Engine Repair Costs.

[BiGMaN]

Knocking noise started yesterday, today i find out i have lost a crankshaft bearing.

Just wondering if you guys think it could be anything else, or if such a thing has happened to you.

also wondering if anyone knows how much this will cost to fix on my 32 gtr.

so pissed, only had the car two weeks too

[LTSJayce]

You need to talk to Pro Engines in Stevens Road,Queanbeyan...

[oRiCLe]

yup, 2 1/2 weeks in oz for me and mine started knocking, just after i put new turbo's on and changed the oil too, its getting rebuilt at the moment

[Bluprint]

Welcome to the wonderful world of import engines

[Frink]

could it be the fuel? jap fuel is awesome, then the cars are brought over here and have to use our "premium" fuel, which is there regular unleaded. going from well over 100 ron to 98 ron cant be good for them.....

just a thought.......

[leech_]

also got to remember that most of these engines espcially in the r32's are quite old and have probably had a hard life in japan i would imagine quite a few are just ticking time bombs after 11 - 15 years of abuse... again thats not to say all of them are like this but a good proportion.

[race_snooze]

not so good you could also try the people in my sig as well. Good luck

[Amaru]

leech_ is spot on, alot of the 15 yr old imports are time bombs waiting to go off (I know only 1 person out of 10 now that has bought one and hasnt had any problems... hats off to djhatton!).

You will need to get the crank measured to see if any damage was done and how much. Its an engine out, strip down job so you may as well give the whole thing a freshen up and chuck a set of forged pistons in it (you can pick them up for $1000ish now).

Im with Jayce, Pro Engines in Queanbeyan (www.proengines.com.au). They have done mine and quite a few RB26's and RB25's and all have come out excellent.

[BiGMaN]

any word on how much this should all cost?

[oRiCLe]

any word on how much this should all cost?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

my quote was for $3500 with forged pistons, but it is going up as they pull it apart it seems...

[Bluprint]

$3,500 isn't at all bad for an RB26 if you ask me.

The thing is that you really don't know what the real go is until the engine is sitting in pieces on a workshop floor, so I guess it's not surprising that the cost is going up while the engine is being pulled apart.

[Amaru]

You will save about $1500 if you can remove and refit the engine yourself... theyre absolute bastards and waste a lot of time.

Basic freshen up would probably cost around $3000, going for some forged internals and a little bit of head work (which you may as well while its apart) could range anywhere from $4000 - $10,000 depending what parts you use. Ring Pro Engines and ask them.

While the engine is out, you may as well fix the R32 GTR known problems, being the crank drive for the oil pump is too small, so fit a crank collar or get an R33/R34 crank, N1 oil pump, water pump, belts + harmonic balancer. Id be bugeting about $5000 minimum for something thats going to be "safe" at a bare minimum.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the ReBuild26DETT.

[gtir_94]

pp

Edited December 18, 2005 by gtir_94

[Amaru]

How exactly do they measure the crankshaft and see if its scored while its still in the car? Granted it may be possible, but I sure as hell wouldnt trust the results.

You are obviously looking for the cheapest option availible, I on the other hand prefer knowning that the engine has been checked completely and is 100% ok.

Why did the bearing spin? Did it delaminate due to detonation? Was it oil supply problems? If it was oil supply problems, its impossible to check what other damage there may be in the engine due to insufficient oil and/or pressure.

Im a big fan of do it once, do it right... everyone has their own ways though.

EDIT: That may be all well and good for your GTI-R, but I forgot to mention, taking the sump off in the GTR requires a brace holding the engine in the engine bay across the top. Why? Because if it isnt there, the engine will fall out of the car. So yes, either way you go, it is an engine out job.

Edited November 9, 2005 by Amaru

[Duncan]

what crap... engine out for bigend bearings? I just went through the same thing... i did my research before calling people. most people [in canberra] insisted they needed to strip the engine to get to the bearings.. rubbish..

I rang Phillip Head and got their advice.. they said exactly what I read from other forums, and what a heap of mechanics said in syd.. that if its ONLY the bearings they can be replaced by going through the sump, takes a couple of hours. ....

Well while I believe it may be possible to check the bearings with the motor it, it is a huge job and certainly not a couple of hours.

Some of the things you have to remove in a GTR that you don't in other cars include:

whole front subframe

left side drive shaft

left side suspension to remove driveshaft

gearbox

flywheel

front drive shaft

I would suggest they have never had a look at a GTR if they recommend doing it that way

Its not impossible but its a bastard of a job.

And then, if a bearing has spun, you will have bearing material all through the the motor, how do you clean it out while in the car?

[MYRB30]

Alot of these imports die after landing. Its from changing the oil! How? Well the japs don't do oil changes often, which means lots of build up in the oil system. We put fresh oil in them, new oil has detergents which clean the build up off, and next thing you know you have oil related issues.

Dont mess around. Pull the donk out, up end the motor and lift off the sump. You can pull the crank out then and work on it. Look at the bores if they seem fine, just work on the crank and bearings. Why pull the head off if you dont need too? Alloy heads don't like being removed and refitted any more than they need to. It can cause them to crack. This is exactly what I did to mine when I lost oil pressue. Fixed the crank and bearings, threw the sump back on and put it in the car. Relatively cheap really. If you plan on modifying it in the future then you may want to do a full rebuild now. Its your choice. Note, workshops may not cover you with a warranty if they don't do a full rebuild. If your concerned about bearing material through the motor, cut open the oil filter and see how much junk is in there and if it has caused the filter to go to bypass. I would doubt it though. On mine I replaced the oil pump coz it had chips in the gears.

This is my opinion, and incase your wondering yes, I am a qualified mechanic. In a perfect world the motor would be fully rebuilt. Hell why not get a os giken rb30 for it? I try to do repairs that are effective, and give value for money, leaving money for the bits that really make a difference.

Edited November 9, 2005 by MYRB30

[proengines]

Pro Engines wanted $600+ just to take my engine apart..

$600? no wonder I'm loaded..

Usually it's $200ish to strip and clean an engine, you must have sounded rich or something..

If you're going to keep the car do it once and do it properly if you can afford it, that way you have a solid base for any other mods you want to make in the future.

Edited November 9, 2005 by proengines

[gtir_94]

fair enough guys....

Edited December 18, 2005 by gtir_94

[BiGMaN]

Does $10'000 without any head work seem a bit steep to anyone?

just to do the bottom end.......

[Stirlo_GTR]

Mate you are deffinatly not alone, at least take that to hart,

dont hate your R because it has let you down, accept it, rebuild it and enjoy it, thats why you bought it.

Common sense would say if you have the engine out which is gunna cost you $1200 - $2500 (it is a certifiable bitch!),

you may as well rebuild the top end also, its pretty old now if its still original internals. You are going to have to accept that its gunna be between $5k and $10K depending on what you do, $5k you should get your bearing, pistons (hone and bore) and labour, thats about it. For a nice build you wont have to worry (too much) about your looking at $8k-10K .

I my self have just been through the same thing. Trust Nick and Pro Engines they know what they are talking about, if you want another place to get a quote from try Queanbyan Motor Builders, they built my engine and I havent had any issues with there work. Dont bother doing it your self, its not a pulsar or a holden.... you dont want anything else going wrong, if it can it will.