nickrussel

You won't need a fuel container, there's 98 the whole way, and there's plenty of servos. The only benefit would be saving $20 at the roadhouse. You can get lightbar number plate brackets from most auto stores and lightbars are getting pretty cheap. I'll probably be going for the hardkor XD310 light bar for my car.

I've never worked on an C34 but I'd say under the centre console. It looks like a logic control unit so it'll be looking for the position between the gear selector and then opening the circuit to the steering and stick shift switches and sending that back onto to the tranny control unit. They're often hidden in and around the centre consoles on other cars. I'd say given the simplicity of it's function, if it was all good then dead after install, you've probably accidentally loosened a connector.

Is that strictly for the VQ25 or does it apply to the Vq35 too? It was hard to get anything definitive from the above thread but I gather the Vq35 works ok with the run of the mil scan products?

I would replace the bracket, but definitely the pulley and bearing. Bearings can be stuffed even if they're free and quiet. Bit odd for it to be that catastrophic though!

I don't understand modern mechanics reliance on checking for fault codes, when there are codes it should be easier to track down, that's all, it doesn't negate the need for mechanical diagnostics. ECM's are not true computers, they're chipsets that confirm basic inputs. If all the inputs make sense, there will be no code. Unless something is drastically wrong, the sensors will compensate before they throw a code; that's their job. In 15 years of tinkering with OBDI and OBDII cars, I've only ever had a code when there's been a wiring fault. I've had plenty of faulty sensors, but none have ever thrown a code (the above video is a perfect example of my point). The beauty about sensors is that they're all working together to come to the same conclusion, how much fuel and when, which makes fault finding a piece of piss; once you've sussed out the full symptoms. The questions you need to ask of the car: How does the fault manifest? When does the fault occur in relation to engine temp? What are the atmospheric conditions? What part of the rev range is affected? Does load affect the symptom? What speed and driving conditions? What age is the engine? Is there a smell? Is there smoke from the exhaust and what colour, (ask the same questions, when, what RPM, what load etc)? How does the engine perform at idle throughout? How does the engine free rev? How is the fuel consumption? From there you look at what sensors the engine has, and then you can work it out pretty quickly. An excellent (Nissan) mechanic once told me, "it's a car mate, they're all the same". And he's spot on, all cars are basically the same, with small nuances here and there. Sure the above video is an example of a model common fault, but it shouldn't take a genius to work back from the fault to the problem. A shit mechanic a friend went to said "I've checked ALL the sensors and everything is fine, I just can't figure out what's wrong with it". For 3 months he search every sensor to work out why the engine would rev to 5000rpm with the throttle closed. I told my friend time and time again, "It's not the sensors, the sensors will compensate, they don't know there's a problem, all they do is make the command to add more fuel". It took this mechanic 3 months of wasting my friends time, and it took me 30 minutes to find the vacuum leak. I have never worked on a daewoo or a holden, but it doesn't matter, engines are all the same. From what you've described, and going along the same lines as the others, I'd first address the gearbox issues. The exhaust tone change could be one of two things, exhaust fault, or engine load, I'd be leaning towards engine load if you have a gearbox fault. Exhausts are pretty simple, unless there was some serious damage it's unlikely to cause an instant blockage. A couple of quick easy tests though; hit the pipe with a wooden/copper mallet (lump of wood is also fine) to check for rattles, hit the mufflers, if they echo, they're stuffed. Then try free revving the engine. If it doesn't pick up freely I'd look at your cats, as suggested. If it's a chugging sound, I'd suggest the manifolds could be damaged, and check that by listening inside the engine bay for a loud clanging/clicking/tapping noise down by the exhausts. Holes, cracks etc, have a distinctive sound of air rushing (similar to what you'd hear at the tail pipe, but different volumes and resonance at different points). There's also potential for it to be related to cam/crank position or airflow; however, it does sound to be a mechanic symptom rather than electrical (engine working hard than it should to push air, or the gearbox). The free revving will give you a clue here, but only once you've ruled out the gearbox. Also don't settle with a little better/almost gone (common attitude I've heard time after time), it just means something has masked the actual fault, you will end up causing damage, if it's not back to normal, keep searching.

My pathfinder has been doing it for a couple of years, it should improve with airflow, if so it needs a regas. If not it needs a rebuild.

Nah, I've just been reading up on how to check the authenticity of the documents. This facebook page gives you a fair bit of info. https://www.facebook.com/CarsImportedFromJapan/posts/1552399758374634 A few of the other companies also give tips and tricks on what to look for with the documents too but that page has more than enough info. If it passes that test I'd be pretty confident, just don't lose the certificate because it seems very few people hold onto them and it could limit your market.

They're very hard pads and chew through discs abnormally fast. Makes it hard to gauge brake wear because you don't know how long they've been in there. I didn't notice the difference when I swapped the green stuff out for bendix pads in my brembos. No doubt if I drove hard for more than 30-40 minutes there'd be a huge difference, but it's an expensive waste for street cars. Tony, it's still worth doing a check with an independent company and most legitimate importers will support you doing that to improve the integrity of the industry. At the very least read up on all the stuff about how to check the documents are legit.

Jump onto Japanese History check's facebook page, there's some really good advice on what to look for. It's hard to tell exactly what is genuine these days as there are dealers selling vehicles with forged dereg certificates. Imports are still a niche market, the dealers know what cars they can make a good profit on and at the rate they bring them in it's cheaper to bring in a wreck and a high km grade 4 car then swap out the interior than importing a legitimate low km car. Low km cars in Japan are still fetching a reasonable premium as they're still desirable locally. I went in to importing a stagea thinking I would easily get one around 50,000km but they were all significantly more expensive than a car with 80,000km. Even for the money I've paid mine will only just get on road for similar to locally available models in dealers. Makes you wonder, when a dealer can turn a profit on a car that has the same price as a private importer. As the others have said, I wouldn't be too stressed if it all looks the goods, but just stay well ahead of maintenance.

There's no obligation for any of them to verify the Km's. You can ask them to give their personal opinion based on the inspection but I can guarantee you the ignorant comments will be along the lines of "All imports have dodgy kms" and, "it looks pretty good, but no way to know for sure". Despite having more stringent regulations than Australia, most people will still make those comments. The reality is, it's more likely that a car purchased locally has dodgy km's than a direct import now. Dozens upon dozens of dealers have been embroiled in wind backs covering all makes and models, at least there is a measure for Japanese imports. The best thing you can do is check relatively obvious things, seat wear, carpet wear (can be masked by new floor mats), brake wear (could have been replaced or could have just been retarded and used EBC pads for street use), shocks, bushings (usually a good indication as it requires high attention to detail most people don't bother with) and then known fail points, turbos, timing belts, leaks and physical wear in the engine. Late 90s nissans were notorious for yield in turbo manifold studs around 120-140,000km, clues like this can demonstrate the true age of a car but it can all be covered up. The positive side: The fact that people are aware of the prevalence of odo tampering with certain imports that arrived through particular dealers has driven the import price right down below their true value (just look at the cost of importing Vs local), this means, even though the Km's on the odo show XX,000, and it's probably XXX,000, you're paying the price for XXX,000 anyway, so there's actually no loss. It just means for you, you need to be aware Km's are probably higher and you should consider bringing forward preventative maintenance. These cars are a lot stronger than a lot of local crap and an extra 50,000km probably wont hurt it. The negative side: For those of us who import ourselves, paying a premium for the assurance of Km's we end up losing further through artificial market deflation; but this is the reality of the Australian import market. The government wont have a choice but to step in and change legislation when they open up the import market, but until then imports a fringe group that have little impact on the overall auto industry.

I don't but Imlachs centre road wreckers self wreck in Melbourne currently has at least one V35 and often has several. I'd already removed most of it but had no need for it in the end so left it in the car. They're only $34.

Can you use on from a V35?

Still chasing wheels if anyone has any?

Cool, makes sense. I'm going out on a limb and guessing the later model ARX wheels are also 7.5, they look identical. The problem I have is my car is arriving without factory wheels that will be too wide for compliance. I like the 350rx wheels but if the offset needs to be wider for the ARX to fit neatly then 350rx wheels will look pox.

Is that only for the non staggered versions?