SECURITY

i always get to the point of the night where im out with my best friend (which is a chick) having dinner, then stare at the drink menu and my keys.... drink menu.... keys...... drink menu................. KEYS! bring on the soft drinks!

someone spot me already. im starting to feel left out.

sorry for the late replies guys. i almost forgot about this thread. its an easy DIY so there isnt much you can stuff up. as mentioned, use the pipe for the dipstick with a funnel on it. make sure you're always checking your levels though. the element is a fine steel mesh so its cleanable, you dont have to replace it unless the mesh is stuffed. there was a group buy going around on the davies craig cooler kits. i got one of them and they seem fine, although i will be running a larger core very soon since im going to be getting out onto the track. what i suggest to do is get any kind of core you like (dont overkill). get some transmission cooler hose from any parts dealer and get a couple of hose clamps and fit them on that way. the oil pressure in the boxes will see figures of up to 60psi from memory so its important you get this type of hose. when i took my sump off i noticed that there wasnt any kind of gasket on there and i didnt have any leaks. but when putting it back together i used some ultra black (high temp, oil resistant) gasket maker and its working fine.

willing to separate some of your weights at all?

dont hate the m3's f**ken! mines a 95 328i convertible with a full m3 conversion (engine/box, running gear, dash, kit and EMS computer which is a hunk of shit because i cant find anyone to tune it!!). but as for maintenance they are a bit of a bitch but still costs less than running an r32gtr... and the m3 wont need a rebuild after every few track days

any idea on the tune-ability of the emanage? obviously you can tune it fine but i've heard other tuners have problems with it. is this true?

heres a good thread to read. it will give you an idea of what kind of power you could get with a different combo of set-ups: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=55845

the liberty rs turbos use their bonnet scoop for a air feed to the turbo. its a neat little design. it would be a good idea to copy it

go around with some detergent in a spray bottle and spray it on all your pipes/joiners with the car on. wherever it starts bubbling up - thats where your leak is.

from the sounds of it you'll like the livo kk - brighton - george st city - defect station - on friday and saturday nights. coppers arent friendly on those nights mate.

well i did an engine rebuild and pretty much left the head untouched except for a shave. i got the vrs kit for $150 without the stem seals so i left them out. the only problem i had with what you said was that it was half arsed. im sure that if there was a professional tool out there (and there is but not readily available in this country, which can be found HERE) you wouldnt think it was so dodgy. as you seem like a decent mechanic i can understand that you are reluctant to try something like this. but its automotive innovation at its finest, i think

so my results were a complete fluke? i had very little background on how to do this, yet i did it without any problems at all. im not a qualified mechanic, im just a dude with a skyline that only needed new valve stem seals. my head gasket is 2000km old. just because you dont do the job this way doesnt mean that no workshop does, i spoke to a few mechanics who didnt see any problem in doing it this way except for finding the right tool. then i got referred to a reputable workshop by an sau member to borrow their tool but ended up making my own. it is a extremely cheaper way to do it. i paid $80 for a set of ACL valve stem seals, and $25 to make the tool. turn around time was alot quicker than getting a workshop to remove the head, buy a vrs kit and labour, and that would've cost around $800 easily. (vrs kit which includes valve stem seals costs around $250 trade price, and to do a head gasket ONLY costs around $600 to get done at a workshop). the aim of this thread isnt to judge which way is better (although i still dont see any positives to wasting a perfectly good head gasket), but to tell and show other members its possible and doesnt need to cost shit loads to do.

yeah! the first few were a pain in the ass. but once you work out a system they all go in pretty easily. it took me around an hr to do the first 4 (i was pretty much teaching myself how to do them). then it took me around 1.5hrs to do the other 20 once i got my technique down. you'll probably lose around 15-20mm of the valve if it drops in (dont forget the haad is domed and so are the pistons) but you've got around 20-30mm of the valve to play with if its fallen in.

compression test it first. stick a rag on the end of a screw driver and put it inside the spark plug hole, if it comes out clean then you're safe. if its got oil in it its time for a rebuild. or just check the spark plug for oily shit all over it.

if you're tail gating me for no reason but to be a prick, i will put my brakes on to be a prick.

im from bankstown and there really isnt anyone around who specialises in skylines. you might want to go to gcg and see if they have a decent mechanic in there (eldrigde rd) and there is No Limit Spares on Cottam ave off canterbury rd. (i cant vouch for those guys, ive never dealt with them) thats all i can think of in bankstown. CRD are on silverwater rd, only 15mins away. advan are also good with skylines, also on silverwater rd. nrma do good inspections so fork out the $150 or whatever it is and you'll get a rating. good thing about that is if something seriously stuffs up on the car after you've bought it and it is not mentioned in the nrma inspection then i think you can make the nrma liable (dont quote me, im going off what i hear).

all done. it wasnt a hard job. just make sure none of the hoses come loose on your compressor as it will cause you some huge dramas. if you dont have your piston at tdc and the compressor fails or a hose comes loose then you'll drop the valve in there. also, the motor turns when you put the pressure on so just be careful of that, try keep the motor from turning somehow (maybe a breaker bar and 27mm socket). i didnt do this because im a bit of an impatient idiot (and it takes patience) but i went out and bought some oil cooler hose (capable of holding 120psi+) and some new heavy duty clamps for the compressor fittings and let the pressure run while pulling on it, it all checked out so i tightened it a little more then started working.

while the belt is off you should look into doing your cam seals. its an absolute pain in the ass to find out a few months later that its all got to come out again. (the part number is the same as the crank seal).

another ups for westside exhausts. they do all my welding now.

i went for the full custom exhaust and paid around the 1k mark. if i could've chosen to do it again i would've gotten the dump and front pipes (split style - from one of the traders) and cat separate (metalcat), then any cat back exhaust out there. i would've gotten them all to fit into the stock location so if i ever got defected i could stick on the standard exhaust with no dramas. i had to get my standard exhaust cut and welded to fit which cost me a bit extra.

so you found oil on your coil packs when your motor blew? oil on the piston side of the spark plug means rebuild time. oil on the other side means leak/uncordinated.

if it was #1 or #2 spark plug hole its probably from filling up the oil and missing the filler hole. it could also be your seals for the rocker covers.

keen to see how this turns out too.

not at all, most people buy the justjap kits which bolt onto your front bar reinforcement which is well away from your aircon system. if you go for a brand name cooler id suggest getting a bracket made which lets it sit between the front bar reo and the condensor, and get all of your piping custom made to fit by an exhaust shop. this will save cutting into your front bar reo.

using the temp sensor is fine only as long as its the highest point of your cooling system. i liked the suggestion of driving up a steep driveway (or even jacking the front of the car up till the radiator cap becomes the highest point).