119,000km Service

 

Pic 1: Bunch of Torco and Redline oils

The ER34 has just undergone it's 119,000km service. Fresh fluids in the form of Torco SR1 10W-40 went in together with an original Nissan oil filter (Part No. 15208-53J00). I also replaced the aging transmission oil with the same Redline Lightweight Shockproof Gear Oil. These have proven to work great for me hence am still sticking to it.

It's been a while since I've changed the differential oil, hence took the opportunity to replace it with Motul Gear SAE80 W140 oil.

Most of the fluids are now fresh. Should feel good.

Pic 2: Motul Gear SAE80 W140

Pic 3: Engine Oil Change

Pic 4:Transmission Oil Change

Mishimoto Aluminium Radiator

Actually before I busted my radiator, I've already started looking around for a suitable replacement. Koyo was the obvious choice due to its popularity and availability. Couldn't afford higher end ones from ARC tho. :(

I've also been eyeing this blue anodized aluminium radiator from GReddy. I think it'll look smashing in the engine bay. Well, it complements my GReddy Oil Cooler and the NEO engine cover nicely. Both of which is also blue in colour. Excellent!

BUT just too bad that the cost is a little too high for me thus it is the plan was scrapped. :(

Pic 1: Mishimoto packaging

No idea what struck over me but I started looking around for alternative brands and that's when I come across Mishimoto radiators from the USA. Hmmm ..... yes there's a Western brand in the JDM-ness of the ER34. So anyway, it comes competitively priced and does the job really well. The plus point is that every single radiator is pressure tested prior to leaving the factory and there's a lifetime warranty on it as well.

Good enough of an assurance to me. :)

The Mishimoto radiator also comes with it's own 1.3kg/cm2 radiator cap. So guess my Nismo Racing Radiator Cap (Part No. 21430-RS0122) is now for sale. :P

Pic 2: What's inside the box


Pic 3: Mishimoto R34 Aluminium Radiator

Since I'm changing radiator, I've decided to flush out the whole cooling system. All the previous water and coolants were flushed out, yes even those in the engine block are all out. I got 'em replaced with pure distilled water. I had to use loads of them in order to rid of the previous fluids. With pure distilled water in the cooling system, I added no coolant in but just a bottle of Redline Water Wetter.

Pic 3: Redline Warer Wetter

"Water Wetter" is designed to reduce hot spots in your cylinder head. It does this by reducing the build-up of water vapor in any superheated areas. The bad thing about having hot spots in your cylinder head (read combustion chamber) is that they can promote pre-ignition - definitely a bad thing. Any sharp edges in your combustion chamber (around valve seats for example) may tend to get very hot (even red hot) during operation. These areas of the combustion chamber can then form local hot spots in the cooling passages. Thus, even though your bulk coolant temperature is well below its boiling point (i.e. your gauge reads just fine), there may be localized boiling in some regions of the coolant tract.

This localized boiling can cause a layer of water vapor to form over the hot spot. This vapor forms an insulative blanket and prevents heat from leaving this area, thus making the hot spot even worse. But reducing the surface tension of the water makes it easier for vapor bubbles to leave the surface of the cylinder head and allows the bubbles to convect heat away from the area. Something that changes the surface tension of a liquid is called a "surfactant". It does not take very much surfactant to significantly change the surface tension of water. Hence, you do not need to add very much "Water Wetter" in order for it to do its job.

An additional benefit of using "Water Wetter" (in conjunction with 100% water) in you cooling system is that water has an extremely high heat capacity. Thus a gallon of 100% water can carry more heat away from you engine than an equivalent gallon of 50/50 water and coolant. Water also has a high thermal conductivity which increases the convection of heat away from the coolant passage walls and into the free stream of the liquid flowing through the passages.

"Water Wetter" does not increase the boiling point of water. Standard automotive coolant does increase the boiling point of the mixture above that of 100% water. But remember that if your cooling system is operating properly, it should never get hot enough to boil (I mean BOIL, not just localized boiling). Raising the boiling point of the coolant in passenger cars is primarily a safety measure, so that if the cooling system is over stressed (climbing a hill on a hot day with AC on), it will not boil over. On performance cars the primary duty of the cooling system is to keep the engine in its optimum temperature range. This is best accomplished with 100% water, because its high heat capacity makes it very efficient at transferring heat.

Check out the below video which explains it perfectly.

Pic 4: Embossed Mishimoto logo


Pic 5: Mishimoto plaque on the radiator


Pic 6: Stock radiator out of the engine bay


Pic 7: Fitting the stock fan shroud and Samco radiator hoses



Pic 8: Mishimoto radiator fits the stock fan shroud


Pic 9: Mishimoto radiator fitted in!


Pic 10: Mishimoto radiator fitted in!


Pic 11: Mishimoto 1.3kg/cm2 radiator cap


Pic 12: Mishimoto plaque - wonder who sees it in that position

Liquid Gold

Pic 1: Liquid gold

Damn ..... This box of stuff costs me a fortune. Liquid gold it really is. You can see some bottles of Torco SR-1 5W-40 engine oil, Redline Lightweight Shockproof transmission fluid, Nissan long life coolant and a generic fully synthetic engine oil for flushing purposes.

Dented my bank account a fair bit here. :(

85,000km Service

Pic 1: Time for a service

It's time for fresh fluids for the ER34 again. The vehicle is now at 85,000km and due for an engine oil change, transmission oil change and differential oil change. My last engine oil change was 5,000km ago which is approximately 5 months back. :O

Pic 2: 5 bottles of Torco SR1 10W-40

In comes my usual engine oil, Torco SR1 10W-40. This stuff works wonders for the ER34. It's not exactly cheap and sometimes I wonder should I consider a change, the cheaper Royal Purple perhaps? Hehehe

The obligatory original Nissan oil filter (Part No. 15208-53J00) was also changed.

Pic 3: Nissan oil filter (Part No. 15208-53J00)


Pic 4: 4 bottles of Redline Lightweight Shockproof

As for my transmission oil, I've decided to upgrade from the current Redline MT-90 75W-90 to the higher range Redline Lightweight Shockproof which has excellent low-temperature flow, that allows easier shifting when cold.

The Redline Lightweight Shockproof has also received rave reviews from Skyline users that have trouble shifting fast into 5th gear. Yes the dreaded 5th gear crunch. I hope this will solve it good. :)

Pic 5: Elf Gearelf 140

I've also switch my differential oil from KAAZ Powertrain Gear Oil 80W-90 to Elf Gearelf 140. I hope I made the right choice in this. Cheaper and just as effective I presume.

Pic 6: Changing the engine oil


Pic 7: Changing the transmission oil


Pic 8: Changing the differential oil

Redline MT-90 Tranny Fluid and Engine Oil change

Pic 1: Redline MT-90 75W 90

I have trouble going into 1st gear recently which prompted me to search around for a better transmission fluid to see how much it will help. The Redline MT-90 75W 90 was decided upon and I poured it in over the weekend. These fluids need to be run in over a period to properly gauge the difference in improvements. Thus far after 2 weeks of usage, the notchy 1st gear engagement is no longer there. I hope this will stay on for good.....

Since the ER34 is already up on a hoist, I changed the engine oil and oil filter at the same time. Not really to save labour cost but rather just to save my time going to the workshop. Been pretty busy of late. :(

According to the marketing talk, the Redline MT-90 are designed to provide excellent protection and improved shiftability for manual transmissions. It allows proper shifting over the entire temperature range which the transmission will experience. The synthetic base oils used have a very high viscosity index which provides relatively constant viscosity as temperature changes.

In summary, it provides excellent protection of gears and synchronizers and its balanced slipperiness provides a perfect coefficient of friction, allowing easier shifting.

The prices are steep but thus far worth it........

Pic 2: Filling up the Redline MT-90 75W 90 into the transmission