mcauleyj

Aye I think the forum went through a massive tidy up and upgrade. I've lost some threads too, but no biggie Aye thats the way it goes I suppose. J

Hi all, Whilst my Zed is long gone, replaced with a more suitable baby-carrying machine - a forum member asked me if I still had the BCM repair guide for fixing the interior dome light auto-dim feature. I cannot seem to attach files any longer, Low-res pdf available here: http://www.dmcauley...._2004_lores.pdf Higher res pdf (though the lowres is probably adequate) here: http://www.dmcauley....50z_UK_2004.pdf Hope this helps - what happened to all the old posts? John

Ricey - I know, some wierd posts I have put up here recently, not at all 350z related - but I know there is a wide range of people on here so thought it might be worth a shot. My Z is ticking along nicely, due a good clean & DA polish very soon & maybe a gearbox & diff fluid change too. BTW in additon to the passat - I'm now considering the A6 as well - I actually went to see an A6 3.0tdi quattro avant (2005, 93000 miles) yesterday. Nice car, but it didnt have the high range MMI.. only the basic & after seeing the high version it would be hard to accept the basic. Max - thanks for the heads up, I was looking at humax direct which have good prices indeed, but as usual the postage is double to N.I. I eventually got a Freesat HDR from gumtree, so thats me (well the mother in law) sorted for the moment. She lives in a part of Donegal with no terrestrial coverage, so relies on analogue terrestrial coming from a community based relay station to beam RTE & BBC etc into their area. Come Oct when the analogue switch off happens, the relay station will be no-more and the digital terestrial coverage from RTE (Saorview) will not reach their area. That leaves satellite - so sky or freesat. Originally she was just going to plump for sky - but RTE are broadcasting FTA on 9e Ka band (not Ku as per sky on 28.2E), their service called Saorsat. So this changes things & we thought we would try and get a multi-sat setup going, worst case if its not reliable she can get sky. So after a bit of reading around we got an 88cm dish, Ka band LNB, mult-lnb arm and normal Ku band quad & have a setup that can get both services (RTE and Sky) from the one dish. Now enter the Humax... freesat appeals as we shoule be able to set it up and leave it - channel lineups & rescans are taken care of. RTE I dont think will jump around as the feeds from 28.2 do... so the humax is one box that will control a multi-sat setup with diseqc & with a patch will allow freesat and non-freesat channels on the EPG list without having to flick between freesat and non-freesat modes. Rant over

Grand job, thanks.

Thanks Kyle, I had seen the 1st two, but not the one on nicarfinder. Its an SE but I'll keep an eye on there too - thanks for the heads up. Wilson auctions - I was looking at their website a week or two back, had a browse through some of the NI site lists. - whats the best way to keep track of whats available here, just keep browsing or can you sign up to get a list emailed? John

Slight update! - extended my search to include the B6 Audi A4 1.9 TDI Avant Quattro (Sport) too, interested in model years 2003-2005. So, currently I'm interested in: Passat 4motion 1.9 TDI (2004) A4 1.9 TDI Quattro Avant / Estate (2003 - 2005) If anyone has one they are considering selling, or knows of a good one available please give me a shout Thanks, John

After a Humax Freesat HDR box, anyone got one for sale? John

Hi Ricey, Yep, thats what I thought it, depends on the car & dealer. I've seen some dealers advertise their used car trade ins through autotrader but I figure some of the dealers in N.Ireland source cars from auctions in England. Thanks for the reply & info - I wasnt sure if there are local classifieds/ car trading websites in various parts of the UK the way there are over here. I'll keep hunting, never know what might turn up! Cheers, John

Still have the Zed, but am considering a change on my other car (would classify as a shed I suppose, 98 passt tdi sport with 223000 miles :-) ) Anyway, I have a notion for the following: - VW Passat B5.5 1.9 TDI Sport 4motion, - saloon (preferably but might consider an estate) - 2004 model (indicators on wing mirrors) - preferably 100K miles, but flexible here & willing to consider higher. - extras such as Cruise control (on steering wheel) and front fogs would be a bonus :-) Pretty specific, but if anyone knows of one for sale let me know! Since spying a nice black one with leather & ~74K miles on Autotrader (via Broadstone Cars, Much wenlock, which was sold by the time I got interested) - I've been keeping an eye out on Autotrader, Pistonheads, Ebay & Gumtree as well as a couple of the local Northern Ireland sites (usedcarsni & utv drive). Are there any other local car sites you guys use elsewhere in the UK? I'm also guessing that some may come up via main-dealer trade-ins - do these main dealers have contacts that they sell the trade-ins to, or do they put them up for auction? Cheers! John

I went for some Aero style silicone wipers for my 350z, they weren't cheap either though, see here: http://www.xopc.co.uk They seem good enough - certainly they have lasted well (I installed on 12/03/2011 & they are still 100%). Couple of minor gripes: 1. I expected them to be totally silent in operation & was surprised after installing that there were a few squeaks during light mist. This was only temporary though - after they have bedded in, they are fine & silent. 2. Due to the curvature of the 350z windscreen at the edge near the pillar - on the passenger side wiper only, the wiper blades do not make good contact with the screen. It is as if the XOPC wipers would need more 'spring' in their spine to keep the pressure/contact of the blade to the screen. This ONLY effects the lower LHS of the screen near the dash - as soon as the wiper moves about an inch or so, the blade makes contact, so it does not affect any normal viewable location. The spring in the XOPC wipers didnt seem as much as a pair of (Bosch I think) ones I noticed when washing the wifes previous car (2004 VW passat) - from memory they nearly doubled over when taken away from the windscreen, well certainly a well pronounced U shape anyhow! Would I buy them again? Honest answer, I dont know - they work well - but I'm in two minds as to whether the original slim style Nissan ones might look a bit neater, so maybe they PIAA silicone ones would be the better option. I dont know how the cheaper Aero - style wipers from Ebay that some of the other forum members have tried compare performance & durability wise. Couple of screenshots attached - these were pics I had taken at the time of install. John

Hi, As title, am after a Linux based sat box for a mess around. Either something fairly basic like the DM500s, or possibly something a bit fancier like the Vu+ boxes. Anyone got anything up for sale? Thanks, John

OK - thanks! I wasn't sure as I didn't see any non-car related posts in there. J

Hi, Just wondering if there is a section on here to post a non-Zed related wanted post? Is the 'Wanted' section in the Trading Post only for Zed/ car related stuff? John

I'm pretty sure my rear hangers all have gaps in the middle (must check them)... So anyone know where to get a few new ones?? John

I cant see anything wrong with the hanger or rubber mount in the pic...... do you mean the gap in the middle of the rubber mount, is that not normal? John

Just got my 1st torque wrench yesterday - went for the Halford Pro Torque (40 - 200 Nm/ 30 - 150 lbf.ft). Normal label price £69.99, with trade card £55.99. I dont know if they have been on offer below that. 1st job is to put the spacers I got from ZmanAlex on - seems people recomment between 80 - 100 lb/ft. Got the 150 piece pro tool kit too - had been eyeing these up for a while. They are on offer from normal label price £199 to £99.99. (Trade card get it for £99.93 so not much in it with the current offer price). Quite a bit of stuff in it, including 3 ratchet spanners so thats a 1st for my toolkit. Now do I do my belts and plugs myself.... hmmmm John

1st time I used the Zeds bluetooth module I was a bit dissapointed too - did you turn the volume up on the steering wheel buttons when using the handsfree? This helped both sides volume on mine anyway & I find it grand now. Voice dialling on mine is only good up to about 60 mph, after that all she says is 'Pardon'... 'Pardon'... and you get frustrated So all in all I find it grand, but not as good as the Parrot CK3100 I have in my old Passat... John

DP7657 - I got a scorpion exhaust from Bullet/ Tony, arrived a couple of weeks back. Well packed & as described. - Thanks tony I dont know if he still has the stock exhaust. Husky/ John, good to hear you are sorted

Hi Chris, Thanks for the reply - I should have mentioned, my car is is UK 2004 GT, not an import. I know that the tips dont stick out that far & am aware of the fitment issues people have had to date (chassis brace & rear box bracket). However, I would prefer if the tips stuck out a little further, similar to stock and from the trial we done by moving the whole exhaust by about 32mm towards the rear, the Scorpion looks a lot better IMO - I'll take some before and after pics if I can to show the difference. So does anyone know what the reservoir at the drivers side of rear bumper is for (that the black box/ bracket protects)? Anyone ever used an exhaust spacer like described before? John

Fitted a scorpion s/s backbox and mid-pipe at the weekend to the stock Y-pipe, sounds great, but a few niggles to get sorted, would appreciate comments/ suggestions if anyone has any previous experience with this... Fitment wise I had 3 issues: - Needed to take off the black plastic cover & metal frame on the driver side bumper area as others have mentioned. There looks to be some sort of reservoir can/ overflow outlet in there so i will refit the cover once exhaust fitment & adjustment is complete. Anyone know what this is, is it for the fuel tank? - The clearance between the mid pipe and chassis brace is minimal so will rattle every now and then. I will wait until final adjustments are made to see if it will be OK, or if spacing the brace down a little with washers is necessary. Good time to treat the brace to some paint. - The exhaust tips sit too far into the bumper (are recessed more than i'd like) - certainly a lot more than stock. You cannot see the 'Scorpion' name imprint on the top of the tips as it is so far back. The first two issues I can solve & after having a local tyre/ exhaust outlet place have a look at the setup - there seems to be plenty of room between the backbox & bumper, and range in the hanger rubbers to shift the whole exhaust back about 1.25"/ 32mm which would leave the exhaust just right IMO and hopefully solve the third issue. The best way of doing this looks like inserting an exhaust spacer/ extension piece between the Y-pipe and Scorpion midpipe. Has anyone done this before? After looking around online, i have come up with 3 options: 1. Getting a custom made spacer with 2.5" bore and renewing bolts in stock Y-pipe with longer ones to go through Y-pipe flange, spacer and Scorpion flange. Two gaskets required. This would look essentially like a really deep flange. Exhaust/ Tyre centre guy is looking into getting this made. 2. Getting an already available 30mm spacer (but has 3" bore and is constructed from 2 flanges with a pipe mid-section). Again 2 gaskets required & may be able to retain Y-pipe bolts and use new ones in to connect to mid-pipe. See here for example, thouh there are s/s ones available too: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-76mm-Mild-Steel-Exhaust-Spacer-Plate-30mm-/310278770822?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item483e0e5086 I dont know if having a small section going between 2.5" to 3" to 2.5" would be detrimental to the exhaust system. 3. Using multiple flanges with gaskets in-between. E.g. 3x 10mm flange. This would require 4 gaskets. Anyone have any comments on the feasibility of each? I'm assuming that the more connections, then the higher probability of leaks etc. One last thing, are aftermarket Y-pipes the same length as the stock Y-pipe or longer? - If the cost of getting the spacer done approaches the cost of a new Y-pipe which is sufficiently longer than the stock to solve the issue, this might be a better option. Open to all comments! Thanks, John

Hi, After a set of spacers for use with standard Rays on my 2004 blade. I know ZmanAlex has them at ~£99 ish per set, but thought I'd try here first. I am hoping to be able to get a set of Eibach Pro 25mm from a chap local to me, so if that goes through ok then I'd need a set of 20mm Eibach pros to match - anyone have a set forsale? I'd also be interested in a full set of 4 (2x 20mm & 2x 25mm) - pm me if you have anything suitable. Thanks, John

Hi Steve, Very nice, seems like a well kept example from the photos. Nice tasteful mods too. I think I know the prospective buyer, lets say JB as I work with him - he was mentioning buying a Zed from England & that the seller had plenty of photos - I noticed your post & put 2 & 2 together. I mentioned to him about checking out 350z-uk so he might be on here soon, if he does Anyway Steve - must say your car looks great, JB - I'm going to be jealous with the low milage, dual exhaust, intake & spacers I'm looking forward to seeing & hearing it in NI if all goes well between you two! John

Hi Dobby, I need to do my wiper arms as well, yours look like they came up great! So I was just wondering what your prep & spray was, have a few questions & would be greatful if you could fire me a quick reply? - did you sand the whole arms down to metal (even bits that weren't bubbled)? - did you use a primer (& what was it)? - what spray did you use? - how has it lasted? I had planned to sand the arms smooth & go over existing good bits a little, then prime any bare metal and finish off with light coats of satin spray. The primer I have is: Body Fill 961 'Etch primer' - just noticed it is yellow, must see if there is a grey/black one. Spray is Simoniz spray paint acrylic, Satin Black. - How does this approach sound to anyone who has done this before? Comments welcome! John

Thats a great program but not quite what he's after..... Yep, true; it is only one side of the operation - the 'to pdf' part. However as I wasnt sure if he is after an all-in-one package or happy to use multiple applications to achieve what he wants, I thought I might as well suggest it anyhow - so at least he has one side sorted! I haven't done PDF conversion (to an editable format like word), but have edited PDFs using Acrobat in the past so dont know of anything useful for that side of things.... J

CutePDFwriter will do from any app > PDF via normal 'print' option, freeware....