Interesting, I thought all engines these days had Juice (hydraulic) lifters/cam followers. It appears not. Is adjustment/wear not really a problem?

mdmellott wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 9:58 pm

.... the 822R is the Nissan part number described as T=8.22, but I can't figure out what the R or the U means. ...

I figured it out. The letters U and R on the lifters are for manufacturer identification. The R lifters are made by Riken Corporation in Japan and the U lifters are made by Unisia Jecs Corporation in Japan. Now I can sleep and stop worrying about this.

Well done ! I dont think many would have figured the U and R puzzle out.

Some things get stuck in my head that seem to make no sense so if I can make sense of it I figure maybe I'll learn something new. I appreciate all the postings on this forum for people doing that for me and others, so whatever I can do in return is worth the time and effort.

Mike, adjustment is not a huge problem, but it is something to consider.

I have been working a few hours at a time in the evenings. I have washed the block, attached the new floating pistons to the rebuilt rods, checked the ring gap, and installed the rings onto the pistons.

After some work, the pistons and rods are in! I'll update you all with a write-up and some new photos soon, but for now I thought I would provide a list of parts I have purchased.

TopLine parts:
Pistons, 0.020" over
Piston ring set, 0.020" over: RS D41
Main bearings, standard: MBD34
Connecting rod bearings: RBD41
Thrust washers: TW D-34
Total cost of parts from the machine shop: $410.00

Nissan parts, Courtesy Parts, January 2002 build:
O-ring, refrigerant tubes to a/c compressor (2): 92472-N823A
O-ring, pickup tube to oil pump (2): 15053-31U00
O-ring, oil pan to block (2): 15066-ZL80B
O-ring, camshaft main bearing cap and rear timing cover to VVT (2): 15066-ZL80A
O-ring, rear timing cover and front timing cover to VVT (2): 15066-ZL80A
O-ring, rear timing cover to right side of block: 15066-ZL80C
O-ring, rear timing cover to left side of block: 15066-ZL80D
O-ring, for tubes that fit inside the left bank coolant splitter (2): 21049-ZL80A
O-ring, VVT covers (2): 15066-5E510 (It appears that I purchased the wrong parts here. I wanted the o-rings that go around the VVT cover nipple that goes inside the intake sprocket, but these don't fit in there very well and looking at the diagram it appears these o-rings may go to the shorter end of the VVT cover that goes inside the front timing cover.)
O-ring/gasket, rear thermostat: 21049-6N220 (Not needed, rear thermostat came with one installed)
Gasket, front thermostat: 13050-31U00
Gasket, left bank water splitter: 13050-31U05
Gasket, rectangular water outlet at top rear of block: 11062-4P100
Gasket, oil cooler assembly to block: 15239-4W001
Gasket, rear coolant tube that connects both heads (2): 11062-AL501
Gasket, left head: 11044-4W005
Gasket, right head: 11044-4W000 (on backorder)
Thermostat, rear (o-ring/gasket is included): 21230-6N20A
Thermostat, front: 21200-4W01B
Coolant hose, oil cooler to left bank: 21306-4W006
Coolant hose, oil cooler to right bank: 21306-4W012
Coolant hose, right bank hard line to oil cooler hose: 21306-4W000
Coolant hose, u-shaped near front thermostat: 21306-4W020
Coolant hose, rear thermostat to rectangular outlet at rear center of block: 14055-4P110
Coolant hose, right bank hard line to rear bypass: 14055-4P100
Clamp, right bank hard line to rear bypass hose (2): 01555-00911
Clamp, oil cooler coolant hoses (10): 16439-17B0A
Seal, front main crankshaft: 13510-31U10
Studs, exhaust manifold (12): 14064-31U0C
Nuts, exhaust manifold (12): 14094-9BA0A
Retainer, valve spring seat: 13205-53Y00 (I lost one)
Oil filter: 15208-65F0E
Grommet, hood prop: 65773-2J000
Total cost from Courtesy Parts in Richardson, TX: $395.68

Nissan parts, eBay
Oil cooler, new: 21305-4W00A $449 (Per the machine shop's recommendation on a note attached to the crankshaft: "Replace oil cooler element if engine has had a metal failure." I could not source it any cheaper, ouch.)
Exhaust manifold, used: 14004-4W000 $55 (Because I broke the bolts from the cat to the manifold)

Aftermarket parts, Rockauto:
Gasket, right head: Fel-Pro 26242PT $44.79 (The Nissan head gasket is on backorder, and the Fel-Pro one looks identical in the photo. I ordered this in case there is an excessive delay at Nissan.)
Motor mount: Westar EM9408 $32.99
Catalytic converter, right bank: Walker 16344 $208.79
Gasket for catalytic converter: Walker 31397 $2.84
Seal, torque converter shaft: Timken 224663 $7.66
Gasket, intake manifold (2): AJUSA 13108800 $1.28 (wholesaler closeout)
Seal, valve stem (24): ITM SS271 $1.90
Seal, rear main crankshaft: ITM 1500530 $27.79
Gasket, oil pan crescent (set of two): Mahle OS32249 $8.02
O-ring, fuel injector (6): Standard Motor Products SK14 $1.22
Gasket, oil drain plug (set of ten): Ultra-Power 097134 $2.32
Hose clamp (10): Gates 32007 $0.53
Hose clamp (10): Gates 32010 $0.71
Hose clamp (10): Gates 32016 $0.72

There you have it. There were some more miscellaneous parts, such as vacuum hoses, coolant, a few new tools and sockets, that I won't go into here. If it wasn't listed here, I probably re-used it.

I found a mistake, and it's too late to edit.

Mods, would you be able to replace the following:

O-ring, pickup tube to oil pump (2): 15053-31U00

With this?

Gasket, pickup tube to oil pump: 15053-31U00

Thanks.

No, you're not seeing the same image in grayscale. I'm only realizing it now as I look at the before and after - the machine shop did a fantastic job cleaning everything up.

I have new photos for you all in a separate imgur post! The image below shows where I am today:



It's been a couple of weeks, so where to begin regarding the rebuild? I have been delayed by a number of factors, but being forced to slow down is helping me catch things I may have otherwise missed. Installing the rings and the pistons was admittedly challenging. My advice regarding the rings is to only touch them on one side of the piston at a time, otherwise you will squeeze the oil control ring out of place. Oil your piston skirts when driving the ring in to check your end gap. When driving the pistons, be gentle and go slow.

This was my first time installing a piston of this size, and the really nice thing I learned was how to let the sound of the cylinder guide where to apply pressure. I used the handle of a rubber mallet, gently tapped the top of the piston, and listened for the sound to change. If the sound was hollow, the piston was going in. If it was dull, it wasn't moving. If it was solid, the piston was wedged.

The oil control rings, the first set to go in, required fairly gentle compression from the tool, then two types of hand pressure: downward, to keep them from popping out of the bottom of the tool, as well as side pressure. I had to move my hands and my body around the piston while applying pressure to the sidewall of the bottom of the compression tool (and thus the rings) with my thumbs, all the while tapping the piston with the mallet and searching for that perfect sound. Too much pressure on the tool and the rings would pop out. Without that sidewall pressure, the rings would not go in. My technique achieved a sort of spiral effect, if you can imagine it: I put side pressure on the ring while tapping it down and moving around it in a circle. That sounds easier than it actually is, because it takes a long time to figure out how to get the technique right. And when you get it down, the piston doesn't just slide in; It takes a lot of tapping, pressing, and searching. When you hit that hollow sound, stay on it. If the piston is going in straight, the sound will stay hollow. More likely, however, it will get wedged once it goes in a bit, and the sound will change, leaving you tapping and pressing all around the piston in search of it.

If it felt like it had been a long time since the piston moved, I lifted up a bit on the compression tool in order to inspect my progress. Sometimes I would see a partly-driven ring, and that would show me which side to put pressure on. But a few of the times I was too forceful, and wedged a ring against the top of the cylinder. If this was the case, I had to turn the engine upside-down and press on the connecting rod. I had wedged the second piston I worked on so tightly, that I was worried I would not be able to get it out, or that I had caused damage.

After driving in the oil control ring, I loosened the tool and made sure that the rings were in their proper positions, one staggered away from the other. I could usually tell when a ring went in because after much hardship the piston would coast for a little bit, then hit another tough spot. The next ring required more force from the compression tool, being thicker and more tense than the others, but the technique was the same. Once that one was in I checked the position of the compression ring, and did the song and dance a third time. And the point at which the tool falls away, the tension leaves your hands, and the piston is flush with the top of the block, that feeling of completion, that perfect fit, it is a beautiful thing.

After turning the crankshaft and watching the pistons move, I noticed that a couple of them were leaving a streak of oil all the way down in their travel. Typically, the oil control rings leave a nice even rake pattern all around a well-oiled cylinder. This didn't sit well with me, so I removed the bolts from the con rod caps, removed the affected piston, and inspected the rings. In one, the top and bottom rings were not staggered. Instead, they had rotated to sit in the same position. I fixed that and put it back in. In another one, I'm not sure what the problem was, but it went away upon re-install. In a third, it went away without piston removal, after some movement up and down in the cylinder.

Before and after installing the pistons I got to play with Plastigauge. It can be challenging to handle because it is so very small. Torquing down bearing caps or squeezing piston rings into place, then handling something so tiny and delicate, may cause some frustration. Don't let it slide off the journal and inside the block, because you'll be searching for it and trying to dislodge it with a screwdriver (Ask me how I know). I found that dabbing it with a naturally moist fingertip is the best way to transport it. A fingernail or two work well to guide it into position.

I wasn't sure exactly how to prime the oil pump using petroleum jelly, so I packed as much as I could between the vanes, and also packed the outlet (but not the inlet). I believe we want oil to reach the pump, but not be able to exit it right away, so we can build up some pressure before releasing it into the block.

What else? I cleaned my garage, inventoried my parts, and ground a couple of valves. The neighbor friend loaned me his valve grinding tool, which was a small block into which you insert the valve. A second block, shorter than the first but the same width and length, was placed underneath. This shorter block had a certain amount of metal removed in exactly the spot where the valve dropped through the first block. So you could line up one with the other and the two blocks sat flush, but since the shorter block had a portion machined away, the valve that fell through the larger block would be sticking 0.001" out of the larger block. You then used a screw to tighten the valve down and then placed the large block, with valve inside it, on top of a flat file. And rubbed it, and rubbed it, and rubbed it. After some rubbing you would have taken away a thousandth of an inch off the valve stem.

Did I mention that I lost one of my valve spring seats? These washers sit at the bottom of the valve spring where it meets the cylinder head body. I am patiently waiting on a replacement. In the meantime, I have installed the rear main seal, driven the front seal into the front timing cover, cleaned the old paper gaskets off the "boomerang" oil passages that are screwed on inside the rear timing cover, sealed them with Ultra Gray and torqued down the screws, cleaned all traces of old gasket material and oil, sealed the small oil pan to the big one, cleaned the crusted oil off the oil cooler mount, ordered a new oil cooler at $450 (!!!, machinists' orders!), double-checked all the valve clearances, cleaned the left head and installed it, installed the secondary chain tensioner, camshafts and and caps, and sat in the garage for a while admiring my work.

I am looking forward to firing it up.

I never took my intake to the machinist to get it cleaned up, because I didn't want them to soak the vacuum assembly that is mounted to it, and removal was intimidating. Instead, I figured, I would clean it myself. That day came today, when I realized that I had not yet gotten around to it.

After a few hours of scrubbing with Seafoam, a toothbrush, a brass wire brush, the small end of a baby bottle brush, and small pieces of paper towel, it came clean. I cleaned all the mating surfaces, as well as the air passages. The injectors sit in here too, and I made sure that their seats were sparkling as well.



I noticed that one of the intake butterfly valves was slightly twisted (the one on the right), and this made me recall removing the plenum for the first time and finding most of the power valve screws missing. A few of the plenum butterfly valves had come loose and lodged themselves in the intake. One must have made it as far as here and become lodged against the intake butterfly valve, which bent when the valve train opened.

If those power valve screws had not come loose, I would probably not be doing any of this.

Success. The engine fired up without a snag. I pushed it to 4-5k rpm about a dozen times to seat the rings and witnessed no abnormal sounds. The car drives well. I haven't taken it on a long trip at high speeds yet, but the vibration seems to have subsided. I have not experienced a cold start rattle, but it's pretty warm out right now.

I'll back up. I received the spring seat in the mail, but still no head gasket from Nissan, so I went with one Fel-Pro gasket from Rockauto. It looked the same as the OEM in the site photo, but the material was thinner and had three layers, whereas the OEM had two. I think it will be fine. Once I put the second head on, it took me about a day to get it buttoned up and ready for hoisting. Oil pan, rear cover, timing components, front cover, oil cooler and hoses. I am extremely glad I went with the caulk tube of RTV, as opposed to the squeeze tube. It made application fairly easy. However, I didn't do a good job of cleaning the old RTV out of the threads and stripped a few of the bolt holes in the block, so that the rear cover bolt next to the water pump had to be left out. Twenty-four (now 23) bolts and a lot of RTV hold that cover to the engine, so I think it will be fine. But I would like to invest in a set of thread chasers so that I don't make this mistake in the future.

Here is a photo of both heads attached to the block.



And another, just before dropping it back in.



Getting the engine in the bay wasn't too hard. My wife and I had to push on it in order to line it up with the mounts, and again I wished for a load leveler. The challenge came when the motor would not line up with the transmission. I realized that I had forgotten to jack up the transmission some, but even when I did that, I could not line up the nipples or bolt holes. Eventually I found success by removing the hoist chain and installing it in a different part of the engine, and using the hoist to move the engine around until the holes lined up. Then I did what the manual explicitly states not to do, and mated the two using bolts.

I got all the bolts in. They threaded in easily. so I knew I was lined up right. But when it came time to line up the driveplate to the torque converter, I then could not line up those holes. The driveplate would bump into the torque converter and spin it before the holes lined up. I was worried that maybe the converter slipped out of the transmission when rolling the car into the garage, and dreaded hoisting the engine up again in order to push it back. I removed the engine-to-transmission bolts, and tried once again to line up the driveplate. Thankfully, it spun freely without hitting the torque converter. My neighbor friend showed up right then, and helped me torque down those bolts. I then re-attached the engine-to-trans bolts and all was well again.

Then it came time to get everything back in order. I began with the starter, then some of the coolant tubes on the right side, some harness, then the exhaust. I had to figure out how to line up the new catalytic converter with the exhaust manifold. Take it from me, the best way to do it is to mate the cat with the pipe, then place the manifold on the cat, and make a mark on both. Then take them out, attach them together on a bench, and put the assembly in. Getting the studs lined up in the head, while having to push up on the exhaust was challenging. When I completed that, I struggled with the power steering, the alternator, and trying to figure out how all the hoses and wiring were situated around them. I figured it out, but wished I had taken some photos upon removal. Then I worked my way to the left (driver's here in the U.S.) side, and worked on that exhaust system. I cross-threaded two studs in the head, but was able to work them back and forth until they went in straight, albeit begrudgingly. I could feel my patience begin to slip.

The rest of assembly was fairly straightforward. The wiring was a bit of a puzzle, but when something became confusing, I moved on and assembled some other things. As parts came together the answer revealed itself. I added a gallon of new transmission fluid, two gallons of new coolant mix, and a gallon of oil.

I became nervous once everything was put together, and hoped that I had not overlooked anything. I'm not religious, but I did say a prayer before firing it up. Per the manual, I first cranked it with the fuel pump fuse removed in order to prime the oil. Then, the moment of truth. I put the fuel pump fuse in and hit the key. It took maybe six or eight strokes, sputtered a bit, then fired up and ran smooth. So smooth. The timing noise subsided after ten seconds or so.

I let it idle and warm up in the garage, then turned it off and checked the fluids. I added a quart of oil for a total of six quarts. I added some coolant, then fired it up again and backed it out into the driveway. One thing I noticed was the lack of gasoline smell that I had always lived with on cold start. In the driveway I noticed a slight knock, and tried to find the sound, which seemed like it was coming from either the bottom end or the left side of the valvetrain. I took the car out and creeped up and down my block. I then went out onto the main road and began accelerating. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, until it was roaring. I went up and down the road, hitting 5,000 rpm and 55 mph without a sputter or knock. Once the engine really warmed up the previous noise subsided.

I have two check engine lights: P1145, which I would get intermittently before the rebuild, and P0021, which I believe is related. This could be a bad CPS or solenoid. I swapped the two sensors at each intake sprocket to see whether the code will follow a faulty sensor. When removing the sensors, I noticed they had oil on them. I am not sure whether the timing chain housing should have any oil inside it. If not, it may be the oil that is fouling the sensor, or maybe a bad o-ring is causing a lack of oil flow to the VVT. There were a couple of o-rings inside the VVT covers that I had not changed, so if I can't figure this issue out, I may pop those covers off and see if I can replace those rings.

Next steps, according to the manual: I need to drive the car gently for a couple of hundred miles, then drive it normal for a little longer, then change the oil. At which point I can consider the engine broken in. The plan is to have an oil analysis performed at the following oil change to see how I'm doing and serve as my baseline. I will share with you all my results.

Once again, here are the links to the entire gallery of images.
Teardown: https://imgur.com/a/eVGrL4c
Rebuild: https://imgur.com/a/17SoDvG

Thanks for following along. Good luck to you all on your projects.

Well I congratulate you for a job well done.
I did complete rebuilds on Three 4 cylinder engines in my youth in England. These 1950's and 60's engines were worn out at 40k miles or so.
Since then I have only done whats required, rings, pistons, valve seals with compressed air, yes it worked.
When my Z28 expired I had a small family shop in Albuquerque do the rebuild. Since I wanted a specific cam and pistons they had me buy the parts and give to them.
They did a great job.

Anyway a great job for a first rebuild. !

Re your p1145 p0021 codes.
I had these while still under warranty.
replaced the sensors , all three. no change.
only threw these when it was summer (in texas) when parked for 15 to 20 minutes once or twice a summer. As time progressed I found out the 3.5 had a recall for this but not on pathfinder. It may have been getting worse as milage went up.
I was to point of believing it was the actuating valve or cloged filter mesh. I did not believe it was electrical, wire or solinoids.
Good luck !

I tried to go back and edit.
When under warranty I drove the car into service in limp home mode. They turned it off, cleared the codes and said there was nothing wrong with it !
just in case you wondered !

Thank you! I hope it takes. I read about a guy spinning a bearing 35 miles into his rebuild.

I have seen people on forums solve the P1145 by replacing bad sensors and bad solenoids. The code does not appear to be causing any driveability issues, but it would be nice to not have any codes at this point.

mine was not the sensors and was consistant from 2004 to 2018.
It went into limp home mode. I could stop. clear codes and contine on my way with no further problems, that day anyway!
.

rgk wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 13, 2020 4:27 pm

Thank you! I hope it takes. I read about a guy spinning a bearing 35 miles into his rebuild.

Spinning a rod bearing would be either things well out of clearance or bad assembly, I'm guessing you have neither.

Back together and running, job well done, my complements.

Parts prices are interesting. I mostly live in the vintage BMW world,70s into 90s and many things are actually pretty reasonable, but others such as you have listed below can be stupid expensive, pistons in particular. Have you tallied a total yet or are you trying to avoid that?

Pistons, 0.020" over
Piston ring set, 0.020" over: RS D41
Main bearings, standard: MBD34
Connecting rod bearings: RBD41
Thrust washers: TW D-34
Total cost of parts from the machine shop: $410.00

If you count the tools I purchased during the course of the project, the grand total comes to USD $3146. Without the tools, it comes to $2868. This includes $450 for a new oil cooler and $220 for a new cat converter.

For reference, a used VQ35DE averages about $1300 shipped. An entirely rebuilt short block is about $4000 on the low end. I think I saw an entire VQ35DE for about $8000 at some point.

As you can see above, the rebuild prices were only part of the expense. Hoses, gaskets, and accessories made up a considerable portion of the expense.

OEM pistons from Nissan (which I did not get) were about $55 each.

Ugh, it looks like I've got an oil leak around the area of the stripped rear timing cover bolt hole.

Time for Helicoil, is there enough room to get in there. you might be able to go through the timing cover without removing it. Are the taped holes blind ?

Update! After the initial rebuild, I noticed a knock coming from the bank 2 intake sprocket. After much research, I figured it was probably linked to the P0021. My bank 2 VVT solenoid went out, which I replaced. Both of my cam sensors were also bad, proven through a resistance test, so I replaced them. But the P0021 remained, as did the leak, as did the knock. This caused me frustration all summer.

Finally last weekend I got around to once again tearing the front cover off. Yes, I had stripped a bolt hole to the right of the water pump, and simply left that bolt out, thinking the RTV would probably do its job. I was wrong. In addition, the several layers of RTV in all of the other bolt holes caused the existing bolts to not thread in all the way, causing a number of leaks.

There is a main oil passage that runs through the rear timing cover. This passage guides oil to the secondary timing tensioners and camshafts. It is possible to open up this passage; the cover is held on by a number of screws. I had done so, but not replaced the paper gasket that seals the two sides. Instead, I used RTV. This was a serious mistake, as the RTV had completely plugged the oil port that goes to the bank 2 chain tensioner, camshaft, variable valve timing solenoid, and thus the phaser/sprocket. I was starving the cam and VVT of oil. The front cam lobe suffered a little scoring, deep enough to be seen, but not felt.

All weekend I scraped away at the RTV. I cleaned the bolts and the bolt holes with a chase. I ordered a sheet of Fel-Pro paper gasket and cut it to size for the oil passage. I purchased an amazing thread repair system called Time-Sert, easily repaired the damaged thread, and was able to re-use the same bolt.

On re-assembly, a couple of the rear cover bolts would not get quite up to torque spec, but I didn't push them. Also, the bottom bolts of the front timing cover would not get up to spec, and the right bolt broke completely. I left it out and let the RTV cure.

The result: No more leaks, and no more knock. The engine is purring, and for the first time I witnessed its full power! However, fifty miles or so into my excitement I got a couple of pending codes. P0021 at first, then P0011 and P0021. Frustrating!

I decided to inspect the crank sensor at the flywheel, as I believe that is the reference sensor for timing. It did have some metal debris stuck to the magnet, which I hope was causing incorrect readings. I took the car for another spin today, keeping an eye on the VVT solenoid activity through Nissan Datascan II. It looked fine the entire drive. I am hoping that the crankshaft was responsible for the pending codes. Any time these VVT codes come up, even if they are pending, it causes the variable timing system to go into fail-safe mode, depriving you of power.

The project continues. I am hopeful, but not holding my breath.

Having followed your thread with interest I read the first line

After the initial rebuild, I noticed a knock

and got a knot in my stomach. And it's not even my truck! But it looks like things are ok, albeit with some hickups, but progressing ok.

RTV/Silicone. Occasionally a lifesaver, usually a nightmare. I cringe when I'm working on something and see that stuff.

Thanks, Mike. My MO is to break something on my way to fixing it. Unfortunately, Nissan designed rear and front timing covers that require RTV.

Nice work thanks for posting all of this.

Phew! I read this over Xmas Eve and resumed it today. A little bit of an emotional rollercoaster towards the end, but I am glad you got it running and got to experience full power from the VQ.

There isn't much I can add to the discussion at this point, but some parts really resonated with me since I make a living around failure. It's a simplified explanation, but my job entails 3 main functions:

1. Set up strategies to prevent failure
2. Investigation of failures that do occur
3. Make repair/replace/redesign decisions

***
Here are some of my favorite quotable quotes:

On the one hand, having access to every corner of the engine is a great opportunity to replace things. On the other hand, it is a twenty-year-old vehicle, so you don't want to put too much money into it.

the whole point of repairing... anything, really...is to get more life out of it

Amen to that.

focus on replacing the hard-to-reach items that would also have a severe impact on the vehicle if they broke

Likelihood or frequency of failure, effect of failure, ease of replacement, downtime & labor hours etc...I live and breathe that stuff; like in the example of the windshield washer nozzle. And in a larger scale, that goes into the decisions on head gaskets, molded hoses and the like.
I appreciate your share on the engine mount. Good correlation on warranty and quality.

Again, this is such a tough part of the project, because tough decisions need to be made.

My neighbor told me that "it's a slap in the face to get machine work done and purchase your parts elsewhere."

As I said, I would sit down and pay money to watch you narrate this. Very relatable to me. Sometimes you have to play politician and make sure you ask for what you consider to be the right thing, without stepping on too many toes, many of them having been at their trade for a long time.
It gets a little interesting when you are actually paying for the service.

I noticed that one of the intake butterfly valves was slightly twisted...
If those power valve screws had not come loose, I would probably not be doing any of this.

At the end of the day, I write a report with a declaration much like yours and set up a repair ticket to address any other similar systems with potential for the same failure.
I know we have a PSA about the power valve screws on this forum. When I owned my R50s, I decided to preemptively do the screws. Unfortunately and also fortunately, I couldn't even get them to budge, so I figured they were as secure as could be. Kept on trucking until I got rid of it at 313,xxx miles.

Then I did what the manual explicitly states not to do, and mated the two using bolts.

Last one, I promise. This one made me laugh, but I cautiously agree. I use the service manual as a guide, then massage the method to work for me.
The only advice I can offer anyone browsing through is that you can use the bellhousing bolts to guide the engine in, but for Pete's sake, only use the ones going to the block. Oil pans don't take too kindly to misaligned bolts, and can break. Ask me how I know.

***

Good read, thank you for taking the time to document this.

I am curious if you got to send any of your oil samples in for analysis after the rebuild.

Thanks Ed, Im glad you enjoyed it and appreciate your input.

I'm still fighting the variable valve system. After replacing the sprocket I got from a friend with a parts car, I realized the problem is most likely electrical. I think I've traced the problem, but am holding off on reporting on it until I have solved it. Because of this, I am only getting intermittent full power.

However, I have taken the vehicle on an extended highway drive and even towed a station wagon with a blown engine (my next project) across said highway. The car feels extremely reliable, the engine sounds nice and quiet, and the ride is so smooth!

I am definitely going to have an analysis done, but since this is not my daily driver, I have only put about 1500 miles on it since the rebuild, and have changed the oil several times. I only have a few hundred miles on this batch of oil, which I will be sending out, so it might be a while before that happens.

Thanks for reading!

Hey folks, I've got the engine out and taken apart again.

After spending too much time troubleshooting, I finally checked the oil pressure on the rebuild and found it to be too low at hot idle. Specs say it should be at least 13 psi, but my pressure was reading as low as 5 psi.

I tore the engine down again and found that the bearings supplied to me were too thin to meet the service limit. Unfortunately, at the time of the original install I was not able to check these measurements myself. That has since changed. I have ordered slightly thicker (but standard) Nissan main bearings to match the polished crank, and they check out great. I also ordered a set of standard aftermarket rod bearings.

The main bearing specs should be between 1.4 and 1.8 thousandths (0.0014" - 0.0018"), and the service limit is 2.8 thousandths (0.0028"). The clearance on the old bearings was between 3 and 3.5 thousandths (0.0035"). According to my inside mic, the clearance on the current main bearings is between 1.9 and 2.3 thousandths. The Plastigauge crushed nice and evenly, each main between 1.5 and 2.0. I am allowing the clearance to be slightly looser than the standard specs since this is an older engine rebuild, and I don't yet have the capability to check runout (crank bend). I figure as long as I'm safely under the service limit I'll have good pressure.

While I've got everything taken apart, I'm going to have the machine shop grind the valves. Since the rebuild (and during a subsequent Saturn rebuild) I found out about a way to check the valves by pouring gasoline into the valve chamber and checking for leaks. It turns out that my lap job wasn't all that great. Before checking the bearings I suspected the oil pump and oil passages. I replaced the oil pump, which was a little scored, and purchased a gasket and screw kit for the rear cover oil passages. It looked like my paper gasket wasn't doing a great job of keeping the oil in the passage, though these things were probably secondary to the thin bearings.

I'll report back when everything is complete.

Thank you for updating us! This is good info for the next guy to take on this job!

rgk wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 09, 2021 3:33 am

Hey folks, I've got the engine out and taken apart again.

After spending too much time troubleshooting, I finally checked the oil pressure on the rebuild and found it to be too low at hot idle. Specs say it should be at least 13 psi, but my pressure was reading as low as 5 psi.

I tore the engine down again and found that the bearings supplied to me were too thin to meet the service limit. Unfortunately, at the time of the original install I was not able to check these measurements myself. That has since changed. I have ordered slightly thicker (but standard) Nissan main bearings to match the polished crank, and they check out great. I also ordered a set of standard aftermarket rod bearings.

The main bearing specs should be between 1.4 and 1.8 thousandths (0.0014" - 0.0018"), and the service limit is 2.8 thousandths (0.0028"). The clearance on the old bearings was between 3 and 3.5 thousandths (0.0035"). According to my inside mic, the clearance on the current main bearings is between 1.9 and 2.3 thousandths. The Plastigauge crushed nice and evenly, each main between 1.5 and 2.0. I am allowing the clearance to be slightly looser than the standard specs since this is an older engine rebuild, and I don't yet have the capability to check runout (crank bend). I figure as long as I'm safely under the service limit I'll have good pressure.

While I've got everything taken apart, I'm going to have the machine shop grind the valves. Since the rebuild (and during a subsequent Saturn rebuild) I found out about a way to check the valves by pouring gasoline into the valve chamber and checking for leaks. It turns out that my lap job wasn't all that great. Before checking the bearings I suspected the oil pump and oil passages. I replaced the oil pump, which was a little scored, and purchased a gasket and screw kit for the rear cover oil passages. It looked like my paper gasket wasn't doing a great job of keeping the oil in the passage, though these things were probably secondary to the thin bearings.

I'll report back when everything is complete.

Ouch, not good to have to pull it and pull it apart again after all the work. But at least it didn't grenade or anything.

Another technique for checking valves is rubbing alcohol. Same penetrating qualities and more pleasant to use.

Thanks for the tip, I hate stinking up my garage with gas.