Newbie from across the pond

[Die$eL]

Newbie from across the pond

Hi all,

I'm Nishan from South Africa. I know this is an Australian forum but it seems you guys are in the know on the Skylines and it's extremely difficult to find anyone here in SA that knows them well.

I've just got myself a 95 R33 GTS. I've always wanted the GTR but after getting the GTS I'm satisfied. 

Just the sound of the RB25 puts a smile on my face. 

Current mods include: Milltek exhaust, button clutch, manual boost controller (i think its referred to as a bleed valve?) coilovers and 18" mags

The car seems healthy other than:

- clutch master cylinder needs to be refurbed

- small coolant leak. I have yet to locate this and resolve.

- there is some weird noise at times. Its difficult to explain. I'm assuming its the power steering pump/system. Will flush and replace the fluid. Any suggestions on how to to this and what fluid to use?

Other than that my to-do list includes:

- machine polish the body as it has lost some of its lustre

- oil service

- coolant flush and replace (will do when i'm repairing the leak)

- replace diff oil

- replace gearbox oil

- replace fuel filter

- remove the super dark window tint and replace with a light grey/black

- check and clean spark plugs

- check and clean brake system

- chassis clean

- grease axle, U-Joints etc.

- engine bay cleanup and tidy

- polish intake manifold

- strip and clean entire air intake system including ISCV, MAF etc.

 

I'm a big fan of preventative maintenance. Is there anything else that I should be giving attention to?

[PranK]

Hey mate, welcome to  ! 

Car looks good! The GTR badge is a bit much though.

 

[Die$eL]

Thanks PranK

The car had loads of stickers on when I got it including a Gigantic GTR badge on each fender. I've removed most now but there are still more to do.

I need to add that to my ever growing to-do list 

[Trex]

Welcome to sau, Nishan!

 

yes a manual bleed valve aka mbc mbv etc.

I found removing the lower hose on the pwr steering reservoir to be quickest at draining, then using some auto trans fluid to fill it back up. Before driving go from left to right full lock to remove any air that may have entered the system. It could also be the wheels are too wide and scrubbing somewhere, surprisingly it sound very similar believe it or not.

Love the preventative maintenance comment haha, me in a nutshell. The car looks really nice mate!

[niZmO_Man]

Headlights look tinted, I'd fix that up ASAP. Probably best to start with another pair of headlights.

[Die$eL]

I want to remove the tint off the headlights or basically get them back to stock but there are so many more pressing things to sort.

I found that the water pump is leaking (slight leak). I managed to find a new second hand one but the guy is about 1100kms away. Anyways, I still need to source the timing belt, tensioner, idler pulley and everything else that needs to be done with cambelt. Will do that and the water pump at the same time.

It seems the tyres are stretched as the rims are really wide. So they have worn on the inside and I need to replace the rears immediately. they down to the steel wire.

About the Power steering. Wouldn't just draining the reservoir still leave all the old fluid in the power steering system itself? 

[Die$eL]

Any idea whether this is a decent make for Cam belt & water pump?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAYCO-Cam-Belt-KitIncWaterpump-Skyline-93-98-2-5L-TMPFI-Turbo-R33-RB25DET-Import-/182346918962?hash=item2a74b92c32:g:we0AAOSwImRYIV7s&vxp=mtr

[AARR34]

Either wet sand with 2000grit sandpaper on both headlights until original surface is exposed. Then spray 2 coats of clear over both headlights and should look like new again.

you can also try paint thinners or turps to remove the tint (if painted tint).

shouldnt need new headlights 

Edited June 8, 2017 by AARR34

[niZmO_Man]

Yeah but you can retrofit the spare pair of headlights wit HID/LED projectors

[Die$eL]

Thanks. Will try sanding and let you know how it goes. I should have the car back from the mac today.

Also had him fit a battery isolator. Does disconnecting the battery for long periods cause any issues? 

I used to replace the battery on my MR2 twice a year because I didnt use the car often enough. I put on an isolator and its been fine for the last 3 years.

[niZmO_Man]

I just disconnect my battery, it's been fine the past 2 or so years.

[PranK]

You should start a build thread as you'll get more attention and people able to provide input.

[Trex]

Get the gates kit with belt and bearings from golebys and the genuine water pump from kudos.

[Die$eL]

Will start a build thread. Thanks for all of the input

[Die$eL]

21 minutes ago, Trex said:

Get the gates kit with belt and bearings from golebys and the genuine water pump from kudos.

I checked their site now. The stuff looks good but it seems they only ship within Australia. 

[niZmO_Man]

Look up part number(s) on partsouq.com

[Die$eL]

44 minutes ago, niZmO_Man said:

Look up part number(s) on partsouq.com

checked it out now. Looks good. I'm filling my shopping cart 

[KiwiRS4T]

When you do the spark plugs give the coils a good clean and look for marks where they might have been shorting. Treat with insulating spray or tape. If your wheels are too wide sell them and get tyres that are not stretched for your new wheels. You have a boost controller? That implies that you have a turbo - if so that's a mod on a GTS!

[Die$eL]

I suppose its a GTS-T Kiwi. Its not an aftermarket fitment. 

I washed the engine this weekend and ended up with plug tubes full of water. Managed to drain them, dry them with a hair dryer and sprayed them with Q20. 

My mac had already cleaned the plugs when he did a compression test so I didn't remove them again. 

Good news is that the compression is fine on all cylinders.

I removed the windscreen washer bottle, fuse box and coolant bottle. Gave them all a clean and polished up the metal beneath them. I have decided to start at the one corner of the engine bay and work my way around cleaning and polishing. I simply don't understand how people can keep the outside of a car clean but completely ignore the engine bay. The previous owner did that

I noticed the smell of fuel while working and found a small leak from the pipe feeding the fuel filter. Tightened up the clamp and decided to check all. Virtually all were loose!

I also noticed a kink in the vacuum pipe to the wastegate. Turned the pipe and zip-tied it so that wont happen again.

Does the car have LSD? I wanted to get used to what it feels like when the back comes out so I went to an awesome tarred open area and tried some donuts. The back doesn't kick out like it should. The car basically just makes big turns. Then as I straighten up and the revs are dropping I feel it "engage" and the car kicks forward. 

I'm thinking that it could be the clutch that is riding or something to do with the diff. I have a spare clutch and this one does feel a little wonky so I'm going to fit the new one soon. 

[Trex]

with both rear wheels off the ground, turn one. If both wheels rotate in the same direction it has an lsd.