RB oil issues

[danstachet]

First off, i wanna state that i have searched and searched and just want to verify the information that i have come up with. Im looking at doing an RB 26 swap, but not for a while because i leave for Air Force Basic training in July and will not be able to even buy anything for it for a while.

From what ive been reading about the 26 and i guess the 25 also is the crank collar issue. I read on a GTR forum and somewhere here that not all RB26's have the crank collar issue, just 93 and prior gtr motors. Is this true? Now if i get an R32 with the short collar i know that i can get the jun crank collar and have the crank machined and everything per their specifications to solve it. Now is it just the early R32 grt motors? or all RB26's?

Next question. Upgraded oil pumps... Really necessary if running stock valve train and stock turbos? And from what i've read doesnt an upgraded pump make the starvation problems worse if you do not run a drain off the back of the head down to the pan?

Oil coolers. With a basically stock RB26 not necessary but still beneficial correct? by adding volume to the oiling system and keeping oil temps lower still gonna help right?

Sorry since all this information has been gone over multiple times, but every thread i read on them is like a giant debate. Thanks for any and all help!!!

[WhatsADSM]

Yea keep reading... There is a ton of this info on the various forums. My suggestion try skylinesaustralia

As for the questions:Yes it is only the early cranks that had the issue. I believe for R33s and R34s it is fixed. In fact on some late R32s I believe it was fixed. In any case, yes you can get the collar fix and have it machined and all will be well.

Oil pumps.... Honestly most of the issue isnt with the pump itself, but as you mentioned the starvation. If you are limited on money (and who isnt), first do the oiling modifications such as the oil restrictor, return passage machining, head drain.... Then put whatever you have left in the pump. Honestly other ways to help prevent the issue are to keep the redline at around 8000, and don't just stay on it too long since that really drives up the pressure and volume to the head.

The oil cooler is really only added for extra volume.... there isn't any inherent problem with oil temps, but hey lower temps along with more volume sure wont hurt. Note there are also some bigger pans out there as well if you want to increase volume.

[Phat_Optimo]

Hey now... Some good questions you have there. From what I gather the crank collar problem was all r32 and early r33 have this problem. Upping the pump size can help but there are good and bad things that can happen there. Alot depends on what you going to do with it (street, drag or road race). A bacicly stock 26 is fine with the stock pump. About the oil coolers... I plan on using 2 with my setup. The larger pump will help feed the oil coolers. The coolers help with oil capacity and temps. Btw good luck finding a 26 that doesn't need new turbos. Most all of these engines are on their last leg when we see them.

[danstachet]

lol yeah, i definitely plan on taking my time with this project. I wanna basically freshen everything up on the motor and make it as healthy as possible before running it. With me going into the air force i really hope i get stationed somewhere near a decent track because id like to start drifting on a track instead of on the streets. On the streets its obviously illegal and you are definitely limited to what you are able to do and so on. I don't plan on building the car for anything specific i just want a nice set up that will do decent on the drag strip and have good mid range power to slide around with.

I wanna build the motor so that its relatively bullet proof in terms of staying with in the stock bottom end's capabilities. That means keeping the oiling system up to par and the cooling system.

You say the turbos are usually garbage? Any suggestive replacements? i wanna stay TT and not go top mount single.

[gawdzilla]

another suggestion is to take what you see on the internet with a grain of salt. a lot of ppl have BIG budgets and over build the motors. sure the stuff they are doing is theoretically good for the car, but how much of it actually helps and goes into saving a motor? how much of it is driver related or maintenance related? a lot of the guys pay big money at shops, then expect the motor to do ridiculous things after they've emptied their wallets. realistically i think they are expecting too much from a motor. it isn't made of magic.

ppl who build the RBs, 26s especially tend to go WAY overboard a lot of times. before you know it, 1200 oil pumps, 300 head drains, 1k+ sump pans, crank collar, restrictor, etc. etc. etc. is thrown on. a lot of it is overkill if you plan to occassionally track the car. the cars/motors who REALLY need this stuff are the ones doing heavy track use pulling over 1.5gs in corners and awd. if you are planning to do some occasional sliding, it is most likely not for you.

how did the r32,33,34 go under so many laps of testing at the Nur and be perfectly fine? Now all of a sudden ppl with old motors trying to push 800 hp out of them are spinning bearings and everyone is nuts about oiling. the crank collar i agree is an issue which was addressed by nissan. head drain and restrictors and ridiculous pump... insurance for the motor but not cheap and arguably not necessary depending on application.

think about what you're using the motor for. will a solid rebuild do? probably. just keep the motor topped off at the track, keep the revs sane and fix the crank collar IMO.

[danstachet]

sweet, i totally understand what you're saying and it makes perfect sense. So for occasional track use an OEM pump is definitely going to be fine, but what about the head drain? When rebuilding what's another $300? I don't expect any of the stuff I've asked about to make any me any more power just insurance. The fastest thing I've ever driven is a high 12 second evo and my high 13 second SR powered s13, so I do expect an RB26 powered s chassis to surprise me at least a little bit lol.

BTW where can i find the head drain from? I haven't been able to find it anywhere I've been searching all evening.

[silviasgp06]

Hey another soon to be AirForce RB driver, Im AF-ROTC (Detachment 845@TCU). But yeah alot of people do over build. Ive known people who abuse the RB for years and nothing happen as long as the Tune is right, even without fixing the oil collar. I have not fixed my oil collar but i will next summer before i prep the motor for a larger turbo. but on the crank collar issue, yes its a known problem but from what i can tell the oem pump w/bad crank collar has only failed when people rev the piss out of the motor day in and day out. yeah some have had it fail with normal/spirited driving but on this forum ive have really only seen proof of less than 10 failed collars, pictures of only 2. So even if im missing alot of failed examples and 50 RBs have failed due to the pump in US cars, compare that the ones that havnt. Its smart to fix the collar but the evidence (at least to me) isnt there to be truly scared of it. Some even say it never became an issue until JUN or whoever started to market the collar fix. (maybe im wrong and a ton of cars have failed, but im just going with the evidence)

bottom line(well my opinion), if you have the motor out and can get it done. but if your playing it stock for a while theres no reason to be scared if your having problems looking for a shop to do it like it did, just watch the oil and keep the revs down to the low 7s. Its something to keep in mind, but not run to the emergency room about if its a stockish setup.

[BHFR-GTR]

in talking with eric hsu over at cosworth ( hes tuning my car ) rpm's and high speed cornering are the killers, i have a n1 pump in my car and he still tells me to keep the redline 7800-8000 any thing more than that go with the tomei pump, its the next best thing to a dry sump setup, i just plan on dragging my car so cornering is the least of my worrys

[Coolwhip]

Some even say it never became an issue until JUN or whoever started to market the collar fix. (maybe im wrong and a ton of cars have failed, but im just going with the evidence)

having Nissan correct this flawed design in later RB engines should be enough evidence for anyone.

[PorkChopExpress]

you would think that we took enough of these engines apart to have a log of what years had the snout problems. Does the serial numbers on the block tell year manufactured? Maybe we can't because we don't know the year. But japan/ Australia who are taking them out of the original cars should know.