What Have I Missed?

[nuclear_skyline]

Hi Guys,

I am about to pull the engine out of my 94' BNR32. Basically I am looking for some advice as to what I have missed given that I am only seeking 250-280rwkw (ands thats in the future not now). I am primarily looking for reliability atm.

So here is what I have:

-water pump

-gates timing belt and new ilder bearings

-new turbos

-new dump pipes

-new silicon heater hose kit

-bought a full engine gasket kit so I can do the gaskets for the plenum.

I think I should get a sump baffle whilst the engine is out. I just cannot decide what one! I have been looking at the tomei one that fits in the standard sump.

Thanks for your input guys.

[R31Nismoid]

If you only want 280rwkw then you don't need to change dumps, sump mods.

Also be careful when changing the plenum gasket. I do believe there is a "trick" to get it to seal correctly. Do not clean the butterflies etc either.

Also the silicone heater stuff I've found to be crap. I've had to replace 3 hoses in 1.5years and I've done less than 10,000kms.

It's one of your typical EBAY special's. It's been replaced this time though with Nissan OEM hose

[nuclear_skyline]

Cheers Ash - I have a pretty good mechanic, one I actually used to work for at revo, but we'll definately be careful on the plenum. I have heard that the standard gaskets can become very brittle as they age and have a tendency to split (CRD and JustJap told me).

I got a very good price on the dumps so thought I might as well pick them up now - who knows what will come in years to come?

Also cheers on the heads up re silicon hoses - is the issue that they perish quickly or that they cannot handle heat? Any incites?

[R31Nismoid]

Yep - they do fail, and just as much of a pain to replace so good thing to do if the motor is out.

Also get the paint tidy'd up as well

Fair enough if you got a good price

I kept getting pin hole leaks which then results in coolant being sprayed all over the place.

From what i could tell the hoses are a bit thinner, and there isn't a lot of the webbing inbetween the silicone layers when you slice it open.

So obviously lacking support and durability/quality.

3rd time it happened it was the straw for me so went with OEM hose that was modded to suit.

[nuclear_skyline]

Oh most definately the paint is going to get a tidy up one of the reasons of buying a full gaskit kit is I can paint all the parts properly. But as it is not a genuine reliability mod I didnt think to post it

[KiwiRS4T]

Why are you pulling the engine out? How many km has it done? If you're going to take the sump off (and the head?) you may as well do rings and bearings. Replace and correctly torque the tensioner bolt when you do the cam belt etc.

[nuclear_skyline]

Why are you pulling the engine out? How many km has it done? If you're going to take the sump off (and the head?) you may as well do rings and bearings. Replace and correctly torque the tensioner bolt when you do the cam belt etc.

Honestly, who knows how many Kms their car has done!? The engine is coming out for a few reasons. Firstly, as stated above I am doing my turbos and from the advice I have received from many people is it is just as quick to pull the engine and do them out of car. Secondly, I wanted to do the heater hoses and the vaccum lines for the engine - basically undoable with the engine in place. My gearbox is making some interesting noises which make me think the input bearing is a bit dodgey so I want to overhaul it as well. Its easy to service out of car.

Regarding doing the bearings and rings. Hmmm... The engine compression is good and it isnt using any oil. I am not planning on building a power monster so i cannot justify opening it up to that extent. Lastly and most importantly, the age old question - where do I stop? If I did the rings and bearings, I most likely couldnt justify the hassle of doing it without new throwing in some forged slugs. Then, if I am doing that should I hone the block, check the crank, have the head once overed, etc.... Basically not what I am aiming for atm.

[DVS JEZ]

rings and bearings might be cheap BUT machine work and headgasket etc adds up really quickly.

[nuclear_skyline]

Yeah the machining costs add up - which inevitably means you want to put the best parts in to make the most of it... luckily I'm not going down that route just yet

[R31Nismoid]

Ye the age old "where do you stop" is certainly real

You'd be @ 4k before you began, then no point going those turbos... AFM changes, injectors and suddenly 10k+ has walked out the door!

Ripping the motor to do what you wanna do - is very ideal and smart.

Plenum & hoses are a pain in the ass and much easier outside the car as are turbos.

Overall cost would IMO, be cheaper labour wise as it doesnt take that long to get the motors in/out with experienced people.

[nuclear_skyline]

Luckily my labour cost is $0 Allows more parts to be bought. Ash - do you reckon the tomei sump baffle is worthwhile? I dont think I need to go to a larger winged sump, but as I might track it in the future the sump baffle is needed?

[R31Nismoid]

Honestly having seen cars running sticky rubber and a lot more power than you - they all did it stock sumps and 1litre overfilled.

So I'd say no. But it's your call but without doing the other head/oil mods etc, that's where the real problems are anyway

[sickr33]

i would bin the stock oil pump and replace with N1 pump.

i would also put in oil restrictor and sump baffles for piece of mind

[nuclear_skyline]

I have kinda been scared about putting an N1 pump on from the horror stories (i know many people have had success as well). I wasnt going to do an oil restrictor as I wasnt planning on cracking the engine open.

Does the N1 provide higher pressure / greater L/min?

[Moodles2]

Maybe get some billet gears made up for the stock pump, though I believe the pump housing needs machining to suit.

[SiR_RB]

no point going n1 oil pump with no restrictor in the head as its gonna pump more oil in the head due to it having greater flow

u changing all your exhaust manifold gaskets too ?

[nuclear_skyline]

yeah I have bought a full gasket kit so I think it would be a good idea. Basically all the inlet and exhaust gaskets and the crank seal, cam seals, etc...