Should I Keep An 89' R32 Gtr?

[TiagonR32GTR]

Im proud to say this is my first post on SAU, unfortunatly its not a happy one.

I scored myself a 1989 R32GTR for a reasonable price. I absolutely love the thing and im not ashamed to say im obsessed with it. Any noise or feeling out of the ordinary i would have it checked out.

That being said i even have sleepless nights over it!!!!

I have been reading alot of articles about the dreaded Engine Rebuilds and on average people are spending between $10,000 to $12,000.

What are people doing to get to that point!!! I mean my engine is completely stock and never been on the track (as far as i know). Its clocked up 148,000kms and still runs fine except for a gearbox whine which im checking out soon.

Do i need to concern myself with such news?

I would love peoples opinions about my concerns, im pretty sure people would share the same.

[Betz]

From what I can gather from reading this forum and other info on the www is that people have an engine failure withing 6 months or so of owning it.

If your carefull and take care of your car there isnt any reason that your engine will not make it to 300,000k's or beyond

[Strik3r]

if your car is running stock boost, it will probably run for ever. Its only when you start upping the boost and other things that shorten the engine life. Engine rebuilds are not cheap, especially if you want to get a good job done. And then you'll start saying 'well, as long as the engine is out, might as well do the turbos and the rest' ... viola, $12k

[R31Nismoid]

Dont modify it, you generally wont have a problem.

Its when people try to chase every poofteenth of a kilowatt with the stock turbos, or lean heavily on stock motors (over 300rwkw) that you are going to have issues.

One turbo dies (generally rear), and then the motor goes along for the ride due to dust.

Or other issues surrounding oil pumps etc etc.

If the car is not over boosted, serviced regularly and not driven like you've stolen it. Then you really have nothing to worry about.

I would confirm it has had the 100k service. This is critical to change the oil/water pumps and idler bearings which are all common fail points.

[taynewguy]

Mate, I've got an '89 R32 GTR with just as many k's, making 250rwkw on 1bar. Fresh-ish stock turbos however.

Anyway,it's going strong and hopefully will for a little while yet - fingers crossed. But if it breaks, i'll deal with it.

I don't spend my time worry about it - takes the enjoyment out of actually having/driving the thing.

Like others have said if you keep it stock, and treat it well, there is no reason why it'll need a rebuild anytime soon.

And this may or may not help but Redline lightweight shockproof does wonders for tired GTR boxes - maybe it'll prolong the life of it a bit while you save some pennies.

[TTT]

$10K - $12K rebuilds are due to people going "well.. it's already apart, might as well do this and might as well do that."

In all honesty, if your car is stockish, and you're use for it is street use, and the turbo fails and the engine goes, you could get away with fixing it for alot less than the figures you read.

example from Nismoid...

your rear turbo blows, ceramic exhaust wheel dust goes in to the engine, resulting in low compression on the rear cyclinders.

so you're up for a rebuild and a pair of turbo's.

You can pick up a pair of R34 GTR turbo's for about $700.

yes they still have a ceramic rear wheel but they are about 10 years newer, and also ball bearing.

You can have your engine rebuilt using stock cast pistons instead of fancy forged gear.

while it's apart, change the wear and tear things, like water and oil pumps, timing belt, idler, gaskets and seals etc.

you could have the car back on the road and running like new for about $5K - $6K.

and you have new turbo's, no oil leaks, no exhaust leaks, even compression etc.

don't lose sleep.

and if it ever breaks and needs a rebuild, and the car is only STREET DRIVEN, do a standard rebuild and don't start saying "well since it's already apart, might as well......."

that's where it doubles in cost.

[N1GTR]

$10K - $12K rebuilds are due to people going "well.. it's already apart, might as well do this and might as well do that."

Agreed

[hazerb30]

Im in the same boat. Ive got a r32 gtr with about 130'000 kms and i have stressed about the cost of rebuilds and whatever. But really, its been 1.5 years now and its been the most reliable car ive owned. Sure some stuff needs attention like the CV boots and other stuff that gets old but mechanically its been great and never left me on the side of the road like the r31 i had.

If like me you want to be sure about things.. id do the following.

Get some redline oil in the gearbox and change all fluids, use decent engine oil.

Compression test.

Change the turbos if you really want to be sure they are in good nick.

Clean injectors

New fuel pump

Install a reliable oil pressure guage

Get your Air/fuel mixtures checked on a dyno

And i too am a believer that any RB engine is good for over 300'000 if taken care of.

Should you keep it? sure! r32 gtr is such a good bit of kit. preventative maintenance can save you the big bucks.

[SLIPPERY]

good post hazerb30

Prevention is the key. New parts like fuel pumps and AFR readouts can prevent these nasty failings that lead to a rebuild in the first place due to owners neglecting to upkeep the car in great condition.

Look after her and she'll look after you haha

[SLIPPERY]

Now i think about it, a GTR is a lot like a woman

Shower her in gifts and youll get some lovin in return

Neglect her and she'll soon piss off and take half of what you own

[ZENNON]

get rid of it asap - they are crap - maybe swap it for a gtst - they are reliable and cheap to fix - as a matter of fact i have one - PM me!

[SLIPPERY]

Rabs Warren "Turn it up"

[SimonR32]

don't lose sleep.

and if it ever breaks and needs a rebuild, and the car is only STREET DRIVEN, do a standard rebuild and don't start saying "well since it's already apart, might as well......."

that's where it doubles in cost.

well that just makes me depressed... again haha

and its not double the cost, its more like triple

[700HP-GTR33]

Its really funny,everyone has a 130,000 km gtr32(89) LOL.

Let me see....20 years old....divided by 130,000....6500KM's per year....

Let me do the calculations again...yes.....6500kms a year. <I believe in him too.

Fuel pumps,oil pumps and all the other things discused on this Forum just don't give up

at 130,000 Kms...wake up and smell the roses boys.

OK..fun stuff over...

Drive the car until its motor dies.......it is more cheaper fixing it once than fixing things so it does not die.

But if you want:

Get all your oils replaced...gear/box ,engine,brake etc etc.......use the one's mentioned in this forum that have

made people happy.

Change your fuel pump,timing belt and turbo's.....not to ceramic second hand ones...you have no idea how many k's they have done either...

My thoughts on Turbo's...throw them out after 100,000..in your case..you are at least 30000 overdue..

Buy -7 or -9's in the garrett...bolt on and don't look back

Happy motoring.

[SLIPPERY]

-9s?

Thought you were an advocate for -5s Tekin

[700HP-GTR33]

-9s?

Thought you were an advocate for -5s Tekin

Yes I am Trav..like most with them bolted on... .

But then again...I have upgraded nearly everything.

Stock Engine and no supporting mods.....-5's will be an overkill.

[hazerb30]

My 89 shitter has got service history every year since 50'000kms... so yeh. legit Km's. It may all be in jap and i cant read a word of it but at least i know its 130k

So yeh.. your wrong. im sure im not the only one

[700HP-GTR33]

My 89 shitter has got service history every year since 50'000kms... so yeh. legit Km's. It may all be in jap and i cant read a word of it but at least i know its 130k

So yeh.. your wrong. im sure im not the only one

Since 50K...what did it do between 0 to 50K ...200K.

If your service history is lost or began at 50K...they have tampered with the books.

If you have your service history of the car since new...stamped and written in the owners manual

then you might be right....I have a mechanic that can stamp a few services in with made up odometer readings.

Anyway,good luck with your car and keep up the services if you intend to drive it daily.