Rogue Oil Change

 On February 12, 2023, the oil was changed on the Rogue.  I forgot to record the mileage.

Sloppy Pulsar Wipers

(February 4, 2023) The wipers on the Pulsar always had a lot of "slop" to them; they seemed to pause momentarily at each end of their stroke.  I opened up the cowl to find that the bushing between the wiper motor and linkage to be missing!  I searched online but could not find a suitable replacement, so I decided that I could create one myself using my 3D Printer.

After a few measurements I had a design that I felt would work.  I printed the part using carbon-fiber infused nylon to give it some strength.  The black part in the photos below is the newly created part.

Before installing I used some 3M silicone grease to lube the parts.  The new bushing snapped into place perfectly.  

No more wiper slop!

Pulsar Odometer Repair

(January 16th, 2023) The odometer never worked on the Pulsar when we bought it and it was registered with unknown mileage.  The speedometer and trip meter functioned, so I knew I had a chance of fixing the problem.

Removing the gauge cluster on a Pulsar NX is not terribly difficult.  Remove the steering column cover, the cluster bezel and the switch pods will give you access to the cluster.

The cluster then simply pulls out after removing the four screws that hold it into place.

Removing the speedometer also was not difficult after unsnapping the Lexan cover and unscrewing the corresponding screws in the back of the cluster.  Once I had the speedometer pulled I could see the issue: the first odometer gear had a broken tooth and would not engage the drive.  To fix this I removed the odometer gears by gently opening the metal brackets at each end, you can do this with a small screwdriver and pry the two prongs apart.  I then removed the broken gear and "sacrificed" the six digit of the odometer by shifting all remaining gears towards the drive gear.

Since we had no idea how many miles were on the car I simply reset the odometer to a nice round number: 100,000.

Before reinstalling I used a power drill to spin up the speedometer for a bit and ensure the odometer worked as expected.  Another part of the car working again!

Pulsar Ignition Switch Bezel

The ignition switch bezel was missing on the Pulsar when we bought it, so I designed and printed a replacement on January 2nd, 2023.   

Pulsar Air Idle Control Valve Connector Change

The connector on the Air Idle Control Valve was barely hanging on, so I ordered a replacement from Z1 Motorsports and replaced it.  As usual, connections were soldered and heat shrink was used to make the connections durable and look good.  This work was done on January 14th, 2023.

Before

After

   

Rogue Oil Change

 On November 26, 2022 the oil was changed on the Rogue.

Cube Oil Change

 On October 1, 2022 the oil was changed on the Cube.

Rogue Oil Change

 On January 30, 2022 the oil was changed on the Rogue.

280z Oil Change

On September 4, 2021 the oil was changed on the 280z.  As with all of my older engines, I split the oil filter open and checked for any metal particles on the filer media.  Thankfully there were none.

Rogue Oil Change

 On June 17th, 2021 the oil was changed on the Rogue.

Cube Oil Change

In June of 2021 the oil was changed on the Cube.  What makes this one different is that the boy helped maintain his own car!

Fuel Rail and Injectors

In March of 2021, I noticed that the hose connecting the sections of the fuel rail was starting to crack.  The previous owner had replaced the injectors although I wasn't sure about the seals so I used this as an opportunity to inspect, clean up and replace the rubber on the fuel delivery components in the engine bay.

Removal of the components was pretty straightforward, although it is noteworthy that care must be taken with the fuel rail so that you don't bend or otherwise damage the tubing.  OE fuel rails aren't impossible to find although they aren't exactly inexpensive.  Each side of the fuel rail is removed after loosening the hose clamps on the rails and injectors then gently pulling the rail away from the injectors while pivoting the rail at the hose connecting the rails. There are a lot of wires and other hoses that might be in the way, so remove what you can and work around what you don't.

Once all the components were removed, I performed the usual wire brushing and prepping for paint.

After testing the injectors I returned them along with new injector seals.  New injector clamps were used on all hoses since this part of the system is pressurized.  Since these hoses and tubes are very visible this work made the engine bay look so much better!

Rogue Oil Change

 On December 20, 2020 the Rogue received an oil change.

Restoring Misc Cooling Bits

Many brackets and tubes in the engine bay are showing their age.  In April of 2020 I took the opportunity to address the heater hose brackets, auxiliary air valve water block and the coolant passages that feed the water block.  As a bonus, I also cleaned up the engine lift bracket as well.  For all the metal pieces I used a wire brush to take them to bare metal then used Rustoleum Metallic Paint & Primer in a champaign mist color to coat the parts.  I've found that this paint both closely matches the cadmium zinc plating on the original parts but also holds up well in the engine bay.

Engine hoist bracket and water outlet

Water block tubing

Water Block

I also replaced the rubber hose that feeds the water block.  I often use my garage door to cure painted parts in the sun!

To finish things off I also used OE-like hose clamps to attach the heater hose.

As an added bonus, I also performed the same treatment to the alternator wire harness bracket.

Catching Up

It's been a while since I've posted.  Let's just say the disruption of COVID impacted my time and habit of blogging about my garage activities.  Since I'm primarily using this blog to document my work on my cars I felt it was time to get caught up.  

Over the coming weeks I'll be adding posts of the work I captured in the last 4 years.  Hopefully someone out there finds this information useful.