RB26 Rebuild

[curtisgoodman]

Good start to a new week was out driving on the weekend a lot and the car is running tip top... The rebuild is @ 1400 km's without a hitch. Going to be calling Ztune today to install the water meth setup and a trip to the dyno for a 1.6 bar power tune. Might need to look into some stiffer springs or suspension the car leans waaaay back on a 1st, 2nd, 3rd WOT pull.

Keep checking back for more pics & slips!

[curtisgoodman]

Break down!!!!

Had my first major problem just happened yesterday afternoon... I was 20 minutes into my drive on my way home to Squamish when a loud metal on metal sound came from my side of the transmission area that shook the car and stalled it, as i was coasting at around 3k rpm in 3rd, i instantly put in the clutch and a shaking and bad sounds went away and the only noise heard besides the engine winding down was the starter (i think anyways) it sounded like when an older car or car missing teeth on the flywheel/starter gear missed the spun up making that wer'ing noise, what i think happened is either the starter engaged while driving or bolts came loose and it cocked sideways and caught the flywheel ring gear and spun down with the engine rpm... no bad noises after clutch depressed so thats a plus but we'll see what happens when Z-tune has a look at it. They had to remove the starter when they fixed the rear of head coolant leak so who knows... I'll keep you guys updated and if anyone has had a similar experience please post it.

Thanks

Curt

[curtisgoodman]

Car was flat decked to Ztune this morning and Juri is having a peak at my car... no news yet but I'll keep everyone updated.

[MikeM@Ztune]

Car was flat decked to Ztune this morning and Juri is having a peak at my car... no news yet but I'll keep everyone updated.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news today Curt. Rest assured that we'll help make sure everything is taken care of, whatever the cause turns out to be.

At first glance, the brand new timing belt idler pulley bolt has been sheared off. There is no way a brand new grade 9 metric bolt should just snap on it's own under the normal light load it's under. Hopefully we'll know the cause tomorrow afternoon once the engine is out and the head is removed.

[malibusst]

hey Mike, sorry to be a bother, but i was wondering where you sourced your bolts from??? ive been having problems with ONE of my suppliers handing me defective bolts, i cought the mistake while torquing the bolt down, and it sheared right at the end of the threads???

i tried this with all the other bolts, and out of the 40, only 5 lasted!!!!!

[curtisgoodman]

Engine tear down Part 1

So to elaborate on Mike's post, the timing belt tensioner bolt sheered in half, pistons hit valves, valves hit sparkplugs, sparkplug bits probably went through my turbine blades, and hopefully no cylinder walls were scored, rings pinched or pistons dented... it'd be nice if the bottom end was in good shape, my engine builder will be there today when they rip it apart to assess the damage and make sure nothing went wrong internally to cause the bolt to sheer. Sounds like there's a bad batch of bolts going around through Nissan so hopefully they'll own up to it! Ztune is a buncha stand up guys and they'll have her back together and running soon enough... pics and info to follow!

Curt

[victoriaGTR]

are they charging you for parts and labour?

[MikeM@Ztune]

All our Nissan parts are genuine Nissan Japan parts. It is still undetermined if the bolt failed first, or something else caused the cam to stop suddenly, shearing the bolt. We've used new Nissan bolts on numerous RBs without any other issues to date. Usually when a timing belt goes, valves get bent, but in this case, valve heads are broken off. The valves are original. No signs of excessive heat, lean conditions, oil stravation or contamination.

Ztune offers a 100% warranty on workmanship. If we ever to make a mistake that damages one or more parts, we cover the cost of all damaged parts and 100% of the labour. With aftermarket parts, warranties vary. Many manufacturers offer NO warranty. Others (like Nissan) have a parts-only warranty...i.e. Nissan will replace the part at no cost, however they do not cover labour or damage caused by defective parts. This obviously really sucks. We are currently working with Curt's engine builder and with Nissan to get as much contributed to the repair as possible.

The block still requires disassembly, but it apears to be clean. The head is too damaged, and Andrew will be donating a head to Curt. The pistons and valves will need to be replaced. No major damage to the turbos on first inspection.

The whole situation is shitty, and so far doesn't seem to be anyone's fault. Of course we'll do everything we can to help you out Curt. Hang in while we tackle Nissan to see what they are willing to do.

[jdmtypes]

Hope you get it all fixed up Curtis

[victoriaGTR]

ztune sounds like an exellent shop to deal with! sounds like at would be worth the trip to vancouver to deal with them!

[falcon]

hahaha only 5 months at their shop...You light weight. Talk to me when you get to the 18 month mark then we can be friends

hahaha... seriously 18 months in a shop? That's crazy i dont know how you did it man 5 is killing me.

It's almost done

looks like you guys can be long term shop buddies now... :-P


that's too bad about the engine. hopefully someone will man up and pay for it to be rebuilt. IMO no more money should come out of your pocket. You paid for a built engine, and at this point you don't have one. Whoever it may be (depending on how the damage happened)... Nissan, Ztune... someone owes you an engine.

[falcon]

this is true. if the engineer can prove that the bolt snapped because it wasn't up to it's "rating number'' (they can test for this), you then have some very good ammunition against Nissan.

[curtisgoodman]

We've went over everything and i know its hard to believe that it did indeed break but all other possibilities seem impossible... if anyone has information regarding a person that could test the integrity of that bolt please PM me.

Curt

[mcfly]

If the timing belt is too tight it can cause this. Though even that would be a stretch. You would have heard the engine whining idle if it was indeed too tight.

[JD74]

I just died a little on the inside......

Curtis, I REALLY feel for you. I hope that everything works out in the end.

I recall being QUITE judgemental of those who 'pu$$y'd' and bought NUR Motors.....I now take that all back.

The safe way is always the best way and for the amount of money spent, I could really see this 'scaring' others into RB26 NUR motor shipments out of Japan.

The magic formula for 99% of people would be "NUR + Dash-5s + Rod Bolts = 600 WHP of Sleeping-at-night".......