74 replies to this topic

[lunjiaow]

LOL! I wouldnt trust you to do my timing belt if i brought my mazda to you.
Good to seee it runnning. Plans for now? or still fixing it up.

CUT THE SPRINGS haha.

[NA_Goodness]

There's nothing wrong with the timing belt? Lol. It's all a learning curve, so I'm loving it! Haha

Plans for it at the moment is to continue cleaning it up. Unfortunately we have Floor Clean at work tonight, so everything is removed from the workshop meaning I can't work on it after work But tomorrow I'll put it on the hoist, change the oil and filter, check out that exhaust, see if there are any other leaks around, remove the wheels and measure the thickness of the disks, get someone to help me bleed them, then replace a few globes if I haven't already.

Dont want to cut the sprigs, but new lowered springs and shocks are on the agenda! Mainly cos the current ones are completely rooted! New exhaust, replace that front windscreen, wheel allignment, new stereo, work out why the boot doesn't lock, new wheels (going for the epic fitment ) and that's it so far... I say so far because I can't stop thinking about import front and rear ends...

[Nic_A31]

epic fitment

So you ARE going 5 stud?

Only epic fitment you be seeing on R31 in 4 stud is Commodore spec 19x6 +50, with 245s on.

[NA_Goodness]

I can get JJR S13 5-stud hubs for the front, but that means using HR31 struts. Rears I can either redrill the hubs and disks, or modify a Ford rear diff. I'm thinking about redrilling both front and rear, should be the cheaper way of doing it.

I've never seen a Commodore with 4-stud hubs? Lol

[Nic_A31]

Exactly even Holden know better than to use 4 stud, cos that's how silly 4 stud is. Fix that, ASAP.
Why do you need to change struts if you go 5 stud?
You're only changing hubs not the entire knuckle.

[NA_Goodness]

Good question, I need to reread that I think... That's definitely what I read though, more than once too, so maybe you do need to nuckles as well? Either way, it's the expensive way of doing it, and this car is about being cheap and budget. The 33 gets all the shiny new parts!

[lunjiaow]

Hmm is redrilling safe at all? Is it possible to do like a R32 or R33 hub conversion?
Sounds like heaps of fun or pain working on this car haha.

[Socrates]

Australian R31 front struts are shit in comparison to JDM R31 (HR31)ones.

[NA_Goodness]

It won't be used for anything high speed, so probably. Heard of it done many times before. Guess we'll have to see!
This car is frustrating!! But it's worth it though, learning a lot.
Need to balance the wheels tomorrow as well, the steering wheel was shaking like crazy going to Jess's tonight.

Socs, what's the difference between them?

[Socrates]

From what i vaguely remember the aussie ones are integrated disk and hub while the JDM arent = better?
and they run different disk size and different space between caliper mounts so JDM calipers won't fit on aussie strut etc

[NA_Goodness]

Fair enough then. I'll pull my wheels off today to balance them and check it out while I'm there. I want to out the 33 brakes on, so probably need to do a bit of work for them to fit, but that's in the future. For now, I just want to fix the horrific suspention as cheap as possible for now.

[Char]

way too much talking about this car like its awesome etc, just lock the diff or gtfo

[Socrates]

I'm going to say it again, get some new shocks and leave the suspension.
Get Wheel balance and alignment, brakes flushed and pads / rotors checked.
then just use it.
Spend money on the other car, cause this was the reason u bought this, to save money.

[NA_Goodness]

Everyone says that! The reason I bought this was to avoid driving the 33 so often and keeping it clean. I have no issues spending money on this car. I'm worries that if I DONT upgrade the suspension and brakes, it'll end up like your C210, Socs.

Anyway, I have another update for you guys tonight. I'll post it up when I get home and upload the photos.

[Socrates]

Rhys,

Don't drive it beyond it's limits (as i did with my car & paid for it) and it will be fine.
BUT i can only recommend you do and not do stuff, your choice in the end.

[NA_Goodness]

.For the price of a decent set of wheels, I can have brakes, suspension, and a 5-stud conversion making the car much more fun to drive, but more importantly safe!! Even the Mazda outhandles and out brakes it, it's ridiculous! Everything is cheap, and I'll be doing the 33 at the same time, plus once that's done, I'll be pretty much done bar sound system (eBay!!) and possibly paint it (It looks like shit). Trust me, I won't spend that much on it, and I'll keep it for years!

[NA_Goodness]

Ok, so I was able to get the old girl up on the hoist today after work. Its really not too bad under there! I think there might be a leak from the gearbox, and possibly a rear main leak, but that could just be left overs from the rocker cover gasket. Basically I wont know until I get the timing cover so I can give the whole motor a good wash down.

This is a shit photo, but the sump has copped a decent hit some time in its life:



I'll take the sump off and beat it out sometime, but its not important at the moment, so I'll leave it for now.
An important thing I wanted to check was the brakes. The shudder is ridiculous!! And the pedal is spongy Probably a bit of air in the lines, but not ideal. Either way, I needed to know if I could skim the disks or if I had to replace them. Turns out, the disks are well and truely rooted.
The pads are alright though:



Not in urgent need of replacement. Then I took a step back and looked at the brakes as a whole...



Thats just bullshit!! How am I supposed to stop with those? The Mazda's rear drums put it to shame!!
I looked around the workshop and saw this:



Its the S13 drift car one of our apprentices is parting out. $500 for the brakes, hubs, and coilovers. The rear brakes I might leave as is, just redrill to 5-stud and fit some decent wheels/tires so I have the ability to stop, turn and remain gripped to the road. Its a safety thing, more then anything else.

Anyway, moving on. I felt felt for any play in the wheel bearings and steering rack while it was on the hoist, and thankfully the rack is solid, but couldnt say the same about the wheel bearings Taking off teh dust cap to tighten the nuts holding them in, once I had removed the split pin, I could turn the nut with my fingers Not cool... A quick tighten, chuck the wheels back on, and they were good as new!! Got out of THAT one! Lol.
I also rebalanced all the wheels while I was there to stop the steering wheel shaking when I go above 80km/h. Tested it out on the way home, PERFECT!! Sweet as!
Also changed the oil, so thats all good now. Gets oil pressure instantly, which is a bonus! The old stuff was pretty burnt and used up, so some fresh oil will do it good. I cant stand people who dont change their engines oil, its not expensive and makes a HUGE difference! Also cant stand people who cant look after their cars... Thank god this thing came to me! It deserves a good freshen up. Poor lil thing... Lol.

Gave it a wash before I left work; didnt do all that much though. Trying to convince myself not to paint it, but its getting harder

This weekend I want to rebleed the brakes and remove that horrible tint. My mate has an aerial for me as well, out of an 82 Celica he wrecked, so I'll chuck that in to replace the file thats currently in its place! Should would a bit more consistantly

[Ten Four]

http://perth.gumtree...QAdIdZ258813108

[NA_Goodness]

Just text the guy and it's already gone Well spotted though James! If you see anything similar, let me know!

[Char]

the sump reminds me of the one in my skyline. when i bought my rb30 it had a huge dent in it, and guess what! it still does! useless pricks at hitech didnt even bang it out when it was apart! i even offered them the choice of 2 perfectly fine rb25 sumps.
ovaboost have mentioned it to me about 10 times