How Hard Is It To Build That Engine

[GTRsean]

You mean triple check, then get someone else to have a look. It's easy to miss something if you have been at it for hours!

Well worth it. I just haven't done an RB yet!

P.S I work on 4700 shaft horsepower turboprop engines at the moment.

[PRO_32]

great thread.

What would be good is a list of these shops everyone is talking about ie; some reputable engine builders, machine shops places to get your block acid dipped etc

[GTRgeoff]

Sean, my mate is about to take over as the Engineering Manager with Boeing up at Williamtown for the twin jet engine capability.

Now that is a world of hurt for technical integrity and triple checking........the whole aviation thing, and I won't touch it.

He and I studied engineering together as mature agers with trades behind us. We built holden V8 lumps, water skied and drank and perved on young girls and even got some study in.....

My machining work cost me 1400 for the 26/30 which included head skim, block work that was a skim, clean, full balance, full tolerance measure on every bearing in their intended location, crank plugs pulled and tapped and flushed and grubscrewed, welsh plugs pilled, collar fitted, tap high timing belt adjuster location, then (and this is the important bit) the block and head were given a full final clean so I didn't have to spend forever cleaning all the gunk out after the honing.

[r33_racer]

Like geoff said, but also have the main gallery end plugs removed and tapped for grubscrews also. You would be suprised as to how much gunk they pull out of the main oil gallery in the block.

If your real serious get it done for the head too. Normally all this is only done on race engines, so when it blows and you rebuild again its easier to just remove all the plugs and clean it all out.

[Duncan]

I'm another vote for give it a go yourself if you want to learn. I'm no mechanic (anything but lol) but I've done 3 bottom ends now and only 1 ended in tears (and that may have been caused by a turbo anyway).

As long as the machine shop checks your piston to bore clearance, your piston to valve clearance (careful if the head and block have been faced more than once.....) and bearing clearances - the only thing left is the ring end gaps (you will need to file them down once the cylidners are prepared). Apart from that its just follow the manual and use a torque wrench.

[smokin 8s]

Mate i rekon do it youself, like you said take your time, do it properly with ya mates help the feeling you'll get the first time it fires up will definately feel better than the burning pocket sensation from paying others to do what you can save the money for tuning

[RedDrifter]

Do it yourself. I would.

Big sense of acomplishment I would think.

[ali-turko]

great thread, use have inspired me

[Duncan]

lol just don't blame any of us if you stuff it and break the motor again

[Taxi33]

Hey guys!

Recently my 5th cylinder shat itself it had less then 50 compression

so it was decided that i was going to do a rebuild.

My brothers a second year mechanic and i've got pretty much no mechanical

knowledge at all. We're rebuilding it at my dads factory so theirs plently space

and we've got pretty much every tool!

Today just stripped everything and took the pistons and crank out ! (cylinder 5 oil ring was broken)

But yeah, i myself think that I've gained a fair amount of knowledge in a short time from just following

guidelines and watching what my brother does and just doing stuff myself !

Most important thing i can think off is lining everything up correctly before disassembling everything.

That way it should be easy enough putting everything back together.

So far everything is going well but i know for a fact that i've saved alot of money !

So yeah... i'm saying go for it Pretty fun too

[DaGr81]

ok so all this is going to have to be done slowly and in my own time etc etc, due to that if anyone could give me the names of a few good machine shops that will do the rb30 bottom end for me (the works honing and all that stuff) cheers. i'll see how it goes after i get it all machined up and ready.... should whether i try some of it myself or the whole lot will depend on how much im home (gaurantee that there will be a diy if i try it ), will the rb30 block fit in my skyline to take to a machine shop lol? (gonna have to pull out the passengers and back seat me thinks....

Edited September 8, 2007 by DaGr81

[SECURITY]

duncan foster engineering do good work and know the rb30 well. theyre in fairfield (syd) and are very well priced.

i fit my rb25 in my r33 boot comfortably, im sure the rb30 will fit too.

[DaGr81]

hope they are good might ring around and check get some quotes

[GTRgeoff]

The 30 block will fit in the boot, but is heavier so is a bit more muscle to get in there with no damage....

[DaGr81]

question: will 1 shop (i.e. the one i decide to go to whateva it is) be able to do all the machining? like do they specialise or something or its just they do the whole lot? Also balancing...where is everyone getting their crank rods pistons and everything else balanced? What should i do to the crank shaft in order to get it nice and strong....

cheers to everyone who has made a positive input to this thread, everyones got their own opinions ofcourse but some people are just so negative... (i vote to move them to boostcruising.com)

[humz]

a good machine shop will do all of the mentioned, wrap her up, ready for assembalage.

[DaGr81]

also would it be wise to have the head done at the same time? dont really know what to brands i should go for to put into the head, ultimately looking for it to handle shifts at 7500-8000rpm without loosing bottom end power so something that carries right through the entire rev range, had a look at some of it, looks like its really technical when it comes to the head....what is everyone else with a built head running?

[Duncan]

yes definately get the head checked out, and you will almost certainly get a nasty surprise. Every head I've had done has needed to be decked (surface flattened) new valve guides on at least the exhaust side, always new stem seals and a couple of times new springs. Normally costs as much as the whole bottom end

But its better to do it all now than go with a dodgy head.

[DaGr81]

hmm, but what sort of valve springs and guides etc, which brands? theres some that are solid and some hydrolic what should i be going for? theres also some with more lift than others.... i might have to read up heaps on this

[CIRHS]

Above all mate!

If you are determined and passionate nothing will stand in your way!

No one is born with information!

You attain it!

Don't let no one tell you otherwise!

Very nicely said Nabil. Just do it. and dont worrie, when you fire her up for the first time its all worth it. E

pecialy when you go 

for the first break in drive.

But thats also an important factor. The engine break in. So keep that in mind. You can build the engine perfectly but if you dont

break it in properly its all a waste of time.