The Dan

With that info I would have to definately recommend a head service which you will get with a port job anyway. The valves have to come out to do the porting so they will re-seat them and replace the stem seals. You will most probably find the nature of your problem once the head is off. Make sure you check your pistons for bore travel just to be on the safe side and check them for pitting or any unusual marks. Make sure you find out what's causing the darkness before you go ahead with the port job. Also make sure they do a full check on the head before proceeding. I know of a couple of places who would just start chopping without checking. Another thing about porting, on this vehicle it is not advised to extend the head VS manifold area. This, I have been told, is already quite large compared to the capacity of the head. Depending on how far you wanna go with it. Sure, if you have the turbo to match it, then open her right up, but be prepared to open your wallet at the petrol station. If you are going to open this area, make sure you match port the manifold to suit it otherwise your efforts are wasted. Most of your power gains will be made from cleaning up the bowl area below the valve. Do not underestimate such minimal work, you will be surprised at the results. Polishing is a bad idea....good in the 80's but reasearch tells us that pollishing the heads and manifold is actually bad for performance. You will lose horsepower with a polish.

My second guess would be to start looking at Turbo and AFM. Check for end play in the shaft of the turbo, in that model there should be none at all. Check to make sure it spins freely, however, don't spin fast. Just turn it half a turn gently. If it appears ok, next thing to check would be the wastegate actuator. With an air pump or mightyvac you need to simulate boost pressure to ensure the actuator is working at the correct level. How is the fuel pump? Do a flow and pressure test on the pump to make sure it is flowing at the correct rate. Are there any error codes? Check to make sure the AFM is clean. Check to make sure there are no vacuum leaks from anywhere. Get a water sprayer (like hairdressers use) and soak all hose connections while the car is running to check for leaks (you will hear the idle change when it sucks up the water). Start with those things and if they don't help, post a reply.

Awesome. Good to hear it all worked out for you. I'm having problems with my AFM again. It's the second one. I'm thinking about either upgrading it or spending the extra couple of hundred and installing a Microtec so I don't need one anymore.

Would you like a tissue? nah, just kidding...but seriously...would you? Once you have cut your hands and arms as many times as I have you start to get really tough skin. Soon sharp edges just run away from you.

I'll do any of your brake work if you like. What did you need done?

I know a few people in earthmoving so I'll let them know and see what they can come up with.

A way to test the clutch integrity is to put it in 4th gear, pull the handbrake on as hard as you can without breaking it and try to take off. You may have to accelerate a bit. The aim is to stop the car from stalling. If it tries to keep running or you can keep it going for a while (like 2 seconds) then the clutch is had it. When the clutch is fully engaged, ie. your foot is not on it, the car should stall immediately no matter how hard you try. If it stalls immediately, start looking at other things. BTW. It would NOT be a good idea to rev it to 6000 rpm when performing this test as you'll end up like my idiot friend who drove his car through the end of his garage. Bloody GTS4 traction. 2000 rpm is enough.

it is a special coating which is put over the paint. It can be done any time during the life of the car. Awesome stuff. Dust just wipes off it without leaving marks and you don't need to polish it except one every 6 months or so. My old man get's all his 4WD's done. He takes them all around Oz. When he goes to sell them after 8 years or so, they still have a paint job that is almost like new. Even the branch scratches and marks come straight out without harming the existing paint job. It is called MING. You should be able to Google it in Australia.

Check to see the the motor is plugged in. It is located closer to the rear of the vehicle on the driver's side. It has Sumitomo on it (manufacturers). Some people disconnect it to avoid problems or to solve problems they are having.

In theory it should be the turbo side that is the hottest. What type of cooler do you have? And is it Tube/fin or Bar/plate. I would take that somewhere to get checked out before you do some damage.

Check other sensors like coolant temp sensor. Try driving around with a fuel pressure guage connected. See what pressure it runs when it actually dies. With this kind of problem you will need to test everything when it is ok then retest everything when it dies, either during or after it dies. I wish I could go out there and test it for you but I'm in Brissy so unfortunately that's outta the question.

Also when you say the fuel pressure is good so the pump is fine....this is not always correct. You can still have full pressure but no flow. A flow test will reveal any problems with the pump. It should flow at least 2 ltrs per minute I think. This is when connected directly to 12v

Sorry I thought you were talking about the blowby control valve when you were talking about the air regulator right under the T/body. The thermostat should operate around 76.5 degrees. That round metal tube is just a junction, possibly to shorten the top hose or provide support for it. Not exactly sure what it's purpose is.

Have you looked in the for sale section for cars being wrecked?

I'm sure you will find as soon as it drives around a bit after the oil temp and pressure levels reach their operating values, the noise will disappear. It will go away if you let it sit for ages idling (like half an hour - sometimes sooner, sometimes never). With every one I have done, it has taken a drive around the block to clear them up. Good luck with it

probably the most effective way to determine it's location would be to remove each belt until you can isolate the noise. Start with the Power steer as it is in front. Then remove the Air con belt. If the noise disappears after removing the aircon belt then it will be either the tensioner pulley or the air con pulley bearings. A way to tell between the two would be with a very long screw driver or long thin metal probe. Place the probe over the front nut of the tensioner and listen to the end. Put it right up to your ear. If it is louder than the compressor pulley then this is most likely your problem. Another way would be to turn on your A/C. If you do isolate it and it turns out to be one of these two, tun the A/C on, with the belt on of course. If the noise disappears then usually it would be the compressor pulley. If it stays the same then it would be the tensioner. Obviously it also depends on the noise that it is making. If it is a high squeel then it is more likely to be a belt. If it is a growly noise then pulley or bearing or pump. If it sounds like a belt, spray a couple of very quick squirts of WD40 onto the ribbed side of the belt. (only a small amount - don't pile it on) WARNING! Be very very careful when placing the probe onto the tensioner pulley nut. It can be very dangerous if you are not careful.

Like someone has mentioned earlier, possibly in another post (not sure), the o2 sensor is a bosch one. This sensor would match a variety of different cars. The voltages would be the same throughout many vehicle if not all. The only differences between your o2 sensor and the ford one would be wire configuration and thread pitch and size (which happen to be the same)

Have you driven it yet or was that straight after startup? Common thing with everything from RB20 to RB30 Will be noisy for ten to twenty minutes unless you prepped them first. You will find that a nice drive around the block will quiet them up. If it doesn't then you may have other problems.

Can't you just look at the fuses and see which ones are blown? They are located under the steering column to the right hand side.

Now now, no need to get nasty about the rotaries. I understand what you are saying. You want you ride to looks it's best at all times. I envy your paint job, I wish I could have one like it. In reality the paint job and the virgin will probably never happen for me. If you want your paint to last it's absolute longest in pristine condition....get it minged. You can wipe it with sandpaper if you like and the scratches come right out. Even stones don't chip it. Only prob is that you have to wash it with ming detergent and the initial process costs around $400.

Also if they are 4 pot calipers which they should be, you should leave the pad in there so that when you squeeze the pistons back, they go back at the same time together. Do one side at a time, as in. Inner (squeeze pistons back with large multigrips, then slide old pad out and new pad in) then outer (squeeze pistons back same way, slide old pad out and new one in). Make sure you crack the bleeder nipple before you squeeze the pistons back and put a rag over the nipple so you don't cop it in the eye like a porno queen - it burns and the goggles do nothing. The cracking of the nipple is especially important if you have ABS. Make sure you use Brake fluid to top it up also. Don't use transmission fluid like I have seen some people do. It will literally f**k everything in it's path. I know you would already know this but it doesn't hurt to laugh at other people once in a while.

same. Just take the wheel off and remove the pads. There is no ned to remove the caliper. Couple of clips and some pins and they slide out. You can replace them yourself after the machining has been done, it doesn't matter. As long as you don't do it 2 weeks after. The disc surface will still be rough enough to bed in the pads. Probably best to wait until the discs and old pads are all back together, then change the pads. Change before or after, it doesn't matter. It will be eaiser to change pads with the discs already machined as they won't have a lip on the outer edge and the pads come out easier. Another thing I remembered is, if you do end up taking the calipers off yourself and taking the discs into the shop, be careful with the caliper. The brake line is not a flexible one and can bend very easily or even brake if you are not careful. It is ok though, you can bend them gently, just make sure you don't bend them quickly or too far.

you will see the difference in intake temps no matter how many coats you give it and no matter how light, they all make a difference. Whether it has effected your performance I doubt. The aim of my first post was really to educate people so they don't go out getting them powder coated or spray on thick coats of black thinking that it will disperse the heat better. Remember that a radiator disperses heat, an intercooler absorbs heat. That is why radiators are painted black and are made from steel, Intercoolers are made from aluminium. Aluminium RADIATORS do not get sprayed black as they work on a similar principle to an intercooler. The heat is on the inside. Spray black paint onto the outside of an intercooler and you will attract heat from the outside. Water to air intercoolers are different, spray them black if you like.

Started off with one light coat and added coats from there. Up to around 5 in the end. We took multiple temp measurements after each coat had dried and got an average out of each coat. We tested both heat resistant paint and normal paint. Normal paint was always better. You could add almost two extra coats of normal paint to get the same temp as the heat paint.

Right on Cubes. Who da man? You da man!