Blown Head in R32?

[$ballin$]

Hi all,

(i tried to keep it short) I was driving the other day when my engine suddenly cut out and all the warning lights were on. No sound of a bang, just as if the engine switched off.

I pulled on the side of the road and then noticed white smoke coming out of the drivers side from the bonnet, which i expected the engine had overheated, not that it showed up on the temp gauge.

After waiting for it to cool down I noticed the coolant was very low and my radiator had no water!!! I topped it up with water and waited for awhile and tried to start the engine. Nothing.

As i turn the ignition all I can hear is the starter motor but the engine is not responding. I had the car towed to the mechanics and am still waiting on the diagnostics.

What do you think is wrong with my R32?

- Blown Head Gasket? (i hope)

- Cooked Head?

Anyone who knows what it might be or experienced the same please let me know.

Cheers

[Nismo32R]

i had similar problem like yours...but not as bad as yours (still drivable....just need to keep an eye on the temp gauage and top up the radiator with coolant or water).....i just drop my car to a workshop....i think it might be the head gasket...or even a cracked head..coz of internal leaking....man....it's gonna to cost me around 2k to fix it if it is the head.....keep fingers crossed....will know the answer sometime tomorrow and good luck to you~~~!!!

[$ballin$]

well i got the call from the mechanics and they said its a head gasket... however he reckons that even its a head gasket he may have to bore the engine.... he also reckons theres a chance that the head has warped. just my luck

he's going to call me back with options and price figures. do you's think i should bother getting the head reconditioned or go for a new engine? if a new engine would a RB25DET engine be similar instead of a new RB20DET engine? Also any rough price estimates would be good.

cheers

[Cubes]

Headgasket, so you have to bore the engine??? Doesn't make sense.

He means rebuild the engine and bore it out or???

My opinion IF the motor needs to be rebuilt..

Grab a R32 RB25DE, throw a thicker headgasket in there and drop the motor in, bolt up all your RB20DET stuff and it will run.

Literally, the ONLY!!!!!! bolt on part you will need from the rb25de is the inlet manifold, use the rb20det inlet plenum (that sits on the inlet manifold).

Get the ecu remapped or drop a PowerFC in there and enjoy more torque and more power with less boost.

That will probably be the cheapest way around it.

If you go the R33 RB25DET it will cost more outright and you will have to spend money on wiring mods to get the rb25det up and running.

[$ballin$]

Well i didnt catch everything he said, because i was in class. But from what i remember is that he done a pressure test and i have certainly blown a head gasket. Then he mentioned about the boring out something, then a head being warped, however this was his assumption without even physically opening the engine. So do you think it could just be a gasket?

The suggestion of the RB25DE head sounds good, has anyone done it before? Would it be cheaper than getting a new RB20DET engine?

cheers

[JH32]

Shouldnt need to bore out the cylinders if you've blown a head gasket :confused:

When he takes the head off he can get it planed and they check to see if it's warped or not

I doubt you'll need a new engine if you've done your headgasket mate

[$ballin$]

Yeah thats what i thought too. So i dont know why he even mentioned about boring and the other stuff. Probably trying to rip me off. I'll definitely talk to him tomorrow though.

Cheers

[Cubes]

The R33 RB25DE N/A appears to be $1000.

R32 RB25 'should' be slightly cheaper. When I priced my RB25DE head up I remember I could have had a complete long motor for $900.

The beauty of the R32 RB25DE it simply is a bolt in, all plugs and wires match.

The Injectors are even the same as the RB20DET.

[$ballin$]

That sounds like a beauty...i guess it would be hard to find one though especially up here in the NT.

Thanks for the advice, even if its just the head gasket i feel like getting the RB25DE head

[Cubes]

Its not just the rb25de head.. You will need the whole lot.

That will make it a 2.5ltr.

[Penfold]

The mechanic has to give you the two options because he really can't see the extent of the damage without removing the head- so step one is removing the head.

1) Headgasket

2) Headgasket but may have gotten too hot before you realized (esp applies to chicks who drive till it stops) & slightly warped head.

Either way its a pretty expensive exercise because its a fair amount of labour to remove the head.

Fingers crossed but its important the mechanic checks coolant/oil hoses to check if thats what caused the problem in the first place.

Cheers,

Penfold

[Cubes]

I've always wondered why car manufactures don't include a warning buzzer when the car is running too hot or more so dangerously hot.

Warning for cat convertors getting hot but not the engine.

[$ballin$]

the thing was when i was driving the temp gauge was sitting on normal, thats until the engine died, thats when it rose high

mechanic reckons that it didnt indicate no high temp earlier because there was very little water or none.

[$ballin$]

i got the call back and the two options given to me were:

1. Replace the head gasket & if the damage is serious recondition the head, bore?, spark plugs, oil filter + labour for $2200 (will be cheaper if not bad...but i doubt it)

or

2. Replace the engine with a second hnd RB20DET motor + labour for $3300

so what do you guy's reckon? money is kind of an issue here coz im a poor uni student, however i dont want any problems later on with the engine, eg. unwanted noises, faults. etc.

any comments would be good,

Cheers

[blackrb20silvia]

there can be many reasons why you have lost compression

1 yes the haed gasket let go...easy new head gasket then get a second opinion on the head take it to engine builder will cost $100 this will tell you the condition of the head trust me itll save you big time if there is nothin wrong also if there is it can be acuratly pin pointed not just a mechanics guess

2 yes a warped head ...get it decked but make sure it is warped refer to option 1

3 cracked ring...this will require a bore and a oversized piston i think the next oversize piston is 78.5mm or get a re sleeve us same size pistons

4 or a cracked piston skirt whch means bottom end in pieces

5 this can on forever and some things you wont want to hear as these are very unlikley basically work your way from the cheapest option and work backwards

these probs can be very stressfull unless your mechanic is whilling to co-opperate and help you out rather than rip you off after all its all customer service and if your not happy with the chef you dont eat at his reatuarant!!!!

get my jist

[grigor]

Did he get back to you re the cambelt check?

Regards.

[$ballin$]

he said he will get me back early next week, but i did mention it.

[$ballin$]

the mechanics started on the engine on the weekend and said the engine was cooked! warped head, fried piston rings (i guess you'd expect that when the engine wasn't being cooled whilst doin 180)

so i had to go for the next option which was to get a new engine put in which they said should be ready by this week...can't wait walking sux and theres alot of weirdo's on public transport.

[Cubes]

Whats it going to set you back?

Did you consider the R32 RB25DE long motor with a thicker headgasket? bolt on all the rb20det bits (manifolds, ecu, afm's, turbo, injectors the whole lot) and drive away with a 2.5ltr turbo.

[$ballin$]

yeah i did consider it, a new engine original RB20DET which is ready to go is going to set me $3000...and i mentioned RB25 and the mechanic said he would have to source one and would cost an additional 1k

...in my situation rite now im pretty tight on money so im pretty happy just to get back my car...(when walking and public transport is the only means of transport, im pretty desperate to drive anything)