Engine Tired

[Flash89]

got told that my engine is tired, what does this mean and what shall i do

[MANWHORE]

It means that you jumped onto the bandwagon and bought a cheap r32 skyline.

In all seriousness, it just means that the engine is worn. Most likely compression is low. rb20s are cheap as chips. You can buy them for around 1k.

If the car isn't causing you any problems like bad fuel economy, or stalling or cutting out or anything, you can just leave it if you like until it dies, then get a replacement engine.

If you really want, you could rebuild it now, but a rebuild, even to standard spec, will cost you thousands (probably 4-5k+).

[Flash89]

hmm ok then. well the car is running fine to me. i was planning to stick in a RB26 in the time being.

[mad082]

i gotta become a pizza boy! must be making good money if you are looking at putting an rb26 in. or you haven't seen the price of doing the conversion.

i'd just wait till the engine dies and put an rb25 in, and spend a bit of money on that.

[Duncan]

they can tell your engine is tired because the smoke is getting out. Engines run on smoke, and once all the smoke is out it won't run anymore.

A second hand rb20 is pretty cheap if you are worried about it, otherwise keep turning up the boost until it blows up and then put a new one in.

[Flash89]

i have figured out it will be 10k all up to do the conversion, thats including getting the engine, labour, gear box etc. i get paid a fair bit being a pizza boy around 40k a year on the way i am going. i am just good at saving i guess. but i am still finishing up on the look of my car and suspension. RB26 will be like th last thing. was thinking of the RB25 and having a stroker kit put on. wont be much different wouldnt it??

[mad082]

a rb25 conversion done on the same budget as a rb26 conversion will probably get you better performance. and if you happen to blow the motor it is a darn sight cheaper to rebuild. just put a rb25 in, then get a bigger turbo and new ecu and you'll be laughing.

[Flash89]

what you mean better performance, what is so good about the RB25 to the RB26

[SECURITY]

rb30 block = slab of beer

n/a rb25 head = $600

rb25 box = $1000

little odds and ends = $500-1000

thats doing it on a bit of a budget, but it shouldnt cost more than that.

its a better/cheaper idea than a stroked rb25, rebuilding it with forged internals would be a good idea too.

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

i've looked briefly at the economy of doing various engine conversions you have a few options.

-Stock rb25det

-Stock rb26dett

-'built' motor add $4k or so

-build an rb24 or rb30 out of your rb20. probably $5k or so, but you have a 'built' motor for close to cost of a stock rb25det or rb26dett. but you are still stuck with an rb20 head which doesn't flow as well as rb25 or 26

rb20 engines are cheap as chips, i have a spare in my garage just waiting for me to blow this one up.... The risk you run putting an rb25/26 in is that the engine you get will also be 'tired'

Edited November 18, 2006 by MerlinTheHapyPig

[SECURITY]

with whatever option you go with it'll be silly not to get new rings and bearings.

[Flash89]

still have my mind on the 26 but its now drifting off to the 25

[LBR33]

  SECUR1TY said:

rb30 block = slab of beer

n/a rb25 head = $600

rb25 box = $1000

little odds and ends = $500-1000

thats doing it on a bit of a budget, but it shouldnt cost more than that.

its a better/cheaper idea than a stroked rb25, rebuilding it with forged internals would be a good idea too.

I know those NA heads are cheap but dint they have weaker valvesprings then a stock rb25det

[SECURITY]

  LBR33 said:

I know those NA heads are cheap but dint they have weaker valvesprings then a stock rb25det

im not too sure.

like i said thats doing it on the cheap and you wont need to do the oil feed to the VCT with the n/a head.

[Duncan]

flash89 what are you looking for? there are a few rb20s around making good power if you want to go quicker.

rb25, rb30 and rb26 will get you moving even quicker but they can get much more expensive (in that order)

check out the rb20 thread in forced induction performance

[SECURITY]

  Duncan said:

flash89 what are you looking for? there are a few rb20s around making good power if you want to go quicker.

rb25, rb30 and rb26 will get you moving even quicker but they can get much more expensive (in that order)

check out the rb20 thread in forced induction performance

dont listen to him. he's blown 6 motors

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

  SECUR1TY said:

with whatever option you go with it'll be silly not to get new rings and bearings.

yes and no, i mean to do that, take the head off, remove the pistons/rods then if you want to change the crank bearings, take the crank out, then maybe give it abit of a hone, then you have the head off, may as well replace the stem seals while you're at it (since they come with the head gasket kit), give the valves a bit of a lap, maybe you decide to get the head serviced, recut the valves, port/polish etc! it adds up....

once you've reached that stage and fixed anything that is out of spec, may as well do a proper rebuild while you're at it. and you have probably already spent $1-2k if you had this done at a workshop.

Only take the motor apart if you're going to do a proper rebuild, budget $3-4k if you need everything done at a workshop. Of course, it's best to do a proper rebuild, and if you've just bought a motor and it's out of the car, then now is the ideal time to do it.

Rings, rod bearings, head gasket can all be changed with the engine in the car, if the second hand motor is running well and has good compression, and you don't want to do a full rebuild, then don't fix something that ain't broke....

[Flash89]

innit cheaper to get a RB25 in instead of a RB26 put it

[SECURITY]

the crank doesnt need to come out to do the bearings. you need to do it carefully though. i've changed bearings on cars with the motor still in the car with just the sump dropped with no problems what so ever (checking clearences though).

thats $150 on bearings. rings will cost you another $250ish.

a full gasket kit cost me $160 without the valve stem seals.

and if you REALLY want to do the head, it'll cost around $500 for a full service.

[mad082]

  Quote

innit cheaper to get a RB25 in instead of a RB26 put it

much cheaper to buy a rb25 halfcut. about half the price. a rb25 halfcut is about $3500-4000. rb26 is much more.