LEXCROB rb20 build

[lexcrob]

Well ive put the project on hold for a bit been too busy to get anything else done. Called my painter for an update and never got a call back which made me rethink the whole deal......

Priced all the stuff and I just cant quite invest that much into this thing right at the monent so i will wait.......


to be continued......



cheers rob,

[Yellow4g63]

Dang sorry to hear that. It took me forever to get to the point I'm at where I'm ready to start driving mine on the street lol. fak almost 8 years I think?

[Carl H]

id long block it tbh and rock out that way...its cheaper in the end, been there done that.

[breadbox]

I just tried to loosen the studs on the manifold and at least 3 have broken off. I may as well send this head to the machine shop at this point.

I might try extracting one with help of some one thats good at it, but IDK.

Are all RB20 builds this fun?

[lexcrob]

I did a bunch of research on this paint thing. I got all amped up about it found out the harbor freight gun will/may do the trick. Then I talked to a painter at work and he straight hated on me (i was pretty bent outta shape).....next day my painter hit me back. He even dropped by to do a follow up and make shur that id be able to drop it at PAINT IT BLACK! THIS SATURDAY!

So its back on track!


Motor wise I called courtesy nissan again 3rd time now trying to get oversized oem pistons. NO CALL BACK again so I guess you cant get them.
(UNREAL HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE ALMOST AS BACK AS MY EXPERIENCE SPEC CLUTCH)

Sniffed around on the web one more time and found oem bore pistons on courtesy's website?

So I mic'd out all the bores and cracked open my r32 pdf. Just about done but I think one of my blocks SURVIVED and will be fine! Takes me a while snap guages and micrometer no dial bore gauge just yet.
(does anyone know if honing will take a incy little bit of out of round-out?)

Im well within "bore" service limit (avg. 3.0690inch) just a little close on out of round and taper. Ill shoot a pic here of all my numbers before I make a decision.

Im just going to end up doing a oem rebuild. I will get the crank collar put on at least while im in there. I just dont have funding currently so that be the plan for the other motor I have! This way I wont blow all my cash and have to sell the thing when I get it done.

[lexcrob]

I did do some research on th align bore stuff and the align bore the rods and rod bolts. Anyways from what ive found if theres no abnormal wear on the original bearings you can assume everything is "straight". The down low on the ACL bearings is that they are not select fit as in the clearance will be the same, but crank journal sizes may very. In other words one main journal might be something like .003/.002/.003/.002 .

I've even seen articles that say line boring is a gimick in that if a block is straight it straight. Even so far as to say machine work such as align boring mains is prone to create more margin for human error.

Of course if "ARP" or the like bolts are fitted to rods or mains align boring is a MUST across the board unless its a honda ===yes they do it all over old hondatech lsvtec guys dont care i guess........

After reading numerous builds of fitting acl bearings and checking clearance with plastiguage and having success im confident ill be fine.
(as i have on my last 3 motors ive built I used king bearings tho)
*plastiguage does have a shelf life
*its plenty accurate for a street engine

Another note is that their "race" bearing is designed to hold more foreign material hence race conditions no air filters and all that. I also found some people saying after engine failure upon teardown found acl race bearings held together or "in place" saving their block and crank from spinning a bearing. Others sugest their tabs are reinforced providing more assurance that they will not spin as easy. blahh blahh......


Wanted to put that out there because I believe there is some inconsistency out there. Just stuff I found all over the web picked out some of the muck for you guys.

[Carl H]

nothing wrong with plastigauge...i built my motor about 2.5 years ago using it and its still running strong even after logging 40kmi.

[bmxarmy]

Just throwing this out there, I totally agree with Carl plastigauge will get you by.

However. inside and outside micrometers do not lie....I dont care if it is an import or domestic. checking clearances as close as possible will only guarantee good results.

[lexcrob]

I most def was not bashing plastiguage Ive seen many say its not accurate enough elsewhere on the web. I was just adding some beef for your reading pleasure as I browse numerous articles and opinions.


*UPDATE* - Car was dropped off for paint last sat. morning! We will be meeting this week to pick the exact color that I want. I made a few requests that he said would be no problem like pulling fenders out a bit and deleting a few exterior bits. He mentioned color matching the cowl as its in pretty rough shape im still on the fence on this one......


The motor is still yet to be touched ive been reading around a bit on bore and tapper mumbo jumbo.
I stumbled across this video and im unshur how I feel about his statement that "snap bore guages are not accurate" "paired with a micrometer or dial caliper". Saying that a dial bore gauge is neccessary to obtain accurate enough measurements to determine if a block is able to be put back in use.
I peeked over the service manual specs for taper and out of round they look pretty -->critical(i think is the word)


Anyways heres a link to it check it out ! I need some feedback on this one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpzeVNcEG4


My plan is to reuse one of the blocks that seems to be very close to within spec. Its number 1 tear down listed in thread of my two motors. Its compression was something like 140/140/160/160/140/0 #6 was dead due to a burnt valve rest seemed acceptable not great.

Im not trying to cheap out or do anything to compromise the engine build I just dont have funding to do everything I want sadly. I think an oem rebuild for now will suite the over all build better so I can focus on other areas.

[lexcrob]

Looked at some specs from the last motor I put together for a friend and it was .003 out of round on some cylinders at top and its got about 15k now running perfect. Needless to say my worry that one cylinder at .002 and one at .0015 is not going to be a problem. Ive read some say more than .0009 out of round at any point is a no go and suggest bore. (maybe i just got lucky or maybe my oreilys hand hone took it out)

(ill be measuring this one after I hone to document it all im also going to try to video the whole process)

Project is getting there but im now in between jobs and even tho I know exactly what I need I dont have the 1200-1800 that I need to order parts so its a waiting game.



On a side note my buddy just swapped his sr20 out for a rb25 so now im on the fence about the whole thing.......................
Ls1 Lq4 etc. with a edelbrock carb conversion is starting to sound like it might be more my taste. I just cant stand the stupid concentric slave that ive had nothing but problems with on a previous build. There is also the fact that t56 is unreal expensive complicated and not really a bullet proof box. Ive researched into a muncie conversion but theres again the unforgivable slave cylinder.
So ive been looking into just saying screw it all I just want the thing fast and considered 4L60E auto slush box or the like. I'd have to research how the heck to make that happen running a carb set up for a wallet friendly set up.........

huff......


thats about where im at

[ReganECR33]

damn yellow u still post on nico forums and ur car still doesnt run?

[Yellow4g63]

Where have you been. It runs now just not that well till I get the aem tuned

[ReganECR33]

well u know i got my skyline back, might as well get back on the forums, even though its like 1 post per week down here, should of sold my rb and put in a 2jz so i could be a cool kid and goto supraforums with a 2jz powered skyline

[Yellow4g63]

Your wrong all the kool kids go LSX lol.

[ReganECR33]

nah your wrong the cool kids have tt lambos and 1400awhp gtr's

[lexcrob]

update*
Body is still at paint awaiting contact with painter when it should roughly be done.

Just got off phone with RAW BROKERAGE this afternoon. They tried to source me some oe pistons but didnt have any luck. They even said they might have some used ones within the week from one of their builds. I talked with them for a bit and they said they havent had any bad feedback about supertech's. Of course he suggested CP's but said supertechs are fine if your not going *BIG*.

supertech 79mm's
acl race rod and main bearings
oe gasket set
ORDERED AND ON THE WAY! 1095 $ shipped to my door.


Going to drop off block to get bored after I get the forged slugs in the mailbox.
Also, I will be dropping off the crankshaft to get the collar installed.

[lexcrob]

Just broke down and ordered ARP head studs and rod bolts. Found a machine shop that works with my new dealership I just moved too so should be able to get good deal!

[lexcrob]

RAWBROKERAGE pulled though and everything came in today!
Even the pistons which had to come direct from Supertech!
(supposed to come with rings......no rings have to hit them up tomarrow....)

Pulled out the pistons and gave them a good look over. First time ill be using forged im pretty much drooling all over them. Seems one important note is that they do have a dot to indicate direction same as OE contrary to some things ive read. Included in the box was two sheets of paper one for piston ring gap recommendations and another for piston to wall clearance specifically for that piston design.
Im not a engine builder or engineer what not ....but they seem very high quality!


Ordered a brand new OEM oil pump since im scared of the notch worn into both my used ones.

Wallet is empty

[Yellow4g63]

Did u get a crank collar kit? Its the only thing stopping me from raising the rev limiter past 8.

[TimTurboZ]

Rings are an additional charge with Supertech (just double checked on FRSport.com) sure you ordered them?

[lexcrob]

Called RAW last thursday they appologized for pistons not including rings like they said when I ordered over the phone.
No worries they shipped them no charge and they showed up today!
Verified part number and im in good shape.
MAJOR PROPS TO RAW FOR PULLING THOUGH FOR ME!!!




Dropped off everything at the machine shop today!

-Crankshaft only getting collar installed.
They talked me out of getting it hot tanked because they recommended drilling out the oil holes cleaning and plugging. Also they wanted to polish it verify my clearances and it would have just been another 2-300$. I decided just to install the collar and leave it alone since the engine didnt suffer any bearing damage and was in good running condition. I understand their theory that the hot tank will bake crud up in the oil galley then it come out later.....BAD


-Block will be hot tanked bored/honed .40 over all freeze plugs removed.
0025 piston to wall clearance is what we came up with. Supertech rec. .0023 they said since im gonna be running her hard a bit more is a good idea. I find it hard to imagine they have the ability to machine to within .0002 reguardless.......
Lastly I told them not to install any freeze plugs after block is hot tanked as I had bad luck with last machine shop on cleaning bores thoughly. Only reason they taking out coolant freeze plugs for hot tank is because they stated hot tank debris left over will kill water pump...... I argued this a bit but decided couldnt hurt and they could provide new plugs...19 coolant block plugs......guy was like HOLY CRAP thats alot of plugs. (very common problem for all machine shops) I also like to DIY the cleaing everything as its the...#1 I believe cause of engine failure.

-Cylinder head is getting hot tanked only.
Cylinder head was less than .0005 warp. Block is right at .0015 warp in one spot ill take my chances. I took the time to lap all valves before hand and verify all was in good shape. I also grabbed a fine 1inch wire wheel and cleaned up the combustion chambers quick. (extra careful didnt hit head surface!) Figured id throw it in the hot tank just to get all that carbon out of the exhuast ports.

-Rods will be getting arp hardware installed.
Me and the machinist were on different planets on this one. I stated I wanted my arp rod bolts intalled and rods line honed/bored to standard size. He advised I get crank gone through mic'd and polished if needed then rod big end size would be resized if needed. I stated that I thought the rod big ends would have to be resized with arp hardware. He stated if they distort which he seemed to believe they would not most likely. Long story short I talked to their crankshaft guy and he stated that when pressing in arp rod bolts the rods sometimes distort this is why they need to be "aligned". I told him that makes sense because id heard of people not getting "resized or aligned" after arp install and that I thought distortion was due to the increased torque. He stated that the distortion takes place when the rod bolts are pressed in.


Quoted me around 400$ and I walked out hopefully done in a week!

[lexcrob]

No word at all on the paint/body work........very worried.......



I now have straight broke the budget and will have to graft my two chicken scratch wiring harness's together to make one decent one work for me.


I wish I could get that wiring specialities whoooo buddy those things are gorgeous!



Wallet empty
clutch / obx differential / wiring harness / hypergear turbo / AEM p&p stand alone / bigger injectors / revised intake plenum


ALL ON THE WISH LIST .......

[Carl H]

lol aem is not the end all be all...at least their current boxes arnt.

[lexcrob]

Ill agree with you Carl that its not the only option but from what ive heard a monkey can plug it in and go. Then if you ever make any changes you can very easily adjust what ever needed no smoke and mirrors.

My only other "tune" experience is with Turboedit (old school) and a bit of Cobb. I had a horrible time with turboedit way to much stuff to read for me. PGMFI.org blows my mind I had to go buy "Electronics for Dummies" and im still completely lost when it gets to Floating Gates, PNP, transistors blahh blahh.......



Anyways I wont be getting it for a while reguardless because its not very affordable and the old lady takes all my money.



The car will not be a DD so I most def. will try out some blackbox! I love how cobb makes it easy to datalog and shoot it over to them. Im guessing this is because CAN monitors so much stuff that becomes possible. Maybe your able to utilize consult datalog. Maybe combined with a Gtech or dyno phone app. you could get pretty aggressive with a tune?


Im a dealer technician I can build engines do any normal repair stuff all day long. When ive got to unzip a file download winhex sort through the code to edit a specific line just to get it to communicate. Then build your own engine on a circuit board to test the set up. Solder 1,000,000 pins on a circuit board and build your own power supply to convert household voltage to 12v. Get a bread box from radio shack download BASIC type in hello world........ Then you get to plug it into your car.......
I read all that stuff and just-----> SHOVELTOFACE.


Maybe after I go back to school and get my electromechanical or electronics engineering degree.........

[Yellow4g63]

Just find out what your tuner is good with and use that. It will be the quickest way to enjoy your car.

[Carl H]

anyone who says aem is easy to tune or setup has never really used it...
what are your ultimate goals for the car?
several options are available.

[lexcrob]

I guess my real goal is to break an 8.4 in the 1/8 mile as thats what the fastest car i've put together ran. I agree with you on the aem the guy might be full of it. Im quite a ways off from really exploring the best set up so time will tell. I talked to a long time friend today and he shot me some pics of how he mounted a t3/t4 right on the side of his rb25. He threw on a T3 footprint spacer and some longer studs. He blocked off coolant lines and ran a braided feed. He was even able to keep the drain hose same. It was a vband on the outlet but IT WAS INTERNAL GATED!!!! He is going to get back to me with some model/part number stuff! Hopefully that will turn out to be and affordable alternative to hypergear.

[lexcrob]

*update*
I'm working tryin to get a go pro HD lined up to shot assembly process still hopefully works out.

I picked up all the motor stuff price was a bit steeper than agreed as usual 650$ but no big deal not as bad as last time.

I soapy watered the bores real good and sprayed it up with some paint even got out the clear coat!


Ive got one VERY BIG PROBLEM

*the machine shop removed the oil bypass/drainback/relief valve where the oil filter housing would bolt up*

*they could not source one and raw brokerage cant either*

*i cant find a part number to run by nissan dealer yet*

IM FREAKING OUT LIKE CRAZY ILL SAW ZAW MY SPARE BLOCK IN HALF IF I HAVE TOO


HELP NICO POWA!

[Carl H]

i've got a spare one...email me.

[lexcrob]

*update*

Just got done plastiguage rods and mains all .002 wheew relief!
Bolted in crank .002 end play ish used feeler didnt have dial gauge home.
Piston to wall right about .0022 is what I measured close enough for me. (.00236 SUPERTECH MIN SPEC.)
Rings set .017 top / .020 2nd / .020 oil rings

Shot a bunch of pics ill thow on here soon enough!!!


Does anyone know if heat or wheel speed kills the TB03? I was thinking bout getting EGT gauge...