Neostead2000

Thanks, I have not looked into that but I'll keep it in mind. Oddly, these bearings were listed in every website as proper fit for the RB20 Neo but apparently that was majorly wrong and neither seller has fixed that yet. Another chap from NZ found this out and had to re-order OEM (NDC) bearings.

Up for sale is a brand new ACL conrod bearing kit for an RB20DET motor, 45mm big end diameter. I had ordered these for my 20DE Neo but turned out the Neo uses a smaller crank journal for the rods (42mm) as opposed to the regular RB20. I paid $80 USD for these but I am open to offers as I need these gone. Will ship internationally, located in Bulgaria, EU. I accept Paypal, Revolut or Bank Transfers.

The block side is completely flat with no grooves. I do not know if the R32 blocks have the same groove cut out or if it's just machined onto the strainer flange. I agree though, if I was to fill the groove it may be a much better idea to use metal epoxy essentially "welding" it flush inside the groove.

Long story short my '99 RB20Neo came without an oil pickup tube (oil strainer) and i had to source one. The one they sent me has a groove which in my opinion should work with an O-ring only. However, when I was ordering the gasket for it via correct part number (150531E400), the gasket is a thin metal piece with a very slight protrusion which is meant to crush between two flat surfaces. So now I'm wondering should I just go to the hardware store and find a suitable O-ring and run that only, or try using the gasket only? This is the gasket that came: And this is how my oil strainer looks like, with a big groove for an o-ring: From what I gather, this strainer is from an early RB from an R32 which under the parts diagrams only appears to use an O-ring? What if I filled the groove fully with RTV silicone and then added the OEM gasket on top? I reckon that should still produce a good seal for the vacuum of the oil being sucked up.

It looks like those are very common problems on these NEOs. My water pipe sleeve was also moderately corroded but I can still keep using it. You can just pull it out and have a standard sleeve with a lip machined, or just look for any pipe you have laying around that would be a snug fit, but certainly would need to have a lip at the end so the hose can seal well. Also when i took apart my RB20 Neo I also noticed ALL of the exhaust valves and their seats were very pitted, whereas the intake valves looked spotless. This is a very low mileage motor, mind you (I am guessing less than 60k km). I ended up lapping all the valves and polishing the chambers to give it more flow since I will be turbocharging. Also, can you link exactly which JP parts store website you are referencing? I want to avoid Amayama also as I just saw they have 60-90 day delivery times which is insane. I am almost ready to assemble my engine, I will be updating my build journal with it so keep an eye out if you want to see more about the 20 Neo

To give them the benefit of the doubt, Skylines are absolutely popping off right now so if I was working for a car export company one of the logical things to do is driving around neighborhoods and asking people if they'd sell their car. You'd be surprised how many people would accept a good offer right then and there. When I took my car (1997 Eagle Talon TSI AWD) to Belgium and to the UK, on 3 separate occasions I had similar "We buy sports cars" leaflets left on my windshield, almost right after I parked up. Those people are going 'round and round looking for interesting cars worth a dollar or two. That said, yeah these guys could be up to no good but... Just tell them next time your oil pump is shattered.

NOOOOOOOOOOO oh my god cancel your order on that Subaru gasket!!! Did you compare the images before you ordered? The Subaru gasket simply happens to have the same part number as the Nissan but IT IS NOT the same. This is the subaru gasket: And this is how our one with the same part number looks like: It is missing from the 25 kit because the 25 does not use the swirl valve mechanism. Only the 20DE Neo has it so it requires an additional custom gasket. Also the last gasket that lays between the head and intake, there are two different part numbers between 20 and 25 however on a Russian parts store it says 140355L300 works for both 20 and 25 NEO : Link So you may get lucky with that whole kit for the 25 but you still need the other one, or just reuse your old one if it's not too bad. Or like GTSBoy said, make it out of paper but it's very complicated in shape. Hope this helps! P.S Use something like this website and input your actual VIN so you get 100% accurate part numbers for your specific car. And always compare and look at the diagrams + web images to make 100% sure what part you are buying! https://nissan.epc-data.com/skyline/hr34/3948-rb20de/

161755L700 - 1 140335L300 - 2 140325L300 - 3 14038AA000 - 4 14035AA000 - 5 Refer to the diagram below, I have marked in read each corresponding number of gasket. There are a total of 5 intake gaskets on our 20 Neos. I have looked all throughout the EU across websites and stores, however since there wasn't an official RB20DE Neo equipped car marketed in the EU, nobody has these in stock. So your only option would be to source from Amayama. Should be able to find all those from the same warehouse in Japan or UAE. I thought about ordering them but the price outweighs the benefits, so I will be coating my old gaskets with copper spray and thoroughly boost leak testing. Worst case, there are two gasket makers in my home town which could replicate these gaskets, or I could just have them laser cut from 0.1mm sheets. Just some options worth considering.

You're correct. Actually I didn't know this info was explained in the manual, but I opened it up and those pages do talk about it a little bit. Basically the spring inside the actuator is always pushing the valves open, but if the engine is running (running always under vacuum), it should be pulling the diaphragm against the spring, essentially closing the valve assembly across all 6 runners. I took a closer look at the diagrams, it doesn't seem to be a clear ON/OFF scenario, but rather the ECU determines when and how much to open the valves by selling the solenoid to let air past it and start "pulling" on the diaphragm. It's a bit convoluted but after a few minutes of study, it appears clear. I believe that with a decent aftermarket ECU, the SCV (Swirl Control Valve) and it's solenoid can be configured to remain CLOSED up to the pre-spool RPM range of the selected turbocharger, then slightly open just as it starts spooling in conjuction with advanced timing and leaner AFRs. Then as full boost is attained, the valves should go 100% open (boost hitting the diaphragm) and richening the mixtures and dialing back the timing. In theory, and based on my own experience of ECM tuning, this should work nicely and offer a good economy "round town" operation whilst picking up on boost once power is demanded. I attached a video I took just to show physically how the arm moves and valves open for anyone curious. video-1645126038.mp4

Been reminiscing with some classics such as Apollo 440, Stanton Warriors, Crystal Method, as well as some modern stuff like KOHH (Japanese rapper) and MySchool (Russian rapper that mostly sings about cars, JDM stuff etc.). Nice soundtracks when working on these cars.

Correct, the swirl valves are normally open when the actuator is at rest. As I pull the shaft towards the actuator, it moves the valves closed. So that would imply under vacuum they will be fully closed and 100% of the airflow will be redirected through the two little Mickey Mouse ports. However, this is an N/A engine, so *naturally* it is always under vacuum. That's why there is a separate controller under the manifold that looks like a big vacuum pump of sorts, with three vacuum lines. I didn't spend too much time tracing the vacuums before I disassembled it, but I suspect at least one vacuum line goes directly from manifold to the pump, then the other two lines go to the actuator and a solenoid perhaps. As far as I know the swirl effect was designed to be operation under low-RPM operation, but I have not found a specific value. I would guess anywhere from 0-3000 RPM. The swirl effect helps air-fuel atomization while entering the combustion chambers as well as providing a leaner burn at those conditions (Which is why this engine in the factory manual is referred to as "L/B" - Lean Burn). My worry is, since this engine will be seeing boost, it is going to slam shut both valve mechanisms and severely restrict airflow to the head. I HIGHLY doubt Nissan designed the solenoid and vacuum pump to operate with boost in mind, as that system is not present on the turbo NEOs. So this will be an interesting task to tackle. BMW use the same exact system on their N57 turbodiesel engine, so there must be a way to configure it for proper turbo operation also.

Hopefully I can shed some more light into this. I was sent an RB20DE Neo by mistake (instead of a 25) so now I am stuck with it, trying to build it up for +T and also learning all the specifics about this "little" engine. I made some pics when I tore it down, hopefully this will help people. Note that I took a video of the swirl valve actuator and then took a picture from it to upload here. The manifold is technically a five piece design: 1. Throttle Body ---> 2. Y-shaped divider ---> 3. Top part of manifold including the big central torque valve ---> 4. Lower part of manifold ---> 5. Flange with swirl valves on one common shaft in each runner that mates up to the head. I am still uncertain whether I should keep the swirl valves and torque valve when turbocharging or if I should somehow remove them or hack them to stick open permanently. So far the crankshaft looks to be identical to a standard RB20 however it has the SHORT snout, but matched to an N1 oil pump (took it apart to confirm). The water pump is the smaller impeller one. Solid lifters, no front head drain/breather, coil on plug setup. I just test fitted the stock 25 turbo manifold and it bolts on perfectly.

Perfect response! This is exactly what I was looking for; actual real world experience and data. I'm going to be keeping the Torque valve as well as swirl valves on my DE Neo as well as variable intake, so that would no doubt help with spool up immensely. I am already set on the HX twin scroll series turbo, but if I can get my hands on both a 30 and 35 to make a hybrid like you did, I might do that. Power is not really my goal as much as just making this 20 feel on par if not slightly peppier than a stock 25DET. I looked at that gated spacer and honestly I've never seen one like that but it looks genius. However I'm worried about potential boost creep? Those ports are not only small but they exit at 90 degrees to the exhaust flow, which is usually not optimal. Also what about the little slot in the stock manifold opening at the divider? Did you weld that up then grind flush or did you leave it be? I'm unsure why Nissan left it slotted like that but I would imagine it's to account for thermal expansion and to help with channeling the gasses downwards?

Curious as to whether Cef's car is still alive and running this setup? Anyone else bolted an HX35 on an RB20 with similar results? I always thought the factory manifold is a twin scroll by design so pairing it with a twin scroll turbo is a no-brainer.

I don't think you are getting scammed in terms of the price; the Japs have picked up on the huge demand of these cars so they are punping up the prices ever before they leave Japan. It says you're from Massachusetts, USA? Are you aware of the 25 year rule for imports? This car is 2000 so it would technically be legal to import in 2025 at the earliest, keep that in mind. Also it has the RB20DE Neo naturally aspirated engine, the one I got by mistake and currently working on. It does not have oil jets from the block gallery, it has a single compression ring on the piston (9.5:1 CR), it has no provisions for oil/water feeds/returns for a turbo, so you would need to tap/drill and fab up from scratch. The head has solid lifters which is great, the crankshaft has the same main journal diameter as RB25s however the conrod journals are smaller at 45mm. It has a swirl valve mechanism across all intake ports which is a cool little system however a big problem it seems with these is that the sensors responsible for telling when the ECU to open these valves go bad over time so you get almost no power/acceleration from 5000 RPM and up. The intake ports DO NOT match with any other RB20/25 intake manifold and neither do the gaskets. I have yet to test fit a stock turbo manifold on this head but that one I'm 99% sure it will fit. I am still learning as I go and have lots of pictures already. Good luck!

Thanks. I completely disassembled the pump today and did all the measurements as per the service manual. She is well within the tighter-end of spec, very little scarring or pitting. Also I measured the snout engagement (40.7mm) versus the drive gear engagement (40.65mm) so that gives me 0.025mm of tolerance on each side. It feels fairly tight when pressed against the snout and coupled with the actual centering ring rotating snugly inside the oil pump inlow, I don't think this pump is going anywhere.... famous last words? 😅 Also, I did a light port/smoothing on the pump inlet and outlet as to ease the oil flow, however I will not be shimming the relief valve at this point.

Hey, and sorry for this generic question, but as usual, I'm your average "just got into the RB/Skyline scene" guy trying to make sense of it all. In the process of tearing down this 20, I saw it had an N1 oil pump and it has the extra 8th screw in the backing plate. The crank unfortunately is the short snout version and at first glance, the drive gear engagement flat spot looks ever so slightly marked but no noticeable deformation, likewise on the crank's snout. I have yet to pull the pump apart (will do that tomorrow since I got an impact screwdriver today). I believe I have the right tolerance specs from the manual so I will be using feeler gauges on the pump teeth. Additionally, I noticed all rods aside from #3 had the stamps on the end caps facing one way, but only #3 rod's stamping faced the other. In other words, #3 conrod has the nissan logo facing down, while all other 5 rods have the nissan logo facing up. Yet, on one end of the rods there is a "0-0" marking and they all follow it. On the opposite end, each # rod is marked 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and so on, and they all were aligned with no mismatch. Am I just paranoid and nitpicking, or is the casting random? Also, here are some more pictures I took of the conrod/piston assembly with a ruler for rough scale. Could anyone confirm if these would be the same as regular 20DET rods? 2cm thick and 1.2cm wide give or take. P.S It appears to be a low mileage motor off an R34 coupe however the #3 conrod bearing has weird delamination yet the crank journal is spotless. I am anxious to see what condition the pump internals are in.

I am using an epoxy-based primer from Novol. The specific one is Novol "Spectral 395" white. It is a light-coat non-sandable primer, so what I do is I prep the surface with 240 grit sandpaper then apply two-three coats of this primer with 10 minutes in between. For the underspray I use another product by Novol called "Gravit 600 Antigravel" coating, sprayed at 4 bar from a cheap spray gun, two thick coats. Also I use a variant of Wax/Grease remover called "Silicone remover" by OFO. Professional painters told me it's a good product to use when you need to wipe down bare metal or painted surfaces inbetween coats etc. Lastly, I was recommended to apply seam sealer OVER at least one coat of epoxy primer, but never over bare metal. The epoxy is what gives the bare metal protection against moisture and oxidation, and the seam sealer is what repels water from inter-panel space.

We're situated about 40 degrees North of the equatorial belt which actually produces a very balanced climate. However, I happen to live on the coast so I have it even better. Summers start around May around 20C and peaks at 35-36C mid July/September. This year we had 20C up to New Years Eve! I was down working on the Skyline in the shed while everyone was busy eating and celebrating; couldn't let the good weather get away hah! However, normally our winters get anywhere from 0C to -15C and a good amount of snow. My AWD Mitsubishi lets me traverse the city and countryside even before the snowploughs go through! All that said, I'd give up this place for Australia any day! But that's a whole 'nother story.

Thanks. I've got a garage actually (pictured in front of the car), however it is small by Aus/US standards and you can't even swing the door wide open. I just put up a build thread where you can see some progress. Honestly I'm not too fussed about the whole thing now since this is NOT going to be my only 33. I will most probably end up selling it once I do as much as I can to it, then I'll look for another 33 with an actual 25 in it. That one will be the one I end up keeping. Prices are going through the feckin roof I tell you!

Hi all, This will be my 1997 ECR33 GTST restoration journal, I will try to keep it updated with progress and pictures, however I tend to write a lot so please bare with me. The car is not in super bad shape as the previous owner had already fixed some major rust hiding in the sills and rocker panels, however it was not done fully nor properly, so I will be trying to fix everything that's left out to the best of my ability. My plan of action was to start from the boot area then onto the engine bay and finishing up with attaching the GTR overfenders I was given with the car, fitting GTR front fenders and finishing off with paint. I cannot weld and I do not have access to a professional paint booth so for welding I am using my friend's services, and for painting I am trying to get it done (properly) via spray cans. So far it turned out great however the outside of the car will of course be professionally painted once the car can move on its own wheels. From what I've been told, the car had a full body kit which was molded into the chassis with tons of filler. It was chameleon green/purple. So now I've got to dig through all the filler, paint and bad welding to fix it all up. So without much more writing, here's some shots of the car before I started working on it: This is how the trunk looked and I'm glad I chiseled all the old factory seam sealer and sound deadening as that's where most the rust was hiding! As you can see, all the rust I could get my hands on was mechanically removed, then with the help of Wurth Rust Converter, it was chemically converted to inert clean metal state, then fully primered with two good coats of Epoxy Primer (Novol's Spectral 395 line), followed by Mipa white polyurethane seam sealer in factory places as well as many areas where they do not seal from the factory (due to cost and time reasons). I took care not to block any drainages. After seam sealing, another coat of epoxy primer was applied, then sprayed with gloss white. At this point I was still unsure what tone of white to use, however most of this work will be hidden behind panels and will not be seen. The important thing is that it was done properly with good preparation and I firmly believe the rear portion of this car will not see any rust for the next decade. The previous owner had re-welded some weird arches which will not work with the GTR overfenders, so those were cut out, welds ground, rust cleaned and the arches were fully welded. They were also primered and seam sealed inside and out. The top of the boot lid area underwent the same treatment, as well as the rear end and bumper support. I must say I am very glad with how it all came out and the same work will be done to the engine bay in the upcoming weeks. However, I ended up spending too much money on spray can primer and paint, so this time I am thinking of getting a cheap paint gun from a friend and using my 24 liter compressor. I am not so worried about the finish of the job as much as getting adequate amounts of paint and undercoat on the chassis. I will also save a lot of money this way. That's it for now; when I have more I shall update this thread. I am open to criticism as well as helpful feedback and suggestions! Thanks for reading.

It's an original ECR33 GTST Series 2 however as I said, I DID want a 25 in it but got sent the wrong motor. There is no way this car is staying naturally aspirated so for sure I shall be turbocharging this 20. It has some interesting swirl-valves at the inlets right before the head openings which improves air-fuel mixing and provides a leaner AFR for economy and emissions. Then, under certain conditions such as sudden load increases or WOT, the valves fully open allowing all the air to pass freely through. I did a quick comparison on actual inlet diameters and the Neo is not far off the 25DETs, so I am not worried about airflow. In addition there is the low-RPM torque valve at the center of the intake which further helps low-down response. I have yet to confirm whether the conrods are as thick and sturdy as regular 20DET motors, as that will determine how much boost I will be throwing at it. That said, the wall thickness remains biggest as other 20 motors, at around 5-5.3mm on all sides (as per Motive's testing). The idea would be to try and use as many of the systems that Nissan implemented into this motor while making it livelier and actually fun to drive. In my parts of the world there simply isn't access to 25 motors and our Patrols come with diesel engines so no 30 swaps... I believe the RB20 Neo mostly came on 34s sold in Japan and ones imported in Russia, so those guys undoubtedly would have most experience with 'em.

Hey all, I'm Steve and I recently (finally) got my hands on my #3 dream car, which is an R33 GTST. It was a trade I could not sleep over so long story short, I bought an EK4 civic VTi and traded it for the Skyline. The twist is, the Skyline came with no engine nor transmission, and needing body work and rust work done. I wasn't sure which was the main most active Skyline related forum, so I decided to sign up here even though I'm quite a ways away from down undah. I have a long history with Mitsubishis (Galants, Legnums, Eclipses) and now it's time to add another piece of Japanese FeO2 into my collection. I have so far completely re-done the boot area, chiseling out all the old seam sealer and patching up rust, then painting and rust sealing. I will be making a new build thread for this vehicle to keep as a diary, however everything is being done as professionally as possible with the tools I have. I also paid for and had shipped to me an RB25DE Neo however the person sent me an RB20DE Neo from a 34. Maybe he also frequents these forums and I don't want to call names but I was REALLY upset and I was set back money wise by quite a lot. What's worse is I've been digging through the internet and there is VERY little info on these 20s; they have nothing in common with the 20DETs from 32s and not much has been done with them. I am still trying to decide whether to build the 20... I have no money to get a 25 even in N/A form right now. Also where I'm from there are no readily available parts for these motors/cars at all so difficulty right now is 12/10. Anyway, I will continue to work on the chassis and keep looking for info on the RB20DE Neo. It's in absolutely MINT condition so it would be a shame to let it sit and rot away. Thanks for reading if you made it this far and if you have any advice for newbies I would very much appreciate them!