General Work Needed On The Car - Ideas?

[JoelyMoley]

hey guys, yes yet another post from me took the new R33 in for a service by a mechanic to ensure he couldn't spot anything major out of place that dad may have missed (ex mechanic- never worked on forced induction machines though) upon buying the car, talked to the mechanic and he gave me a list of things he found whilst poking around

4 new rotors (knew this one when buying the car)

3 new tyres (knew this one when buying the car)

high pressure radiator hose leak

power steering leak

Rocker cover gasket leak

radiator needs new front bushes

radiator needs a good flush

besides that he said the car was pretty straight and most of the work was due to age, not to it being flogged everywhere it went, any opinions on any of the work it needs and how much i could be expecting for some of it (he told me he didn't want to give me a quote because he doesn't know the RB parts price list very well and didn't want to lead me in the wrong direction once i take the car in to do the RWC to get the work done).. lol he also told me to hurry the f**k up and strap a powerFc to it so it could get some tuning done but thats a adventure for another day!

also how much would you expect to pay for Oil change, oil filter, fuel filter, platinum sparks and a radiator cap from a local mechanic, still feeling like the service itself was extremely cheap (although i did prepare myself for the worst having heard some of the turbo servicing stories out their)

cheers guys

[wlspn]

4 rotors & 3 tyres you'll just have to buy, maybe your dad can still get trade discounts?

Radiator hose leak is possibly as simple as tightening/replacing a clamp, worst case maybe replacing a hose... Depends where it is?

P/S same deal, could be a hose clamp, perished hose or gasket from pump area. Hose, tighten/replace, pump gasket, pull line/housing off, buy some gasket paper & reseal... If its rack you may need to get it looked at or replaced.

Rocker covers are only held in with screws so piss-easy to work with. You may get away with cleaning the rubber gaskets, cleaning the head & re-using them or buy replacements from Bursons, etc... For now just try tightening the screws a touch.

Radiator bushes, ring Nissan spare parts & get a price. Only have to remove the two brackets supporting the top of the radiator (1 bolt each), lift radiator just a bit (or get someone to do that for you) with hoses still attached, while you're under the car. Should get enough movement to slip old ones out & new ones in. Very easy! May even be able to get good second-hand ones (R34?) if Nissan prices are stupid. Mine are fine & car is an 89'...

Radiator flush is maybe a little hard, especially if you are not overly confident, as you want to remove (& maybe replace) thermostat to do the job properly & then ensure it is bled correctly when refilling coolant. I would suggest going to a proper radiator shop & getting system reverse-flushed.

This is a high-pressure flush in the opposite direction to which the water normally flows & cleans all heater hoses, etc...

However I have to say that is the only thing I would suggest you pay for. All the rest is simple enough & if you have a crack now & find you can do it you will save THOUSANDS in service fees down the track. If you are unsure of anything use the search function or post up more topics.

I know most people on here would do their own servicing & would normally be able to help you with anything you're unsure about.

Anyway, as for the service, roughly what did you pay? Would expect if he was using good synthetic oil & good quality parts you may have paid $350-$400... But that's from a mechanics point of view, have never paid for a service! lol

If your old man is an ex-mechanic you should have him doing it or at least teaching you so you can save money in the future...

All the stuff you have mentioned is dead-easy to do yourself once you have a crack at it & would assume you have a tool or two lying around the house.

As a side-note, I would suggest just using copper plugs, especially when/if you learn to change them yourself.

Fair enough not wanting to pay a mechanic to do them every 5-10000 kms but once you change them yourself iridiums, etc are not worth the extra $100

Good luck with it all!

Edited March 18, 2010 by wlspn

[The Bogan]

http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Radiator_Flush_and_Clean/

You can down load a manual off the net which tells you how to flush the system, the file is to big to post.

Get your dad to show you how to fix everything else.

PM me if you cannot find it and Ill try and help.

See you around, Enjoy

[JoelyMoley]

4 rotors & 3 tyres you'll just have to buy, maybe your dad can still get trade discounts?

Radiator hose leak is possibly as simple as tightening/replacing a clamp, worst case maybe replacing a hose... Depends where it is?

P/S same deal, could be a hose clamp, perished hose or gasket from pump area. Hose, tighten/replace, pump gasket, pull line/housing off, buy some gasket paper & reseal... If its rack you may need to get it looked at or replaced.

Rocker covers are only held in with screws so piss-easy to work with. You may get away with cleaning the rubber gaskets, cleaning the head & re-using them or buy replacements from Bursons, etc... For now just try tightening the screws a touch.

Radiator bushes, ring Nissan spare parts & get a price. Only have to remove the two brackets supporting the top of the radiator (1 bolt each), lift radiator just a bit (or get someone to do that for you) with hoses still attached, while you're under the car. Should get enough movement to slip old ones out & new ones in. Very easy! May even be able to get good second-hand ones (R34?) if Nissan prices are stupid. Mine are fine & car is an 89'...

Radiator flush is maybe a little hard, especially if you are not overly confident, as you want to remove (& maybe replace) thermostat to do the job properly & then ensure it is bled correctly when refilling coolant. I would suggest going to a proper radiator shop & getting system reverse-flushed.

This is a high-pressure flush in the opposite direction to which the water normally flows & cleans all heater hoses, etc...

However I have to say that is the only thing I would suggest you pay for. All the rest is simple enough & if you have a crack now & find you can do it you will save THOUSANDS in service fees down the track. If you are unsure of anything use the search function or post up more topics.

I know most people on here would do their own servicing & would normally be able to help you with anything you're unsure about.

Anyway, as for the service, roughly what did you pay? Would expect if he was using good synthetic oil & good quality parts you may have paid $350-$400... But that's from a mechanics point of view, have never paid for a service! lol

If your old man is an ex-mechanic you should have him doing it or at least teaching you so you can save money in the future...

All the stuff you have mentioned is dead-easy to do yourself once you have a crack at it & would assume you have a tool or two lying around the house.

As a side-note, I would suggest just using copper plugs, especially when/if you learn to change them yourself.

Fair enough not wanting to pay a mechanic to do them every 5-10000 kms but once you change them yourself iridiums, etc are not worth the extra $100

Good luck with it all!

cheers heaps mate, yea ill probably be buying the rotors from the dba bulk buy this month! nah dad won't have any trade discounts (he was a mechanic back in Brazil during the VW era possibly explains his golf )

definitely going to do most of the work with dad, he will get a buzz out of it all anyway yea id searched most of the stuff and nothing seemed to be mind blowingly hard (essentially just seals and hoses) probably won't go through the radiator flush as bleeding it will probably be a bitch

well he replaced the sparks with platinums, nulon oil, oil filter, fuel filter, radiator cap and the check over for $150 which i found to be great value (probably would have payed that to have the same service done on the old rolla from my old mechanic) guys are legit and really friendly to!

http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Radiator_Flush_and_Clean/

You can down load a manual off the net which tells you how to flush the system, the file is to big to post.

Get your dad to show you how to fix everything else.

PM me if you cannot find it and Ill try and help.

See you around, Enjoy

cheers mate ill give it a read over at work tomorrow!