Rb25Det Smoke

[GTS308]

Hi all, Just wondering if someone out there may be able to shed some light on a problem with my lads R33 RB25DET Burning heaps of oil!

A few months back my lads R33 made a loud pop sound then started pushing coolant out the overflow 5 ks from home...I presumed it was a head gasket and said just drive it steady and keep a eye on the temp till you get home.

(No tow service in our area) Once home the car was rather hot, so we turned it off and let it cool down on its own, not wanting to add cold coolant to a over hot engine.

Topped it up with coolant the next day and as soon as it started it started pushing the coolant out...So yep head gasket or cracked head!

The car is pushed for in the shed for three months while my son saves a few dollars to have it repaired..

I know my way around Holdens and Chevs ect but have zero experience with overhead cam or turbos so I suggested that the work be done through the local Nissan Dealership.

I purchased a four layer steel head gasket ($320) for the car as I didn't know how good the standard head gaskets were as the car has a larger turbo and boost switch.

The dealer rings up and says the heads warped and needs to be machined. I said fine have it done..A few days later we pick up the car all fine we are told...Get the bill $1400 which includes take vehicle for test drive..All OK..

I sat behind my lads car on the way home and there was some smoke when he accelerated but not overly much..That night the car seemed to smoke a bit more when giving it a rev so I thought maybe a decent run might be needed.

So checked the oil..and coolant ect and sent the lad on a 260k round trip to Mildura in Vic...Car ran well didnt get warm or loose coolant (Timing is out a bit) checked the oil and its "BONE DRY"..WTF?

Son tells me it didnt smoke at all on the trip but the sump is empty?

Living in the country didn't have a huge choice of oil so I bought some HPR 10 oil and filled it up..started the R33 and covered the commodores front bumper that was parked behind the R33 in black sluge.

When you rev the car it smokes (white smoke)...So yesterday we ring the Nissan dealership they say bring it in...3 hours later they tell us the rings are toast and it needs a rebuild????

I said to the mechanic "You sure the stem seals were fitted back in after the head was machined?"...He just gave me a dumb look... !!!!!!

Now they say the dont want anything to do with the car because its a import...What the hell? They are Nissan dealers..FFS!

I have yet to do a leak down test, pull the plugs or check the oil return from the turbo...I guess that will be my weekend job..sigh! Dont understand that if and when they took it for a test drive they didnt notice or comment on any smoke?...

So it looks like this might be my first attempt at rebuilding a RB25DET.....Groan! ......Another thing I noticed is that its over boosting hitting 13psi when its set at 10 and the boost switch is off? Whats up with that?

SO if anyone can shed some light on ather possible causes of excessive oil use apart from stuffed rings please do!

Cheers Mark..