Rb30 Failure

[Marko R1]

In my previous gtr, i built the engine back in 2005 & used an n1 pump as back then they weren’t breaking & there was no stigma attached...to date, that engine & oil pump is still going strong & makes 400awkw.

My mate also runs an n1 oil pump in his r33 which makes close to 350awkw & he has covered about 50,000km over the past 4 years, no problem whatsoever!

On the other hand though, when i built my most recent engine in 2009 I also used an n1 oil pump (making 405awkw) & the thing broke after a few thousand kms – yes i was revving hard when it let go & hit the limiter, had a ross balancer.

From what ive heard & also seen with my own eyes, the old n1 pumps are solid whereas the most recent n1 pumps are crap – there was speculation that the manufacturing plant had possibly moved to china? Not really sure myself...

[DVS JEZ]

^^^ i agree, they definately have gone bad

[DVS JEZ]

Correct me if i am wrong but I THINK that when the gears gave way and siezed the engine must have had some torque behind it and kept spinning inside the pump and just shredded them away...

You can see there was a f load of heat inside there at one point

nice main bolts btw

that was my old N1 pump, i was sooo paranoid about it after TM ruined 3 new engines in his R33 after he broke 3 N1 oil pumps... He was revving too 9500RPM but when they all broke,

Anthony that N1 pump was running in my engine without a crank collar too.

I ended up going all out buying a Tomei pump and collar etc.

[DVS JEZ]

pull the girdle off and lay the main bearings out in order and see what they look like.

ps. all the plugs are still in the crank? especialy adjacent to the damaged bearing..

Can you please do this and post up the pics of the bearings, both front and back of the bearings.

[Guilt-Toy]

Yeah was not going to mention any names.. but il never forget that day.

My rb30 had a oil leak and i could never pin point it. i worked out the front seal was leaking. So pulled the engine down and replaced the seal but it was a little crooked but it took sooo long to get that seal in there it was a bastard i tell you, my mate was helping me and he kept saying just leave it like that it will seal fine but me being a perfectionist in the most anal of times i decided to remove it and try again because i did not want to go through that all again. When i removed it i heard a litting "ting" on the concrete in the garage and found a piece of my stock oil pump WTF!! the oil pump was cracked but still working and it damaged the seal! thats when i called you and hassled the shit out of you to organise someone to pass on the oil pump to me... thanks for that again it saved the day that rb25 oil pump had alot of limiter bashing and was about 250,000 km's old as it was the original pump on my car.

I never rev my rb30 over 7300rpm and ive used a very soft limiter ever since. Seems to be working fine in these conditions.

that was my old N1 pump, i was sooo paranoid about it after TM ruined 3 new engines in his R33 after he broke 3 N1 oil pumps... He was revving too 9500RPM but when they all broke,

Anthony that N1 pump was running in my engine without a crank collar too.

I ended up going all out buying a Tomei pump and collar etc.

[The Dan]

Correct me if i am wrong but I THINK that when the gears gave way and siezed the engine must have had some torque behind it and kept spinning inside the pump and just shredded them away...

You can see there was a f load of heat inside there at one point

nice main bolts btw

More of a rhetorical question lol.

As for the N1 pumps old and new. I started noticing most failures about 2.5 years ago. Prior to that we could never fault them.

There was another RB30 I built around the same time for a guy after he blew the headgasket, due to tuner stupidity, detonated the shit out of his old engine and blew the head gasket through...38 deg timing at 6500rpm and 24psi boost seems to have that effect

Anyway, we pulled the pistons out for good measure to check them for damage and the rings were seized. So I convinced the guy to check his brand new N1 pump (1000km old)....had a crack through the inner gear. Engine never saw over 6800rpm

From then on I never used another N1 pump unless the customer absolutely refuses to buy anything else.

1000km at no higher than 6800rpm, collar fitted and ROSS balancer - gotta be something they are doing with cheap manufacture to have SO many fail so close and all around the same time.

Prior to that we only ever heard good things about the N1 pumps but were just starting to hear of a couple of failures here and there, never thought too much about it until 3 let go under non-extreme conditions. I'd say why take the gamble? If you have an N1 pump and it's old than 3 years, chances are it's gonna be fine. If you have bought one recently, I'd definitely stay away from it. Not worth the risk IMO

[Marko R1]

If you have an N1 pump and it's old than 3 years, chances are it's gonna be fine. If you have bought one recently, I'd definitely stay away from it. Not worth the risk IMO

i totally agree with you on this point

[Jap_Muscle]

hRmmm im starting to get worried now =[