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Alrighty........since buying my GTS-T 3 years ago, I have always kind of fantasized about buying a GTR. And while I could never afford one, the thought always stayed with me, to somehow either get a GTR or go with an RB26DETT (what I like to call the DragonHeart - isnt Godzilla a dragon!!).
After three engine swaps, being burnt by Mean Street and losing a lot of my money on the RB25DET (I know you guys will flame me on it, but I have realized that the RB25 is not for me, I dont like it....I'd rather run an RB20 than go to the 25), I finally was able to buy a used RB26DETT from Mike at Z Tune.
The engine arrived in January and work on it began. We were short quite a few things that seemed to have disappeared from the engine, but thankfully, they were all small items, hard to find though. I am making this thread for all to see. On a very important level, this thread is a tribute to perhaps the best friend I have had in this country - the person who has helped me thru thick and thin, good and bad, and every time I needed him or his support, he was there without expectations, without malice - Michael, aka belontay_type-M on GTRC. You, Mike, are the main motivation behind many things that I have done with my car, and a lot of my learning, my dear friend, came from you. You are a real, true friend and I can never repay you for all that you have done for me.
And now, short of going down on him in gratitude (I dont swing that way at all), I come back to my engine swap. There are many intricate details that will be shared here, for others to learn from. It may not be the cleanest engine swap as my car has been a bird's nest, all thanks to the amazing legacy left by MSSC, but I will try and capture all the important details that one needs to know if one is to put an RB26DETT into a GTS-T.
So, on to the setup:
Engine: Bone stock RB26DETT
FMIC: Stock GTR
Injector: 444cc GTR
Exhaust: HKS styled Y pipe with 3.5 in catback kakimoto exhaust
AEM wideband
Turbos: Garrett turbos, stock from a GTR
Electronics: GTR main engine harness, with stock ignitor and stock coils, stock CAS and stock ECU. I have a PFC just waiting to be installed, but it will come in due time.
Everything else in the car is stock GTS-T.
Without further ado, let's get to the pictures. Excuse the crappy quality....
The engine arrived at Mike's house at 11pm in my pathfinder
The injectors were out, a pintle cap broken, and missing most of the o rings. Vacuum lines were intact, but all banjo bolts needed to be sourced out, and the rear oil return flange was also missing. Another shot:
This is the rear oil flange that was missing:
The first order of the day was to somehow remove the oil pan and replace it with an RB25 RWD oil pan. The problem was that the flange for the oil pickup line inside the block was interfering with the RB25 oil pan's wall. Mike had to file it down, and hammer the oil pan's side out to somehow make it fit. And eventually it did fit. Take a look at this pic. Notice the bulge? That's where the pickup line is bolted to the inside of the block. The oil pan sealed perfectly, thanks to the spare bolt holes on the RB26 bottom end:
Here is that bulge:
This is how it looks after the oilpan was bolted and sealed with a high temp sealant/gasket maker:
Now Lola (me car) was still sitting at my place, and needed to be towed to Mike's place. This was successfully done a week or so later, on a flatbed again at around midnight. Meanwhile, Mike was busy sourcing out the banjo bolts, the flanges and a few pieces here and there from Manny (malibusst). Here is Lola on the flatbed in the night:
Mike's driveway was icy, and the melting snow made it almost impossible for us to push it up the incline.....but we did it, SOMEHOW!! I should say he did it. I was just a spectator.
Next was the disconnection of the RB25DET wiring, the RB25 tranny, driveshaft, and exhaust. With the engine ready to come out, Mike and his friend Nenad arranged to use an engine hoist and pull the damn thing out. Im not a fan of RB25s anymore.
Another shot:
Lola is missing her lips and her front teeth are showing, lol. But the engine finally came out. For those who do not know who Mike is, here he is in his most inviting position, checking the stupid RB25 is resting well on the wooden logs. Good, you deserve to be in a corner, buster!!
Lola with an empty chest:
Next, the DragonHeart was hoisted off the engine stand and slowly brought into the belly of the beast:
Shot no. 2:
Slowly, but surely, the transplant progresses:
Until we reach our first checkpoint - out with the 25, in with the DragonHeart:
This was when they called it a night.
For now, the engine is in, the lines and harness need to be connected, and the banjo bolts, o rings, flanges, and other smaller sundry items need to be sourced out. Help needed by any and all........
Will keep updating this as the project moves along. The idea is to get it running bone stock and then slowly clean up the mess, make it look prettier, and do some mods for street use. Stay tuned!!
After three engine swaps, being burnt by Mean Street and losing a lot of my money on the RB25DET (I know you guys will flame me on it, but I have realized that the RB25 is not for me, I dont like it....I'd rather run an RB20 than go to the 25), I finally was able to buy a used RB26DETT from Mike at Z Tune.
The engine arrived in January and work on it began. We were short quite a few things that seemed to have disappeared from the engine, but thankfully, they were all small items, hard to find though. I am making this thread for all to see. On a very important level, this thread is a tribute to perhaps the best friend I have had in this country - the person who has helped me thru thick and thin, good and bad, and every time I needed him or his support, he was there without expectations, without malice - Michael, aka belontay_type-M on GTRC. You, Mike, are the main motivation behind many things that I have done with my car, and a lot of my learning, my dear friend, came from you. You are a real, true friend and I can never repay you for all that you have done for me.
And now, short of going down on him in gratitude (I dont swing that way at all), I come back to my engine swap. There are many intricate details that will be shared here, for others to learn from. It may not be the cleanest engine swap as my car has been a bird's nest, all thanks to the amazing legacy left by MSSC, but I will try and capture all the important details that one needs to know if one is to put an RB26DETT into a GTS-T.
So, on to the setup:
Engine: Bone stock RB26DETT
FMIC: Stock GTR
Injector: 444cc GTR
Exhaust: HKS styled Y pipe with 3.5 in catback kakimoto exhaust
AEM wideband
Turbos: Garrett turbos, stock from a GTR
Electronics: GTR main engine harness, with stock ignitor and stock coils, stock CAS and stock ECU. I have a PFC just waiting to be installed, but it will come in due time.
Everything else in the car is stock GTS-T.
Without further ado, let's get to the pictures. Excuse the crappy quality....
The engine arrived at Mike's house at 11pm in my pathfinder
The injectors were out, a pintle cap broken, and missing most of the o rings. Vacuum lines were intact, but all banjo bolts needed to be sourced out, and the rear oil return flange was also missing. Another shot:
This is the rear oil flange that was missing:
The first order of the day was to somehow remove the oil pan and replace it with an RB25 RWD oil pan. The problem was that the flange for the oil pickup line inside the block was interfering with the RB25 oil pan's wall. Mike had to file it down, and hammer the oil pan's side out to somehow make it fit. And eventually it did fit. Take a look at this pic. Notice the bulge? That's where the pickup line is bolted to the inside of the block. The oil pan sealed perfectly, thanks to the spare bolt holes on the RB26 bottom end:
Here is that bulge:
This is how it looks after the oilpan was bolted and sealed with a high temp sealant/gasket maker:
Now Lola (me car) was still sitting at my place, and needed to be towed to Mike's place. This was successfully done a week or so later, on a flatbed again at around midnight. Meanwhile, Mike was busy sourcing out the banjo bolts, the flanges and a few pieces here and there from Manny (malibusst). Here is Lola on the flatbed in the night:
Mike's driveway was icy, and the melting snow made it almost impossible for us to push it up the incline.....but we did it, SOMEHOW!! I should say he did it. I was just a spectator.
Next was the disconnection of the RB25DET wiring, the RB25 tranny, driveshaft, and exhaust. With the engine ready to come out, Mike and his friend Nenad arranged to use an engine hoist and pull the damn thing out. Im not a fan of RB25s anymore.
Another shot:
Lola is missing her lips and her front teeth are showing, lol. But the engine finally came out. For those who do not know who Mike is, here he is in his most inviting position, checking the stupid RB25 is resting well on the wooden logs. Good, you deserve to be in a corner, buster!!
Lola with an empty chest:
Next, the DragonHeart was hoisted off the engine stand and slowly brought into the belly of the beast:
Shot no. 2:
Slowly, but surely, the transplant progresses:
Until we reach our first checkpoint - out with the 25, in with the DragonHeart:
This was when they called it a night.
For now, the engine is in, the lines and harness need to be connected, and the banjo bolts, o rings, flanges, and other smaller sundry items need to be sourced out. Help needed by any and all........
Will keep updating this as the project moves along. The idea is to get it running bone stock and then slowly clean up the mess, make it look prettier, and do some mods for street use. Stay tuned!!
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