL falcon O2 sensor in their skyline? I've been reading up and it seems that people use this as a cheaper alternative. Apparently it's a straight swap, except for a little rewiring. I went down to autobarn to enquire about this, but Gene there reckoned that I shouldn't stear away from nissan genuine. Is there going to be a difference? (as long as they both put out the same voltage range and fit the screw threading?)

Oh, I meant how do I do it if a brake shop is doing the discs and I"m doing my own pads... sorry to confuse... Thanks for bedding instructions too by the way!

Well, a large part of this car thing is to learn what I can. I'm comfortable doing my own brakes, but what about bedding in the new brakes? If I am to do the brake pads myself and get someone else to do the discs, which order do I do them in to bed them most effectively?

Thanks 3LIT3 FORS3 Ah, ok. So when exactly do I change the pads over? Am I supposed to get them both on at the same time so I've got 2 new surfaces to bed? Or do I then go back home and change pads?

Another question I just thought of is this... If I'm going to machine my discs when changing brake pads, what's the actual procedure? (Eg, do I leave the car jacked up on blocks or something on the street - I have no garage - then run off to get machining done?). Do I go to a brake place to get them machined or do I need a metal work place or something?

I've been searching for O2 sensors too, and from these threads, lots of people have found that EL ford falcon sensors are a swap over, albeit with a bit of wiring. They range from $80-$120 from places like repco & autobarn. Aparently the wiring has a diff harness/clip, so you need to cut it and rewire. Seems pretty simple. This is what i'm doing later this week. Hope that helps.

Ah, ok. That makes sense. What about rotating these tyres of mine? Which way do I swap them, or what do I do?

Wow, lots of good info there 3LIT3 FORS3... very informative... I just thought of two more questions for you knowledgable lot: a) I've got 18" rims on the car and it has directional tyres.. I presume lots of you guys may have something similar. How do I rotate them if there's only one option (front/rear swap each side)? I always wonder this, but keep forgetting to ask... B) The turbo is stock ('93 r33 gtst), is it oil cooled? There is, what appears to be an oil container on the turbo side, just near piping to/from intercooler. Is this oil for the turbo? and if so, how often should it be change/ what do I use/ and how is it done?? If anyone else has questions that they keep forgetting to ask, then please feel free to add on... (and yes... I'm going through those threads on O2 sensors as we speak... I'll write up what I find...)

Ok, so start with furthest brake calliper then work in... got it... With the braided brake lines, I have read that about the non ballooning/expanding, so I guess I couldn't go wrong by changing them over. It's something I want to learn how to do anyway, so at least it's another learning experience... It looks like I'll have to keep doing research about the O2 sensor. I'll probe around and see if I can figure it out... Has anyone changed theirs over before, because I believe there's alternative replacement O2 sensors from ford that are way cheaper. Anybody been through that before?

Thanks for your little guide blacky! just what I need. Which calliper do you start with? I think I remember reading somewhere that you start with the furthest and move closer, or was it the other way around? Oh, I've got some more questions for you very knowledgable lads and lassies... 1) Is it worthwhile changing over to braided brake lines? I'm assuming that if I am going to change, it would be an idea to do it at the same time? Or would that be kinda messy? Has anyone had experience with the braided stuff? 2) With the brake pads... front vs rear and changing them.. I'm assuming from the feedback that I just look at the pads independantly and change front/rear when they're worn. How much should be left on a pad before it is changed, or how can I tell when it needs to be changed over? (I presume you'd change when X mm left...?). 3) How do you test if the O2 sensor is gone or going? Can i hook up a multimeter and test something? This is something that I really want to sort out, coz i'm one of these people that are having some dodgy fuel consumption issues. (i've discovered I'm really not alone with that issue, judging by other people stories on these threads!!). Yup, this little broom broom of mine is a bit thirsty, so I need to work out what's making her drink so much! Thanks for all help, I love these forums!

Oh, and with brake fluid, how often should it be flushed? (This is another thing that I haven't done yet, so I'm wanting to learn how... so any hints would again be very handy... = ) . thanks!)

For you guys that are changing your O2 sensors, I remember reading that you can use a ford replacement that costed $70 odd bucks instead of the nissan one which something like double the price... Is this correct, and do you have any model numbers or brands I can look for? Thanks for all the input everyone, it's very handy. Another small question with the brake pads, do you change rear pads at the same time as front pads?

Hey folks, A big reason (excuse) for buying my gtst was to learn how to do most of my own servicing etc at home, and i've been doing lots of reading. One thing that I can't find out though is this: How do you know when to check for what? Is there a general guide as to what's done at certain kms? Obviously I can't do everything myself, so I will take to my mechanic to do the bigger and trickier things, but I at least want to be able to care for my car and do the smaller things. For people those of you in the know, could you give me a rough guide as to what has to be done where... (my old gal has done 180,000 km, and is a 93 r33 gtst). (eg. 10.000 do this 15.000 do that 20,000 do this and that. every 5000 change oil and do this.... etc....) Thanks for your help in advance. Hopefully we can get a good guide going, coz i'm sure a lot of people will find it handy!

Does the electrics still move the mechanism up and down at all? If so, you can put it all the way to the bottom to access easier. I had to muck around with my window a few weeks ago coz it stopped working, and I discovered that if you pull the rest of the plastic cover off (with black sticky crap on it) and take your speaker out, you can actually access a whole lot under there. There isn't much room though. If you still can't quite get at it, you can undo the 4 (i think) screws that hold the winder motor assembly onto the inside of the door, then you can really move things around. You can also at that time pull on the window itself to move the bits in the bottom. I presume it's one of the little rails that's possibly bent, and if it is, you may be able to fix through the bottom. I couldn't work out how to get any further than this, and luckily i didn't have to. Hopefully that'll help a bit. Hope i haven't confused you. good luck with it!

I know that the autobarn in the city now import heaps of body parts. They have a catalogue that you can look through. Apparently they have lots of copies of the big brand ones, but I haven't actually had a look through myself yet. Gotta get some cash first...

p.s. thanks for the url one8tsx, very handy....

Maybe we should start up a new thread, tiitled "Gardening and home improvement tips for the home mechanic" or "Drifting and Gardening weekly" hehe...

Hmm, I think i should maybe go sus out my car too, because I've been getting a bit of a petrol smell at times, and I've noticed i'm getting bugger all from a tank of petrol. What do you guys with R33 gtst's get from a full tank, because I think mine is either drinking too much (like me) or is losing fuel somewhere... It's pretty stock and I am getting less than 300km lately. The last couple of refills have been not much more than 250km... I'm getting the "depressurizing pshhh" happening, but petrol smell from front of car at times.... Does this sound familiar to you guys that have had similar things?

Ah, that's better... So it looks like I'll give a ring to the local dump and/or council. Thanks for your input lads and lassies. Have a safe chrissy!

Ah, that's sounding a bit more like what i expected... Anyone got ideas where there might be one in melbourne? Or who I call to ask about it? Thanks for your help lads. have a safe chrissy.

Hi folks, I just did my first oil change a couple of weeks ago (thanks to sciby's great tute). I filled the container from the new oil with the old stuff, and it's been sitting on the bedroom floor since. I obviously can't tip it down the sink to feed the dolphins... can i put it in the bin, or does it have to be deposited somewhere? thanks.

Oh yeah... GTR32, I have done some reading up on all this squeeky business, and I remember reading about the harmonics and frequencies etc... Any idea what exactly is vibrating? is it the disc, or something in the pad/backing/calliper assembly? Also, don't worry, i just sprayed my silly string on the back of the pad..... Actually, that's why i'm wondering about which bit is vibrating etc, coz if it's these plates behind brake pads, then would a tiny amount of silly sting in between help to stop the metal on metal rubbing? Or maybe that would just make everything stick together and decide not to work, and i'd end up in a pond somewhere....? hmm..

The squeeking started not long after the bendix pads were installed (ultimates). I don't know if the workshop bedded the brakes in or not... If the discs were machined, would that mean it's kinda like doing things again, and getting to bed the brakes again, to make it match up to the discs? Back to another part of my question before... do any of you guys know if you have 2 metal shim/plate things behind your disc pads? The closest one of mine to the pad is dark metal, and the same size as the pad, the other is a shiny metal (steel?) that only covers the top 1/2 or 2/3 or the pad. If you can't quite get the picture of this, when you see the imprint from the disc pot things (whatever they're called, that press the pads... the big round things), the circle shape doesn't quite fit on the shiny metal part, and the rests overlaps onto the darker metal... My other question that i just thought of is this... when people say "anti squeel shims/pads/something", are they referrring to the backing plate thing behind the brake pad, or the actual brake rotor/disc thinig..? Thanks for your input.... = }