service

S

s18rra

Guest
basically ive been quoted £120 plus parts to do a small service on the pulsar.
so i was thinking seeing as i have 2 days off now im gonna do it myself. problem is ive never done anything to an engine myself so was wondering if someone could list all the parts ill be needing including which oils and how to do everything as i dont know where to start.
the only thing i wont be changing is the gearbox oil as im having a new box fitted in a couple of weeks so new oil will go in then.

please help a begginer.:?
 

smoked

New Member
i think most peoples response for this is going to be use the search button.

because your a begginer i would keep it simple:

engine oil and oil filter change
fuel filter
if you dont have an induction kit change the air filter
spark plugs

thats the very basics, but the advantage of taking it to a mechanic is that servicing is not just changing engine parts. i would hope they would check over the whole car as well i.e brakes, suspension etc etc and have it on a ramp for a better inspection.
 

EVOBAD

New Member
whats that just change the oil which takes 10min may be clean the plugs

oil filter £7ish
oil £30ish 10-40 i use never had any problems

water is free
coolant £5

jack car up drain oil take oil filter off put new one on put bolt back on sump then lower car, pour oil in while doing this check dipstick after every liter so u dont over fill
 

nex

Member
oil wise i believe I last used castrol edge 10w60 fully synth from my local motor factors (about £29 for 4 litres) they had the filters in stock (4 quid or something daft). Not had a problem with this oil myself, neither hot or cold! Fitting wise I did (and im sure someone will correct me)

warm the engine
drain the old oil, by removing sump plug
remove old filter
have a wee clean
wipe some resh oil around the rubber seal on the new filter
fit new filter
replace sump plug (new washer?)
fill with oil

sorted.

filter is at the back of the engine, can easily get to it from under the car if you put it on ramps or something, if you've warmed the engine, watch the exhaust!
 

nex

Member
sparks :

remove top mount cooler cover, 4x10m screw/nuts 2 each side
undo jubilee clips top and bottom of tmic
undo 4x 14mm nuts holding top mount frame to car
look at the back of tmic and you'll see a small pipe with spring clip, pair of plyers will easily remove clip, pull pipe off
there is also another in the right hand under side, same again
remove top mount
remove rocker cover, cover plate 6xscrews
do what you need to do and put back together
 
S

s18rra

Guest
thanks for the help people but what oil will i need for what and how much of it, also where do i drain the oil from, remember im a complete begginer at engine stuff.
ive got 4l of redline mt-90 in the boot that the previous owner left me, is this the engine oil and is it any good?

should i wait till the gearbox is changed before given it a service or doesnt it matter?
 

webba23

Member
My car is due a service soon and I've been looking at oil filters. Is there any great advantage in fitting an aftermarket one such as Nismo or will a standard one do pretty much the same job? Same question for the fuel filter as well. By the time I get to service it I am hoping to be running 1.2 bar if this will make any difference.

Cheers

Matt
 

youngsyp

New Member
MT90 is gearbox oil. DO NOT use it in the engine !

Service wise, as the car is new to you, I'd do everything.

Oil and filter change. Use Silkolene Pro S 10w50 or 5w40. 10w60 is overkill as you'll never (hopefully) run the oil hot enough to get the extra hot protection a 60 oil will give.
10w40 is pretty pointless too as, you're lowering the hot viscosity (hot protection level essentially) but, not the cold. If you go to a 40 (hot) oil, you may as well get better cold start protection a 5w will provide.
I've used all the big brand, 'high performance' oils in my 6 years of GTiR ownership and the Silkolene Pro S is by far the best. Don't scrimp on engine oil !

I'd only ever use Nissan original oil filters too. They're cheap enough not to want to buy cheaper too, in my opinion.

Change the rotor arm, distrubtor cap and check the leads for condition.

Change the plugs. Do a search to see which ones to use.

Change the fuel filter.

You'll probably have an induction kit fitted so, giving it a clean with a proprietry cleaning kit would be a good idea.

Change the coolant. I use Comma Green in a 50/50 mix.

Check the power steering oil for level and condition/colour.

Change the brake fluid. Motul RBF600 seems like a good fluid to use.

Think that's it. Most service parts can be bought from www.japarts.com

Be prepared to get messy. Changing oil is not pleasant and due to the way the oil filter sits, it will go everywhere.

Just to add to the comments above, when you have refilled the engine oil and got the level about right. Disconnect the distributor plug and crank the engine until about 5 seconds after the oil pressure light has gone out. That will build oil pressure and not have the engine running 'dry' !

Paul
 
S

s18rra

Guest
right ive been quoted 200 for a full service including parts, is this a good price?
 
S

s18rra

Guest
well before i got the car it sat in the garage for nearly 2 years so it to get the car back up to scratch and running fresh, all parts will be standard replacements except maybe the spark plugs.
 

youngsyp

New Member
s18rra said:
well before i got the car it sat in the garage for nearly 2 years so it to get the car back up to scratch and running fresh, all parts will be standard replacements except maybe the spark plugs.
Have they told you what they are going to replace and do though ?

One mans 'full service' is another mans oil change !

If it's been sat around for 2 years, I'd want the following done:

Engine oil and filter change. Oil £50 filter £7 or so.
Gearbox, transferbox and rear diff oil change. Oil £60 or so.
Brake fluid changed. Brake fluid £10 +
Coolant changed. Coolant £10 or so.
Spark plugs changed: Parts £15 - £36
Distributor cap changed. Parts £12 or so.
Rotor arm changed. Parts £7 or so
Ignition leads changed. Parts £25 - £45 or so.

I'd probably get the brake pads changed too.

Without the pads, you're looking at well over £200 for parts and consumables alone so, the guy would be doing all that work for next to nothing !

Paul
 

CanadianR

Member
If you are changing the gearbox and transfer case oil, make sure to take a good whiff of it. smells like flowers and pixie dust.:lol:

Plug numbers:

Platinum: PFR7B
Iridium: BKR7EIX

There are a couple other numbers on the end and they correspond to the heat range of plug.
 

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
CanadianR said:
If you are changing the gearbox and transfer case oil, make sure to take a good whiff of it. smells like flowers and pixie dust.:lol:
I don't know if that's how I'd describe it; I'd say 'distinctive'. Get some on your skin... see how it feels.
If you haven't done oil changes before I would recommend some latex or nitrile rubber gloves - you might feel a bit like a pussy, but you'll be glad when it comes time to wash your hands... or if you ever look at the compounds in used engine oils!

If you've got the free time why not do the service yourself? You'll get to know how the car works; what all the bits are; plus it's cheaper than a garrage.
I haven't paid for a minor service in years; I figure that an EFI car without a mechanical distributor looks after its self - change the oil, filter (or clean it because I get fed-up of buying them and replace it with a reusable), and plugs... and off you go. If it does need something more serious, it can go in to a garrage.
I was never this cheap when I had carburetted cars because the service generally meant they'd fix the mixing screws I'd fiddled with and the timing that I might have had a go at as well.
 

youngsyp

New Member
CanadianR said:
Plug numbers:

Platinum: PFR7B
Iridium: BKR7EIX

There are a couple other numbers on the end and they correspond to the heat range of plug.
The '7' is in those part numbers you posted, are the numbers that represent the plug heat range. Any numbers on the end of the part number, normally represent the length of the plug thread ! ;-)

If you're upping the boost, you may want to go to an '8' heat range. These are designated as a cooler plug than the stock 7's !

Paul
 

youngsyp

New Member
PobodY said:
I haven't paid for a minor service in years; I figure that an EFI car without a mechanical distributor looks after its self - change the oil, filter (or clean it because I get fed-up of buying them and replace it with a reusable), and plugs... and off you go.
Why would you ever re-use an oil filter when they're so cheap to buy new, even if it was a 're-usable' one ?!
You'll never get all the crap out of them that accumulates and it'll take you way longer to complete the oil change ! The filter itself is bound to degrade over time too as, they're generally made of paper !

Paul
 

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
Don't be silly - I don't reuse the oil filter!
The air filter - K&N, Finer Filter, Apexi, Etc. Pay once, clean it each service, and never buy one again.
 

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
Well - it seems that I always sell the car before buying a new air filter... so actually I keep buying them, but they're never the same filter for the same car.
 
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