RB26DETT REbuild Help Newbie

[Redone]

Hey Guys, I am new to the site and before you ask I have searched and read for weeks and weeks on end now.

I need your help. I recently purchase a 1990 R32 GTR and I had a major engine malfunction. I had the car for about 36hrs and drove it 17kms.

The engine is out of the car and at a reputable shop in the GTA. So far the suggested failure is bad gas causing detonation to the point of 0 compression across the board. When the head was off the car it was very clean and not much to see....just ring debris.

The event - I was driving about 30-40 kms per hour and stepped on the gas coming out of a corner and the car shook a bit and died. For the 17 kms i had driven the car it seem to have great power and ran very smooth.

So here is where I need your help.

I am considering a rebuild or purchasing a used motor. My question is how do I prevent this from happening again. I bought the cleanest GTR I could find. I bought Sunoco 94 from a popular gas station on the long way home in mississauga the day I picked the car up. I never drove the car hard or over 6,000 RPM. The original owner had the car for over 2 years without any problems and I was told he was very good to the car and was a maintenance freak.

My plan was to drive the car on weekends for the rest of this year and next year I wanted learn how to drive it and take it to the track a couple of times.

So I was thinking I would like a reliable (haha) 450-500 whp car some day.

The car is completely stock aside from the spc 3 clutch.

What are your suggestions

Thanks

Mark

FYI This is what I was thinking but it hurts me just thinking about it.

87 mm Wiseco piston kit + 1mm
Cat power or eagle connecting rods
ACL bearings
ARP head studs
Crank Collar
Idler and tension spring kit
Greddy timing belt
Oem or N1 oil pump
Oem or N1 water pump
Oem rebuild gasket kit
metal head gasket
Oil restrictor
ATI harmonic dampener

WTF that is a lot of cash

What am I looking at for cash wise for the engine prep work
clean, bore, hone, decked, balance, blue print, etc.

Sorry for the long post but I am kind of losing it.

Thanks in advance Mark

[Marke]

Buget about $4000 for labour and machining. I would do the head while you are at it.(ie Valve grind, seals, guides)

All the parts you listed are good, but the stock bottom end will do fine for 450-500hp.
I have seen a few cases of Wiseco piston failing due poor manufacturing, but I am sure people will line up to say they are great as well.

If you want to do track or autoX I would get sump baffle and go with at least a Nismo oil pump.

Best bet for making sure it doesn't lean out again is to reflash the ecu to run 91oct or get a stand alone and have it tuned. PFC is the bang for the buck in stand alone.

Other fix is to get your injectors to flow richer. Injector shop should be able to do this.

Your ECU probably sporting an after market chip. Mine's chips seem to be very common. Chipped ECU's generally have a sticker on them.

New crate RB26's long blocks can be had for about $7000. Labour should be less for this option.

[mcfly]

Get some nice turbos, n1's / ax53 / 2530 / gt25/28

Wasn't it wiescos that were knocking off oil squirters?
Either way some generic us made piston was just a terrible choice so do a bit of research there.

You don't need rods for what you want, buy some rod bolts for piece of mind because there is always the "just in case".

And what marke said is all good advice


The tune is the most important part. get an ecu that you can have mapped locally and well.

[tokes]

You're thinking of the Mahle pistons that had interference issues with the squirters. My wisecos were nowhere near touching.

Machining and assembly on my shortblock was about 1900 dollars. That's bored and honed with a torque plate, balancing the rotating assembly and clutch, installing the oil pump collar, a set of ACL main and rod bearings, and putting the shortblock all together.

[Redone]

Thanks guys

Any input on used engines or budget rebuild?

[NismoS-tune]

There's lots for sale in the for sale section. If you want that built engine that's peace of mind, check out Braden's engine for sale. Cheaper than building one.

[Redone]

I am trying to save money where I can as I mentioned I just bought this car.

I want to do it right since the engine is out..... but its not like i have an unlimited budget. I will only be building the motor over the winter season. I wont have the money to do anything out side of the motor for a while

what do you recommend for oil pumps? Do I have to spend over $1,000?

Thanks
Mark

[tokes]

I have an N1 in my car, I'm comfortable with it. A lot of people aren't, and say that you should go to a 1000+ dollar Nismo/Tomei/Jun/HKS/ETC pump. If you're on a limited budget, an extra $1000 is a big deal. Run an N1, and stay away from super high RPM's and the rev limiter and you'll be fine. Also, take the cover off of the housing, make sure it's packed with grease/oil, and then loctite the bolts when you put them back in.

[Redone]

Does any one know the best places to get the parts listed above? I have access to a us address for shipping and the dollar is good.

FYI I am in ontario, Canada.

Thanks

Mark

[EtienneGignac]

Go through the classifieds here and ask board sponsors. Best deals.

[EtienneGignac]

In my opinion, for the power level you are at right now and if you only want to do a basic rebuild, you don't need these:

ARP head studs
Greddy timing belt
Oem or N1 water pump
metal head gasket (use the one in your rebuild kit)
ATI harmonic dampener

That's a lot of money saved. I say get it running again first and then spend some big $$$.

[mcfly]

In my opinion, for the power level you are at right now and if you only want to do a basic rebuild, you don't need these:

ARP head studs
Greddy timing belt
Oem or N1 water pump
metal head gasket (use the one in your rebuild kit)
ATI harmonic dampener

That's a lot of money saved. I say get it running again first and then spend some big $$$.

the stock head bolts will need replacing anyways
the damper will save his block for the future use

[Redone]

WHO DOES ECU TUNING IN THE GTA?

[EtienneGignac]

the stock head bolts will need replacing anyways
the damper will save his block for the future use

I don't see why you would need to replace bolts... the dampener is questionable. Future use = future purchase.

I think people in general need to stop being so anal about everything.

No offense mcfly. We're not all building 1000hp drag cars.

[tokes]

Fasteners like head bolts at seated in the thread and then streched as you torque them. I don't remember off hand what the stock torque specs are on the head bolts, but probably something in the range of 70 ft-lbs of torque. We're talking about bolts that have been streched with a load applied to them for the better part of 20 years. Not something I personally want to reuse. You don't reuse stock rod bolts either.