newbee Questions about 94 Skyline GTS-T

[Kyxxer]

I'm going to look at this particular car tomorrow, from what I've heard from a friend of mine with a 95 GTS-T, there isn't too much to look out for in these cars, but i know there has to be more to look for. just wondering if there is anything big that i should be look for

these are the specs on the car

car is driven daily about 2KM to owners work and back
111,300 KM
Car is close to stock. Mods include A’PEXI World Sport coilovers, full turbo back exhaust, Pivoit Short shifter, HKS pod filter, HKS Boost gauge, HKS turbo timer, electronic boost has been by passed it runs around 10psi. All the fluids have been changed. Motor runs Amsoil 5w40 euro spec, it has castrol in the tranny and diff

NEEDS 2 outter tie rods, front pads

Thanks

[Samsonite]

This thread has a pretty exhaustive list of things to look for:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/35129-im-buying-a-skyline-what-should-i-look-for/

Good luck!

[r33_gtst]

Tie rods and pads are an easy fix
Only thing I can think of is how long the turbo has been running at 10psi
It's in the safe zone but these ceramic turbo's can go pretty quickly

If the motor and transmission feel good then your in good shape

[Kyxxer]

Tie rods and pads are an easy fix
Only thing I can think of is how long the turbo has been running at 10psi
It's in the safe zone but these ceramic turbo's can go pretty quickly

If the motor and transmission feel good then your in good shape

if a turbo happens to "go" well driving? lol but thanks for the tips!

[Skym]

It's not the turbo, but how car has been driven, serviced. Should ask to look at records of servicing to see when oil was changed, etc. Old oil or oil that's been used on racetrack and not changed can damage turbo, engine, trans, etc.

Turbo can fail if you thrash car (racetrack) and do a hot shutdown (don't let it idle so oiltemps drop to acceptable level before turning engine off) which creates coking (dried oil deposits) that blocks oilways in turbo. Less oil = bearing failure, ceramic exhaust wheel off balance. Off balance ceramic exhaust wheel can hit housing and snap shaft (sometimes ends up in middle of exhaust). Usually the bearing fails on compressor side of turbo with RB25DET, RB20DET and exhaust side is ok.

Wailing sound around 0 on boost gauge is usually a sign that it could be a intake airleak or compressor wheel is touching compressor housing if there's no airleaks (take a screw driver with you to tighten intake hose clamps to rule it out). Also high oiltemps (oil thins out) when thrashing car without an engine oilcooler is another cause of bearing failure inside turbo and engine failure (bearing failure). Especially with RB20DET that doesn't have a coolant to oil engine oilcooler like RB25DET and RB26DETT have. But it's RB25DET and doesn't sound like it has been near a racetrack, so should be ok.

From what I understand, with ceramic exhaust wheels, they don't like engine misfiring (launch control on aftermarket ECU).

One area I would be concerned about is the podfilter. Foam filters are not known for their good filtering. Apexi podfilter (dry airfilter) would be the first thing to change to. Also check compressor wheel on turbo for damage to edges of blades (affect's balance of turbo) from the poor filtering and check for excessive play.

[krystalized_jdm]

^ listen to whatever the hell skym says. He's a god

Another thing to check just incase. ( I had issues with my first car )
Run a license plate check on it to check for leans and or accidents.

As stated before, the tie rods are an easy fix
The pads are also a fix, I believe you can get them off of a NA 300zx? (theres a thread on it, don't hold me to it)

One thing I'd recommend checking since he was running 10 psi. Check what he was using for an ecu or fuel mapping (chip, or completely different ecu)

From what I've found out, and been told. The rb20-rb25 turbo's can hold up to 14 (recommended 11-13 Iirc) safely without hurting them.

Hope this....helps?

I stole this from skyline australia, but I found it stupidly useful and applicable to this. Props to the guy that wrote this
Take it for a drive:
DON'T SWITCH ON THE RADIO/CD... It will mask any squeeks or rattles the car might have.
Start the engine and check the warning lights and gauges.
Check for normal operating oil pressure.
Check that the steering wheel doesn't shake above 100km/h (arbitrary value, but choose a high one). If it shakes, it might mean it needs a wheel alignment, or that the car has had horrible accident repairs. Previously accident damaged cars with suspension damage almost NEVER EVER drive straight and true again.
How does the gearbox feel? Smooth to shift? or notchy and graunchy to put into gear? Any gearbox whine? Any grinding on gear changes? Might mean worn out synchros.
Drive the car on hills, highways and in stop-and-go traffic.
Listen for noises which could indicate engine problems.
Put the car in neutral and rev the engine. Check for smoke from rear exhaust.
Punch the gas pedal. Does engine respond without hesitation then return to normal?
Check the lights on the control panels. Make sure they all work.
Does automatic transmission shift smoothly?
Clutch should engage and disengage smoothly without grabbing.
Floor it at 3000rpm in 4th gear to make sure the clutch isn't slipping.
Drive in reverse.
Does car pull or vibrate when driving on a flat, smooth road?
Do the brakes grab evenly and does the car slow down in a straight line? Make sure it doesn't pull to one side under brakes.
Drive at 60km/h and listen for any unusual noises.
Accelerate to 80km/h, does the front end shake or vibrate?
Drive quickly over a rough road and listen for any loud squeaks or rattles.
Does the car bounce or bang over small bumps?
Check the temperature gauge to see if it shows a high reading
Accelerate hard on an empty road, does the car respond immediately? Try it again.
Accelerate on a hill, does the car respond immediately?
Cut off the engine. Then restart the engine -- does it restart easily?

[Skym]

Far from that, but thank you for your kind words. There's some on here that know more.

I ran 12psi on mine but the bearing on compressor side failed and turbo made a wail sound around 0 on boost gauge, even though intake hose clamps were tight. Then wacking sound later on. When turbo was removed, compressor wheel was touching compressor housing.

Another R32 I saw that overboosted (higher boost level = more rpm with off balance turbo) had exhaust wheel around middle of exhaust.

There's supposedly the high exhaust temp, glue holding exhaust wheel to shaft breaking down and ceramic exhaust spinning on shaft, going off balance, but yet to see that failure in real life.

A new balanced turbo can survive at higher boost levels. A turbo that's done high km and bearings have wear will eventually fail when boost level is turned up. It could be at any boost level, depending on how out off balance the turbo is. It's a good idea to check play of turbo (look at workshop? manual that shows how to do this) before boosting engine up. Same with compression of engine that should be checked before buying car or boosting engine up.

[Kyxxer]

UPDATE, looked at the car seems GREAT just a few last questions , #1 the car was painted when it was shipped here but done VARY poorly and it was painted GM off white ..... so the car needs to be painted and #2 the turbo cycloid controller (as described) was grounded out so its always in stage 2 boost 10PSI but i don't know if thats correct at all? lastly the rear tires have been worn more then the front ones insinuating hard driving but over all the car looks clean, the motor ran nice , shifted nice, idled etc just a few concerns

Thanks Kyxxer

[cooke24]

2 stage grounding mod means it's running 7 psi before 4500 rpm. It's a rear wheel drive car expect the rear tires on any rwd car to be a little more worn than the fronts. How much is he asking?

[Kyxxer]

$6800 as is

[cooke24]

Decent price considering it needs a whole paint job

[Kyxxer]

thanks for the info! will take it into consideration

[Skym]

Good paint job requires taking windows out and prepping, painting, fitting new window seals from Nissan (not cheap). Cheap paint job is masking around window seals and painting (can get build up of paint around window seals, etc).

Worn rear tyres could mean he changed the fronts x2 with new tyres, but didn't change the rear x2. I found it's better to replace all 4 tyres and let them wear evenly.

[trickey1991]

you have to get a used vehicle package now in Ontario anyways man...[QUOTE=krystalized_jdm;486096]^ listen to whatever the hell skym says. He's a god

Another thing to check just incase. ( I had issues with my first car )
Run a license plate check on it to check for leans and or accidents.

QUOTE]

[Hovinga]

This is actually my car, I bought it back in late summer of 09. Car has never let me down. The rear tires where lower in tread when the car was purchased but still passed saftey so I never changed them. The car did have a boost controller on it when I bought it. I did not leave it on long and did the by pass and I have read that it should run 8 psi but the car seems to run up to 10 on the gauge so I don't question it but I also don't beat the car. I am just looking for a change as I also have another RHD car sitting in the drive way and I do not have a need for 2 so I am trying to move my r33 to get a DD. If anyone has questions about the car you can pm and I will give you my email. Blake you know the car lol you have seen it.