Why are engine rebuilds on Nissan Skylines so common?

Why are engine rebuilds on Nissan Skylines so common?

Author
Discussion

babo456

Original Poster:

76 posts

117 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Hi,

I am currently trying to find a new car and as a kid the R33 GTR was sort of my hero car and now I could afford one if I wished.

I'm wondering how reliable they are?

Most stuff I read says the engines are pretty solid and over all the cars pretty solid.

But I come across alot of adverts saying the cars had an engine rebuild etc. Which makes me think hmm if I buy a non rebuilt one am I just waiting for something to go? Bottom end, turbos etc?

Sorry to the mods for sticking this here, the jap section seems pretty quiet!

Are people rebuilding because they want more power or because somethings gone wrong? I suppose its a bit of both?




daveofedinburgh

556 posts

118 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Afew years back when I was still in Edinburgh, I visited a reputable tuner to work out what my options were on a mkiv Supra TT vs an R33 GTR.

Their advice was to go Supra all the way, as the Toyota 2JZ would provide far more reliable power than any RB Nissan lump.

I was kind of disappointed tbh, as I really wanted to own an R33 GTR at some point.

To be fair, the boss himself had afew Nissan RB engined cars floating around, so they obviously weren't that evil, but he was at pains to point out that they weren't nearly as bork free as the big Toyota engines.

Im a big Supra fanboy, but I reckon R32/ R33 GTRs have an extra cool factor over the Toyota. Also depends how much you want that 4WD system.

All personal experience ofcourse, but reinforced by my experience of (two) utterly bomb-proof Supras.

RB engined Skylines sit somewhere in between the rotary-engined RX7s and Supras in terms of scary engine work in my book. Would still have a looked-after R33 GTR if one came along at the right price...

Slow

6,973 posts

136 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
I reckon a stock rb is damn good. However all these ones needing rebuilt are probably due to too much boost and/or bad tune.

aww999

2,068 posts

260 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
I looked into getting an R32Gtr.They seem to suffer from oil control issues under high cornering loads, with various companies making baffled sumps, accusumps and dry sump kits to fix it. Plus the nature of the car attracts dimwits trying to make 600bhp by adding a bleed valve . However, in some cases it may be that the owner has added forged pistons and new bearings as part of a well planned power increase.

The oil control issues put me off as I was intending to use it on track.

SuperVM

1,098 posts

160 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
A friend of mine has a very highly modified R33 GTR, in which most of the engine components are N1. From speaking with him over the years, I believe the R32 GTR has issues with its oil pump gear, but the R33 GTR is generally more robust. As suggested, they do suffer from oil starvation issues under cornering and the only way my mate could keep the oil pressure from dropping during hard acceleration pre-baffled sump was to overfill. He's used RK Tuning in Southend for a lot of the work to his car, including the engine build, and rates them highly. It's probably worth noting his engine was actually fine when removed, he was simply after much more power than it would be able to safely deliver.

furrywoolyhatuk

682 posts

153 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
If your chasing high HP figures the rb engine (along with other components) will need rebuilding/forged compomemts,.

My rb25det has 331hp and could easily go higher on a standard engine (it would require new fuel related components and an upgraded turbo). But for me with my car being rwd and no electronic aids, is more then enough for public roads. If I was in to track days it may be a different story!

The rb engine be it a rb25, rb26 or rb30 guise is a sweet peach of an engine, as with anything as long as its well maintained and the thresholds aren't exceeded it will go on and on.

Marc p

1,023 posts

141 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
SuperVM said:
I believe the R32 GTR has issues with its oil pump gear
Only the early ones(89-91 I believe), the 92-94's are fine as Nissan changed the oil pump design to fix the issue, but you can(and a lot of owners do) fit the later oil pump to the earlier cars.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Slow said:
I reckon a stock rb is damn good. However all these ones needing rebuilt are probably due to too much boost and/or bad tune.
^^^ I would expect that's probably right.

The number of people who buy a very fast car and then modify it mainly for "something to brag about at the pub" never ceases to amaze.

cptsideways

13,535 posts

251 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
RB it stands for Rattly Bearings wink


Oil pump woes & oil drain down to sump issues at high rpms I believe is the root cause

halo34

2,429 posts

198 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
In my experience they aren't that robust once you start tuning...

I had a R33 GTST which managed to;

Warp manifold and pull studs out head
Oil starvation to turbo which then worked it's way through the engine

When the old engine was taken out it showed signs of a heading in that direction anyway. With a Mines ecu the rev limit had been lifted and suspected a bit of crank flex and oil starvation issues etc.

If was in the market now for any 32/33 even 34 to an extent, I would be looking for a decent refresh or forged upgrades at some point in its life TBH - especially if "tuned".

When it worked it was great, albeit slightly terrifying with RWD and no traction control and running north of 350bhp.

Hoofy

76,253 posts

281 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Had an R33 GTS-T that was virtually standard and an R32 GTR that was highly tuned in Japan. Neither experienced engine problems.

The R32 gearbox did do this to itself, though:


OS Geiken box... requiring new OS Geiken internals. £4k to you, sir.

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
I did some very basic research years ago and came to the conclusion I would feel much safer in a Supra. If it had to be a GTR (understandable as they are cool) it would have to be stock or have all the right parts with a perfect service record.

V8RX7

26,765 posts

262 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Relatively speaking they're not.

How many other high performance cars out there are 20 years old that are AS reliable as a std GTR ?

Not many.

I bet 996 owners would love to have an engine that was as well built.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
V8RX7 said:
Relatively speaking they're not.

How many other high performance cars out there are 20 years old that are AS reliable as a std GTR ?

Not many.

I bet 996 owners would love to have an engine that was as well built.
The 996 competitor to the GTR was the turbo model. This didn't have the engine problems that blight the Carreras.

liner33

10,642 posts

201 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Rb26 engines do have a habit of spinning bearings

My rb25 was stock in my r33 with at least 60,000 ,miles on it and I wound it up to 475hp without any internal mods my r34 had over 100,000 miles and was up to about 300hp and ran like sewing machine

babo456

Original Poster:

76 posts

117 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Lots of food for thought thanks!

I have done this before, I convince myself its a good idea then I pussy out. Part of me wants a bonkers car before I settle down blah blah. The sensible half says are you mad! I suppose with all high performance cars expensive bills are to be expected but at the same time I'd rather not piss money away!

V8RX7

26,765 posts

262 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
St John Smythe said:
V8RX7 said:
Relatively speaking they're not.

How many other high performance cars out there are 20 years old that are AS reliable as a std GTR ?

Not many.

I bet 996 owners would love to have an engine that was as well built.
The 996 competitor to the GTR was the turbo model. This didn't have the engine problems that blight the Carreras.
Of course it wasn't - neither on price nor bhp.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
V8RX7 said:
St John Smythe said:
V8RX7 said:
Relatively speaking they're not.

How many other high performance cars out there are 20 years old that are AS reliable as a std GTR ?

Not many.

I bet 996 owners would love to have an engine that was as well built.
The 996 competitor to the GTR was the turbo model. This didn't have the engine problems that blight the Carreras.
Of course it wasn't - neither on price nor bhp.
Comparing ranges, the Carrera model would be more GTST and 911 Turbo GTR. Anyway, not all 996 engines were badly built, that was my point smile

babo456

Original Poster:

76 posts

117 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Hoofy said:
Had an R33 GTS-T that was virtually standard and an R32 GTR that was highly tuned in Japan. Neither experienced engine problems.

The R32 gearbox did do this to itself, though:


OS Geiken box... requiring new OS Geiken internals. £4k to you, sir.
Bloody hell, it has eaten itself.

LiamM45

1,035 posts

179 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
My friend had a (dyno proven) 450ish-bhp R32 GTR. Amazing car, but seriously, seriously expensive to run. Sub 20mpg and consumables were very pricey. Not *that* fast for the power, in a straight line about as quick as a 320bhp Astra VXR. Very special car to drive (I had the pleasure of driving it!) and look at but I would say have a big pot of a cash sat there for when it inevitably goes wrong!