naiwiboo

um yeh well documented in drips and drabs and intermingled with lots of other stuff about police helping people with beeping horns, people rewiring brakes to horns, people not knowing what the problem was, etc. thought i might put it all down from problem definition through to cause and solition - plain and simple in one post so the next poor bastard that has this problem doesnt have to trawl 5 posts over an hour like i did or worse still get ripped off by some b/s artiste mechanic! just trying to make the world of cars a bit easier to live in dude

Ok this is to clear up any issues people may be having about funny clunky/metallic noises coming from their steering wheel when they turn corners, here's the lowdown. Also, this comes in conjunction with your horn intermittently blasting on for no reason while you turn corners. (i've tried to include as many keywords in case people are searching for this too) This noise, which is best descirbed as a metal-to-metal 'tink/clunk' noise, which can also be felt through the wheel occurs most obviously when turning the wheel to 180 degrees and beyond. It can also be felt, along with a lighter 'tinkle/rattle' noise when travelling along bumpy roads, train tracks, etc. As a bit of history, my car first developed this noise after i had travelled over some unmade, corrugated dirt road and has continued on from there. situations like this can cause the problem, and from there on you're stuck with this annoyance. The reason i write this is because this annoyance turned into a 'not roadworthy' the other day when i took my car in to get its rwc ticket, ready to sell the car. The guy claimed that because he doesn't have a technical knowledge of the steering wheel, he couldn't rule out that it was a problem with the airbag (even though the airbag light came on and disappeared as prescribed) and therefore he wouldn't give me the rwc. Cut a long story short, after being hassled by many nissan dealerships about how they don't have a manual for the car and therefore they can't work on it (how incompentent must the mechanics be to need a book?), and other people wanting over $200 to fix the problem because its 'technical' and involves a shock-horror 'airbag', i decided to take matters into my own hands. If you have this problem please do not be fooled into thinking its some massive effort to fix. Quite simply, my routine to fix the problem (all up 20 mins) was this: Phone Repco, ask if they have a T50H attachment (T50 torx tamperproof) Go to Repco, buy T50H for $9.09 Come home Disconnect battery, pump brake pedal (discharges any extra charge) Pull airbag fuse Remove Shroud around steering wheel (5 phillips head screws) Disconnect airbag wire (biggish brown clip in right of steering column, covered in foam, sits just next to ignition) Disconnect other connection of airbag wire (right under steering wheel, centre-not even sure if i did this) Pop out two little plastic covers out of the side/rear of the steering wheel Use T50H with ratchet, undo bolts-mine needed some arm strength to initially get moving-CAREFUL-the airbag wants to fall foward with them out VERY CAREFULLY and slowly remove airbag (it's attached to the front of the steering wheel) about 4inches Sight noise-causing-weight, sits at the top of the wheel, in a little 'holster' type arrangement (as soon as i touched it a bit i recognised the sound immediately) Remove annoying little weight Throw weight in bin & swear at it Place airbag back in place Tighten T50 bolts Replace plastic covers Re-connect wires Replace shroud, do up screws Reconnect battery, replace airbag fuse Check car starts(a good sign)/airbag light boots up (and then disappears) ok DONE Now, i don't know about horn function after this has been done, it should be ok, but i had already diverted the horn wire to a switch (horn is the brown one in connection of 4 wires-follow them from the steering wheel back-you splice*not divert* the common ground-black-to your new switch as well) a few months back, so i still had horn functionality whilst i didn't actually know what the problem was inside the wheel. And also, on my series 1 anyway (1995), you don't need any special gadgets to reset the airbag light, it works fine I can happily say now, however, that it's all fixed and thank god the problem is gone for good. For those with an inquiring mind, the weight is there as a counter balance for road vibrations, honestly the difference is like 10% more daihatsu-feel without it, within like a week you won't remember any different, plus if you've had the problem for months like me, having a noiseless steering wheel is heaven on earth So, if you have any a-hole mechanic/nissan man/import specialist telling you its a tough job and it will cost lots, tell them to stop being a clown! Any questions, fire me a PM PLEASE-i bear no responsibility for anyone taking apart steering wheels that have airbags in them because there is always is a chance they can go off (although in theory they need charge to). I have merely documented my process. Also please note it is totally illegal and against ADRs to replace an airbag wheel with a non airbag wheel!

as a sidenote, ive got a ER33 - no hicas n/a tho.. so its not exactly a track weapon hehehe

hey na when r u going 2 sell ur safc? is it the new one with the four arrow buttons or one with the single dial?

damn sorry guys - next time i'll do a search {slap on the wrist for me}

Hey out there, I'm asking this question for a friend who's considering getting a '32 GTR. Just wondering if anyone can give me any feedback if they have imported thru Prestige Motorsport - ie how was the process, any hassles with shipping, etc. Please DON'T post replies here, please PM me, cos otherwise that would be unfair on Prestige. Cheers!

obviously i waited til he said it was sold! - i was letting everyone who missed out know of this deal (even tho its not as good as what the safc here was sold for) in case they were really keen on getting one!

check out http://www.partsco.co.nz/ - thats where the group buy got em from (if u don't have any luck locally

if you want a mechanical noise from the front of your car u could try throwing sand in your brake calipers.. but that would just sound nasty alternatively you could try to get something stuck in your air intake but i wouldnt recommend that either

by the way - with insurance expect to pay thru the arse until you're much older unless youve got a wicked rating somehow or live in a good risk suburb or insure 3rd party - its not much extra for the turbo so think about that (although turbo theoretically requires much more $$$ to keep running so no good for budget - i like my na 5spd auto - it does 550 - 600kms on a tank of ultimate/optimax hwy driving)

rb25de is a great engine - i love it - more driveable day to day i reckon than turbo laggin around the place - but i do a lot of driving so that suits me... the rb20de was only in the r32 to my knowledge - for god's sake don't buy a factory r33 rb20 cos its an rb20e - nasty horrible piece of crap they made for company fleet cars for fuel economy and nothing more - produces something like 97 or 105kW believe it or not its true cos i almost bought one by accident! these things should be sold for no more than 10 grand they are that shit! i test drove one and it had only a little more go than an old 3 series bmw (my previous car) hehehe

just another note - i dunno about the difference with hi flo cats - havent read that much about em really... my order of mods is (with the pod air filter done - have you done that?) cat back mandrel bent system, extractors, spark plugs (i know not really a mod but hey), timing, apexi super-AFC II, hi flo cat (?)

yeah ive just posted response in the other thread - check that out - Daalder Exhausts in Box Hill - Matthew - good bloke $100 to install extractors (including cutting off final cone, rewelding a 2.5" cone and fitting a flange so you can drop out cat-convertor for pipe for track use only!)

get coby extractors from nz - check out the info in the group that was done about a month ago - extractors u'll get for about $300 and install for about $100 and get a hi-flo cat (about $300) and/or a straight through pipe (for track use only!) check out Daalder Exhausts in Box Hill - speak to Matthew - he's a great bloke and really good to talk to - can tailor make a system depending on your requirements - loud/quiet/whateva and is really good on price!

post in for sale - parts section dude!

get cobys - check out the group buy that happened a month back - u should get the extractors for about $300 and get them fitted for between $100 and $150 depending on where u go other than that u could get a hi flo cat (about $280/$300) and/or a straight thru pipe to put in place of the cat (for track use only of course!)

hmm ive got rattles and junk all over the place - im just used to them now cos i drive on such tishhouse roads every day - it sux. one thing i did do, but it'll add a bit of weight to the car is go down to a clark rubber and get some of their heat insulation/underblanket/think woven wool sound deadening stuff they have there. it wasn't too expensive and i lined the two front doors, beside the rear passengers and under and behind the rear passengers. seeems to have helped the road noise a bit

any measurement done with apexi or any other in-car gear is gonna be inaccurate without a g-force measurement device hooked up to it - cos any wheelspin registers as distance when ur actually sitting still (thats not the only problem - i hear most skyline speedos are inaccurate up at high speed so ur gonna be having a higher terminal speed than accurate and actually travelling a little less the 1/4 mile)! with the g-force measure probe, it knows if ur moving or not, and therefore recalculates it on the fly! i reckon a 6.5 would be a damn good time for an na - but thats with mods and mods

mm definately go na rb over na sr (105kW & 178Nm or 117kW for s14 sr20) or ca (100kW & 159Nm) (cough laugh) power isnt the only figure to quote here guys, you gotta think torque aswell - the rb 25 shits all over either of the 4 cylinders just cos its got the extra 2 cylinders - 142kw and 231Nm of torque means it is not a slow car -sure not as fast as the turbo- u'll get a manual under 7 sec with mods - and whoever is quoting 1500kg for a 33 i think is a bit off - i'm sure mine doesnt weigh anything like that - otherwise i wouldnt be able to whoop vs commodores with a totally stock car (not nemore tho) which weigh in at 1430kg would i? u also gotta consider longevity - the rb 6 is gonna rev for longer than a ca 4 and probably as long as an sr (before i get pm's telling me the sr is 'bulletproof') not too mention value holding - as soon as the 15yr '89 model silvias come over next year cya lata silvia values

i agree that ur price is good - tho it'd cost extra to ship it 2 the east coast - i thought u'd sold urs neway? i was just letting those who missed out that there's another way to get one cheapish - didn't mean to dog ur sale - u did say it was sold & import duty is only GST btw - $50

mmm interesting is it the kind of thing one could tackle without completely recking themselves/vehicle/sanity?

hmmm i might just give it a burl next w'end i reckon along with the oil & plugs... im gonna be busy

i had a dodgy experience buying from a car yard which specialised in newly imported cars - got the car checked by an independent motor checker who did a really thorough job and i was happy with the condition it was in - it was a great price for what it was cos it had slight accident damage and been repaired - i was happy with that too... the main problem was the warranty - i bought a 3 year gold warranty for $500 from them to cover 'everything' (all the stuff u can cover with a warranty neway) and i asked them all about this warranty, they said u dont have to service it more often that normal, etc etc etc... we're giving u a good deal on this warranty blah blah so i paid em $460 i think for it instead of $899 - they said that was their dealer price.. and when i got the car it had the wrong warranty book with it - they said 'we ran out' - so i called up the warranty company to check it out and it'd been put through as a $150 bronze/crap warranty for 1 year!!.... i called the dealer, got the runaround and eventually gave up the one up i had on him was that he'd sold me a 5 speed auto thinking it was a 4 speed auto!!! hahahahahah so he can s&ck my d%ck and go to hell... but i agree people like that should be shot btw

just use the window to close the door instead of the door! alternatively i sometimes just make a fist and close the door with my knuckles - doesn't hurt nearly as much cos ur skin is stretched out and doesnt have much feeling in it!

i found pens, a ballbearing (?) in the map pocket on the driver's side and some way-cool japanese style old skool sunglasses in the glove compartment