sunshine

Get them from ebay, much cheaper than anywhere else

I am a firm believer that engineers and designers don't just add things for the sake of it. I'm sure if car manufacturers believed it wasn't necessary they would prefer to make a cost saving to increase profits where ever they can. This link gives a reasonable explanation for why it is present. I'm not suggesting that it is the reason but from a fair google search it appears to be a common train of thought. http://junkee-garage.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/exhaust-grounding-kit.html I would put one back on. Explain the boot counter weight then... And the rear window wiper... And the cigarette lighter behind the passengers.. I'm sure theres more.

people who have money generally have it becuase they dont waste it Well in that case I'll buy tesco value beans so I can afford to buy a R8

Hold the phone.. You have the cash for a R8/GTR and you're asking us if we think you will be better off flogging your mods for a few quid and putting it back to stock?

I doubt you're gonna shave off half a second with circa +10bhp. I'd be looking at loosing weight/ tires ect

1st one gets my vote, although milage is a little high for the price ( wouldnt pay more than 5500 imo) i wouldnt be put off by it, seen loads of 'low milage' 350z in shocking condition compared to well looked after 'high milage' cars.

By the way, it may be worth noting that if you dont have all the required equipment, you may find it cheaper and alot less hassle to bite the bullet and get a garage to do it, (not nissan). I was quoted around the 200-250 mark by garages around here to drop the box off, change clutch/flywheel and put it all back together. Because i have acces to all the equipment and a pit and i like getting my hands dirty i opted to diy it.

I have all the guides/ photos i used saved on my laptop at home, i'll post them up for you later.

No its alot easier than that. I did mine over a pit, i wouldnt reccomend doing this unless you can get atleat 5ft of access under the car and a strong mate. You have to remove the exhaust y-peice, propshaft, all electrical connectors on the transmission, starter motor, clutch slave cylinder (de engine), gear stick inside the car, some covers around the transmission. Then theres the 14/17mm bolts that attatch the bellhousing to the engine, ( theres two at the top you have to get from the engine bay). Then you have to support the transmission with something, and undo the rear cross member, the box should then just pull off the dowels and drop down. If you can get a impact gun and a blow torch the exhaust wont be too difficult but be prepared to drill out snapped bolts.

Hi mate I have recently dropped my gearbox off the car for a clutch change and input shaft bearing. I had exactly the same symptoms as you. Taking the gearbox off the car is pretty straight forward, i'd never done it before and it took me and a friend around 3 hours. The hardest part was actually taking the exhaust apart as the bolts were all seized. Now the input shaft bearing on my gearbox had a bit of wear and i assumed that was causing my whining noise, so i decided i wanted to replace it. However, there was absolutly no way whatsoever i could split the transmission casing from the adaptor plate, nissan glue the dowles solid i decided to quit whilst i was ahead, hitting it any harder would probably crack the casing. I had a quote from leek transmissions to split the box and replace the bearings was going to cost circa £500, screw that. I can live with abit of transmission whine for £500 haha. Knowing that my box is mechanicly on working order and will be fine for atleast another 10,000miles i ended working out it be more cost effective to just stick my box back on and replace the whole unit when it does eventually stop working.

I wouldnt say heavy clutch with high bite point is normal.. Mine was heavy with a high biting point like you describe. Replaced the clutch and flywheel last week and its now much lighter and the bite is far more progressive. Infact its totally transformed the car and is far more enjoyable to drive. I'd get it checked out if i were you because before i changed my clutch the old heavy one was completly shagged and was down to the rivets.

Try the courtesy Nissan website, they have all the drawings and you can click on the part you're after and it gives you the part number and a rough idea of price (in dollars)

I purchased an excedy oem clutch kit and luk oem duel mass flywheel on eBay recently for £460, fitted them myself last weekend, took around 6 hours and tbh it's transformed the car, feels like new.

Yeah thats what I thought you meant, thanks for clarifying. Their roller bearings on either end of the shaft by the looks of it, shouldn't be too difficult to replace. I'll investigate further tomorrow when i take it apart. I know what you're saying about the input shaft bearing play but my input shaft bearing is deffinatly worn, when you hold the outer race you can see play beteen the inner race/ball bearings so replacing it can't hurt. I do doubt this will cure the noise im experiancing though. Luckily i found a pdf of the factory service manual with a full stripdown/rebuild of the transmission I'll take some photos when i finally get round to getting my hands dirty

Yeah we have spoken before. To be honest i've not done a gearbox before but im keen to take it apart and have a go myself hence the questions. Im confused by what you mean by constant motion shaft? All i was aware of was the input shaft, main shaft and counter shaft.. This is gonna be one steep learning curve by the looks of it haha

Know him from back when we did bmx, he's mutual friends with a few of my mates aswell.

Yeah mate theres plenty of radial wear in the main bearing, theres around 5mm of play at the end of the shaft. Currently the gearbox is off the car, going to take it apart tomorrow and have a poke around. Waiting on Nissan to send me the replacement main shaft front bearing, pilot bushing and gaskets (stupid bank holidays). By the way, is there a way to remove the transmission case without removing the rear extension? (the bit that houses reverse) I've studied the factory service manual and it looks like the rear extension casing is bolted through the adaptor plate to transmission case, so if i'm careful theoretically i should be able to tap the transmission casing off the adaptor plate dowles without disturbing the rear extension? The reason i'm asking is because i forgot to order the rear oil seal to the prop shaft... Oh, and how difficult is the main shaft bearing to put on? I've got a hot plate to heat the bearing up and i'm gonna wrap ice around the input shaft for a few hours, will i be able to tap the bearing into place or am i gonna need a press (don't want to press it into place tbh) You may have noticed by now, im a complete novice to be honest! Sorry for all the questions, But there really is little information out there on these transmissions, thank god i found a factory service manual or i'd feel like Chuck Yeager

Hey your rich with the type r's mate arn't you? Nice zed btw

Hey mate it's the opposite, noise with pedal released. Although the release bearing is being replaced with the clutch/flywheel/input bearing/pilot bushing anyway. If it's not cured this time next week after all this money I'm gonna rage!

What makes you think that mate? Actually when i took the gearbox off the other day i did notice there is some play in the old flywheel, but I can't see how that can cause this noise?

I'm pretty sure it's the same problem as mine mate, do you get the same noise in gear when driving? Almost like a supercharged sound? I'm replacing both the release bearing and the input bearing because i can't distinguish which one it is, there both worn so I'm playing it safe. Good news is it's not going to fail anytime soon, I've had my zed over a year and done over 10000 miles with no problem, the only reason im sorting it out is because my clutch needs doing anyway, but if the garage is doing it for you anyway then get it done Good luck getting it sorted mate and like I said I'll let you know next week if I've sorted it

Hi mate, do you mean like this? If so you have the exact problem as me. I've got the gearbox off at ghe minute. I noticed some high pitched noise from the release bearing when no load is on it that dissapears when its pressed down, but im not confident that in the noise i'm experiancing. I have however noticed a load of play in the input shaft, mainly because the front input shaft bearings are shagged. I'm currently waiting on the replacement input bearing, front case gasket and pilot bushing from nissan (stupid bank holidays) I'll let you know how it goes, needless to say i'll be pi**ed if its not cured it, cost £600ish so far.

I wouldn't leave it mate, i had the same symptoms in my last car and left it.... Release bearing collapsed in rush hour traffic on a busy roundabout ... It may be okay for a bit, try not using the clutch much, i.e stick it in neautral at traffic lights.

Hi welcome, no way to sugarcoat this but the clutch release bearings knackard. Hope you knocked the seller down about £600 for the new clutch/flywheel fitting your gonna require very soon. Hope you get it sorted

Hello again. Today I got my car down the garage to replace the clutch/flywheel and try to find the cause of the whine i've been experiancing... Well i think i may have found the cause. I noticed a large amount of play in the input shaft so i decided to remove the casing and have a look... If you notice there is a large amount of lateral movement in the shaft, about 3mm. when pressed in the bearing makes no real noise, when pulled out there is a loud whine, i think this lateral movement is the cause of the noise. The front casing where the bearing sits also has score marks/ pitting, further evidence of shaft movement. I'm going to replace the input shaft bearing, but i belive the problem is with the ount of play in the shaft. Can anyone here clarify if this is the cause or am i talking garbage! Thanks