Skyline Maintenance + Tips And Tricks

[ozshogun]

Hi

I have purchased a Skyine R33 GTST 1996 Series II from Sydney on the weekend, and while it hurts me to say, I honestly have no idea about maintanence schedules, modifications, best places for insurance, any tips and tricks and god-knows what else is known in running a Skyline. I was hoping to draw on the experience of you guys to guide me here a little.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Oz

Edited September 4, 2005 by ozshogun

[SupaFly Skyline]

welcome dude,

For all maintenance DIY, it aint that hard, theres guides on here that can help if you get stuck, same for mods, bolts ons are usually just that, bolt on easily.

If you do want to go to a mechanic for your car, look in the "where to get Skyline serviced" thread at the top of the ACT section.

As for insurance, shop around and good luck.

any tips and tricks and god-knows what else is known in running a Skyline

plant the right boot and enjoy!

[ozshogun]

Cheers, thanks SupaFly...hope to see you around the traps.

-Oz

[SupaFly Skyline]

oh yeah, dont be afraid to ask anything about your car etc here, no one bites

[ozshogun]

Sure, I do have a few queries:

- How often should they be serviced?

- What is "boosting" all about - I have heard this one on here quite alot

- I suspect the clutch might need replacing i.e. especially when cold, you can really feel the cogs etc when changing gears. Could this be a clutch or gearbox issue (or even both)

Thanks

Oz

[Bluprint]

How often should they be serviced - most people service them every 5,000km

Boosting is when someone winds the boost up above the stock level

So when you say that you can fee it changing gears, you mean it's grinding?

First I'd try changing your gearbox oil

[ozshogun]

So when you say that you can fee it changing gears, you mean it's grinding?

First I'd try changing your gearbox oil

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I can feel it grinding when moving up and down through the gears. When the vehicle is cold it feels alot worse.

[leech_]

on the note of "boost" dont go winding it up to much if your car is stock get other things first eg exhaust, FMIC panel filter etc.

[Frink]

oh yeah, dont be afraid to ask anything about your car etc here, no one bites

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

well, most of us don't anyway!

[Amaru]

Yeah, I can feel it grinding when moving up and down through the gears. When the vehicle is cold it feels alot worse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its the syncormesh gears in the gearbox wearing out, its a common "problem" in Nissan performance cars. Get on down to Rare Spares in Phillip and get some Redline Lightweight Shockproof oil (tell them its for a R33 GTST and they should be able to sell you the correct amount). Change the oil in the gearbox yourself (im sure theres a guide in the DIY section) or take it to a mechanic to change. This will usually fix up the notchy gear changing issue in these gearboxes

As for servicing, you can strecth it out to 10,000kms if the car is stock, but if you plan on keeping it for a while spend the extra and do it every 5000kms. Oil is critical to these cars, and if you start scrimping on it things will start going wrong . Id personally reccomend at least a semi synthetic such as Motul 4100 Turbolight, or if you have money to burn, Motul 300V Chrono. Once again, these oils can be picked up from Rare Spares in Phillip

Other than that, just enjoy the car! Oh we also meet up at the National Museum on Friday nights from about 9pm, you should swing past

[ozshogun]

Thanks heaps for the 'good-oil' on oil. Today I got in touch with a mechanic in Canberra who was rated very highly by everyone in this forum. He was saying exactly the same thing.

The oil is expensive, but as you say, most likely worth every cent.

Cheers for the notice on National Museum Amaru. Is there a 'Skyline club' or similar here in Canberra? I would be keen to have some regular catch-ups and make some new contacts.

[Gus-]

this is the "skyline club" in canberra.

pretty much friday nights around 9ish onwards meet at the museum carpark and on tuesday's at the jerra pub from 7ish onwards for trivia

[JD_R33]

Hi OZ,

Welcome to SAU. I bought a 96 SII from Sydney in about October last year, also had no idea about anything Skyline related at the time. If you spend some time trawling around these boards you should be able to find almost anything you need to know, and the people on here are always willing to help out.

I'll give you a brief run down on what I have done to my 'line since buying it...

Maintenance

Firstly, don't assume the previous owner ever did any maintenance and change everything! Oil, oil filter, air filter, coolant, gearbox, brake pads the works. I change the oil every 5k and the filter at 10k. There are articles in the DIY/Tutorial thread for all these jobs.

Also check all the usual stuff like lights, switches and fix what doesn't work.

I had a few things that either didn't work or were just plain missing and managed to source second hand replacements from the For Sale or Wanted sections of SAU, and the rest from Just Jap in Sydney.

Seems like everyone has their favourite oil. As long as it is the right viscosity, and preferably synthetic you should be ok. For what it's worth, I have been using Castrol R and it seems pretty good. I usually pick some up from Autobarn or Supercheap whenever I see it on special.

A good panel air filter (e.g. K&N) was the first thing I put in. I am trying a pod filter at the moment, but it doesn't seem much different and really needs a Cold Air Partition and intake to be worthwhile. It does sound cool tho

Insurance

I got my first policy in a bit of a hurry, as I wanted something in place to cover the drive back from Sydney. I used Just Car Insurance, but have since got a quote from Shannons that is a bit cheaper. Pays to shop around if you have time, some companies won't usually touch imports and/or younger drivers.

Mods

After the panel filter I put on a set of wheels and tyres from Tempe Tyres in Sydney, cause the original tyres were stuffed.

Next was a set of Whiteline swaybars from Inline at Queanbo, then a 3" turboback exhaust and hi flow cat system bought from Sydney and fitted by Powatone at Fyshwick.

You might want to find the thread about bypassing the standard boost control solenoid either permanently or via a switch in the cabin like I have done. A trick that works well for little effort.

Oh, and you'll also need to learn how to reset your ECU whenever you do a significant change to the engine tuning. Hell, do it now anyway!

Still yet to fit Whiteline springs/shocks, FMIC, Jaycar boost controller and digital fuel adjuster kits, oil catch can and whatever else I have bought and stuffed in a cupboard somewhere.

For anything else, just post a question or drop us a PM.

Enjoy!