RB26DETT rod knock. Common problem?

[albertm7]

Hey everyone, name's Albert and just joined the forums cause I'm getting R33 GT-R this christmas. Everything is ready to go, just waiting for some more cash that should be coming my way very soon .
I went to a local shop with some buds and I mentioned I was getting a GT-R and they seemed to disapprove. Said every RB26 engine they've worked on had rod knock and other major problems and since I don't have much mechanical experience, might wanna hold off on a GT-R until I'm more knowledgeable. I'm still 100% going to get it cause it's just that amazing of a car but is this true?

[NismoS-tune]

There's many rumors out there but not that many gtrs get rod knock. It is however a common failure. They get old and things get worn. You're not buying a new car so don't expect it to run for a long time (though it might) with no issues. People buy these cars because of what they are but most long time owners feel it in their wallet. Don't be disappointed, some people are just jealous and "disapprove" but these failures are indeed more common in Japanese sports cars that most others from things I read/ hear.

[DreadedFist]

Sounds like they've only worked on beat up turds. If you pay good money for a good car, you will get some good fun out of it. I mean, it's a gtr so it was no doubt driven hard most of its life, but they aren't all ticking time bombs like some people make them out to be.

[Skym]

Thrash GTR's when engine is cold and oil is not up to temp to protect bearings, reduce heat, that's what can happen. Sometimes it's oil starvation failure from cornering hard or launching hard. What happens, is oil moves to one side of sump or to the back of sump and uncovers the pickup. Need upgraded sump / baffles (partly solves the problem) or dry sump to fully solve the oil starvation problem.

Stock bearings suffer from cavitation / melting of surface of bearing due to high temperatures. The worn surface creates bigger gap between bearing, crank and get knock sound. It can get to the point where the off balance crank destroy's the bearing and it sounds like hammer on metal.

Nismo bearings have a coating that protects them from this failure -

http://www.nismo.co.jp/products/competition/engine/rb26dett.html#metal

You can go to Calico Coatings, which can apply similar coating to ACL, etc bearings -

http://www.calicocoatings.com/industries/coating-solutions/automotive-racing/

I would think the car is abused and there will be more problems, so avoid bigtime unless you have the cash to inspect / rebuild everthing in drivetrain.

[albertm7]

Thanks for the good unbiased info guys
Probably best if there are no problems but to be honest always wanted to feel the joy of hearing the car starting up again after DIY repair hahaha

[Bugsly17]

Both my gtrs had rod knock. But that's my fault! Just keep up with maintenance on it. Don't hit the rev limiter all the time...(8300).

And just love it.

[Nismoist]

Make sure you do a lot of reading on this site before you buy, you are starting early so that is a good sign. What to look for was covered pretty extensively earlier this year so that would be a good place to look, archaic_bloke (I think) laid out a pretty comprehensive list there.

I know it has been said before but make sure you keep some cash in reserve because these cars are 15+ years old and when they break repairs can be expensive.

[Snake556]

While we're on this topic, just curious what kind of rebuild would be required with rod knock?

[cortexx]

Another thing i have noticed is the amount of people that import a gtr , hammer it for a short while and then the engine gives up..

Im pretty sure that most GTR's coming from Japan that have been modded would have had their ECU's tuned and dyno'd to get the best out of them.

Japan also as far as i know have higher octane fuel.

Take a Jap tuned Mines ECU , bring it here and run 91 or 87 octane though it and i bet the second you start beating it the KNock sum and detonation are enough to make any bearing , piston , ring give up the ghost.

Point is that imported cars should have their ECU retuned for North Americas octane level . I'm sure that would prevent an aweful lot of blown up/damaged engines.

[BenC]

Well I'm going to say all the GTR's @ our house had some sort of rod knock. Take what you will from it. None of which caused by us though
Braden's Black GTR had it
Braden's Gunmetal GTR had it
My GTR had it

All # 6 rod bearing

[albertm7]

How much money does it cost to fix rod knock? I know it depends on the parts, area and garage but I just want a ballpark figure. Is it possible to fix it yourself with minimal equipment?

[BenC]

Depends on how bad it is but generally you and the mad scientist will have to rip apart the block and machine your crank, maybe replace or machine the rod that spun, and of course the bearings that are fried almost a complete short block rebuild. Getting the block dipped and cleaned is also a good idea to get any bearing material out of it

That's just to fix the knock. Then there's the infamous oil problems you'll probably want to fix to protect your investment

[GTRADDICT]

Hooray for small parts that are hiding behind a lot of other small parts!

[greddytrustGTR]

spend the extra cash for one that has low mileage and relatively stock then change the oil pump collar right away.

[NismoS-tune]

If you want the car, forget the other guys talking and just go buy it. If and when it breaks down (they all do at some point whether it's 1km or 100,000km away) dish out the cash, fix it and drive it again. No one buys a 15-20 year old sports car thinking it won't break or not cost any cash. Trust me, it'll break somehow and you'll crack the wallet out. Sometimes it's $200, sometimes's it's $20,000. Anyone can buy a sports car like this but not many can afford it. You'll know what I mean when the time comes. I spend more time fixing my cars then I do driving, cause they're 20 years old, japanese expensive (unlike ford which all the parts for 2x more power is like 1/10th the price) and break.

buy it and deal with it or don't chance what WILL happen and get something with warranty. A new Evo or STI has warranty when it breaks, worry free, even if you blow the engine (happened to a friend's 6 month old STI). It'll most likely be cheaper in the long run, be faster stock for stock and not leakass.

What's your primary car/truck? Cause if it breaks, how you getting to school?