Compression Testing and silver stickers

[glenmcrae]

I have a 94 gts25t r33 skyline, it says its got about 56k on the clock, which i somehow find hard to beleive for a vehicle nearly 10 years old, the car seems to run fine, with the only thing replaced according to the car yard i bought it from being the clutch, and a few other things so it was eligable for complience.

1. My question is, how can I determine the real amount of kilometres it has driven? someone mentioned a compression test on the cylinders? ( I COULD BE QUITE WRONG HERE )

2. It has a silver sticker on the engine with the nissan text, logo, some writing in japanese, and down the bottom a very clear 100,000km's written. Does this mean this car has had a 100k service????? I hope this isn't the case although I wouldn't be too suprised .. The car didn't have service history, so it is hard for me to tell what the deal is, it's running okay I say again, but I'd just like to know roughly what these things are..

Cheers

[MrMayhem]

comp test always good to see how teh engine is regarless of indicated kms

silver sticker is teh timing belt replacement km sticker...........

If that belt was put on in OZ during compliance just for maybe...

if put on in Japan shes been wound back

[R33-JET]

nah the 100k sticker i believe is on skylines from factory saying that the timing belt is to be changed at 100k's

[MrMayhem]

it definately isnt from teh factory

you buy a timing belt you get the sticker

I import alot of front cuts only the 80k kms plus ones have them

seeing teh residue on a sticker thats been removed is a good indicator you've been dialed back also

[glenmcrae]

Thanks MrMayhem.

Is it illegal for people to sell cars claiming certain kms clocked in, knowing that the clock has been wound back? from a car yard eg: toyota dealer, selling this as a used vehicle. I have a feeling it would be breaching some agreement maybe even just within thewarranty I have with the dealer. Any ideas what the deal is with the law regarding this, thanks in advance.

Cheers

[Sumo]

Mine has the 100k sticker on it also, but I just ticked over 60k

Sumo

[Cake]

as far as i know, that silver sticker says in jap 'replace timing belt at 100,000km and comes factory. when it is replaced, it is written on or near the sticker, indicating the exact km when it was changed. my skyline has the sticker and its done 75k km.

pic attached, looks like another sticker has been stuck next to the factory one, and written on.

[MotoX]

b005t is correct, i got mine done and they wrote 101700 in that box.

[Roy]

Is it illegal for people to sell cars claiming certain kms clocked in, knowing that the clock has been wound back?

Dont know but not a very ethical way to be running a business.

When i picked up my R32 a couple of years ago, their was a grey R32 in the same yard. Had adjustable control arms, and Teins and susp work up the bazoo, exactly what i wanted.

It even had less kms then the silver one i ended up buying. The silver was a nicer looking car, and essentially stock, but hey i had never owned a nice looking ride so didnt care, my heart wanted the grey one.

Imagine my surpirse when the car yard owner said dont buy the grey one, theres no way the kms are original and the silver car is the one to have... and i might add he was right the car has been great.

There isnt much Aus dealers can do when they are wound back in Japan, except do as this individual did and bring it to the buyers attention.

As for timing belts, well i change it and a few other things when i buy a car, kind of like tranferring the rego. You never know.

[MrMayhem]

mmm I got a new timing belt right here in a bag with teh sticker you can write whatever you want on it, and believe likewise

[HappyPuppy]

We'll here's my timing belt sticker and it looks like it was changed in Japan @ 95017km on the 8th month of the year H12 (2000)

The belts on the fan and the alternator look pretty new. But I think I have to squeeze under the car to inspect the timing belt don't I?

[predator]

it definately isnt from teh factory

you buy a timing belt you get the sticker  

Maybe you do.. but it also comes from the factory.. as every GTS-T i have seen has one on there. They will generally write the km it has been changed in pen or the like if it has been changed - like HappyPuppy's pic shows.

Km on a skyline are largely irrelevent, and it disspoints me to see buyers say things like "oh I'm looking for a skyline with 60,000km, yours is 90,000km and not worth looking at". These are not local cars people!! Most of the winding back has been in japan, where its actually illegal also.

If you could find *evidence* that a local dealer did it, you could get them in trouble - getting that would be nigh on impossible, and most of the time its been done way before it gets into local hands. Most dealers know that, and like Roy says, some will even be honest about it. Likewise you can simply change the whole instrument cluster (an 30minute job) and you'd be none the wiser.

Glenmcrae: A compression will only give you a bit of a general indication of the internal strength left in the engine. It will not tell you km at all, as compression could be way down on a car with a genuine 60,000km or fine at 200,000km.. all on how the car has been treated. More modifications will often mean that the engine compression may be otherwise worn premeturely. Often more boost = more pressure on the pistons, rings, head gasket, valves springs, etc and may result in reduced compression over time.

The only real check is to just go on visuals such as paint fade, seat wear, steering wheel, gearboot and handbrake boot wear, carpet wear, and the number of small scratches, etc -- in the end it doesn't really matter. If the car is running well, looks good, and everything else, the km are the last thing you should worry about. .

[Blade]

out of interest how much should a new timing belt cost with installation?!?!?

I got quoted $350 to $400 is that too expensive?

[KamikazeR33]

mine has 4000 odd km written on mine