# 3 Days and Bang



## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Hello

I have just brought pikeys old car and had it for 3 days. I have just fixed all the electrical probs and the boost problems. So i went out to try the car out and the first time i give it some i spin an big end.

Stop at an set of lights and went to pull away and nothing but it banging its tits off.

I am fuming as ths happened to my last gtr . I had it 3 days and yet again spun a big end.

Nothing bad towards pikey in any way. It just my luck and it always has to happen to me.

Absolutly gutted but hey cant be depressed for to long as i have to look foward to rebuilding the engine.

Jamie


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

It had a reground crankshaft when Pikey sold it, did the people you brought it off speak of any possible problems 5k for a car of that spec was very cheap.


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## andy42uk (Sep 17, 2005)

So that's the definitive answer then, do not grind a RB crank.
Nice to know at last.
Andy.


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## Phil69 (Sep 13, 2006)

^^^If thats the case, is there any chance it might some sort of garuntee if the work was carried out by a garage. Just a thought.


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## pitbull (Sep 1, 2006)

no you can re grind a rb crank but it has to be perfect if not then it will mess up.


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

The standard rods are graded but the over size shells are plus 0.25mm so you will not get the correct clearences. You could change the rods so they are all 0 grade but its better to just get a new crankshaft.


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## Philip (Jan 17, 2002)

Get what you pay for.

Phil


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Well i say i got it for £5000 but that is what its cost me. I had an st185 gt4 worth around £3000 that i managed to get for pretty much free. So in the car was worth around £7000-£8000. 

So he put a reground r33 crank in it. Im under the understanding that when you regrind the cranks that they are no good for big power or heavy use as when i had this happen last time on my other gtr i was advised to go for an brand new crank from nissan.

I will get the thing out and let you lot know.


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## stealth (Jul 6, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your car ,but this is typical of the way these things are worked on and why rb engines often go bang from not being set up righ,t or corners cut:nervous:


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## Trev (Nov 1, 2003)

3 days!

Blimey, that's beaten my 5 days before my engine went - unlucky.


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## stealth (Jul 6, 2004)

Sorry to Hijack thread but is your car running ok now Trev .


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

Sorry to hear that Jamie.


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

good lord, I think we all need to exorcise our Skylines - apparently the Skyline God doesn't always like gajin driving his cars.

I guess I should count my ten days from delivery to blowing a piston as on the lucky side.


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## DODGY (Oct 28, 2001)

Give RB a ring i think someone is having a RB31 built and is selling the bottom end.

Think he has put it up on the forum as well.

Graham


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## Sayajin (May 30, 2006)

I know the feeling about the bearing man.... I spun mine on startup sitting in a gas station.

That just means its time to upgrade! lol.


-Sayajin


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## MeLLoN Stu (Jun 9, 2005)

andy42uk said:


> So that's the definitive answer then, do not grind a RB crank.
> Nice to know at last.
> Andy.



rubbish. RB cranks can be ground no problem. One failure is not conclusive, there's pleanty of ground ones still going strong.


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

it's probably not so much that the crank was ground, but that the bearing tolerances were off. Meticulous bearing matching and plastigauging over and over until it's dead on, I don't see why a reground crank would spin a bearing. But it's hard to have numerous sets of conrod or mains bearings sitting around of every conceivable thickness, and to swap and test, and swap and test.


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

or you could do what Ford is doing for the GT crankshaft recall and use a $10 Speedi-sleeve...


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## Trev (Nov 1, 2003)

stealth said:


> Sorry to Hijack thread but is your car running ok now Trev .


Yes thanks, all good now mate.


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

MeLLoN Stu said:


> rubbish. RB cranks can be ground no problem. One failure is not conclusive, there's pleanty of ground ones still going strong.


indeed!

a crank is a crank and the RB is nothing special at all...just another poxy engine just like the rest


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

did you buy it off Pikey, or from the dealer he sold it to?

if so, did you not contact pikey to see if he'd any knowledge of any problems?

often, if you've come to the end of your tether with a car playing up, dumping it on a dealer is the most guilt free option.

mook


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## SteveN (Aug 6, 2002)

Didnt buy it off Pikey, he sold it months ago.

It was fine when he sold it, I know that for a fact, it hardly had any use, BUT it needed remapping for the new turbo setup IIRC.

Was it set up right? Det kills bearings too, same as everything else.

Cant see why a reground crank would make a jot of difference if it was done right after, inc right bearings etc.

Stock oil systems totally suck on RBs, seen tons of them spin bearings.


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## Philip (Jan 17, 2002)

How deep does the hardening go on something like a crank?

Phil


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

I'll call you later tonight Jamie...


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## rasonline (Mar 24, 2005)

have a read of this

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/35988-can-you-grind-crankshaft-not.html?highlight=grind+crankshaft


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## skytoy (Sep 24, 2006)

sorry to hear about that. Hope it gets fixed and not cost to much.


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

SteveN said:


> Didnt buy it off Pikey, he sold it months ago.
> 
> It was fine when he sold it, I know that for a fact, it hardly had any use, BUT it needed remapping for the new turbo setup IIRC.


I wouldnt say it 'hardly had any use'. Since I completed the engine build in August 2005, it had over a year of use until I sold it in October (?) 2006 - including a track day at Llandau, two drift days, two mapping sessions, two rolling road power runs, a track session at Donington and ~7000 road miles. During none of which it suffered any kind of problem related to the engine spec or build whatsoever!

It blew the N1s up at Donny near the beginning of last year (due to being overboosted during the first mapping session probably), and it blew the gearbox in half in July (due to god knows what - it literally snapped in half, I'm sure youve all seen the pics), but there was nothing whatsoever to suggest there was anything wrong with the engine itself.

I stand by _everything_ I did to that car - every decision, every product, every precaution I did and didnt take, I never took anyone's word for it without doing my own research until I was happy with it myself.

I cant possibly vouch for what's been done or not done to that car since I sold it nearly 6 months ago. I checked the AFR for the new turbo on the old map and it was fine at 1.2bar (wastegate pressure) - so I left it like that cos to be frank it scared the living shite out of me at that power and I didnt want - or think I could cope with - any more!!

When the gearbox broke, I put another standard one in there and made the best job I could with what little money I had left at that point. I sold it because my finances were getting desperate, NOT IN ANY WAY because 'dumping it on a dealer is the most guilt-free option'. I sold it for peanuts in a fairly sorry state because that was the only option I had left!

Gutted :bawling: 

Fingers crossed it's not too bad. As I said in my last PM, if you need any help with the spec of the internals I'll do what I can to help you


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## davewilkins (Jun 30, 2001)

As far as I can see, if the car was purchased from someone other than Pikey, it has nothing to do with him as the next owner could have done anything to it.
Sad news that you are having problems just after buying the car. 
Seems to me like you have two owners. One who has no problems and one who has problems with every car:nervous:


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## andy42uk (Sep 17, 2005)

MeLLoN Stu said:


> rubbish. RB cranks can be ground no problem. One failure is not conclusive, there's pleanty of ground ones still going strong.


Don't shoot the messenger.......


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## carterjohn (Jul 27, 2006)

Bad news Jamie,but i can beat you.

I picked my gtr up and got 4 hours before i spun a bearing.  

Chin up and bounce back m8.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Yea spoke to Andy and he has helped me alot so im going to take it on myself and do my own rebuild with the help of certain members.

I hoping to take the engine out rebuild and back in within a week so i am going to be a busy boy.

I have started to strip it out this evening and im getting a crane off r32 combat to get the freaking thing out.

The dealer i brought it off didnt really take care of it to well. When i got it the alternator shorted out and it broke down when i went to pick it up. Then i went to get it again and the alternator warnig light came on. So i pulled over shut the door went to sort the prblem and the thing locked me out while it was runing. So i had to break into it and i have the biggest mark on my left arm from reaching past the glass to get to the window switch.

Its one of those cars thats is going to distroy my lifw but i love it.

I do not wish to put any blame pikeys way what so ever he has been very helpful and a genuine guy.

Its just one of those things cant put a finger on it . Its time came to a end.

The worst bit is that my last r32 gtr spun a bearing after 3 days of ownership so i was messing around with my mates saying if it lasts through the day i would be happy and then bang. So beat that 2 gtrs 3 days 2 engine rebuilds.

And if its number 5 big end again im going to cry but i bet it is .

Cheers guys good to be back on this forum again.


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## Simonh (May 24, 2002)

My last GTSt was set up like a charm, for the spec of the parts it was spot on.

I sold it to a dealer to fund my current car, it then cropped up for sale a while later so I sent the owner a mail to tell him a bit about the history and offer him the copies of the dyno sheets. Anyway that never happend and it got sold to another local ish guy and the last I heard the turbo had blown as the boost had been whacked up past what the turbo could cope with.

who was to blame. the dealer upping the boost to make it a bit faster while selling, the guy who brought it from the dealer or the guy that had the turbo die on him?

who knows, all that can be said is that it is a bit of a pisser and not good for anyone.

Good luck with the rebuild!

Simon


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Right engine is coming out tomorrow and strip down on sunday. My main man Andy has spoken to the good fellows at abbey at sourced me the parts so if it is what i thank it is then we are looking good.

Yea the car has just been used and abused since pikey got rid of it. I keep finding things wrong all over the place. Oil leaks here and there loose bolts and even the dip stick wont go back in.

So i hope i have more luck then pikey did with this car so i can enjoy it.

Im taking he engine out and leaving the box in the car or trying anyway. Head of first and then taking the block out.

Cheers for all the replys guy will keep you informed.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Engine almost out had to give up today as the missis was moaning so i couldnt go and get the crane off Andy but will be on it first thing tomorrow.

Found quite a few things wrong with the car like gaskets blown and seals missing hear and there. 1 spark plug hole full off oil and the wiring looms are shagged.

Quite a few lose bolts and the power steering pumps was lose causing the annoying squelling noise.

The 3 small head bolts on the corners where missing the acc module wasnt bolted down and all the pipes where mushed , a couple of them wernt going anywhere and not even blanked off.

So im glad im doing this as the thing needs so much work.


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

Sounds like a right nightmare. From what you are saying, something bad was bound to happen at some point. If you need extra bolt for the rocker covers etc, I have loads of misc bolt/nuts of various RB26's.


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## jumpman023 (Sep 29, 2005)

Wow, consider yourself lucky to have the knowlege/resources to tackle such a job. Some folks couldn't even begin to identify major engine parts, much less hope to take them apart and rebuild it. Good luck...i'm sure she'll go like the wind when you are done!


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

if a gtr is costing you £5k then i woudlnt expect it to last too long tbh

best of luck with rebuilding it, though


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

£5k cash AND a car worth between £2-3K


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Right 

Engine out found more things wrong with it

Front prop to front diff bolts finger tight.

Piston tops are heavly coked up. Looks like they have been in there for about 60000 miles. I mean its has built up to around 3mm thick.

Loads of bolt missing out of the sump. Cam belt just slipped off without removing the tensioners.

Oil pump has been put on with sealant and im pretty sure its meant to have an gasket.

Oh and the rattling was number 1 big end spun like an bitch destroying the crank and one con rod.

Got alot of cleaning to do as there have been massive oil leaks all over the engine bay covering the whole underneath of the car. I think most of them have been powersteering leaks so will be sorting all the pipes out aswell.

Got to rebuild the wiring looms as they are a complet mess and now have to take the gearbox out as the 2 connectors that go to it from the wiring loom have been through crimped and and have fallen apart.

Loads of work good stuff.

Oh and mine skin is now stained with oil and its not coming off.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

oh dear, 

on a serious note, as im curious (mainly cos im selling my 32, whichi know everything that has been done to it)

why did you go for such a low price 32?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Well it was an mid range price r32gtr £7-8k. Plus i knew the car was pikeys and it has history and reciepts for over £15000. It has the spec that i wanted plus a engine rebuild and wasnt in to bad condition.


I mean how many cars do you go to look at that you know everything that has been done to it since it has been in the uk.

The only prob has been that the thing gave up which can happen to any gtr at any time and im sure many other forum members agree. 

I could of brought yours for £10k+ and had to of spent around another £10k to get the spec that mine is and then yours go bang in 3 days. You never know when anything mechanical will let go. Plus mine had an full forge piston rebuild with all the engineering reciepts to prove.

It the way the cookie crumbles


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

true, thanks for the input, was just curious wasnt a "slagging" comment.

i know whats been done to mine, it doesnt ever get driven hard as anyone who knows me will tell you.

wish you all the best, bit of a bumer that what happened.

mine woudlnt have gone bang 

never let me down as a daily driver in 18months


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

shouldnt of said that mate go touch some wood now lol


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## 323ian (Jun 26, 2006)

Madden i really respect the way you are tackling this job.
I like how you are just getting stuck in and doing it.
You are lucky you have the knowledge and facilities.

Who had the car before you and left it in such a state, how can someone sleep at night knowing a cambelt is loose!?


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

Jamie has friends in low places:runaway:


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

jeez, best of luck with it mate


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

according to Tweenierob, oil pump gasket is optional. But the rest....I had my share of nightmare discoveries in my summer rebuild, like the engine being held in by only one bolt!


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

yea i forgot that bit.

One engine mount snapped and the other not even bolted to the chassis.

Got my engine stand today so hopefully engine will be built up on saturday ready for the install on sunday. 

Wanted to get the engine ready over this week but cant get to abbey in time to get the parts.

Im just hoping that when its back in i have no problems. Im scared of giving it full throttle again. Just incase it spins a bearing again.

Yea i have some very knowledgable( it thats even a word ) mates that know what they are doing and i did do 5 years at college and uni to do an motorsports engineering degree. So hopefully all will go smooth...ish.

Cheers guys will let you know how it goes.


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## 323ian (Jun 26, 2006)

That must have been running like a bag of nails before it spun a bearing with all those loose mounts etc?

What causes these bearings to spin?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

oil not up to temp 
oil stavation
poor tolorances when being built


I have heard alot of them go when corning hard as the stock sump baffles are not really that good and you get oil stavation.

Also the car was runing very well just went all off a sudden.

But i do remeber a red light flashed on when i booted it so that might off been my problem oil stavation from the thing acclerating so ****ing hard


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## 323ian (Jun 26, 2006)

So is a GTR with no oil baffle kit apart from stock ok to use on the track?
How is the rebuild going mate?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Well 

All i know or have been told is that a lot of r32 gtrs seem to spin big ends when coming out of corners on the loud pedal due to the sump baffles.

I not going to say that all gtrs blow up due to that but its an common cause which i have heard from some tuners.

Your car should be fine mate but i do wonder why the uprated samp baffles kits have come about. They must have been made for a reason.

Yea im picking up the parts tomorrow and away i go all weekend on the car again. Its costing me more sending the missis shopping to keep her quite then rebuilding my engine. lol


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

I have got a lot of cleaning to do so i hope i can get the bottom end back in this weekend as i have heard that it might snow Monday or Tuesday and im not riding my bike 60 miles a day in that crap.

Also i might have a problem with the rods and weisco pistons. A good source at abbey said that there is a problem with the american pistons and that the gudgeon pin lands or small end on the rods have to be hardened in a special way to stop them from wearing quciker. I have found abit of play between the gudgeon pins and rods and there shouldn't be any at all.

So i hoping that it just me being a bit worried or if its and actual problem. So depending on what abbey say could put the build back quite a while.

Fingers crossed


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

Jamie

I don't know you, but can i just say Bravo, for just picking yourself up and getting on with it.

its not been 8 days since your initial post, and i know youve had to shell out a few quid, but Kudos to your for being a true petrol head and not throwing in the towel.

best of luck for the rebuild, you deserve it

mook


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## 323ian (Jun 26, 2006)

As Mookistar has said, full credit to you mate.
You must have a lot of skill to be taking on such a job.
Would love to see a few pictures.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

The things is i love these cars as they are my dream cars. So i will do anything to get the thing working and a make it last longer then 3 days. I hope.

I have soem pics of the bearings which are shagged and the pistons that are heavy coked uo but thats it really Will get some pics of stuff when its all clean and im putting it back together again.

I will look forward to meeting you guys soon at the next santa pod day or local meet.


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## tarmac terror (Jul 16, 2003)

Can I also add my best wishes on the rebuild and a 'well done' for going out there and doing it yourself.
On another subject and in no way wishing to belittle what your doing but I think some people think that the RB is something special in engineering terms when in actual fact it just a straight 6 like any other. Yes it may have its quirks like longer bolts in some places or a specific order for doing certain things but for any reasonable mechanic it shouldnt be a big sweat.
Obviously there are those who have no (or very little) mechanical knowledge and prefer to have someone competent work on their cars and thats absolutely fine. Thats why garages exist and prosper, and quite rightly so as not everyone has experience as a spanner monkey or a degree in MechEng.
I think its great that everyone on here is willing to help others in need (for parts and advice etc) and that really sets owners clubs apart TBH.
Again, good luck mate and I hope it all goes well. I'm in East Berks myself and if there's anything I can do to help dont hesitate to give me a shout.

TT


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

No i do agree. Once you have done one engine they are all the same. The only thing with the rb lump is the pure size of it.

There isnt one thing in there that i havent seen on a mini lump. So anyone with any kind of mech skill can carry out an rebuild but its just what to look out for when carrying the rebuild out that makes if a bit more difficult.

The rebuild that was done on this engine before was terriable which is probley why the thing blew up after such a short time. 

Just a little of of knowledge and some know how saves such alot of money. A stock rebuild on an gtr costs around the £5000 mark. So with a bit of hard work im proberly going to do the rebuild for around £1000 with a few extras thrown in.

And i can get it done quicker then a tuner as i can put all my spare time into it and there is only 1 car to work on not 20. My last gtr went away for almost 2 months to get rebuilt. This one i was planing for 1 week maybe 2 weeks due to all the problems i have found.


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## tarmac terror (Jul 16, 2003)

I wholeheartedly agree that you can save an absolute packet by going DIY. Armed with the appropriate torque settings and stuff, anythings possible:chuckle: 
I thank my lucky stars that I have the skills to be able to tackle jobs myself. Unfortunately, at the moment its the lack of equipment that restricts me as all my tools etc are still in Scotland.
Hopefully I wont have to do any major jobs until I get my tools and things transported down here.

TT


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

Madden said:


> The rebuild that was done on this engine before was terriable which is probley why the thing blew up after such a short time.


Well I was hoping it wasnt going to come to this, but sorry mate - that just isnt true  

If the rebuild was 'terrible', why did it last thousands of road miles, mapping sessions, track days, drift days, rolling road days, and generally anything I threw at it? In the >12 months since the car was back on the road I managed to break the turbos and the gearbox (which shows you that it DID get proper use, I didnt pussy it around) - but i didnt break the engine!

If the rebuild was 'terrible' - why didnt it blow up when I ran just shy of 500bhp @ 7800rpm in 5th gear on a rolling road?

If the rebuild was 'terrible' - how did it manage to split the gearbox in half before the engine broke?

You want to be asking what was changed between when I sold it, and when you bought it, to find out why it blew up - rather than blaming the previous engine build which I can happily prove was perfectly adequate.


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

Pikey said:


> Well I was hoping it wasnt going to come to this, but sorry mate - that just isnt true
> 
> If the rebuild was 'terrible', why did it last thousands of road miles, mapping sessions, track days, drift days, rolling road days, and generally anything I threw at it? In the >12 months since the car was back on the road I managed to break the turbos and the gearbox (which shows you that it DID get proper use, I didnt pussy it around) - but i didnt break the engine!
> 
> ...


cant argue with that, the fact he ran that engine at those power levels is well documented on here

bad rebuild wont do that (engine says no..)


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## Simonh (May 24, 2002)

playing devils advocate here

are you sure that the engine that died was the one pikey rebuilt?

from the catalogue of issues there it almost sounds to me like a good engine has been swapped out with a bad one................

Simon


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

and that does go on......the engine in mine was swopped (it had the date written on the bottom of the sump) just before i bought it

and guess what, that went bang a few days later too, would have been fine with a small clip around the fuel regulator line but hey...there you go eh


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

pikey calm done im not slating you but im not just talking about the internal build im taking about fitting the thing back in as well.

Why the hell where bolts left out that hold the head back down and bolts missing off the sump. Engine mounts not even been bolted back to the chassis. Loads of bolts missing everywhere. The rocker cover bolts replaced with normal bolts with no seals so they leak everywhere. The coil loom hand made with crimp conectors. And what the hell is the bolt that has been threaded back into the block and had sealant put all over it. The idle control valve left floating and half the pipes not connected. The wiring loom wrapped round all the powersteering pipes, the gearbox sensors poorly through crimped back together. The head locators not even put back in. No metal clips on any of the injector wiring plugs.

The list goes on and on mate. I can go on forever about the things missing off the car or bodged back together. 

I didnt want it to come to this but the rebuild was poor.

Not saying that it made it spin a bearing but i know my car would never go out in a state like that. And im pretty sure no one who puts their car into be rebuilt would have that either.

I spoke to the trader and all he has done to it is fit new brakes, fix the 4wd leak and give it an service.

I dont want to argue about it who knows maybe all those bits just fell off. 

I respect you mate and never thought you would be like this but hey shit happpens .

Im not looking for someone to blame what so ever just want to be able to drive the ****ing thing

No more arguements it spoils threads you have had your say and i have had mine its done.


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## SteveN (Aug 6, 2002)

How do you know the dealers not lying to you?

The dealers not gonna go "yeah mate, we did it, we built and installed a RIGHT shit old engine"

Pikey had NO intention of selling the car when the new engine was built and installed so i dont believe he wouldve done a shit job.

Tho I do believe a dealer would...



IMO this thread is making Pikey look properly bad with absolutley no proof it was **** all to do with him, he didnt sell you the car, its had a new owner for a good while before you got mugged off with it.

Your not blaming him for selling you a scrapper, but you are saying he made and installed the scrapper...


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

post some pics...most likely a different engine?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

There is no way the engine is differant.

Everything pikey said about the engine is in it

Acl bearings ,balanced crank ,rods and clutch. The forged pistons the cometic head gasket , the arp rod bolts. Its all there im not trying to make pikey look bad what so ever im just listing all the things wrong that i have seen mate. Which i have been told to do by a few members.

If you care to read the whole thread everything i have said is nothing to do with the guy so why cause all this crap.

Its just an thread about a car that i brought. And i have had chats with pikey and he is a nice guy so why would i like to make him feel like shit. He sold the car to the trader 6-7 months ago so why is anything directed at him.

I have never pointed a finger at anyone so stop all this crap and get on with life mate.

And i know he didnt want to sell it. he got rid off it because it had caused hims loads of problems, he had spent alot of money on it and it scared the crap out of him.

To tell you the truth i respect him for all the work and effort he put into the car . I know he loved the thing but his drifting came first.

If its causing that many problems then any moderator who wants to scrap the whole thread do it.. 

Fine by me i dont want any arguments just want to enjoy the owners club.

Shame really


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

Jamie, Pikey, no need to get bogged down in this.

Jamie, perhaps post up some pics of the engine as it was/is, get Pikey to take a look and advise if anything looks out of place.

as far as i, or anyone else is concerned, this thread is only throwing a question of honesty on the dealer, and knowing more can only help you, and clear pikeys name.

hows that sound?

mook


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Hello mate
Cheers for the reply. Im not blackening his name and never have. Its just one of those things that happen to performance cars such as gtrs. I have just been posting the probs that i have found and it just haooens that the cars was pikeys old car like almost 7 months ago. 

And how i was surposed to know that he actually built the thing as i have reciepts from an engineering company saying about balancing and all other kinds of stuff to do with the engine so i said the wrong thing not surposed to be pointed at pikey.

I know its the engine that was in the car that he used to own but im not looking to blame him what so ever.

If it was a car i brought from a dealer and i started to report my findings and it ended to be someones old car i would be in the same boat.

Maybe we could remove the last couple of posts that have been about this little argument and be done with it. I dont wont to bet worried about what was said and blacken his name. If we can remove all posts starting from where i said a terrible rebuild. Maybe me and pikey can get on with it and be done.


Lets all go down the pub, drink stella and smash the crap out of each other for 10 mins. lol

Thats me done on this silly subject.

Thankyou and very sorry to cause any upset as i know pikey is a valued member on the gtr oc and a very helpful guy.


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## cokey (Sep 11, 2003)

Steve mate.
"IMO this thread is making Pikey look properly bad." :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: 
how many good looking pikeys do you know ?
In fact dont answer that !:runaway: 
cokey


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Engine all built now.

Got to put sump on and all done. 

Still waiting on a few bits so going to degrease the engine bay and underneath of the car.

I was outside to 11pm last night getting all the pistons in and decoking them.

Got to clean the sump out of all the bearing parts its gone everywhere.

Sould be on target to start the thing mid week if all the parts turn up.


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## gary (Aug 19, 2001)

*oil pump gasket*

Hey mate,
just thought i would let you know the oil pump gasket and associated seals and gaskets are not OPTIONAL they are important and are needed so hope you have fitted them.


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

Madden said:


> Engine all built now.
> 
> 
> Got to clean the sump out of all the bearing parts its gone everywhere.


Did you remove the block oil gallery plugs, bits can get trapped in the oil ways.


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

how'd you decoke the pistons? I think this is a very important process, especially to prevent preignition. It'd be cool to find a way to do this with the engine built, through the spark plug hole. I plan to use an endoscope camera to check my piston surfaces regularly - the carbon deposits on my last set of pistons were pretty thick - a lot more of that stuff than the pitting you get from det. They were probably glowing hot embers when they caused my meltdown.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Hello

Yes to fitted all the gaskets as when i was cleaning the oil pump i found loads of sealant sucked up into it. Also the outlet side of the pump was pretty much blocked up to nothing where the sealant had squezzed into it and set.

I also spent ages trying to clean out the strainer as there was loads of sealant sucked up in that as well. I think it came off the sump and fell inside when it was tighened up. So im hoping i might get a little bit more oil pressure this time. Well at least it will flow better.

I did clean all the oilways. Spent a day cleaning the block and oil ways. As there was loads of bearing all over the place.

It took ages to decoke the pistons as they where so bad. I used wd40 and an wire brush to remove all the crap. They are now nice and shiny. I was outside till 11pm decoking and pastiguaging the things but all for the best i hope.

I spoke to Tony at abbey when i picked up the parts and got the con rod changed over. He said that the car must be runing very very rich for it to coke them up that bad. So when its all run in i will be getting a remap to sort it out and maybe run some more boost. Up the power a bit more if it can cope.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Dont they do i decoke fuel cleaner thing that you put in the fuel?


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

Madden said:


> pikey calm down im not slating you


No problems, I hadnt had a great day when I posted that, glad you didnt take too much offence. I just thought I'd reiterate how well it had lasted just in case anyone else got the wrong idea  



Madden said:


> Why the hell where bolts left out that hold the head back down and bolts missing off the sump. Engine mounts not even been bolted back to the chassis. Loads of bolts missing everywhere. The rocker cover bolts replaced with normal bolts with no seals so they leak everywhere. The coil loom hand made with crimp conectors. And what the hell is the bolt that has been threaded back into the block and had sealant put all over it. The idle control valve left floating and half the pipes not connected. The wiring loom wrapped round all the powersteering pipes, the gearbox sensors poorly through crimped back together. The head locators not even put back in. No metal clips on any of the injector wiring plugs.


If you mean head bolts, as in actual head bolts - I cant imagine for one second the engine lasting more than 5 minutes if a head bolt got missed off!

Both engine mounts were bolted in as far as I know.

Rocker cover screws were mostly replaced with proper bolts so you could tighten them up properly, rather than those shitty screws which were all rounded off.

My brother lost the coil loom so, rather than pay GT-Art £100 for a second hand one, I made that loom myself. It had been like that for ages, never went wrong.

That bolt is there to plug an oilway, because it's a 33 block in a 32 I presume there's an outlet for an oil cooler or something.

My gearbox was supplied with the connectors cut off, that was the only way I could do it. It's not great, but it worked for me.

Do you know how much a pain in the arse those wire clips are to remove? Maybe thats why we didnt put them back on  

You'll also notice a missing bolt on the starter motor. That's deliberate too, that bolt is THE MOST awkward bolt Ive ever had to get at in my life. In a year of driving it never once failed to start, or broke.

Bolts missing off the sump - does the sump leak? No? Well then 

As a further example of why that car is how it is, do you know how many individual fixings are used to hold the standard bumper in place? There's *15* that I can think of, and Ive probably forgotten some! After the first time your car pops a boost hose off and you need to remove the bumper by the side of the road in the pissing rain - you'll realise why there are *4* holding my front bumper on. Because the rest just arent needed!


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Good man pikey

Your thinking is very good mate good answers.

I must admit that the coil wiring loom that you made would proberly last longer then an standard one. But shit man its hard to put the thing back on lol

Yea i noticed the front bumber was abit wobbley. Now i know why. Cheers mate.

Yea i checked on that bolt in the side of the block. Its actually not meant to be there at all. Theres meant to be no hole what so ever. I was thinking that the hole was drilled and taped to fit an oil pressure sensor of some kind.

Got to get an new bolt as it was threaded to ****.

Just want the weather to clear up a bit so i can put the thing back in


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

Yeah we could feel it threading itself as we tightened it up, but figuring it wasnt ever coming out again we put PTFE tape around the threads and tightened it up until we daren't tighten it any more. Job done. Why did you take it out?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Just to see what it was mate.

Rethreaded it, new bolt and a bit of lock tight. Sorted.

Engine is all in and wired up now so just have to put the head on and then im away.

I was working on the bloddy thing till 1.30am this morning as i couldnt get the engine and gearbox to go together which was due to the alignment of the twin plate clutch.

So i went to Abbey again and they lent me there 1st motion shalf alignment tool and it went in in 10mins compared to 5 hours last night and the early hours of this morning.

So all is in and i hope to get the head back on sometime this week and see if it starts.


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## 323ian (Jun 26, 2006)

Pikey said:


> You'll also notice a missing bolt on the starter motor. That's deliberate too, that bolt is THE MOST awkward bolt Ive ever had to get at in my life. In a year of driving it never once failed to start, or broke.
> 
> Bolts missing off the sump - does the sump leak? No? Well then


This is nothing to do with me mate but that just seems crazy thinking to me.

I have personally taken my gearbox off 3 times and would never dream of leaving a starter motor bolt out.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

No there was 2 bolts mate and only 2 lugs so none missing.

Maybe its one of the bolts that fell off somewhere else and fell in there without you knowing. lol


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

Madden said:


> I was working on the bloody thing till 1.30am this morning as i couldnt get the engine and gearbox to go together which was due to the alignment of the twin plate clutch.


Been there


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

I swear this car is haunted or something i see it causing me much stress and costing me a fourtune. 

It cost pikey alot of money and time and i see it doing the same to me.


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## ollam69 (Jun 22, 2006)

SteveN said:


> How do you know the dealers not lying to you?
> 
> The dealers not gonna go "yeah mate, we did it, we built and installed a RIGHT shit old engine"
> 
> ...



Agreed, but he should have also done his homework and get the AA or similar to check it over.


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Hello to oilman

Why the hell do people like you keep bring that up me and pikey are not arguing over the thing and the engine was never swapped out.

Also i would like an aa man who can look inside an engine and say you big ends will spin in 3 days. lol

And i done alot of homework on this particual car. I have read all the threads that pikey has posted and the only reason i snapped it up was because of the work that he had done to the thing. I mean the body needs tiding and i brought it due to the engine and gearbox being new plus the spec.

I can say that no one can tell when an engine will let go unless you can see massive power loss or oil pissing out everywhere.

Anyway the engine is all in now all wiring looms have been redone. All bolts where there are meant to be bolts. lol

I had an nightmare getting the head back on as the exhust manifold kept on hitting on the blanked off oil return. Removed the blank put some straps on the head had a mate sitting on the bit in front of the windscreen and me standing in the engine bay and it fell into place nicley.

Then i had to try and connect all the coolant pipes up under the manifold and the sensors What an skin losing experiance but its done now so all the swearing was done for a good deed but i think my neighbours think i have tourets. lol

Just got to do the cam belt and put the turbo kit on.

Should be running tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

not oilman but ollam eh lol

well done on getting the the off an on mate....., i didnt fancy that myself and pulled the whole engine (which in my case was for the best i guess as i needed full rebuild)


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Its alive and started on the button with really good oil pressure and no oil leaks.

Seems to be good.

Shit myself at one moment when i saw oil leaking out the bottom. Jacked it up to check it out and its the front diff oil seal on the drivers side that got mullard when i was lifting the engine in and out. No biggy there.

I seem to have a slight exhust leak either the manifold or the turbo gasket that i replaced. It seems to me that i have an greddy t67 turbo kit but with an hks t04r turbo on top. As the turbo to manifold gasket that i ordered was differant. The one that was fitted seemed to be an t67 one. Also the external wastgate is greddy and the hard pipe is a greddy item but modified to fit the to4r.

A slight wining from one of the belts. I think the powersteering one is to tight.

Apart from that runs really well .

Got to change the oil in the morning to make sure that i have removed all traces of metal in the oil ways and then go for an drive.


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## Smithers (Feb 1, 2007)

just read the whole thread :smokin: 

Well done with the rebuild, fingers crossed it's all ok


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Well

Everything is all done now. Redone the cam belt as i had tensioned it to much. Sorted out the exhust leak. It was blowing from the manifold to head joint i forgot to tighten up 2 bolts. opps lol

But i still cant drive it as the seal i brought to fix the front diff leak was the wrong one. So cant drive it anywhere without that now. Dame car.

So i spent about 3 hours trying to bring the carbon bonnet back from the dead. Took the stickers off and t cutted like a nutter to bring it back.

So the car is all nice and shinney now running like a dream but still sitting in the same parking space for 2 weeks now.

Hopefully i will get the seal delivered tomorrow dut to the mix up with the parts. Fingers crossed.

If not tomorrow then Tuesday i can have a go in it.

Cheers for the coments guys and the help very gratful


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

Good news 

Have you installed the boost controller piping/solenoid? I was only using it to display boost, and using the wastegate alone to open and hold at 1.2bar. If it were me, that's how I'd leave it, as that's pretty much 500bhp right there, and it scared the living shit out of me  In a good way of course 

Also, what's the rev limit set to in the PowerFC nowadays?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

It have just checked that mate its at 7850rpm

Yea im buying some more hose on saturday to finish of the boost control install. Im going to run 1 bar through wastgate and get the boost controller to do the rest. m going to run 1.2 bar low boost and 1.6 bar high boost when i have put some more goodie on the car.

What Power fc is it mate? Is it an pro?

I have finally got hold of the right driveshaft seal so i will be going for a drive tonight.

Cheers


Jamie


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## ollam69 (Jun 22, 2006)

Well done mate I hope you have better luck this time around. 

BTW, I hope your not using any BQ copper pipes:chuckle:


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Cheers mate


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## Big Sev (May 15, 2005)

Madden,

Thumbs up to all your hard work,

Have you been for a drive in it yet?

Just read the whole thread and am eager to find out how it went!

Sev


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## murano3 (Mar 23, 2005)

Incredible thread mate - really impressed.


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

Madden said:


> It have just checked that mate its at 7850rpm
> 
> What Power fc is it mate? Is it an pro?


That hasnt changed then, 7850 was what I set it to. If you ever want a bit of extra security, set the rev limit to a really low value (500rpm or something) then the car wont start  

It's just a normal PowerFC


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

i think its safer not having an engine in the car.


Well i have done almost 60 miles now and all seems good. No funney noise's no leaks. It drives really well. Got a bit of clutch judder even though i cleaned and greassed the 1st motion shaft.

This happened on the last gtr after an rebuild. What normally causes it. Its an os gliken twin plate?


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

Are you sure its clutch judder you only get that at the bite point which on a twin is hard to detect


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Deffantly cluch judder. Its weird sometimes it reallt bad.

What else can it be?


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## Madden (Nov 14, 2004)

Now my water pumo has given up and is leaking slightly so i have to get a new one of then now.

Also the blitz dump valves where locked solid with corrosion managed to save one but the other got killed while i was trying to free it so need a new one of them now.

All good fun


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