A Few Mixed Questions

[Baconer]

Hey i posted this in the general maintenance section of SAU and was just after some local advice on some of the problems and also a good workshop to get some of them fixed (thrust bearing, exhaust manifold gasket, belts etc.)

Heres the post:

Well i have a few small problems and maintenance questions and being the beginning of my 3 day weekend i figure i should start on fixing them.

bit of background, the car is a stock standard 1996 Series 2 R33 with 86,000km on dash (has a 100,000km sticker though) I bought the car in Sept 06 with 73,000km and have changed the oil and oil filter ever 5-6000km. Only problem i have had with the car was an idle problem that has been fixed and climate control unit problem which has also been fixed

Problem 1 - Boost Gauge not reading. (SOLVED, perished hose)

This happened about 2 weeks ago, basically the stock boost gauge will not display the correct boost, instead it just sits on 0. The car is still hitting boost and I can hear the turbo spooling but it just isnt reading correctly. How would i go about fixing this?

Problem 2 - Ticking. (POSSIBLY SOLVED, replaced with thicker oil and ticking has become a lot quieter)

(soundfile - soon to come, no ticking at the moment of course )

This has been going on for a few months (2-3 months) and has slowly but progressively become louder. It began with a ticking for the first few minutes on cold start which was only heard from the outside of the car towards the front and would disappear till the next morning, but it has got to the point where it is still ticking after a 15-20 minute drive. From what ive read it is most likely the Exhaust manifold gasket but just wanted a confirmation before spending money on this

Problem 3 - Squeaky Clutch.

(soundfile - http://media.putfile.com/Squeaky-Clutch) (dont worry about that clicking noise at 3 seconds, was a message on my phone coming in )

Has been going on since around January this year but does not cause any problems except for embarrassment when i have a passenger in the car. When i depress the clutch it makes a fairly loud squeak inside the cabin (some days no squeak, others lots of squeak).

Problem 3 (cont'd) - Possible Thrust Bearing

(soundfile - same as above, can sort of hear the rough sound)

Slightly related to above, the car runs fine but occasionally on idle it sounds a bit rough, though once the clutch is depressed the 'rough' sound disappears and sounds perfect, have been told it is possibly the thrust bearing. Would this be related to the above question?

Problem 4 - Replacing Belts (SOLVED - Repco)

Just for some peace of mind i want to replace all the belts (ps, a/c, timing etc.) and was just wondering where i would go to buy these items.

Problem 5 - What the hell is this and how do i set it!?

Have had this item in my car since buying it and googling the name ULTM comes up with nothing, have only ever seen 1 other car with this and that was in a youtube video . It is pretty much a digital rev/speedo gauge but after fiddling with it one night i messed the settings and now it reads incorrectly when above 3k rpm, if anyone knows how to use it or knows where i could find a manual or more information about the item that'd be great.

Thanks for any help anyone can give on these problems.

Alex

Edited June 18, 2007 by Baconer

[Terminal]

My advice would be to see a mechanic. It'll be much easier to diagnose in a shop than online.

[Baconer]

Yea thats the backup plan , wanting to try and save a bit of money by asking other skyline owners who may have had similar problems fixed in the past so i can just go to the mechanics and say whats going on instead of spending money on them diagnosing and possibly missing something.

[Links]

Ticking isn't your lifters is it? Could be the oil your using, would just get a couple of mechanics to check this first..

[Baconer]

Ticking isn't your lifters is it? Could be the oil your using, would just get a couple of mechanics to check this first..

Yea another member mentioned that the oil im using may be too thin (Mobil1 10W30) and im pretty sure this is the cause as it never made this ticking noise before i began using this oil. Annoying because i only changed the oil 200km ago

[SupaFly Skyline]

ive got a similar squeaky clutch in my car, i always thought it was the pivot point for the pedal, try some wd40 there, ive always been too lazy to.

as for your thrust bearing noise, ive had a similar noise (cant really tell if the same) in mine for years, nothing to worry about

[low200]

sounds like ticking lifters, use a heavier oil 10-40w should do it.

[race_snooze]

the last is a RSM rev speed meter it can monitor speed shit light, top speed recall and RPM how to set well from memory you have to tell it that its running off 6 pistons then wheel size. Its not an Apexi so I am not sure of the settings they can also do 0 to 400m and 0 to 100kph well the apex i can!!!.

[low200]

that top speed recall could be a bit of a liability

[Baconer]

Will be changing to some thicker oil later today, hopefully it fixes the ticking, if not its just another cause ruled out.

I'll fiddle around with it again and hopefully can set it, vaguely remember something about wheel size when it was trying to set it before

*EDIT*

Changed oil for a thicker viscosity and the ticking has become a lot quieter, will update after a few days of driving to see if its gone.

Edited June 18, 2007 by Baconer

[GeeTR]

ive got a similar squeaky clutch in my car, i always thought it was the pivot point for the pedal

^^ Agreed, the boot that sits around it, was squeaking on mine. Gave it a wiggle and some silicon spray

[thirty-four]

This is for problem 3 and 3 continued:

my clutch is squeaking like hell when i let it out. I went to the mechanic and he said the clutch itself is f**ked. Since then iv done a bit of research and figured that it's a possibility that if you grease the shit out of the slave cylinder, the fork thing and also pifot bearing inside the bell housing of the clutch it should stop it. The clutch itself works fine. but the squeakyness never stops, even when the car is of.

for problem 3 continued, im pretty sure i have the same thing. it's best to be in a quiet place and put it in nutral and when you put the clutch in the 'noise' stops. The noise starts again when when you release the clutch and it starts at the exact point of clutch contact. I figured it was just the gearbox or something like that spinning and has to resistance because it's in neutral so it sounds a bit loose. Would something just need to be tightened?

[jrm]

It'll be the input shaft bearing on the gearbox - it's very very common. Not very cheap to fix, however.

[thirty-four]

when do I HAVE to do replace it? and are you talking about problem 3 of 3 cont??

thanks mate.

[CeJay]

My car does the same thing, (noise when clutch is out) Ive been told it's the thrust bearing the gearbox, will eventually need to get it done.

[Trozzle]

I didn't catch the original description of this "noise" but would you describe it as a bearing full of sand spinning? If so, 99.9% chance it is NOT your thrust bearing. Input shaft bearing in your gearbox, pretty much the first bearing, and the one to take the most load. Same thing ate shit in my VL's gearbox, we replaced the box, all was well...for a while at least, now with the second hand box same thing is f**ked. When we drained the first box, good majority of the bearing and the bearing cage came out with the oil...

My current skyline box makes the same sound, just not very loud. The gearbox isn't the best in the world (synchros are shithouse, thank god I double clutch 24/7 anyways)

My knowledge of the thrust bearing though is that it will only be spinning (like in the way it was designed as a bearing, not just rotating in place but not "rolling") while you have you foot on the clutch...unless of course for some reason R33 clutches have constant (small) load on that bearing...either way it's why I've been taught to always chuck a manual car in neutral while not requiring gear...

My thrust bearing (I suspect) DOES however make a small chirping sound while the clutch is out in neutral after a few seconds...shuts up if you so much as think about touching the clutch pedal...lol well nah you just have to touch it ever so lightly...idk