Jump to content
SAU Community

M35 Stagea Advice

jasevr4

By jasevr4,
in Four Door Family & Wagoneers

 Share

Recommended Posts

Commsman Veteran

Commsman

Posted
Posted

I agree. I love the black leather & electric seats, but the switch gears digs into my thigh a bit on longer trips.

There is a Nissan service bulletin that covers a (potential) fix for this - I posted them on m35.info forum - but I've still not bothered to try it.

  • Replies 56
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Daleo
Daleo

In other news; No other car ever built in the history of motoring has ever had any kind of reliability issue. So probably just go & buy one of those. Maybe a Jeep; they seem quite good.

Sunkist
Sunkist

come at me bro.. no seriously come to melb again and we'll have a stagea dyno comp lol

joshm35
joshm35

Why not go the whole hog like i did and do it properly

Posted Images

  • 4 years later...
blade511 Contributor

blade511

Posted
Posted

Bit of an old thread, but does anyone still do the English conversion for the stereo ? Have just imported an 04 ARX, replaced the suspension with mca x-r's and bushes are up next before it goes for a blue slip.. But the stereo is the next priority after that.. I'm in Sydney if that is relevant.

Many thanks in advance

Ps has anyone been able to get the maps working for Australia ? Not overly important, but curious all the same

joshm35 Veteran

joshm35

Posted
Posted

I've never seen that second pocket! Mine has a weird Panasonic DVD drive in there for the GPS system.. that'll get ripped out eventually :P

I got it from yahoo auctions in Japan. Yours may have had the screen from factory as mine had the dvd rom in that area.
BoostdR Mentor

BoostdR

Posted
Posted (edited)

Problems

 

Turbo Failure:

If the oil lines get blocked, yes your turbo will fail. Clean or replace your lines and your good to go. Drilling your banjo's to 3mm will just cause excessive flow  and encourage oil to leak out the turbine oil ring causing smoke.

The main failure is the ceramic turbine breaking off the turbine shaft. Oil flow is not related to this. The cause is directly related to turbine speed. If you want the OEM turbo charger to last, don't put a dump pipe or exhaust on it, Don't increase boost otherwise it will fail eventually.

 

Rear Shocks:

Upper Mounts will rip out of the car when performance shocks are installed or even with OEM. The top hats rust out due to the stupid design

 

Rust:

They like to rust in the lower kick panel, window frames, gearbox mount point.

 

Air Flow Meters:

The OEM Airflow meters blow continuously. Best by a AFM off ScottyM35 as these are the only ones Ive seen last.. better than getting stuck..buy one straight up

 

Interior:

The interior is just ugly, it squeaks and creaks  

 

Engine:

The engine is capable of serious power and great response. Be warned the head studs are cheese and will leak/lift with almost any detonation. The OEM injectors run out of flow easily so be wary of an M35 Series 1 with an exhaust but no other supporting fueling mods, it will most likely already have a broken piston. Every M35 series one I have compression tested have had at least one piston broken(greater than 10% compression variance). Rocker cover Gaskets go hard and leak. Electronic throttle isn't the most reliable. The coil packs don't like Adelaide 48 degree heat.  

 

Transmission:

This will start slipping on mid throttle changes on the OEM setup when boost is increased and destroy itself. Can only be patched with a shift kit

 

Brakes:

The brakes are hugely undersized and will wrap and crack with any spirited driving.

 

Electric Windows:

The drivers window motor will eventually strip the inner cog. OEM window motors are expensive.

 

Rear Sub Frame:

They can crack at the top of the inverted U. You can't tow

 

Electrical:

The Battery Control Modules are almost all been water damaged at some stage due to blocked drain holes. The rams in the front seats are prone to setting off intermittent Air bag faults. Centre pop up screen is useless, even when converted to English   

 

Stereo:

The original Bose system sounds good, changing it requires a bandwidth adaptor(PAC-OEM2). People charge insane amounts for a Double din fascia.

 

 

Summary:

Buy the series 2, 2wd version with the 3.5ltr if you don't plan on modding the series 1 turbo. If you are looking at going down the turbo path, don't modify it unless you are (a) very patient and capable of your own work or (b) are willing to spend big money with a workshop who actually knows these cars. Buy the car will all the options that you want already...ie AXIS, leather, sunroofs, radar cruise etc. Don't by a turbo version without completing a compression test.

 

 

Matt

 

Edited by BoostdR
West Grand Master

West

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, BoostdR said:

Problems

 

Turbo Failure:

If the oil lines get blocked, yes your turbo will fail. Clean or replace your lines and your good to go. Drilling your banjo's to 3mm will just cause excessive flow  and encourage oil to leak out the turbine oil ring causing smoke.

The main failure is the ceramic turbine breaking off the turbine shaft. Oil flow is not related to this. The cause is directly related to turbine speed. If you want the OEM turbo charger to last, don't put a dump pipe or exhaust on it, Don't increase boost otherwise it will fail eventually.

 

Rear Shocks:

Upper Mounts will rip out of the car when performance shocks are installed or even with OEM. The top hats rust out due to the stupid design

 

Rust:

They like to rust in the lower kick panel, window frames, gearbox mount point.

 

Air Flow Meters:

The OEM Airflow meters blow continuously. Best by a AFM off ScottyM35 as these are the only ones Ive seen last.. better than getting stuck..buy one straight up

 

Interior:

The interior is just ugly, it squeaks and creaks  

 

Engine:

The engine is capable of serious power and great response. Be warned the head studs are cheese and will leak/lift with almost any detonation. The OEM injectors run out of flow easily so be wary of an M35 Series 1 with an exhaust but no other supporting fueling mods, it will most likely already have a broken piston. Every M35 series one I have compression tested have had at least one piston broken(greater than 10% compression variance). Rocker cover Gaskets go hard and leak. Electronic throttle isn't the most reliable. The coil packs don't like Adelaide 48 degree heat.  

 

Transmission:

This will start slipping on mid throttle changes on the OEM setup when boost is increased and destroy itself. Can only be patched with a shift kit

 

Brakes:

The brakes are hugely undersized and will wrap and crack with any spirited driving.

 

Electric Windows:

The drivers window motor will eventually strip the inner cog. OEM window motors are expensive.

 

Rear Sub Frame:

They can crack at the top of the inverted U. You can't tow

 

Electrical:

The Battery Control Modules are almost all been water damaged at some stage due to blocked drain holes. The rams in the front seats are prone to setting off intermittent Air bag faults. Centre pop up screen is useless, even when converted to English   

 

Stereo:

The original Bose system sounds good, changing it requires a bandwidth adaptor(PAC-OEM2). People charge insane amounts for a Double din fascia.

 

 

Summary:

Buy the series 2, 2wd version with the 3.5ltr if you don't plan on modding the series 1 turbo. If you are looking at going down the turbo path, don't modify it unless you are (a) very patient and capable of your own work or (b) are willing to spend big money with a workshop who actually knows these cars. Buy the car will all the options that you want already...ie AXIS, leather, sunroofs, radar cruise etc. Don't by a turbo version without completing a compression test.

 

 

Matt

 

Reading you post Matt and i don't want a stagea anymore :).

Daleo Grand Master

Daleo

Posted
Posted

In other news;

No other car ever built in the history of motoring has ever had any kind of reliability issue.

So probably just go & buy one of those.

Maybe a Jeep; they seem quite good.

  • Like 2
blade511 Contributor

blade511

Posted
Posted

Stock is fine, especially for what I have found so far in these cars... Compared to an "Aussie" made equivalent it's a stark difference in what is considered stock.. And largely where it's tempting to have fun and go all out, I am personally trying to keep it "stock"....

Where OEM parts are available, I would largely go for them, but at the same time, if it's cheaper to put something potentially better on, I know what I would rather do...

iamhe77 Grand Master

iamhe77

Posted
Posted
On 7/4/2016 at 10:32 AM, West said:

Reading you post Matt and i don't want a stagea anymore :).

So get a PM35.

No turbo to worry about

Different AFM (seems much more reliable)

Nicer interior

Common engine

Updated transmission

 

Really, the only downside to the 3.5L is that there is no turbo.

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • The Bogan
      NC MX5

      By The Bogan · Posted

      After using a protractor for an actually accurate assessment of what is required,  and by NOT using my uncalibrated eyeball I worked out I need a 25° silicone bend from the TB ro the MAF, but, my choice was either a 30° or a 23° (23° is a weird spec), so I grabbed the 23° one from Raceworks I also grabbed 1mtr of 3" straight from Just Jap, I needed 350mm, but they only had 300mm, or 1mtr lengths....meh Also ordered a 1/2" hose bulkhead fitting from fleabay, this has a smoothish mushroom looking head (they are designed for below the water line of boats) that will fit inside the bend, the hose bit and threaded bit looks to long, but nothing that a hacksaw cannot fix if required, the hose will then just get jamed on the threaded bit up to the retaining nut Fingers crossed and the unsightly amount of hose clamps will be reduced down to 4 once all the parts arrive 
    • joshuaho96
      R34 25GT Engine Light 21

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      Oil change does not trigger code 21. Code 21 is for coilpacks primary side connection. You can try to clear the code with a battery disconnect, hold down the brake pedal to drain capacitors through the brake lights with the ignition on for 10-15 seconds before you reconnect the battery. I have seen R35 coil conversion permanently cause this code with no ill effects so it might be the resistance it wants to see isn't quite right on one or more coilpacks. Could be inside the ECU, could be the harness, could be a coil. You can test it all if you want or just ignore until the car actually starts misfiring.
    • joshuaho96
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I forgot you have a Nistune ECU. Use Nistune to do all the tests I mentioned instead of faffing with 30+ year old electrical connectors. You can read MAF volts off that too, there are reference values in the service manual to tell you roughly what it should be in different conditions.
    • GTSBoy
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      No. I think it might be the AFM. Hence the use of the terms "swaptronics", which implies the use of swapping out electronics for the purpose of diagnosis. It's about the only way to prove that a small/niggling/whatever problem with an AFM or a CAS or similar is actually caused by that AFM/CAS/whatever. A known good item swapped in that still gives the same problem is likely to be caused somewhere else. They're all the same. Spraying AFMs with cleaner is an each way bet between cleaning it and f**king it.
    • codygrimm27
      Can you mount the ATTESA pump in other locations?

      By codygrimm27 · Posted

      Oh wow! This might actually work amazingly. Do you know the ratio of the diff? I was told the only thing you need to make sure of is if the front & rear diff ratios are the same. Ours is a 4.083 Thanks!
×
×
  • Create New...