R33 GTR - Daily for 7 years and counting

[jimnastic]

Whoops, premature post, ignore this one lol

Edited July 31, 2018 by jimnastic

[zoomzoom]

Nice work. I thought about making something similar for the power windows after having to dismantle the switches and clean the deposits off all the little individual copper rocker arms and contacts.

It's crazy to think that 20 years ago, all of those little components of the switch were  the cheapest way to manufacture a power window switch.

But if that arduino assembly sits in the door panel, I'd be concerned about moisture and corrosion. It's essentially an outdoor area, electrically speaking.

[jimnastic]

Clutch replacement time!

Parts:

Nismo Super Coppermix Competition Twin Plate Clutch (3002B-RR598-C),  comes with clutch release bearing (30502-12U00), Nismo clutch fork boot (30542-12U00), and flywheel bolts (not sure if there was a part number on them?)

Nismo braided clutch hose (46211-RS596), comes with copper washers (46237-A4600) and bleed nipple/clutch damper delete (41128-RS024)

Rear crank oil seal (12279-5L310)

Spigot bush (32202-B950A)

Nissan clutch fork boot (30542-12U00), didn't realise the clutch comes with one

Random clutch alignment tool found on eBay

 

Edited July 31, 2018 by jimnastic

[jimnastic]

5 minutes ago, zoomzoom said:

Nice work. I thought about making something similar for the power windows after having to dismantle the switches and clean the deposits off all the little individual copper rocker arms and contacts.

It's crazy to think that 20 years ago, all of those little components of the switch were  the cheapest way to manufacture a power window switch.

But if that arduino assembly sits in the door panel, I'd be concerned about moisture and corrosion. It's essentially an outdoor area, electrically speaking.

The plastic on the under side of my drivers switch actually completely fell apart, which is what led me down this path of various window switches. Wasn't going to pay $600(!) for a new one from Nissan, and I didn't trust a used one to not have the same problem. I was even thinking of getting a replacement 3D printed, but I figured it probably wouldn't be a perfect match, and it seems to just be an inherently flawed design with the way the spring inside the button is forced at an angle every time you use it.

Good point about the corrosion, I hadn't even thought of that. I was going to fit the whole thing in some kind of plastic enclosure when it's done, but I guess if it fails, the parts I've used aren't very expensive to replace

[jimnastic]

It took three trolley jacks and creative use of a garage creeper, but I managed to get the gearbox out. Attempts were made to clean it, mustn't have looked much better after cleaning because I didn't get any pictures

Removing the old clutch reveals a sad looking flywheel. Further creative use of tools with a 12mm spanner being used to stop the flywheel from turning when removing the flywheel bolts

New vs old

New crank seal in. Oil seems to just be left over from a leaking cam cover seal a while back, nothing to worry about

New flywheel and spigot. Managed to get the spigot bush out by inserting an appropriately sized socket and sort of wiggling and rotating it out. Flywheel bolts torqued as specified in instructions for the clutch

Clutch is in

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

2 hours ago, jimnastic said:

Haha similar situation with the wife's Polo. Will take crappy switches and RB soundtrack any day

Also been thinking of doing something to replace the awful headlight/key buzzer sound with that nice VW 'ding ding ding'. Maybe it would be easier to just swap the RB into the VW at this rate

LOL... get a nice S3, then RB swap it..

no more check engine light LOL

[jimnastic]

The gearbox put up a fight, but I managed to persuade it back in (no pictures as there's not much to see). The new clutch made a huge difference, made me realise how bad the old one actually was, and the car now feels a bit quicker too as I suspect the clutch was slipping more than I thought.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the one and only time I've had work done to the car by a mechanic was when I had the previous clutch installed in around 2013, and I was quite annoyed when I realised a few months after that he hadn't reinstalled the exhaust mount that hangs off the gearbox, so I replaced these while I was at it

Rubber mount 20610-24U00

Metal bracket 20711-04U11

Finally got around to cutting the coil cover to fit as well. The engine cover paint is looking a bit rough, will be redoing that some time

 

[jimnastic]

Installed the rear camber arms (PN 8628 from Hardrace), along with a set of camber lockout bolts from GKTech to replace the standard eccentric camber adjustment bolts. Forgot to get pictures, but the process wasn't very involved, just wheels off and undo a couple of bolts.

The drivers side seatbelt has never fully retracted properly, so I remove the seatbelt and cleaned it in some soapy water. This picture is after the third time I changed the water, absolutely filthy. While cleaning it didn't completely fix the problem, I'd say it probably made it about 50% better

I got a bit carried away while doing the seatbelts and ended up stripping out the interior for a big cleanup

Before

After

I also removed the drivers side and rear seats for the same treatment. It's all looking pretty spotless now, until everything gets covered in filth again

Edited August 12, 2018 by jimnastic

[jimnastic]

That brings everything up to date again. On the to do list at the moment, I need to get the new headlight lenses installed, finish up my little window switch side project, and I'm considering fully removing the stereo system. I actually can't remember the last time I even had the stereo turned on, and the OEM stereo I want to install would need to be modified for Aus FM frequencies, so I could save myself a lot of trouble and just rip the whole lot out to save some weight. I'll still have the OEM stereo installed, but only for looks.

The GT-R hasn't been on daily duties as of around a year ago, as I now have a work car, so I guess the title of this thread is no longer accurate, but fortunately that means I can get a lot more done to it as I don't need to make sure it's always put together and ready to drive. 

Longer term, I'd like to get the tune touched up now that the clutch and ignition system are dealt with, but I'll also be looking into what else I can do for a bit more power, then get one final tune done and leave it at that. Will try to keep this up to date as things happen.

[jimnastic]

Today I pulled the headlights out and got started on replacing the lenses. Nearly have one of them done, just need to stick it back together. Not particularly difficult to do, but it does require a lot of patience to get the old lens off. The biggest issue I had was static that made the new lens a dust magnet, which resulted in some tiny scratches on the inside of the lens from trying to clean it out. Nothing too noticeable unless you look super close, but still annoying

Here are some comparison photos, hard to get a good picture, but they look great in person

And just a quick photo comparing the standard GT-R stereo vs the Micra one, they're almost identical. I want to at least add a 5V USB output for a phone charger and to power the dash cam, but I'll also see if I can get the boost controller to fit in like I've done with the current JVC unit

[jimnastic]

Quick update

Headlight lenses installed, covered with clear vinyl wrap, hopefully that will keep them protected and looking good

[JGTC]

Wrapping the headlights is a genius idea, spotless carpet and factory looking radio are fantastic.

Edited August 25, 2018 by JGTC

[jimnastic]

Headlights installed and looking pretty good, needs a wash though. I'll also need to give some attention to the front lip soon, it's looking pretty average

Another update coming very shortly

[jimnastic]

On 8/25/2018 at 1:37 PM, JGTC said:

Wrapping the headlights is a genius idea, spotless carpet and factory looking radio are fantastic.

Thanks! Happy that people seem to enjoy the focus on all of these minor bits and pieces

[jimnastic]

So this took a lot of stuffing around, but I reckon it was worth the effort

 

 

[Figjam Jimmus]

Any more updates??

[jimnastic]

On 4/3/2019 at 12:23 PM, Figjam Jimmus said:

Any more updates??

Probably about time for an update. Here's a couple of pics to get started

September 2018 - Changed the absolutely shagged hicas ball joints (part # 55154-30P01)

Started repainting the engine covers. Did this the same way as last time (VHT anodised base coat + red top coat), just with more coats of red. Came out a lot better this time

[jimnastic]

Engine covers finished

[jmknights93]

11 hours ago, jimnastic said:

Engine covers finished

Those covers painted with the anodised red or the engine enamel red?

[jimnastic]

8 hours ago, jmknights93 said:

Those covers painted with the anodised red or the engine enamel red?

4-5 coats of anodised red, with a clear coat as well. I probably went a bit overboard with the red coats, but I didn't want it to fade again like it did before