Rb26 Head Setup

[Bronx]

hey all, some questions about the rb26 head, im in the middle of rebuilding it, but the person who i got it off, didnt put it all back in one piece!!!

even though he was supposed to. paid 3k in cash to get the head overhauled, and all i got was a head in pieces and even some broken off bolts in the head!!!

now, i just trying to fit all the stuff back together, ive only ever re-built VW enignes, so not sure if its all the same.

question 1: cam holders, the little arches holding the cams in place, are labelled I12 I13 etc etc, my guess is it means Intake, so lowest number towards the front and highest towards the back.

and the others are named E1 E2 etc etc, meaning exhaust 1 and 2 so on. so same drill? 1 on front and then counting up towards the rear???

question 2: the hydraulic lifters/ tappets, they were all mixed up all over the place, any specific ones for the intake/exhaust??? or basically all the same????

this includes the lifters and little tappets underneath.

and that is all i have for now. maybe some questions will come later on if needed, these are just my main concerns.

cheers

Jean

[GTRsean]

Oh hell, I feel sorry for you!!!!

Whoever did the head for you should be bitch slapped. Buckets, and shims should of been kept in order. And yes caps are numbered as you said.

Intake and exhaust buckets, and shims are the same size, but shims have different thicknesses.

If you are going to use your cams or different cams, you will need to measure up and purchase new shims to get valve clearances right.

You will need to have a look at a service manual to see how to set up the valve clearances.

Hopefully the valves are in order....

[Spurdo]

jesus. now you've got your work cut out for you.

at the moment i'm working on a 200 yamaha 4stroke outboard V6 thats been to the bottom and everythings seized in place, buckets + shims included. but what happened when i tipped the head upside down to clean the gasket surfaces? of course half of them decided to let go and fall out all over the bench all out of order. FML

[Bronx]

yeah, this is a big bitch, you have no idea. im so cut at the person who was supposed to do it. and paying good money for it too.

actually the valves have not been removed, they are still connected with everything (springs, clips etc) just the top of it was given to me in pieces. ive used a precise measuring tool for all the buckets and shims, and they all seem to be the exact same size.. normal?

[doo doo]

You can work out the cam shaft caps order by looking at the front caps, the ones that also house the cam front seals. As you've seen they have an 'I1' for inlet and an 'E1' for exhaust, the rest follow down the head in numerical order (E2, E3 etc and I2, I3 etc) in the same orientation as the front cap (ie the number is the same way around). If you are on the inlet side with the front of the head to your left the numbers will ascend from left to right for both exhaust and inlet and they will be the right way up on both exhaust and inlet, so yes, you're on the right track- I have a head apart lon my bench at the mo so if you want some pics let me know.

The buckets should all be the same thickness so no probs there. With the shims, as you've measured them (to .01mm minimum?) you'll now need assemble the cams and measure clearance between the cam and the top of the shim, only then will you know if you need to change shim sizes (when doing up the cam caps go in small increments distributed evenly down the shaft to avoid tilting it and having it 'wedge' in). If you have a workshop manual this will tell you how, you'll need 2 (quality) feeler gauges (the ones with the bent end might be more helpful) to measure this gap for every valve. If you need this process posted up let us know.

Edited October 28, 2010 by doo doo