New D40 owner - sports car guy jumping in the deep end

[ryzan]

Howdy guys, just picked up my D40 the other week. Been looking for something that'll tow my race car and that I can have a bit of offroad fun in as well.



So she's an 08 STX diesel manual. Bought it off the first owner, ex lease vehicle which he used to drive to the mines and back. As such, she's got 215,000kms on the clock but I only paid 15k which I thought was an ok deal. Has a few factory fit options including the steel bullbar and also has a long range tank fitted.

Anyways I do have a few questions after putting a few solid nights study in on the internet.

1. The dash clock seems to be running slow, loosing a couple minutes every day. I couldn't find anything on the internet about this?

2. She blows a bit of soot under load when off boost, is this normal for a manual without a dpf? Am I driving it 'wrong' or should I be looking closer at something.

3. Solid flywheels. She's still on the original clutch and dual mass flywheel which is average at best and definitely needs to go. I read that some of the later model d40's have a factory fitted single mass flywheel, is this true? Is it possible to fit a factory single mass fly or is aftermarket the only way to go? And what's the best aftermarket option?

4. Timing chain kits - what's the best kit to buy and how much should I be looking to spend? I'll be doing all the work myself (a yd25 should be a walk in the park after working on my 300zx for years) so just looking at the cost of parts. Also should I be looking to replace the water pump and oil pump while I'm there? I've read that some of the oil pumps have shown excessive wear when removed.

5. Turbo upgrades - I've seen a guy on the forum here selling turbos with a billet turbine, is this the only option for a turbo upgrade? I'd really like something ball bearing.

6. Lift kits - Looking for a 2" lift with springs and shocks since the stock stuff feels pretty well used. Looking at either the eighbach/king spring combos they sell on ebay (was one of the best combos on the 300zx so why not on the Nav ha). Other option is dobinsons since they're made locally in town here, dad has dobinsons springs and shocks in his au falcon which I think are pretty average. I know it's not worth much comparing with other cars though so has anyone got any comments on these combinations or recommendations?

Anyway that's enough questions for a while, thanks in advance to anyone who can aswer them.

Also, you guys got some good smilies on this forum!

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome aboard!

If you're towing and hitting any corrugations then heat dissipation rates will be the most important aspect of your shocks. Springs are there to carry the load and if you want to have something that provides a smooth ride both loaded and unloaded, dual rate springs will be the way to go. OME Dakar springs are what I chose - and I'm very happy with them. I've got OME Nitrocharger Sports shocks - excellent shocks - but Seldom Seen Engineering make a "Shockwerx" shock that has an unbelievable 57mm bore with an optional external reservoir - it will dissipate heat like no man's business and I will be taking a serious look at those when my OMEs are dead.

Turbo - I'm not sure what bearing system Forefront use in their turbos. I'd probably look at Garrett directly for a matched turbo running BBs if Forefront's is still journal.

Timing chains ... see yd25.com.au.

Flywheels - whichever way you go, it'll have to be balanced with the new pressure plate and you'll notice a new vibration once installed. Using a heavier clutch plate would be of benefit if you were using a boat ramp or something, but when you're towing a race car the places you normally get into aren't as steep, so you probably won't work it hard. That said, of course, you may as well go the better gear while you're changing it.

Some soot is normal. Soot levels are not only influenced by the fuel quality (try BP Ultimate Diesel if you can get it) but also by turbocharger efficiency (including actuator, solenoid and hose condition), MAFS cleanliness and your EGR. Blocking the EGR will see an instant soot reduction.

As for your clock ... mine's out, I never thought to bother adjusting it, but there might be a means of doing it. I'll do some light reading in the workshop manual and see if I can discover anything.

 

[nuckin futs]

the yd25 double row timing chain is 1600. you can also buy or hire a couple of tools to make the job a bit easier if u dont have anything urself. its just a small puller to remove harmonic balancer and a bar to lock up the crank. the harmonic balancer bolt needs to be done up bullshit tight. they also do a solid flywheel conversion (dunno the costs of any of the clutch/flywheel) but will be getting a price soon as paul from yd25 knows his stuff when it comes to d40's. also like tony said do the egr blanking plate and its also a good idea to fit a oil catch can.

 

[nuckin futs]

as for oil pump (yep you guessed it) yd25.com do them aswell. i think theyre a bit over 500

 

[ryzan]

Jeez that's expensive for the timing chain kit, guess it has to be done but and I'm guessing they're the best of the best. Is it worth doing the water pump and oil pump at the same time? Also got a rough idea what one of their clutch and flywheel conversion kits cost?

Did the egr block, didn't change much. Clock seems to be holding time after continually resetting it 5 or so times.