omgpham…
17Jun/110

Water Pump & Thermostat

I love having so much space in the engine bay now! It makes many jobs just so much easier and also helps to spot any oil/coolant leaks. I noticed that my water pump started leaking from the weep hole, this is an indicator to show that the internal seal is on it's way out. Thought it was a perfect time to replace my thermostat too.

I normally prefer to go genuine parts whenever I can. So when it came to replacing my water pump and thermostat, I got in contact with TAARK for cheap genuine parts.

mmmmmm genuine Nissan water pump....

76.5 degrees Nissan thermostat, decided not to go with the Nismo 62 degrees one.

Read more after the break...

15Jun/110

Oil Catch Can

On my never ending quest to clean up my engine bay, I decided to replace my Cusco oil catch can with something proper.

By random chance I stumbled upon the perfect candidate, 42 Draft Designs' Stealth Oil Catch Can. I ordered it locally through the Australian distributor, who's also located in Brisbane.

Carformance - http://www.carformance.com.au/products/42-draft.....oil-catch-can.html

http://www.42draftdesigns.com/categories/products/catchcans.html

Read more after the break...

1Jun/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 8

It's all done!!

After cleaning up the engine bay, I spent most of Tuesday night putting everything back together. Was a pain in the ass and I scraped the shit out of hands and arms, sooooo many sharp edges along castings and hose clamps.

The end of Tuesday night.

Read more after the break...

30May/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 7

A productive day today, bought more supplies and got to work on the thermo fan wiring.

All pretty straight forward wiring up the fans, but will do a indepth build log for the thermo fans in the next couple of weeks.

In the mean time you can read some technical details here -
http://omgpham.com/nissan-s15-thermo-fan-setup

I wanted to install all the relays and fuse into the factory relay box, so I went to the local wreckers to buy some Nissan relay sockets. These are great because they click into the relay box, very neat looking. I also picked up some Ford relays since they were rated for the fans.

Wiring the socket up.

Test fitting the relays into the socket.

All done!

29May/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 6

I was made aware this morning that the orientation of my oil cooler core was incorrect. Having both inlet/outlet located on the bottom causes air pockets to occur, and also very ineffecient cooling. The ideal way to mount the cooler core is to have it vertical with inlet at the bottom and outlet at the top. As oil enters the bottom and fills up the core, air is pushed out of the system.

So spent most of the morning making new brackets to re-mount the cooler core. Fortunately I didn't have to make any new braided hose, the existing ones were the correct lengths =)

New brackets made up.

All mounted up for a test fitting.

Also spent the morning prepping the relay/box. Two factory relays were removed and the rest were re-arranged to make some room for the new relays. All wires that won't be used were heat-shrinked and tucked away. Wires that are to be used were tagged for tomorrow.

Also finished up the Defi sensor wires and tidied it all up. You can also see the extra wire I ran for the fan controller temp sensor.

28May/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 5

Had a pretty late start on the S15 today, earlier in the morning we went to the East Coast Customs garage sale to pick up some parts and didn't get back until about midday.

All the oil cooler parts have now been removed to be cleaned inside and out. I made some markings on the braided hose, and this is where I'll be installing some protective spiral wrap. It will protect the hose from rubbing against anything. Anyway some photos of the complete oil cooler setup.

Read more after the break...

27May/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 4

Today I set out to install the oil cooler core plus make the rest of the braided hosing. I initially hated making braided hosing but I enjoy it now, got my technique down pat. Just wish I had some AN spanners to keep the fittings looking nice.

Before cutting your hose, wrap the cut area in electric tape. This keeps the metal braid from fraying and flying everywhere.

Read more after the break...

26May/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 3

bleeehhhhh more uni and business stuff today so couldn't get much done today either =(

I picked up my intake manifold from Clifton Engineering, had them drill and tap a thread for the temp sender for me. I wanted the fan controller temp sender to be as close as possible to the stock senders.

Then I got back home and finished laying down the wires for the Defi sensors and fan controller temp sender. Was also able to make up ONE braided hose, going from the oil filter block to the relocator. Was my first time making a braided hose, and I did not enjoy it at all.

24May/110

Oil Cooler x Thermo Fan – Day 1

Beautiful day today, so had a mate over and started pulling apart the S15 =)

The front bar is being removed so I can mount the oil cooler in the corner under the headlights. Radiator is being removed so that the new Falcon AU thermo fans can be installed. The intake manifold is being removed because I want the temp sender for the Dakota Digital fan controller to be in the same spot as the factory temp sender. The intake manifold being off also makes it a lot easier to install the oil filter block. More info these parts in my next post.

Jacked the car up and drained all the coolant out of the system.

Read more after the break...

28Apr/110

Unessential Introduction


My current car, Mazda MX-5 NA6CE.

This is my third go at blogging, so I'm too lazy to write a lengthy introduction.

Facts about me:

  • Name is pham
  • I love hanging out with friends, cars, eating, Hi-Fi, working on cars, BBQ, flying kites, building remote control cars, etc...
  • I own and operate a Hi-Fi import and retail business - COEM Audio Australia
  • I love modifying and working on my car, if I like a certain product I will try my best to stock it locally.


My previous car, Nissan Silvia S15.