The "I'm New Here And I have A Simple Question Thread" v2.0

[mechanicalmoron]

The rear main seal is a circle. And, I wouldn't trust anything off Ebay that is being sold with no warranty or reviews, and is THAT deep inside your drivetrain.
This is probably the part you're looking for:
http://www.courtesyparts.com/12279-seal ... cPath=1418&

Have you tried adjusting your clutch pedal? Maybe for some reason your jam nut loosened up and your pedal has been stroking down little by little.

Yeah, I was just hoping the felpro set would do it, being half the price, even if I don't need the other things.

I haven't tried messing with the pedal, but I know it's bled and all, it's easy to move the slave a little bit by hand, it's not sitting super hard on the fork when it shouldn't be.

I mean, as far as I know and can tell, it's had this clutch for 20 years, 212k miles, and at least three owners, the last of whom was an over-testosteroned young male like myself, so I think everything points to the clutch just wearing out.... Unless there's some way to adjust it and squeeze more life out of it.

Also, what's a flywheel shim, and do I need to worry about them? I've seen them on ebay and on the auto-zone website.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

wtf flywheel shim?!

[mechanicalmoron]

wtf flywheel shim?!

This answer works for me. That's what I was hoping.

*edit* I'd like to take this space to point out that, for anyone who sees this and not my wtb thread, I'm now in the market for a flywheel: Must be able to ship, must be in good shape, used is fine but resurfaced or resurfacable, lighter the better, cheaper the better. And if anyone happened to want to sell a lightweight/1pc non abs manual s13 driveshaft, I'd also be interested in that.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

My flywheel only cost like $35 to get resurfaced. Granted, that was back in 04/05, but still... it really isn't TOO much. I think it took them like 4 hours? They had some stuff ahead of it too.

[mechanicalmoron]

My flywheel only cost like $35 to get resurfaced. Granted, that was back in 04/05, but still... it really isn't TOO much. I think it took them like 4 hours? They had some stuff ahead of it too.

Well my problem is that I'm a little over an hour drive from anywhere that could do it, as is the garage I'm planning to use, and the guy I was planning to get to help me lives another hour from me... So if I get mine resurfaced, I have to get extra permission to use everything another day, leave the transmission somewhere, and push the car down the block to park it, and then push it back.... and borrow a car to drive to town, then wait around, and given the shady small town businesses here, as likely as not, I'd get a bad job anyways. you see how this complicates things. Factoring in the money for the time spent driving and the gas, and the headache factor, it makes a lot more sense to have everything ready to go, and do it in one day. If I could spend like 50 bucks to get a flywheel resurfaced and ready to go in with the new clutch, it would be much better.

I'd consider buying a jack for the transmission and doing it in my own garage at my leisure (which saves money, I do have to compensate my help for gas and time), but I can't figure out a safe way to get the car high enough AND stable enough to be able to work, move out a transmission, and be putting lots of torque on things. If you have a suggestion, please.... suggest away.

*edit* I guess these would be pretty nice, but I don't have 200 MORE dollars to pay for a jack and lumber, OR a place to put those huge things. But it's about what I need. http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/multi/wood-block.htm

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yeah I've pulled transmissions with normal jacks and jackstands... Those look pretty sweet though.

[mechanicalmoron]

Is the grease specified in the FSM absolutely required?

Would mobil 1 synthetic grease be okay for the throwout bearing? (and other things on the car that specify lithium grease... and would it mix?)

[danshaz82]

will a s14 fuel rail fit on a s13 kade? i know there are differences due to emissions and all that. and ive been reading and seeing people have, but theres not really a direct answer or any pictures that ive seen

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Is the grease specified in the FSM absolutely required?

Would mobil 1 synthetic grease be okay for the throwout bearing? (and other things on the car that specify lithium grease... and would it mix?)

It depends on the application. Usually lithium is kinda low grade grease (and you can substitute something better), but there are other areas where you need to follow the directions to a T. For example, greasing the area between a rear axle and a hub requires some heavy duty s***

Mobil 1 synthetic grease should be an acceptable replacement.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

will a s14 fuel rail fit on a s13 kade? i know there are differences due to emissions and all that. and ive been reading and seeing people have, but theres not really a direct answer or any pictures that ive seen

I don't see why it wouldn't work. Worst case scenario, you might have to change one of the soft lines out for something longer/shorter.

[TroubleBound]

What kind of symptoms could come from having a bent knee assembly in the front? The shop i took my car to is saying that my crazy steering issues are being cause by a couple bent knee assemblies and radius arm brackets, but i want to check before i drop a bunch of money on parts. The car will just kind of drop out of alignment, and become pigeon toed, the driver wheel kind of arranges its toe however it wants. I thought maybe it was the outer end of the rack where the tie rod connects but this guy is sure these will fix my issues....possible?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Knee assembly? Wtf?

If the vehicle wont hold and alignment, it could be control arm bushings, loose bolts (control arm, cross member, knuckle, shock mount, rack and pinion, etc), a REALLY bad wheel bearing, or possibly a few other things.

Really you should be able to jack it up and rock the wheel around to see if there's play, and where it's coming from.

[TroubleBound]

Heh that may not be what its really called, but thats what he told me he needed. He means this guy http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-90-91-92-93- ... e8&vxp=mtr

Im just making sure before i buy because it seems weird to have such dramatic problems from a bend thats not even visible for me. I'll lift it up, align it as best i can, take t for a spin, and it'll drive fine for a few minutes. Then it will start pulling real hard to the right or left(it switches), like let go of the steering wheel and do a quick u turn type of pull. You can hear the tires yelping from being dragged along all pigeon-toed. I got sideswiped by a senior citizen in 2009.

There wasn't any play in it when i lift it up though very weird just normal misaligned tires when i'm not moving.

[mechanicalmoron]

Heh that may not be what its really called, but thats what he told me he needed. He means this guy http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-90-91-92-93- ... e8&vxp=mtr

Im just making sure before i buy because it seems weird to have such dramatic problems from a bend thats not even visible for me. I'll lift it up, align it as best i can, take t for a spin, and it'll drive fine for a few minutes. Then it will start pulling real hard to the right or left(it switches), like let go of the steering wheel and do a quick u turn type of pull. You can hear the tires yelping from being dragged along all pigeon-toed. I got sideswiped by a senior citizen in 2009.

There wasn't any play in it when i lift it up though very weird just normal misaligned tires when i'm not moving.

It sounds like he just spat out the first thing he could think of that would make it not align right -- but considering you CAN align it, and then it loses it, that would not be a logical cause.

Given that you aligned it, you DID check all the control arm bolts? Maybe something horrible is happening inside your rack....

[PapaSmurf2k3]

So this "knee" assembly essentially consists of the spring/damper combo, the knuckle, and the lower control arm/ball joint.

And yes, a bad lower control arm could cause what you're seeing. SOMETHING would have to be moving through in order for it to change. Like, blown ball joint, blown bushing, cracked control arm, etc. Simply being bent would just mean you'd have to get it re-aligned once and it would be done.

[mechanicalmoron]

If I was buying a KA that's not in a car, and had the oppertunity to do a compression test, how would I do it and what would I need, besides my compression tester?

Not that I expect to get it, but would http://elpaso.en.craigslist.org/pts/3480448151.html be a direct bolt-in to a US s13, or need funky axles or something? And is there any good test for one of those once it's out of the car, and is being worn out something I should worry about with nissan-made r200 lsd guts?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

You'd have to check your own axles and compare the bolt pattern to the one on that diff. 240s came with either a 6 bolt or 5 bolt design. If yours is 6, you'd have to swap them out for some 5 bolt ones.

Doing a compression test would probably require you to either hotwire the starter, or spin the assembly really fast some other way... I'd say shoot for at least 100 RPM.

[mechanicalmoron]

You'd have to check your own axles and compare the bolt pattern to the one on that diff. 240s came with either a 6 bolt or 5 bolt design. If yours is 6, you'd have to swap them out for some 5 bolt ones.

Doing a compression test would probably require you to either hotwire the starter, or spin the assembly really fast some other way... I'd say shoot for at least 100 RPM.

Running jumper cables to the starter and holding the TB open would do the trick, right?

What kind of compression change would you expect in a cold KA vs. a warmed up/normal test?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Maybe 15 psi? Definitely look for uniformity between cylinders.

[mechanicalmoron]

Maybe 15 psi? Definitely look for uniformity between cylinders.

...really? That bad? I mean, jump it to a good battery, just like a test in a car? I just don't know how hot/cold ratios work, because my compression goes DOWN once it's warm, I think because the oil thins and blowby increases. But on a good motor, I assume it's the opposite. And my goal is to get a good motor. I mean, mine's a lot more uniform than a lot of much better ones, I have 123psi accross the board, plus or minus about 2psi. I wanted something within the rebuild spec, so, I think it's like 151+psi on a proper warm test. My plan was then to swap that with mine and properly rebuild mine as funds permit.

And since I keep harassing you, did you have any opinion on an OEM nissan diff like that? Are they the sort of thing that go on forever? that die the instant they're out of warranty? Etc?

Although the more I read, the more I feel that there's no rebuilding of my crap necessary, and that I should, in the long run, focus on acquiring a suitable LSx and swallow my hate for GM. Ahh money, I hate you.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

If it's not knocking or burning a ton of oil, and you're decently happy with the current power output then yeah, keep it.

OEM Nissan Diffs (like the ones for 240s anyway) are highly regarded as some of the best in the industry. They are pretty bullet proof.
They are sort of the "LSx" swap of diffs. Other brands/models (like S2000) often swap to 240sx diffs because they can handle a ton of power, have a good package size, super reliable, etc.

[mechanicalmoron]

Well I meant the limited slip capabilities of that n/a 300zx one on CL that I linked. If it works right, that should be a great deal as far as I can tell, and a horrible one if I bought one that wouldn't lock up right.

Lol yeah, my motor runs thick oil, and near as I can tell, still burns about a quart every 175 miles. I will need a new KA long, like years, before I can swap anything more exotic in. That's why I'm currently in the CL market for one. (I just saw that lsd cause it was tagged ka24de)

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Test it. Spin an axle. If the other spins the same way (although at a slightly slower speed), you're golden.

[allenms240]

Here I am again.
So my buddy told me my vacuum isn't as low as it should be. I am only pulling about -0.7 to -0.8 bar at 850rpm when the motor is warm, while I'm hearing I should be pulling around twice that (20PSI) at idle. My idle is a little wonky. When I first start it up, it will idle cold for about a minute, and then just die out. And when I'm driving and slow down, foot on the clutch, the motor just falls on it's face and stalls. Other times, when it's fully warmed up, it will idle at a red light, then studder all the way down to 100rpm, then come back up. I am in the process of checking my IACV, but would that affect my low vacuum problem?
Any idea on the vacuum?

I just didn't want to start a thread over something that has been answered. I searched on here and other forums and couldn't find any definitive answers. I capped off the hot pipe, and put about 20PSI of air through the intake system to listen for leaks and didn't find any.

EDIT: s13 Redtop SR20DET, tuned with Power FC. Car runs flawless. just isn't pulling as much vacuum as I hear I'm supposed to. Gauge is a GReddy A/D one, never had any problems before and reads accurately according to my commander for the PFC.

[mechanicalmoron]

Does the motor do this dieing when you brake? It's the brake booster increasing the vaccum, that contributes to it, probably. Then the suction reaches the mafs, and it adjusts fuel and iacv.

My KA used to do that, it was a combination of a low idle (sounds like yours is already at the high end) and a badly set TPS, though that should create a rough idle, which may fluctuate, but it shouldn't randomly die..... I don't think, unless it's not adjusted at ALL.

You're sure you didn't just test the wrong hose, and end up checking intake pressure instead of manifold pressure?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I idle around 20 in Hg in the Miata, and about -9 psi in the 240.

Check your coolant temp sensor.

[allenms240]

I idle around 20 in Hg in the Miata, and about -9 psi in the 240.

Check your coolant temp sensor.

So you're only pulling -9psi as well? Hmm. Seems like everyone local pulls 20PSI.


Nothing wrong with the coolant temp sensor, it's pretty accurate according to the PFC Commander and the GReddy temp readout.

It does it even when I don't break. It goes from 5-6kRPM to 0 if I dont give it a little throttle around 2k. I tested the entire intake system for leaks. Starting from the hotpipe, through the IC, cold pipe, and manifold.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Do you have a wideband on the car? Is it going way rich?

[allenms240]

There is a wideband, and it's actually leaning out when it dies. Other than that it runs well.

[TroubleBound]

Hmm finally got my car running and driving. At low rpm's it s very slow and hesitant, putts along and has no go. Took it to a 'shop' and the guy told me it was the maf. I originally had to sr20 maf on it and it wouldnt rev over 3k rpms at all just stopped like a governor, then i put a sohc maf on it and it revved fine so i thought it was fixed. He says i DO need an sr20 maf that the sohc maf will act up like mine (ive heard lots of people say itd work but mine is far from working). You think it really is the maf? I can find them all over but i cant find them with pigtails, and somehow i lost mine.