Galois

Give Jim Berry a call, he'll happily let you know what your options are. He's a top bloke, always keen for a yarn.

My advice would be take it to someone recommended for skyline work on these forums. Local mechanics may be great for the camry, magna or falcodore but it only takes one mistake to fk things up. It just happened to me, I'm never using a non-specialist again.

Talk to Andrew Sullivan at Kudos, he'll point you in the right direction.

On that SC article, it is a very interesting experiment but grossly oversimplifies an engine. Firstly, it is poor to compare oils of different viscosity because the thinner oils should have different film breaking characteristics to thicker oils (of almost identical composition) which would influence their result. Further, your car is not a spinning piece of metal grinding a bearing, it's a complicated closed system requiring oil transport. The oil needs to be thick enough for protection and thin enough for drainage past the cylinders into the sump and adequately lubricate ALL parts of the engine+turbo. Interestingly viscosity is quite different to surface tension, which is what was on test here (trying to make the film break). The way the oil was cracked in processing, the additives used, the means of synthetic manufacture and the particular molecules used in production all change the surface tension the oil has. The idea of testing oils is interesting and difficult. An engine oil may be perfect in every way except drainage and hence is useless. The results from the SC test are very interesting, but without knowing the particular chemical make up of the oils and allowing massive variables like viscosity, the results are pretty useless. And since the test has barely anything to do with an engine, it's even less useful for oil choice.

Doesn't matter much. They're very similar, and let's face it companies are more likely to round off to a factor of 5 rather than naming products 3w, 4w, 5w, 6w, 7w etc. So they might be very close. Also since the w40 is common the viscosities of the two oils are constantly approaching eachother as they warm up. Technically, if you're in a colder area the 5w might make it better for cold starts, but the difference will likely be negligible compared to the different quality 10w40's you find (eg: magnatec vs sougi).

So much of this has been covered in the oils thread. Don't use magnatec unless you want to test whether you can hear/feel the difference between a good oil and a bad one. I decided to use some cheap oil for a quick 1000km flush of my engine a while ago and changed after like 800km I hated it so much. The engine didn't like to rev and sounded like shit. Replaced it with some nulon "fully synthetic" I had left over and everything felt much better. Yes. The stock oil pressure gauge us pretty sh!t, but I have the same numbers you do. It all makes sense mate, the thicker the oil the more pressure the pump is putting on it in the attempt to squeeze it through the filter. As it gets thinner, the pressure goes down and the flowrate goes up. If you want to do what most people on here swear by, get an oil that is 10w40, or 5w40, and fully synthetic (or a good semi if you change it every 5000km and don't have too many mods). Sougi is the flavour at the moment because it's really cheap, ~$60 for 5L, and it's grade V fully synthetic, which means it'll happily last 10000km. It's the same grade as motul 300v for half the price. They also do a very good semi-synth using a mix of grades III and V for ~$30 for 5L. Sougi is no longer being made but there is lots left over. I personally like sougi but when it runs out, and if there's no alternative, I'll be using 8100 xcess or royal purple.

Hi guys, For sale is all you need to begin karting tomorrow (except two items mentioned below). Karting is a great sport, it is fun and exciting, and teaches skills which translate to road driving. On two occasions I have been able to avoid an accident due to locking brakes and car control in the wet because karting taught me the vehicle handling skills required. Selling due to leaving the sport, move, new car etc etc all demanding cash. These karts, depending on the class, pull 18-30hp in a 90kg kart+driver, which is a lot, considering it can do 2.5G's round corners at 130km/h! Exciting stuff, it really is. Pics are attached below. Kart has new clutch, 2 hours since major rebuild (at a cost of $1400) which included a new water fuel pump, recently flushed brake fluid and coolant. It comes with slightly worn mg reds (tyres), excellent for practice AND racing. The exhaust lining, fuel lines and in line filter have just been replaced. Also for sale, preferably with kart, is a 6x4" Felk galvanised trailer with two spare tyres, registration till late 2011. Comes with useful wooden template for kart, fitted tarp and fastening gear. I paid well over $12000 for all this gear between 2008 and 2009, and I'm selling it for a just $6000 to get rid of it. It's a loss on new gear you won't need to make! Everything you need to begin karting tomorrow is the new-regulation airbox from any kart shop ($60), and to trade in the restrictor plate for the newer one. Other than that, an AKA (Australian Karting Association) license and club membership and you're on the track. In the other pic is the kart as it is, I have to put the wheel and wheel hubs back on it. In the picture below is: 4 Spare wheel hubs 4 Spare tyres, bridgestones, for use in non-aka events 1 SNELL (Euro standard > Aus standard) spec ERG HJC helmet 1 Bottle of coolant (with some premixed coolant ready) 1 Bottle of fully synthetic rotax engine oil 1 20L jerry can to carry fuel in (with some 98 octane left over) 1 8L oil-fuel mixing bottle with graduations for various oil concentrations 1 Measuring cylinder with graduations for various oil concentrations and volumes in mL 1 Fuel jug (random containers which can hold fuel are infinitely useful when in the pits) 1 Fuel-oil mix funnel 1 Manual fuel pump 1 Near-full spray can of chain lube 1 Near-full bottle of DOT 4 brake fluid 1 Unopened mandatory clutch guard 0.5 metres of fuel line 1 0.8mm t-piece allen key 1 0.6mm t-piece allen key 1 Spare battery 1 Trickle charger for battery 1 AMB transponder 2 Spare chains 1 New 78 tooth sprocket 1 Freem rib protector 1 Pair of Sparco racing boots (size 10) 1 Pair of Kartech gloves (large) 1 Double layer Kartech suit (large) 1 ERG neck protector (large) 1 Tyre pressure gauge 1 Sparco kart stand 2 Chassis adjustment beams 1 Leather seat cover 1 Micron signal generator and receiver 1 Water temp gauge All clothing and PPE in great condition. Also shown above is an assortment of useful spare screws, different spacer sizes and 4 jet sizes. I am in Newcastle and will consider driving for delivery. PM me.

Haven't found a second hand one and need the import number for the new price, which I haven't bothered with yet. I'm awaiting inspection, it may end u being fine. Hoping so anyways. There are many and varied opinions of whether it'll be okay lol

btw thanks for your advice/help/consolation mate lol, it was good to call a few skyline experts to get their input. Butcher for car and hopes/dreams/happiness. It was a sad week.

Problem fixed. Put yellow jackets in a few weeks ago and haven't had a single mis since! So much better

The exact symptoms of either plugs and/or coilpacks: you have the misfire EVERY skyline gets. There's a massive sticky in the general (I think) section. 1. Replace plugs. You can buy either pre-gapped to 1.1 or 0.8mm. Smaller gap means less chance of misfire but less quality if spark. 2. Get copper or cheap bosch plats. As said many times on these forums, most people find the plats and iridiums last barely longer, or less, than the coppers. It's better to buy coppers for cheap and then at least your engine has fresh plugs all the time (they'll last ~5000km). 3. If the mis is still there, time for new coilpacks. Misfires suck, will be good to have it fixed mate.

Cheers mate. The mechanic was very convincing, and good about the price. I'm sure he spent an extra 10 hours on my car but only charged 1.5, then gave me that back as a cheque because, after a night's sleep (which often changes opinions), he decided it was the best course of action. He said he knew he'd lost the customer but when he put himself in my shoes, considering I'd talked to a lot of experts and was obviously not happy, he thought that was the best and most peaceful resolution. And after all the conversations I have to admit he still left a good impression. Have definitely learnt an important lesson though: only deal with skyline experts, and quiz them first . I'm going to call revolution racing in newcastle and ask their opinion when they have a look. Hopefully it all works out fine. Meanwhile, I have an r33 gtr exedy HD clutch in an r34 skyline, replacing the random, unidentifiable no-name clutch it had when I bought it. The pick up position and distance are SO different I keep embarrassing myself at lights hahaha

As was said in birds post, hence the "+1". If your coilpacks are fine buying yellow jackets/splitfires won't be helping much. It's a pretty pointless semantic discrepancy anyways, point is that it can only return lost power, which means there may or may not be a power gain.

+1. Despite what the advertisements say .

Hey if the mechanic was that keen to know the right answer he'd have my vote, and if my local mechanic did that I'd be a lot happier! Good point though. Yeah I won't be going there again. I think he picked up on the issue towards the end and didn't charge for the vast majority of the hours he spent on it. I spoke to revolution racing today in newcastle, I'll go see them next week to get an inspection done. I have the car back now, just glad to have it back to be honest. Even if the clutch is so different I can barely drive it

Glad it worked out for ya mate, as said above it really sucks having those lights!!

Open to trades with cash either way depending on the trade. After a daily for my partner, preferably something with abs and airbags, fwd, and in reasonable condition. Also open to bikes (motor, not push)

Probably, A lot of people on here seem to like the cylinders to be identical, but if you're not pushing massive power it'll probably be fine. Any more educated people care to weigh in?

Unfortunately even if he is liable legally he has the right to fix it: hence I can't just take it and leave without exposing myself. I will however mention I have spoken to the department of fair trading. I'm guessing, just from his attitude which I've picked up on over the last week, he'll tell me to piss off, terminating that contract. Not keen to mention the shop, feel free to pm me if you're looking at getting work done in the newcastle/lake macquarie area. That said, the easiest thing to do is know exactly how the job is done, call mechanics recommended repeatedly on here, and ask them in every detail how it should be done. Mark from MRC in castle hill seemed to have a photographic memory, describing in exact and precise detail how to undo the r-clip. It was like he was looking at the same image as I was. Tomorrow is not going to be a fun day...

He's going to say the bell housing is still structurally sound, how do I get this investigated? I assume this will involve x-ray scanning. Is there potential for the original part to be welded back in or will that just be a bandaid?

I called them, they can't advise as to whether or not I can take the car if he charges thousands for the job.

I called 4 specialist mechanics in Sydney this morning who were recommended in a sau nsw thread, and they were all shocked. One even said "he was just joking with you mate" before I told him he'd already sawed the hole. All I got was a shocked silence in response. Fk I wish I'd just driven to a specialist and didn't have this problem. Where can I get a new bell housing?

So... any ideas what I do now? He was pretty confrontational about it when I pointed out the r-clip and the clutch fork under the boot...

More like devastating. He said he'd wait till the next day to cut the hole out but only waited an hour or so. Argh.

Cheers for the condolences. Currently looking at calling the nrma and the automative traders thingy tomorrow, as well as some skyline expert mechanics tomorrow to figure out what the hell is going on, where I stand and what to do next (if you have any suggestions please let me know!). Kinda upset about it to be honest, but as long as he doesn't charge me for all the fking around labour I guess I'll have to put it behind me...