My Stagea Is Really Starting To S*#t Me

[msports180]

*start rant*

So i have been slowly working through all the many problems i have had with my car since the swap, once it was done i lost all motivation to do anything to it. I have had a heap of other shit going on whilst this was happening to, like selling my house, signing up to build another, finding a block, finding a rental then moving also bein swapped around shift crews at work.

Anyway...

I fixed the electrical problems with the car but it still seems to be overheating (i think). Im starting to think it has something to do with the tune (it runs REALLY lean around the 4-5krpm range where it sits on the way up the hill to work). Still idles at 1500rpm though due to a air leak somewhere i think? ( have removed and cleanned AAC valve)

Got the Aircon regassed the other day so finnally had A/C, got new tyres etc, and goes in for a proper tune monday as its now run in.

A couple of weeks ago i took i through the car wash at work and as it had been a hot day the sudden heat change casued the windscreen to crack... Only windscreen available is ex QLD still waiting for it to arive...

For the first time today we used it as the "family car". Loaded the wife and 2 kids and went for a drive and what happens? The bloody A/C thermo fan decides it wants to seperate from the motor and go into the condensor, its seems to have not damaged it tooo badly. It looks like to get in there i have to pull the whole front end apart... Oh effing yay. So we get to drive home with no A/C and 3 grumpy whinging people making me feel a whole heap better.

Put the car up on the hoist the other day just to check everything underneath (havnt checked since the swap) Never took notice before but seems nearly EVERY suspension bush could do with a change...

The car has been a pain in the arse from the start, i love the power, the pracitcality, the look and feel, but im getting over it fast. I have no motivation to work on it anymore and to be honest i paid a heap to get the work done it so i didnt have to work on it. Then i had to do the bloody swap in the end anyway!!

I am seriousley considering trading it in on a new 4wd. I have taken a liking to the 4 door wranglers...

I feel a bit better now..

*end rant*

[260tech]

Bugger! You might wanna take that aircon condensor ($100) off your for sale list Neil?

Anyway it's gotta be up from here.

Cheers GW

[GTR91]

I reckon some cars are bloody cursed. No matter how much you spend, what you have fixed, as soon as you think its all good, something else stuffs up. I speak from experience when I had a Ford FX Ghia many years ago - god damn that thing was a lemon.

My advice - local church, take some Holy water and sprinkle the car with it.

If green pea soup comes out of the exhaust, RUN!

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

im hearing ya.

my first two cars . 84 MR30 skyline and a Vr 5spd holden.

biggest money sponges ever, put a few thousand into each just to keep them running.

flogged the MR30 for $800 bucks (break's alone costed me that much)

and the VR $1,800 without plates or RWC ( band new timing chain 2000km old and 4new tyre's costed that much)

feeling your pain. my stagea is my first turbo car. and its been good to me, although have noticed tranny fluid dripping here and there, and its down gears for no reason around corners and rev's out untill i have straightend the wheel up. i think my import fun and games has just began to start!!

[KiwiRS4T]

Your mood is understandable. Lock the car in the garage and have a few cold drinks and look at it again in a few days.

Why do you think you're running lean? Do you have a wideband sensor? the most likely fix for overheating or even just temp guage rising, esp when using aircond (yes i know aircond is a sore point ATM) is a new radiator core.

And don't buy a 4wd - they are more likely to crash and more likely to injure occupants if they do!

[_Ryan_]

flush the rad then chuck in some redline watter wetter with your normal coolant... few datto people reccomend it, i added it today, mine rises in temp up hill, isnt lean :S

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

im hearing ya.

my first two cars . 84 MR30 skyline and a Vr 5spd holden.

biggest money sponges ever, put a few thousand into each just to keep them running.

flogged the MR30 for $800 bucks (break's alone costed me that much)

and the VR $1,800 without plates or RWC ( band new timing chain 2000km old and 4new tyre's costed that much)

feeling your pain. my stagea is my first turbo car. and its been good to me, although have noticed tranny fluid dripping here and there, and its down gears for no reason around corners and rev's out untill i have straightend the wheel up. i think my import fun and games has just began to start!!

maybe i should not of said anything

today my auto trans started playing up, wouldnt down gear and had no overdrive and A/T light is flashing !

anyone wanna swap their manual stagea ?

[msports180]

Thanks for listening guys.

Well i fixed the fan today, only had to remove the front bumper and passenger side inside high beam light and fan came out, hasnt gone through the core of the condensor so lucky. The nut came off!! The thread was pucked, so re did the thread and put a new nut on, and put locktite on the shaft and bolt. Fingers crossed. Still cant fix the idle...

Ryan1600, we flushed the whole cooling system when we did the swap, i put tectaloy gold in there. ALOT of shit came out of the rad. Im thinking the rad core is probly blocked maybe? Got the one in the missus R34 done a while back as it was getting hot, was 70% blocked!! So if it still gets hot thats next.

When the motor was rebuilt the mechanics put it on the dyno, it ran super lean, by 6000rpm was 14.4 to 1. And around the 3500-4000mark when its coming onto boost it was 13.5 to 1 ish. Id say the timing is a bit retarded to, making it run a bit hotter.

I have found a nice 4wd i like looking at it after the tune on monday...

RBPOWA that sucks man!! Sshhh we'll stop talking about it now, Might go away.

[rb26stagea]

Thanks for listening guys.

Well i fixed the fan today, only had to remove the front bumper and passenger side inside high beam light and fan came out, hasnt gone through the core of the condensor so lucky. The nut came off!! The thread was pucked, so re did the thread and put a new nut on, and put locktite on the shaft and bolt. Fingers crossed. Still cant fix the idle...

Ryan1600, we flushed the whole cooling system when we did the swap, i put tectaloy gold in there. ALOT of shit came out of the rad. Im thinking the rad core is probly blocked maybe? Got the one in the missus R34 done a while back as it was getting hot, was 70% blocked!! So if it still gets hot thats next.

When the motor was rebuilt the mechanics put it on the dyno, it ran super lean, by 6000rpm was 14.4 to 1. And around the 3500-4000mark when its coming onto boost it was 13.5 to 1 ish. Id say the timing is a bit retarded to, making it run a bit hotter.

I have found a nice 4wd i like looking at it after the tune on monday...

RBPOWA that sucks man!! Sshhh we'll stop talking about it now, Might go away.

Hi Neil,

I feel where you're coming from: I have recently had 2 modded cars running (mostly) at the same time, and can relate toi the fact that very time you fix one issue, another weakness/fault rears its ugly head...

However, at the end of the day, it's just an engine, and has to adhere to the laws of physics, so there will be a definable reason that it is acting in the way it is, regarding overheating/running lean/high idle etc. There's always an explanation, although it may take a fair amount of effort to find it, which is the frustrating part. In my opinion (and it's just that), the frustration is a small price to pay for the finished result if you stick it out and end up with a clean-running weapon, but that's my opinion... If the car is a daily driver, then the situation becomes a little different as reliability is almost priceless in this case...

If it's a weekender/second car, then stick with it: you'll look back at he headaches and laugh when it's running perfectly...

[66yostagea]

I find it hard to believe that anyone could break an R30. When I had all the shit with my Forester the Warranty Manager at Subaru said "Yeah, but Nissan make their cars bullet proof" And so they do.

My first 30 was a Ti hatch. Consigned to the wreckers after 600k. The auto just wore out. I now have two Ti sedans,

Greenie and Goldie, both manuals, with 250 or so on the clocks. Like they will last another ten years.

Like the man from Subaru said, "Nissans are bullet proof"

But Nissans, and no other cars, are IDIOT proof.

[SHIZNT]

maybe i should not of said anything

today my auto trans started playing up, wouldnt down gear and had no overdrive and A/T light is flashing !

anyone wanna swap their manual stagea ?

My Stag has been off the road for the last 3 weeks.. Auto's getting rebuilt with all the extra goodies as we speak

Everyone keeps asking me out of the 6 months I've owned my car how many times have i driven it as something is always playing up.. first it the 4WD light coming on and the car shuttering, then it was the coil packs causing the car to misfire all the time, then i had issues with bad terminals causing the car to cut out all the time now my Auto..

I'm hopeing after my transmission is back in my headaches are over.. or im gonna come home from work one day to the car on the front lawn with a "Free to good home" sticker on it caus the misses has had enough..

Edited February 15, 2009 by SHIZNT

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

yeah i wouldnt be so stressed about my auto.

i would get it shift kit and all that jazz too.

just need it this weekend to move my Gf up to Warrnambool. so just the simple reseal and service kit

plus money comes and goes bloody debt ! busting my balls

[msports180]

Yeah it is a daily so i need it reliable.

Ive been trying to fix this high idle problem for a while. We rebuilt the AAC valve, checked every hose clamp i could see, checked what vacuum hoses i could see, checked that the throttle bodys were closing etc. I agree you do get a sense of satisfaction when you manage to fix a problem, i was stoked when i fixed the ATTESSA.

It went in today for the tune at Xspeed. Had a OK result, Did 304AWHP @ a bit under 10psi. Fuel pump is rooted... Normally stock fuel system can support 350AWHP but mine was running 95% duty cycle @ 300AWHP pump is probly just old and worn out. And the high idle has been narrowed down by them to be a vacuum leak, so because of this the base timing is out. So basically i need to get a new fuel pump and fix the leak and get it retuned.

Im gonna book it in 2 a local mechanic that i know pretty well and get them to fix the vaccum leak as i CBF.

The tune is awesome though, car feels so responsive and at least i can now rev it.

So had a good and bad day. Got reasonable economy to considering did 400km's including the tune and only used 3/4 of a tank.

[petrolfix]

mate sounds hectic i thought my luck was bad but you take the cake. though think your self lucky only 1 of your cars is coursed i have two of the stupid things and yes can tottaly understand the depression it gives you when all you want to do is go for a drive comfortably and come home again. i had never had an accident till i got my stag then two in a row then my missis is driving it and hit a roo in it pain in the ass. whilst thats sitting to get repaired trying to get my silvia ready to race the friggin thing wont fire on all cylinders and yep there both going to the mechanic to get fixed cos i CBF either.

so your not the only one with drama and looks like neither am i. and yeah i was eyeing off a brand new navara.

[Stinky Rooster]

Neil - you work at Worsley yeah? That hill will test the cooling system on ANY car (I started my apprenticeship when I was living in Collie )

Can you let us know what (if anything) is found chasing the vaacuum leak?

[msports180]

mate sounds hectic i thought my luck was bad but you take the cake. though think your self lucky only 1 of your cars is coursed i have two of the stupid things and yes can tottaly understand the depression it gives you when all you want to do is go for a drive comfortably and come home again. i had never had an accident till i got my stag then two in a row then my missis is driving it and hit a roo in it pain in the ass. whilst thats sitting to get repaired trying to get my silvia ready to race the friggin thing wont fire on all cylinders and yep there both going to the mechanic to get fixed cos i CBF either.

so your not the only one with drama and looks like neither am i. and yeah i was eyeing off a brand new navara.

Ahh shit man, stagea's in hole must be cursed!! LOL Some keep crashing, lots of gearbox faults, misfire's, and mine everything

Yeah the newer car is looking beter and beter. My missus R34 sedan just ran out of warranty so im waiting for something to go wrong on that!!

Yeah dale i work at worsley. The car only over heats every now and then, its not consistent which is weird, maybe a sticky thermostat. Yeah its a bitch of a HILL, now for a day light savings whinge... if we didnt have it we wouldnt be driving up the hill through the heat for night shift Meh im over trying to fix it myself i'll just pay someone.