Big mechanic bill, what can I do myself?

[the_jay]

So my car failed smog a while back and I thought I would take it to my mechanic to see what he thinks, this is what he quoted me.

Passenger side exhaust manifold
Both pre-cat Oxygen sensors
power steering pump (its leaking)
power steering flush
oil pressure sender
rack and pinion (though he said not urgent)

All this came to about $1200

Now I figure I can do the oxygen sensors and I have an O2 sensor socket. Is OEM important for the O2 sensor? Is Denso OEM? Is the rest of the stuff doable? I have basic skills and a ratchet .

The exhaust manifold gasket is something I have looked into and I CANNOT do it with a hand ratchet but was thinking maybe with an air ratchet. There is no room to torque anything without maybe an air ratchet I'm thinking. Anyone have any tips for how to do the exhaust manifold gasket yourself?

[J30tChumpCar]

Denso will be fine
Air ratchet is a luxury, not necessity, have something to support the car, ramps or jackstands as you will be working under as much as top
Flush, remove the low pressure hose and plumb to a gallon container, have a assistant crank the engine while you collect and refill with fresh with things set to not start, disconnect ignition module
Power steering pump, easy enough
Rack is a bit harder, I would say to skip all the power steering repairs till you try Lucas stop leak
Oil pressure sensor is by the oil filter, easier then the o2 sensors
Good luck

[swimshark]

what year is your J30? if you have a set of tools you can do most of it except the steering rack. rack needs to be torqued down and need crows feet wrenches for safely removing the hardline fittings without stripping them.

what is wrong with passenger side manifold? i only had issue with drivers side cause the 93-94 J30s came with a tube welded exhaust and the 95+ have a cast exhaust manifold which is less prone to cracking.

[the_jay]

Thanks guys. I got a 21 gallon air compressor and a ratchet to make my life easier so I am going to start with the exhaust manifold. I found the passenger side leak when I used Seafoam. It is supposed to smoke from the exhaust when you do it and smoke was coming from that side of the engine bay. The mechanic also said it looked like the gasket.

My car is a 1993 but I could get a set of 95 exhaust manifolds from the local junkyard. I got lucky and found a j30 without an engine but with the manifolds, so I would just have to go scoop them up, no work required. That is what I will do if the one I have ends up being cracked.

Update: Took off a bunch of stuff that was in the way and I can see the exhaust manifold nuts....they are on too tight for my ratchet though (got the cheapie $19.99 at HF) so I'm gonna get a stronger one. Air ratchet sure makes a breeze of taking the stuff off but its pretty loud, sure my neighbors are annoyed now that a garage opened next door .

[the_jay]

Got 4 of 6 manifold bolts off. Two tricky ones left.

Does anyone know what size the bolts are that connect the exhaust manifold to the exhaust downpipe. There are three and a deep socket will be needed. It looks like a 14mm, which is what the manifold-to-block bolts are. Anyone know?

[J30tChumpCar]

Correct, 14mm

[the_jay]

Thanks. After some modicum of success with a long wrench, I broke down and got an impact wrench rated at 300lbs max torque and the exhaust manifold bolts literally flew off, which was very satisfying. Not a speck of rust on them but the downpipe flange bolts were a different story, but I finally got them off too. When I reassemble is it advisable to put gasket material on that downpipe flange? Heck, that could have been the exhaust leak all along.

I got the passenger PCV off, no problem, and its soaking in carb cleaner to be reused. I CANNOT figure out how to get the driver's side one off though. I tried the air ratchet and impact wrench but the ratchet isn't strong enough and the impact wrench is too big to get a good angle. Can I unbolt the brake booster stuff without having to drain anything or leak fluids all over(and make life harder in general)? If so, I could get that impact wrench in there easily.

[fourdrinie]

i posted in your previous post, I used two good quality 3/8 swivel adapters in tandem with a medium length 3/8 extension, with a deep socket (I believe 17 or 19MM) and a breaker bar to turn it...just have to break the bond, then just turn the deep socket by hand.
The tandem swivel adapters gives you the angle to use the breaker with the 3/8 extension almost in a vertical mode.

[the_jay]

OK, ended up using a small head ratchet with a 19mm and tapping the ratchet handle with a hammer to open up the PCV.


For the exhaust manifold-to-exhaust/downpipe bond, should I use gasket material? Like a liquid gasket? I didn't see a gasket on there so I am thinking not but this could be a leaking spot and since I have it all apart I want to do it right. So gasket on there?

[the_jay]

I'm going to have everything I posted about finished up today but I noticed my cv boots are ripped on both ends, which as I just read is a big deal..... . Always something else with this thing. Anyway, while driving it around, sometimes it is a very, very smooth ride and sometimes there is a minor but persistent shutter. So something in the suspension is causing this. Could this be the cv? If not, what is it? I saw someone do a $40 shock replacement from a nissan so I'm considering that but I am already way, way over budget on this. I've got some grease so what can I look for and where can I put some to smooth the ride out. Any suspension write ups I have missed?

[the_jay]

Got it all together. Looks like the gasket and the O2 sensors were the problem with smog and it passed this time by a wide margin.

Oh and if anyone else has door problems where you lock the car with the remote fob and it doesn't lock, or locks and then immediately unlocks, AND you tried the door control unit replacement then replace the thing in the door that is attached to the clasp looking thing. It is mid way down and is secured by 3 phillips screws and a few 10mm bolts. I switched mine out for a junkyard one and the door locks fine again.

[Mkiisupra]

Where is your suspension shudder from? Front look at the tension rod bushings. Replace with Energy Suspension z32 300zx polyurethane bushing 7.7105g. Rear would be the shocks.

[the_jay]

Hard to say really. The ride is fine until about 28mph and then I get the slight shudder, accelerating seems to lessen the shudder. I'm riding on 2003 17in g35 rims with new falken tires. It was worse with the oem wheels.

[yodawill2000]

A bad Tension rod Bushing usually acts up when braking.
Try jacking up the front end and moving the wheel left and right.
Worn Tie rods, wheel bearing or tension rod bushing would allow movage.

[the_jay]

Is there a cheap way to replace the pillar post trim, which is this http://trimsexpress.com/images/parts/tr ... 1%20-1.jpg, without spending like $50 for something made just for the J30? Mine is jacked, weather beaten, etc. So I took off the old trim and need to put new trim on there, it was like a thick vinyl coating that peeled off. I'm hoping for a $10 autozone special