The Mafia

Ok, so the head has been removed. Here is the Verdict: - The Exhaust cam cover at the back was all sludged up with a caramel looking oil \ water. - The cams were a little sludged up - I did actually install the two rear little bolts. The front one wasn't installed. - The head gasket looked like it wasn't sealed properly where the VCT feed is (and grub screwed). - The bores are still like new and have very prominent hone marks thank f**k. - Seems the head gasket was the issue all the way, leaking into an oil drain Resolutions: - I will check the flatness of the head - I am thinking if the head doesn't need to be surfaced, I will Defcon the grub screw in to make sure it doesn't leak. - If the head needs surfacing, I will get the grub screw removed and weld up the head. - Might look at adjusting the head gasket to suit the gallery a little more - Will make sure that little bolt at the front is done up nice and tight. If anyone has anymore tips, I would appreciate anything you can give me. Thanks again for all of your help here. GTRNUR was right on the money, thats for sure.

yeap, how do you know it wasn't tuned for a R33 GTR with twin T88 turbos, and NOS, that ran 7 second passes? Mate, you got ripped off something cronic. There is NO WAY I would EVER do this.

its the check valve. Once the fuel is pushed out, it stops the fuel going backwards, going back in.

yeah simply followed the guide, didn't stray. Only thing I can that of that I stuffed up was not putting in those three little bolts.

not at all mate, the car would not run, or very poorly. The ECU needs to be set for the correct AFM.

Also, I do have a cometic 3 layer 1.3mm head gasket but I was told the surfaces have to be 100% flat for that. So I bought the Durotek 1.3mm graphite with the fire rings. Definitely couldn't use the cometic?

thanks GTRNUR. I appreciate your input. Does anyone know if those 3 little bolts will make all the difference? I'm thinking of biting the bullet, and just pulling the head - Its might be a "defeat in detail" kind of approach, but I want it to be fixed 100%, and no more guess work. If I pull the head I can check: The grub screw The bores The gasket (And replace with heaps of hylomar spray) Install the three little bolts etc etc I might even use my spare head - Prep it out of the car, and get it faced. This "hylomar spray", is it like copper spray?

I had a little piece of paper that came with the studs that said 80ft/lbs on it, so thats what I went to. Will the extra cause an issue? Tested the allignment of the gasket, and everything seemed to line up fine, no issues. Didn't get the head or deck re-surfaced because it was a slapper. I know you're going to call me stupid, but barely checked the flatness of the surfaces. The Engine shop did say the deck was pretty good though. Or good enough I should say. Was still fairly hot \ warm when I did the compression test. Want me to do a cold one? The plugs are still finger tight. Ready to test again. The head isn't that bad to remove, dropping the turbo off the manifold to the side, disconnecting the inlet pipe, and unplugging the injectors, IAC and the other IAC \ control thing. Then just a matter of dropping the coolant and then cam covers, head bolts, and someone to help you lift it off. Now, here is a problem, and most of you are probably going to call me a retard (I give you permission to lol). I realized that I forgot to put in those 3 little bolts. You know. The pricks that are a complete ass to get to when removing the head. And One would think that these allow more seal on the oil drains on the front and back of the head. Water is there too. And since they are oil drains, there is no pressure, and then allowing 13 psi of water into the oil. Probably not much, but enough to create havoc. *Cowers and waits for the insults*

Sounds like a likely story. I'll start checking things. But before I get drastic and remove the head, are there any little tell tale signs? All the plugs where normal, no clean marks, and all looked the same. All pistons looked the same too. Going to get a mate over with a bore scope today.

Couple of things - How hot was the car? There is a very small restrictor in the turbo, I never installed one on my GT30 and have never had a problem. That looks like around 500ml - min. Measure it.

no, I simply grub screwed it. Are you supposed to do this?

I'll check all of these and let you know. I hope my grub screw isn't. I taper threaded it, and then used loctite 567 to seal it, and put it in there nice and tight. Not tight enough to strip the threads though. Also, 12:1 is way to rich for idle. If you need to make it that rich, then something is wrong. Lowest I have gone is about 14:1 on most skylines.

I'll give this thread about 5 mins before its locked. Search the forum... There is a million zillion articles. And one stickied right at the top of this thread.

not yet, was going to at 200kms, but now that I have the packs out and need to sus out an oil leak behind the cam pulleys, I might do that. Running ARP Studs at 80 foot pounds of torque on a durotek graphite gasket with "fire rings". Also, you know those three little bolts that are a bitch to get to that hold the head down? Do they play a big part in it? You can't exactly get a torque wrench on them.

Its a series 2 - So no ignitor module. I've changed the coilpacks (Splitfires) with another set of splitfires, and no luck. Tried re-seating all coilpack plugs, and wiggling\seating them firm. Nope, I have retuned it for the RB25\30, as I can tune. The last tune on the engine that was shitted by the engine builder, was good for 1 bar, and good rich\safe maps. Currently only running 8-10psi.

The missfire - Seems to only be on idle. If the aircon is on, or its above 900rpm, it runs fine. no misses. Injectors seemed perfect on the last engine. They are Nismo 555cc. As for the water - Its got a milky residue up the dipstick tube. Not much at all though. And yeah, the breather hoses has a bit of water in them. Its mackay though, its humid as hell. You think it could just be the moisture from building the engine making its way out? Filled the radiator and ran it to operating temps again for about 15 mins, and just waiting for it to cool again to see the level, and see if 1L has disappeared.

Hi Everyone I've just finished building a RB25\30 all by myself. I got my ass handed to me by an engine builder that charged me $6200 and then told me to f**k off when it went to shit at 800kms or so. Bores were marked, etc. The entire engine is off to get a "forensic" style report written up on it. f**k him I say, he could of at least looked at it. anyway... So, I decided to go to a wreckers, get a RB30E, got a Series 2 RB25 Head, and rebuild it with standard parts. OR what they gave me at the engine parts shop. Hastings Chrome Moly Rings ($110) King Bearings ($120) Gaskets, seals (About $250) Sealant, extras, etc (about $100) VCT modded the head, and grub screwed the oil feed. (Cost about $20 in taps, drill bits, grub screw etc) Anyway - I got it all together, and everything seemed to be running ok. Car ran good, kept the revs between 2000 and 4000 and under a bit of load to bed in the rings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem 1: After about 60kms, it started to idle on 5 cylinders, but I couldn't pick which one, I tried disconnecting a coil pack at a time but I still couldn't pin point it. Changed the coil packs, still doing it. ONLY on idle, and ONLY when its hot. Cold, its fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem 2: Water in the oil. I have noticed the oil dip stick has milky marks up the neck. The actual oil itself looks ok, that nice clear orange look, no black or dark yet. The breather pipes though, have traces of fresh water in them, maybe 2-3 drops worth. (No coolant). My mate says we need to find out why, and I agree. I have removed the plugs and checked each cylinder, and there is no water in them. All the plugs look the same too - No unusual patterns on any. I have also done a compression test, and they are all 155psi. Nice and consistent. Rediator seems to lose about a 1L every 3 or s days of general running. None on the ground though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any ideas to help me get started on the diagnosis?

better off going for the GT3076, there isn't that much difference at all. Plus you have that head room... 280rwmw isn't that great... lol

I'm easy hey - Just got it back on the road. Hand built the RB25\30 all myself. Its done 130kms so far, and nothing has seem to have broken. Jono

lol at some of these questions

They also recommended not leaving the tensioner on the same spot because the belt comes too close together. Not worth the risk IMHO. BUt the PDF is very clear about both, you must agree..

lol this made me giggle. Exactly what the poster above said - They have removed them.

I'm not an expert on this, but yes there are a number of outcomes. 1. There are crap quality wastegates. 2. There are too small wastegates 3. There are too big wastegates. 4. There are poorly mounted wastegates. 5. There are wastegates with the wrong spring installed. Hope that helps.

You're trolling right? Either that or a retard? Truck engine? Don't go over 4k?

I'm going to say it - Read the PDF. It is covered VERY clearly, and even gives you model numbers of the belt you require, exact amount of teeth (Pretty sure 150 is wrong too, I think its a couple more) If you read the PDF and then come here because you don't understand even though its in the plainest of English, then please, put your tools down and back away. You should not be building the RB25\30.