meerkat8701

aaah now i get it. im at the garage now. wonder if i could take away the whole thing and replace it with lexan. i read a bit more about and its not too difficult material to work with apparrently i have no intention of using the boot anyway so it would be nice to get rid of that weight. maybe im just being obsessive about weight. and the end of the day i wont be competing with it but anything that makes it go faster peaks my interest =)

clokker

iTrader: (2)

That would be "piqued", young padawan.

And yes, especially for a car that has yet to run, you are being obsessive about weight.

Just out of curiosity, how fast is enough?

Hannibal King

Lookin good!

meerkat8701

I stand corrected sensei =p i must admit, I only use my English on this website as I have only one english mate here whom I seldomly meet so my grammar, spelling and pronunciation are almost irreparably damaged. Im as surprised that my English has got this bad as I am surprised that I have learnt almost fluent Swedish in 6 and a half years. Basically, its a mindfuck.

Concerning my feelings about speed, I have a Nissan skyline r32 gtr with approx 370hp that I have about two months behind the wheel when it has been operational. That was "fast" for me. Then I have my daily driver. A 1 litre Nissan micra with 50hp that I drive all the time. Out of these cars, my rx7 is my favourite. There are so many reasons that I like it so speed is not that important because I love the whole package! The 80's look,the unusual rotary engine, the sound, the feel, ect,ect. I think that 250-300 hp would feel "fast" for me but I dont feel that its necessary because the car is so cool. Therefore I just want it to be responsive and relatively nimble. Am i making sense? =)

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I make a real distinction between "feeling fast" and "being fast", because they are rarely the same thing.
I once watched a very young Freddie Spencer win every race he entered, competing against bikes with double the horsepower. He was on a Yamaha RD350 and was amusingly outclassed on the straights but he carried so much more corner speed that his lap times were seconds below the liter bikes he raced.

Unfortunately we do not live on racetracks, so the only dramatic demonstration of speed most of us get is the kick in the *** when goosing the throttle. It's a very simplistic and narrow definition of "fast". Any racer will tell you that the trick to going fast is not to slow down. Getting up to speed is just the start, not squandering speed in the form of brake heat is much harder and where the real talent lies.

You really can't have too much traction (tires), braking or suspension compliance but absent those three things, you can have too much power.

meerkat8701

if my knowledge serves me correctly the yamaha rd350 was two stroke and quite fast for its engine size. i had no idea that it was entered into competitions against 1000cc bikes thats insane!

this is very wise advice and i when i think about it, i would be more than satisfied with a reasonably reliable, fun car for quite a long while before i get bored and decide to modify it further than i have already planned to do, so i geuss ill stick to the plan and just try to do everything properly and to the best of my ability.

yesterday i went straight down the pub so i couldnt put up any pics so i thought id do it today. i tidied up the harness that goes to the ecu which went relatively fast..
i also sprayed all contacts with electronics cleaner and then blew them clean with an air pistol



i then proceeded to clean the fan and the original air filter. ( i will be replacing the k&n filter with it basicly because it allows less crap into the motor and i get cooler air to boot) seems like when it comes to this, original is best.

all i have left really is to clean the parts i have left over and change the hoses. it seems like alot of hoses to change. i just wonder if the the information for the types of hose and diameters are anywhere on the net. it seems from a passing glance that i would only need approximately 4 types? all i know is that i will be abiding by your earlier advice and replacing them all. how did you go about it?

then i have another litttle problem. i had a go at cleaning up the intake and it looks presentable,



but then i have this bunch of bits left to clean. i basicly want the components that can be seen to look relatively clean when i put them on to the motor so that it wont be a super big contrast between clean/crappy looking parts.




i could really use some tips as to how to go about getting these bits looking ship shape without shedding too much blood, sweat and tears =)

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunately, blood, sweat and tears are exactly what's in store for you, sorry.

There is no magic bullet cure, it's all going to be drudgery.
As mentioned, you want to avoid having a shiny, perfect part nestled among crappy looking stuff because it just emphasizes the disparity.
Accordingly, I start with the worst looking component and make it look as good as possible, then bring everything else to that level.

Probably the most challenging part will be the throttle body...lots of corroded, rusty small bits on a complex aluminum casting. You really do NOT want to disassemble this because it's a bitch to get back together correctly. Depending on your resources (blast cabinet/dipping tanks), this can be relatively easy or, done by hand, very tedious.

One simple and (visually) advantageous move is just to replace all the hardware with new (or good condition) bits. I think I replaced 99% of the nuts/bolts/screws in my bay (thread chasing and anti-seize along the way) and that alone makes a big difference.
Even if things don't look top notch, at least they come apart and go together well and that counts for something.

Remove studs and sand flanges flat and true.

As you ponder just what you'd like the bay to look like, remember what will happen after you're "finished" (because you never truly are). Polished and gloss surfaces will require more upkeep than natural/matte ones...how much effort do you want to expend on beauty?
RobXX's vert has a stunningly presented bay but I think it would require more effort than I'm willing to expend in upkeep.

With the exception of the waterpump and housing, everything is pretty easy to remove later without major disruption. Do what you can now and just plan on going back later to touch up rough spots.
It's an ongoing process, not a "one-n-dun", so there's no need to unduly pressure yourself.

Getting her running is the Prime Directive, making her pretty is just for your benefit.

meerkat8701

you were completely right about that! i was there yesterday and just picked a random component and just started cleaning it with soap water and bathroom cleaner (its got granules in it and it actually helped!) i have alot of assorted brushes from when i was cleaning the 13b so i just started scrubbing. this took me a couple of hours..



i only had a couple of hours at the garage yesterday so thats all i managed but now i know that its possible to get the parts not looking so shitty. its actually quite therapeutic sitting there cleaning parts in the sun and it actually feels like im getting somewhere!

i also had a crack at making the power steering delete look less john deerish...



im not sure how im going to solve the one to the left but im sure ill figure something out. today will consist of more scrubbing

chizzled7

iTrader: (1)

feel ur pain,thats a lot of work.

meerkat8701

Thats what Always gets Me with this Engine. With the p/s, a/c and airpump gone there arent very many bits left over! Keep looking at them thinking "is that it?"

While on the subject, i am pretty sure that i have no further need of the large bracket the a/c and p/s were attached to. Am I correct in assuming that I can throw this away?

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Remove it but don't bin it.
You can never tell...it might make the basis for a low mount alternator bracket or somefink.

On my alloy castings I used Purple Power and a brass bristle brush.
Worked well but I was planning on paint, so staining wasn't an issue.

"Natural" finish aluminum paint will make the cleaned casting look fresh from the blast cabinet.

I too sympathize with your pain, I'm just starting on the Z car and it's in worse shape than yours.

meerkat8701

even though you have so much more shitty work ahead of you and im not to envious of that i cannot help but feel jealous that you guys are gna sort out that fairlady they really are beautiful cars. they have become extremely popular over the last few years among the younger lads (and ladys!) and owners seem to have cottoned on to that they arent just pieces of crap to be donated to the junkyard. if in good condition they can go for a pretty penny. and rightly so. its a gorgeous car!

ill just be trying to get them as clean as possible. no painting and as i do not have the good fortune to have any blast cabinet/dipping tanks ill will have to make sure i shall buy some elbow grease in bulk amounts . i decided as per your advice in a previous post that i don't want to have to spend more time polishing my engine bay than driving although i can appreciate people that do it, it does definitely look good.

continuing with my usual thousand questions, im also wondering if there are any parts i should avoid getting water on/in? i have avoided the airflow meter (just gave it a wipe it sits under the airfilter anyway) im mostly wondering about the alternator. it has a fair bit of oxidisation on it and is a very visible part.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I generally assume that if a part is in the engine bay it had better be able to take some water exposure, so I don't worry much about it.

Alternators aren't too difficult to take apart.
I'm lazy though and would just get a "new" one from the junkyard. Upgrade the output while you're at it, see Jackhild's Taurus alt writeup, it's very good.

meerkat8701

cheers clokker that put my mind at ease. the closer i get to getting my engine back, the worse my paranoia gets. just dont want to eff this up.
as promised, i spent a good part of the day scrubbing and its a pleasure to watch the pile of yukky parts i put up earlier dwindle.



i know it doesnt seem much but it was proper fiddly. this was the best i could get them and i most certainly hope i wont have to do this again in a hurry. it takes AGES by hand..

i also finished off the blocking off of the power steering. i had left them open and turned the wheel full lock from left to right to make sure there wasnt any more oil being pushed out, then tightened them up and did it again and there were no leaks despite me managing to put a crack on the wajamacallit under the fitting furthest to the left.. huzzah! i geuss ill have to put something over it just to make sure it doesnt worsen. clumsy really..

meerkat8701

okey! important question. is this thingumabob my acv? air pump is bye bye so as far as i understand i can take this off and block it off?

FC drift13

iTrader: (2)

air pump controls 5th and 6th ports doesn't it?

dhennessey

iTrader: (1)

Really good read, i'm going to be doing much the same as you are right now, but with a Canadian S4 so i'm happy to read all about what you're going through with parts, and what can / cannot be done.

Thank you.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Not on a S4.
And, to be obnoxiously pedantic, even on the S5 the airpump does not "control" the ports, it just provides the motive power.

meerkat8701

this is exactly whats driving me a bit nuts. as i wrote previously in this thread, i know that i had disconnected the airpump and the car ran just fine. i really dont know what actuates them (it should be exhaust backpressure from what i have read but i had changed the exhaust then and i ran really well. i felt a power gain, not loss)
as pointed out by tomat earlier, the euro 6 ports have some minor differences when compared to the u.s ones it would seem. one example is that the euro six ports dont have port actuator sleeves, instead they have butterflies. thing is they are with the guy rebuilding my engine now so i cant even look at it. i spoke with him last week and he mentioned that i will have some blocking off to do and im pretty sure that it is the part i showed above. i only found one picture of it on here from another chap who was removing his air pump and it looks almost similar but his was from a t2 so it looked a little different. he was advised by members of this forum to take it away and block it off and that because he had an s4 it would not make a difference to anything. this airpump thing has proved to be the most confusing thing for me so far...

meerkat8701

thanks man! if my blundering efforts to get this car sorted out helps anyone, then im happy! considering that when i got the car i know absolutely zilch about these things, it feels like i have learnt alot and being on this forum is like having a support team! its always nice to have someone to turn to when im really unsure about stuff =)

meerkat8701

Thanks! Watch this Space

meerkat8701

continuing in my attempts to understand this air pump removal thing, i found this on another forum. does this make sense?

meerkat8701

one thing that was positive about beaten around the noggin with a bible half my life was that even though i have forsaken "tha wuradah uv tha lawadah", some quite valuable principles stuck. in this case, it was "seek and thou shalt find".

im working all weekend but i have used the moments i get to myself to feverishly search for info about this bloody air control valve and (egr valve?) there even seems hope for being able to remove/cap off the rats nest completely (except for a few bits and bobs). the sheer difficulty of finding info on correct emissions removal on a 6 port s4 has made me come to a conclusion.

everybody else has absolutely no problem figuring this out, its just me that is mentally challenged.
slowly but surely im getting my head around it though... i think.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

This is absolutely true but now that you're onto it it's not as much fun.

meerkat8701

hahahahaha i wouldnt worry mate i still have to put the engine in im sure the comedy value will increase then

i noticed in your build thread that you kept the rats nest. what were your reasons for this? from what i have read i have been led to believe that there wont be many vacuum hoses left after removing all the emissions stuff and it can be basicly bypassed. am i missing something important?

*DISCLAIMER*

i ALWAYS feel like i am missing something important.