A tale of two Skylines.

[Red Duke]

Car jacked up further and axle stands in. I've left the jack up and put in two extra stands as a 'just in case'. Front pipes nuts off (and a stud... ) Oil and water lines to the turbos undone, 7 of 8 turbo / manifold nuts off and now I'm stuck again. I can't for the life of me get the 13mm on the rear right side of the rear turbo off. Tried my crows foot, stubby 13mm ring / open spanner, socket with elbows, I just can't get to it! Got the hard lines in the way which I can't see where you remove them from (diagram says back of the block!?)

Given up for tonight, getting backache and losing patience with it again. I think I might need to remove the front pipe to drop the turbos down? I also can't see the support brackets that are supposedly near the oil lines? Unless I'm being thick.

[Jimbostir]

Should be 12s. Yeh, it’s a bit of a git but keep persevering!

[Skyrel]

Wow, so much trouble with the turbos.. I must have been lucky, mine came out like they were new.

About those turbos, are the r1 turbos practically the same as the r34 n1 turbos?

[Red Duke]

Originally Posted by Skyrel

Wow, so much trouble with the turbos.. I must have been lucky, mine came out like they were new.

About those turbos, are the r1 turbos practically the same as the r34 n1 turbos?

They're similar, rated to 280bhp each and spool up 400rpm quicker than the N1's (looking at the info on RHD Japan) - I'm going for these as everything is included in the price, all the copper washers, gaskets, oil & water lines, etc.

[FRRACER]

Those R1 turbos look like -9. Now the thing is do they have ceramic bearings? Garret made changes to all their 707160 range with ceramic bearings and bronze bearing cages. Have a look at the Garret number on the core should tell you what it is. HKS GTSS is marked 707160-9.

[Red Duke]

I don't think so no, the blurb says they were changed to ball bearings, hence the faster spool rate. I haven't got them here yet to check, they'll take a little while as everywhere is closed for golden week in Japan.

[Red Duke]

Got the front pipe off, but I had to take the decat off too - I've now found the cat temp sensor won't come out as it is so rusted into the decat. Of course, the black plug won't fit through the hole in the floor so I may well just cut it and buy a new one. I should have a spare decat pipe anyway to replace the lot. Everything seems to have had instant gasket / black sealant used on it too, rather than proper gaskets.

Rear turbo is now loose, I found the support brackets in the end! Lol I didn't realise the picture is of the underside of the car! I've got the front one to do, but I'm working these next few nights so it'll have to wait now. Rear turbo seems to be catching on the heat shield of the front turbo, I've got everything off (I think) bar one oil line at the bottom into the block? Not sure I need to remove this though.

While scrabbling about underneath I also found my alternator has lost a nut on the back holding the bolt in place. This had then moved to within about 15mm of the belt! Glad I started this myself now, finding little bits and pieces that need putting right!

[Red Duke]

I've not had a lot of time on the car recently, OT, house bits and sorting out the summer house and shed of shit has been the order of the day for the last couple of weeks!

Good news though, my R1 turbos are on the way! Should be here late this week or early next week! I'm also waiting on a new cat temp sensor and manifold spacer washers from Nissan, Tomei metal intake gaskets (to go with the Nismo GT intake gaskets for the plenum) - I have new exhaust manifold nuts & studs, decat bolts and gaskets here already courtesy of Conceptua on Ebay. As I take my car apart I'm finding more and more bits I'm not happy with, silly things like clips or bolts / screws missing... I seem to be developing a case of OCD because these things are really pissing me off! Lol

I'll get some pics up when parts arrive, I've got 2 weeks off coming up after this lot of nights, so I really want to get cracking on the car. Front bumper is going to come off too and get the Nismo oil cooler fitted and old Mocal removed finally.

[Mike-998]

Originally Posted by Red Duke

As I take my car apart I'm finding more and more bits I'm not happy with, silly things like clips or bolts / screws missing... I seem to be developing a case of OCD because these things are really pissing me off! Lol

This is exactly what I found, 20+ years of other people's fixes and things falling apart i guess.

I had things like silicon hose turned 180 degrees and cable tied to block off hardlines, and rubber hoses plugged with bolts. Auto silicon hoses do some lovely black blanks though.

[Red Duke]

Originally Posted by Mike-998

This is exactly what I found, 20+ years of other people's fixes and things falling apart i guess.

I had things like silicon hose turned 180 degrees and cable tied to block off hardlines, and rubber hoses plugged with bolts. Auto silicon hoses do some lovely black blanks though.

Haha yep! Carbon canister had been removed previously, lines were just cut and left there. Got a split in the water line that goes around the front of the block, but that was me because it is so old and dry, it cracked very easily. I have a full silicone hose kit to go on to replace all those though. It's just a bit frustrating having jobs done, and simple things like gaskets not being replaced and instant gasket / silicone type stuff used instead... I've now got the cold the rest of the family had, typically just in time for my 12 days off! 3 more nights to go first, so hopefully it comes on properly and burns out for me like it has for everyone else in the house.

I really want to get on, I've not put a spanner on the car for a couple of weeks or so now!

[Jags]

Which silicone hose kit did you go for?

[Red Duke]

Originally Posted by Jags

Which silicone hose kit did you go for?

I've got more of the Autobahn88 hoses to go on, I've used SFS before and had a Samco intake hose too. They're all pretty much the same (bar price!) Just make sure they have a good 3 or 4 ply construction and are lined if you're using them for hoses that see oil or coolant.

I've taken off the red SFS hoses as I'm replacing them for blue, the Autobahn88 were available immediately whereas I'd have to wait for the Samco or SFS to be made up.

[Red Duke]

I had a heavy box turn up on Friday, what could it possibly be!?

Small hint...

[K66 SKY]

Originally Posted by Red Duke

I had a heavy box turn up on Friday, what could it possibly be!?

LOL! And there was me thinking it'd most likely be a massively huge Invoice billed to you for Taxes and all manner of other associated extra Shipping costs from purchasing products from Japan!

[Red Duke]

Originally Posted by K66 SKY

LOL! And there was me thinking it'd most likely be a massively huge Invoice billed to you for Taxes and all manner of other associated extra Shipping costs from purchasing products from Japan!

Lol I get those too but I work out what parts will likely cost me landed in the UK. For example, I bought Blitz front and rear strut braces and a fair few other parts for my GT86 from Japan and still paid less than what I'd pay for just the strut braces alone from a UK supplier! Sometimes things are more expensive, sometimes not.

Oh, top tip.. Dont use EMS as Parcelfarce then get involved, your parcel will sit in customs for weeks and then they'll eventually send you a letter demanding you pay their fees (for "handling your parcel") before they'll even think about releasing it to you. Invariably it'll be damaged, delivered to the wrong address or "left in your safe place" (by the front door, in the rain) and you'll pay between £12 and £24 for the privilege!

[Red Duke]

I'll add some more pics next week. I didn't get chance to get everything out, just wanted to look at the new turbos!

[Red Duke]

As usual, things haven't gone as planned. I lost my aunt last week and two days after that my wife lost her nan. I haven't been particularly motivated to do a lot of anything, I threw myself into the car for a few hours just to get out of the house and gather my thoughts & feelings. It helped for a while, but grief has a funny way of hitting you when you least expect it.

I got the turbos and manifolds out and O2 sensors removed, cleaned up the mating surfaces for the new gaskets and went in to try and get the broken heat shield bolts out. Well, that didn't work either - 4 broken drill bits, a broken screw extractor and 2 broken bolt extractors later I gave up. I flicked though Ebay and found Sumo Power had the Tomei full cast manifolds (the newer, stronger type) and ordered them. I'll get pics up at some point, I've only had a quick look at them. They're fantastic quality, very impressed. Should give me a bit more response and power combined with the other parts I have to go on

Quick pic of the old parts:



I've got a few more pics, but I'm at work and can't remember the file names. Hoping to get on with the car after nights rather than doing nothing all week again.

[V-SpecII]

Sorry to hear about your aunt and Mrs Nan, always sad to hear such news.

[Jimbostir]

I swapped the turbo elbows over on mine the other day. Those HPI ones are so much bigger. Wait till you do that they’re much much better. Good to see your back on it

[Red Duke]

Thanks guys, yes it has been a bit of a shitty time of late. I did get on with the car yesterday and today though, which of course, didn't go as expected.

Long story short, I got the old manifold studs out, gave everything a scrape & clean up, installed the new studs and set to work getting the gasket and front manifold on. Torqued everything up, realised I'd forgotten the "yokes" (fat spacers) I'd bought from Nissan to replace the old ones, seeing as everything else was new.

Turns out I didn't need them and I didn't need to panic and remove everything again!! Tomei instructions tell you to reuse the old studs and nuts, which I wasn't going to do. I should have just left the car as it was, rather than take it all apart to fit the yokes, which then meant the nut was half way off. I thought that the studs Conceptua sent me were wrong as they were shorter. Yep, they are shorter, because they are a newer design that use metal lock nuts (kenlock?) and don't require the yokes as they've got flanged bottoms. This means they don't foul on aftermarket manifolds and is why the Tomei were so easy to install compared to removing the old Nissan manifolds!

BOLLOCKS.

I wish I knew that before I took everything apart again!!

Few pics, firstly the cause of my leak! Turns out it wasn't a manifold leak at all!











As you can see, the heatshield is very tatty, so I gave it a quick wipe over with some degreaser and gave it a spray with some UHT paint on the outside. You're supposed to bake it in the oven or heat it to 160 degrees for an hour to fully cure it, but it gives off smoke and the wife is at home, so that'll be a resounding "NO!" then. Actually, I could stick it in the gas BBQ and cure it that way! It isn't brilliant, but still better than old metal and rusty grease colour! I've left the underside 'as is' so it shouldn't absorb any more heat than usual.



The Tomei manifolds are lovely, the build quality is awesome! It is a shame they will get covered up really, but hey, Nismo intake to go on, so who cares.





I'm a bit pissed off the Tomei gasket has been squashed when I torqued everything up, but I do have the Nismo exhaust gaskets still so I'll likely dig those out and fit them instead. I really don't want to risk a leak after putting all this back together, again!

I've got a few other bits too, Garage Yoshida A/C relocation gear surround (unfinished to I can spray it satin black, same as my interior parts), new cat temp sensor and a new water hose as the old one had split on removal. I then remembered I already have a blue silicone replacement with all the other heater hoses too. Oops! I'll get some pics up and hopefully get some time on the car tomorrow, we have friends coming over so possibly not!

Ah yes, and the reason I bought the Tomei manifolds in the first place! Broken bolts, broken drill bits in said broken bolts and broken bolt extractors too! It didn't help I'd just lost my aunt and my wife lost her nan two days later, so I wasn't in a great mental place anyway. Retail therapy helped for about 10 minutes though.