On closer inspection the large oil leak on the front of the engine was coming from all the cam seals. The coolant bypass hose outlooks are also looking worse for wear..
Removed all the smoo and cleaned all the surfaces. Also remove the lower plenum to do the knock sensor.
All back together. also not pictured was a PCV delete and valve cover resell. I actually replaced the lower plenum due to the threads being awol. In a previous plenum pull they were starting to strip despite use of a torque wrench. I wonder if there’s a limit on the use of aluminium threads? Also poses the question how many times this plenum has been off.
Any owner who undertakes this kind of complex engine work on a vg, deserves respect, well done moose train!
On to the next problem. As previously mentioned the injector seals were in poor condition. I couldnt find any off the shelf options and online mentioned many people have problems; I decided to just replace them with Nismo 740ccs. I bought a second hand rail from a RB25 with them already installed. I had them cleaned via RGS then used Z1 conversion kit.
While the car was apart I had noticed the engine mount had completely fallen about. The engine was sitting at about 30 degree angle to the left. I later found out this was causing a boost leak. After sourcing 2x oem engine mounts from Rob. I undertook the fun journey on in car engine mount replacement. There wasn't a really clear how to guide on line so i kinda pieced together. - Jack up car as high as possible. - Secure engine. I used a crane to lift the engine a few cm, also put a jack under the trans for peace of mind. - remove power steering rack mounts (great time to change these bushes) - unbolt steering shaft - remove all suspension arms connected to the front subframe - remove 4x subframe bolts and unbolt engine mounts - The subframe should come down 20cm, the power steering lines are still connected so be sure to support the frame. - Removing the top nut from the engine mount was probably top 3 worst jobs on a 300. If you have GT2860RS with stock heatshield in place, passenger is not accessible at all. Luckily my driver one was the issue. I will change the passenger shortly when I next have the engine out. Photos of activities; make sure to consume bulk beer
Somewhere during this I thought it would be a quick job to change my wheel bearing while the car was on stands. Bearing was completely toast. It actually was completed seized on the hub.
On changing the hub there is a large nut which secures it to the knuckle. For the life of me I could not break it loose on the car. Despite using a cheater bar. I am not a mechanic clearly but I used the most back yard solution. Bolted it to a piece of timber, heated it up and used a impact to loosen it, then a breaker bar with the jack handle on it. And it worked.
Also found another photo of the engine mount activities. This was at 11pm in pouring rain. I wish I had an garage...
Still grinding on this thing. Had the car back together. Installed a LINK ecu and tried to get it started. Followed the guide and couldn't even get it to turn over. Confirmed fuel pump was priming Timing was correct Injector specs were in. Firing order was correct I have missed a setting I believe. I put my nistune back in and fired up instantly. Hmm. Decided to keep the nistune in for the moment so I can actually move the car. Retuned the nistune to 740cc, weirdly ran well with the 540cc tune. Currently chasing down some vaccum leaks. I have a leak on the drive side down the left can't seem to find it.
Currently stalling out after throttle. Thinking of bringing the smoke tester home from work as the next fix.
Thought id do an update; Faced with a large amount of issues I was trouble shooting - I thought it was best to pull the motor. Obligatory photo of car on trailer going to where it was going to be pulled into 10 million pieces. Motor pull done - The bracket engine lifter really makes it easy. The downpipes were rusted on so I couldn't remove them in car - not easily.. Upon stripping the motor I found everything was leaky, oily and corroded. Example of a heater core rear line;
Decided to replace the water lines with an braided lines from @rob260 Mocking them up; One of the finished sides ;
