sunsetR33

EDIT: PSA to whoever stumbles upon this thread. It is in fact a crack in the block that caused this concern. Just letting you know. In my case, a few cm long hairline crack going horizontally above the turbo oil feed. Classic RB shit I guess

Yeah but even then I'd have to wait until my "chance" comes around as they go through their signup list. And even the street "normal" version of their block will cost twice the amount for a new heritage 05U block. Once I get these blocks a PRP one would net me 7500€ probably and a 05U likely around 3500€. Both of these are questionable as to when I'd get one as well. Currently I think buying an engine locally, of which there are some available with various mods and prices, would be cheaper. Can also sell my engine as a partout then afterwards.

Sad part is many issues only became apparent once I had the car and started looking real close. And if the turbo hadn't oiled on my exhaust I might not even have noticed the crack. If I were to (honestly) sell this car, with the current issues it has I'd lose a ton of money. Might as well invest into the car instead.

Yeah but even that repair will take time and I wouldn't trust that block enough to put a full rebuild into it just for it to fail sometime again. So I think I will just mend it from the outside and drive it until I can get a new engine in the car. We'll see

Update 2: Today I'm f**king pissed. Some of you probably saw my thread that I opened shortly after joining this forum, "urgently need expert/experienced opinion", in which I discussed the possibility of a porous RB26 engine block which I also found hard to believe. Currently both turbos are out since the shitty braided line that was installed by whoever fitted the GT28 turbos leaked oil onto the exhaust. Today while working on the cam covers to put new gaskets and half moons in, I cleaned the side of the engine block with brake cleaner. Some time later I saw that it was still glistening with oil or coolant so I dried that off. But it was wet again shortly after. Verdict: I'm royally screwed. What you can see here (hopefully, despite shit resolution), circled in red, is a crack above the turbo oil feed. Extent is a few cm long and basically goes from #3 cylinder wall to #4 cylinder wall. It slowly lets coolant through, even without any pressure behind it. I am absolutely dumbfounded as to how this crack even formed, especially since it isn't along the cylinder as it usually is but rather a horizontal crack. Probably a few cm in length. Not sure on how to deal with this issue right now. Most likely, the only true fix is a new engine block, and even a relatively well done temporary fix requires at least a full engine teardown. Neither of those really fit my timetable right now, the car has been in my buddy's garage long enough as it is. I'm open to suggestions, but I'll be looking into ordering a new 05U block soon so I have one ready for the coming year, or whenever the current block inevitably fails fully. (Most likely once the crack reaches one of the frost plugs) I think it'd be a waste of money and time to rebuild the engine with this block. Oh and I found a rust hole on the side pocket of the trunk, which someone covered up with sealant goop, a piece of number plate and bodywork filler. Fun times. So far for every issue we fix we just find a new one that is arguably worse.

I don't have the OEM oil feed lines though and the turbo-wraparound line is torn, only has water. My plan is to get replacements for these and just connect a braided line to there. And make sure it's leak free. Hoses like these are also sometimes used to connect external wastegates, so for an EGR I think you're good using them.

Alright I understand. The most likely case is probably gonna be that I just keep the OEM unit in the car as long as it works.

Unfortunately I am quite literally halfway across the globe. So all sources for parts like that are far away for me. What do you mean by that exactly?

Thanks for the reply @GTSBoy Haven't really thought of that yet, but you are right. If the hose was damaged it should be absolutely pissing by now. I'll put some heat sleeve around it for good measure since I'm already removing the line anyway. Maybe I'll put on some of the stock hardlines if I ever fully remove the turbos again. Maybe when T51R modding the compressor housings? Might be a fun mod on GT28s for that "fake single turbo" effect.

Update 1: I did some work on the car already before finalizing this post and my "issues" list. I dropped the Tomei exhaust in favor of the HKS Hi Power Silent. Sounds nice and I can actually hear myself think now. Also gives me a realistic chance to legally drive without silencer inserts. A bit of cheating was necessary to still be able to mount the Top Secret style diffuser. Some malusage of washers and a bit of "convincing" toward the brackets and exhaust hanger seemed to do the trick. The shaky steering wheel has been resolved as various suspension components were worn, like sway bar bushings and link bars. Most notably the two steering tie rod ends. Had some trouble finding bushings because my sway bars are not OEM thickness, 23.x up front and 27 rear. But non adjustable, so no aftermarket I suppose. Maybe they are nismo units? Turbo oil drain hoses were definitely still the originals and are new now. Wasn't the cause of the turbo oil leak sadly. Currently removing the rear turbo because of it, I suspect the braided oil feed line is the culprit. This issue needs to be dealt with so I can work towards actually getting the turbo setup legal and inspected. Two new issues to add to the list as well. Rear Main seal is probably leaking. Time will show how bad it is, I don't really want to drop the gearbox right now just for the stupid seal. Could fix a few other things in one go once I do that. Front right driveshaft grease is going past the cv boot, so at some point I'll fix that too.

You're probably right about that one. Thanks for your suggestions, I hope I don't need a new 3rd brake light. Although wiring issues might arguably be worse. Right now I'm in the midst of a turbo removal because of my oil leak, other problems are going to have to wait for now.

Hell, I know that much. So far I just put it off as "part of the deal".

Hi all. I already posted some newbie-ish questions here and there but this will be my first "big" post. Last summer I went and fulfilled a kind of childhood wish, because I just thought I needed this experience in my life no matter what. The car I bought is a mildly modded 1995 BCNR33 Vspec. It was repainted to a metallic orange color all around and it had all windows reseated. Not so well done black respray in the trunk and a metallic black in the engine bay. From outside it looks very nice except for a minor paint error on the roof and the rear spats needing new adhesive tape. The inside is pretty clean and no broken plastics, missing or faded buttons. Even the adjustable mirrors and trunk antenna work like a charm. Despite a moderately long list of issues I don't (yet) regret buying this car. Most mechanical problems are just due to age, like worn rubbers here and there. The underside sadly has lots of corrosion, especially to the back. It looks like it either has been driven in the winter for a while or it lived near the saltwater in Japan, the rust is nothing terrible but it'll require to be looked after. Mostly panel gaps and all the mounted components underneath are a bit crusty, but I don't think anywhere has progressed so badly that there's going to be holes. Front right jacking rail is crushed and needs some care so it doesn't develop into a rust crater at some point. Worst part is definitely the strut towers. I thought they looked fine but after taking off the strut bar I noticed that it actually started bulging up on the passenger side. Probably would have passed on the car or negotiated down by some thousand Euros more if I had noticed this before buying, but here we are. Trunk area also has signs that there was a water leak to the interior once but nothing too crazy, I guess lots of Skylines had this at some point. As for the list of (known) issues, I'll try to make this compact. I hope the coloring is self explanatory. Mechanical: -Various busted or soon-to-be busted rubber bushings and ball joints. Will replace ball joints with OEM or better and bushings with polyurethane where possible. -Shaking steering wheel at above 80kph -downshift from 5th to 4th is a bit crunchy unless I rev-match, might just try to renew the shifter assembly, but it's not a priority issue -tailshaft centre bearing could use a replacement, is it worth going 1-piece tailshaft as it doesn't look too fresh all around? Chassis: -underbody corrosion on many spots and in hollow spaces, needs to be treated -corrosion on many bolts, hoses, lines, suspension components, subframes, will be treated when replacing of the bushings is needed as time goes on -strut tower top panels and some of the surrounding panels are rusty, so needs fixing. Will look into doing this with a buddy in the winter, otherwise bite the bullet and pay a professional -driver side door is misaligned to the body and needs to go a slight bit more inwards -both door windows are misaligned and have an airgap where the window meets the door at the B pillar -The Aerocatch latches for the bonnet have locks but no keys, need new keys. -driver side door window is kind of gritty and could use a polish -damaged jacking rails and front frame rails, from people lifting the car the wrong way, might have this fixed by a bodyshop Electrical: -Nismo tachometer is just bouncing and displaying nonsense, supposedly worked fine when the stock ECU was still in the car -An old Greddy boost controller sits on the dash which will be removed as it servers no purpose anymore. -a led segment rpm gauge is on the steering column, will probably also be (re-)moved once the Nismo tacho is working correctly -there was an attempt to make the sound system better by the previous owner but it was just inducing noise all the time, ripped out the amp and filters in the back, no music for now -trunk antenna goes up as long as the radio is on regardless of the mode, I want it to only rise if I choose Radio specifically or per switch -3rd brake light is a bit dimmer than the taillights but everything was converted to LEDs so mabye now it just seems dimmer? -reverse light flickers, have to test if that behavior changes when I fiddle with the gear stick. Hope I can get around changing the switch. -Left side taillight, blinker section has minor water intake and is humid after washing. Other side has a hole in it, probably for that exact reason. I'll probably reseal them entirely and plug the holes. Engine: -minor coolant drips on one or the other hose -rear turbo leaks oil onto the exhaust making the car essentially undriveable due to fire hazard -Oil filter relocation kit has an oil drip at the Dash lines, will probably make a new connection there and tighten real good and pray -throttle body assembly is slightly stuck for the first throttle pedal input after sitting for a while I'm always open to suggestions and advice from more experienced people, I'm sure half of this list is easily dealt with and just requires some time and effort to sort out properly. Once I have some proper pictures of the car I will post some in this thread, I just have to remember to take some more once I get the chance to. Will post updates when I have news on anything, I want to try to keep this thread as kind of a logbook as well. Ultimately my goal for this car is to just enjoy it. An engine rebuild is probably going to happen sometime as well, because it is old after all. It will never be fully new again, I am just not that rich. But I want it to look good, work well and not rot away while I drive it. I'm probably gonna spend a lot of money on this journey, hopefully not an unreasonable amount.

Hi all. So one of my major issues at the moment is my rear turbo leaking oil on the exhaust (and the general area). I presumed it was the rock hard super old drain hose, which it was not. So now I am in the midst of removing the rear turbo to get access to the banjo bolt that goes into the turbo oil feed. As one of the previous owners accidentally? tore off the OEM oil feed hardline that reaches behind the turbo, they ran braided lines directly to the turbo, presumably PTFE. Now, regardless if the line has rubber or teflon inside, is it just generally a bad idea to do this? I imagine these lines get quite hot being between the engine, turbo core and exhaust manifold. I suppose it's not too far fetched to think the line may even have melted. I'd love to hear your opinions on this as as the replacement OEM hardline piece is 130 per unit. And cutting open the currently mounted line to see inside will mean I just have to get a replacement either way. So far I am hoping maybe the bolt just loosened or (god forbid) they forgot one of the crush washers.

Hey, yeah I really like the color. Only paint I'd rather have is KN6, but those are expensive. Right now I'm trying to get the car to the point where I can get it tuned to 370hp so the whole setup can be driven legally, and pass the next inspection that is already due anyway. Beyond that lots of rust fixing I'm afraid, winter project is most likely going to be a front end teardown and fixing the strut tower rust. I know these can be driven daily but I don't think I will do so anytime soon. Will post a build thread soon with a list of issues and futute plans. Cheers

Just a follow-up on this topic. From what I can tell so far the rusty residue on the engine block might be unrelated to a coolant leak or maybe just older than anticipated. After driving it from the winter garage to my friend's garage I could not see any new traces of coolant leaking there, but I will test this properly once I was able to fully warm up the car and drive it for a bit. I think I can agree that the whole porous engine block stuff is kind of nonsense, but there is just a silly amount of true, false and half-true information on anything Skyline-related on the internet.

Yes, but you need to do these type certifications for tuning parts. That is the absurd part here. Meaning tuning parts are very costly (generally speaking) as well as the technical test documentation for say a turbo swap with more power. It just makes modifying everything crazy expensive and complicated. That bracket has been lost in translation many years ago I assume, it was not there.

Read the ECU for fault codes or have someone else do it. A faulty coolant temperature sender is usually listed in ECUs. If the sensor itself is not busted it can also be a bad ground connection. Or in a really unlucky case, damaged wiring.

Can't be a Futjitsubo as those are made with a flex piece and Reimax is smaller in pipe diameter. If anything it is closest to a Mines pipe, but evidently it is not an actual Mines pipe. Classic word humor

Alright I will try to not forget. As GTSboy replied to you already, problem is mainly the mismatch between the actual exhaust part and the denomination in the papers. That basically just looks like tampering to a cop, if they were to check your car and notice. If it had been done right they would have clarified it to be a custom pipe and just given it a certain part number that you have to engrave or weld onto the pipe. I will definitely inquire on what to do. Changing the pipe wouldn't be my favorite solution as it costs a bunch of money and the cat was fitted with the front pipe and exhaust under the car, and if the front pipe flange does not sit in the OEM location the cat will need to be refit for any other pipe to work. It also usually doesn't need a brand name or something like that, but more something like a part number. Usually for exhaust parts, on silencers and cat units specifically, there is a badge that reads the certificate number that belongs to these exhaust parts under EU regulation. You get these numbers after you put a part or group of parts through the tedious testing according to EU vehicle legislation and they pass. You can find these "part numbers" on various parts throughout a EU vehicle. On windows, headlights, engine parts, seat belts and so on. All these parts have gone through standardized testing and acquired a so called ECE or EG Certificate that makes them legal to use by themselves in all countries that adhere to these standards. You can also not alter these parts in any way, if you do they become illegal. An example for stampings on an exterior lighting part, the people who need to know can find the documentation for this unit in a database. I do not know what all the standards and so on mean.

Because all parts that are put into your papers usually are assigned a badging if they did not come with one. So other people can just check that badging to tell if it is the parts your papes outline. But my pipe has NOTHING on it whatsoever. No idea why this even passed as a Mines pipe to begin with. I see this going two ways: -nobody cares and it's a non-issue, but that is unlikely -the pipe will just have to be assigned a bagding, for sake of argument, a Mines logo, and the papers corrected accordingly If it interests you I will post what the actual solution ended up being. All I care about is that it has to sound equal length and nobody can screw me later on because of a pipe being illegal.

The fasteners to the pipe are not subject to TÜV I guess, if we really start putting nuts and bolts through technical tests I'm going to hang the people responsible and then myself. Usually on a modern-ish EU normed car, you would just replace the pipe. Because if you start hacking away at it and welding new pieces on the cops will definitely find a reason to tow your car. That is just how it is sadly. On old cars and imports with no clear "standard" stuff like that won't matter too much. Most cops or inspectors probably won't even really know what they are looking at. But there is experts for this stuff even among cops, and some of them know the rules to a T and even have extensive knowledge about many vehicles. For "just a pipe" to be legal it usually is included in a set of parts, like a complete intake kit or a full exhaust. For example my exhaust needs to pass a noise test, meaning they have a standardized test track with a set of instructions and they run the car through there 3x for an average noise value that is 75dB(a) at point x of the test track. If it's above that, fail. For a turbo setup to be put in your papers you have to do dyno runs, emissions testing etc. So quite costly

The issue is more the fact that there is inspectors that deal with japanese cars a lot and they might know what a real Mines pipe looks like. And then they're gonna get antsy and not pass your car. But I'd have to talk to one of them about this, because you know as well as me that it's just a damn pipe and it effectively doesn't do anything. As I need to have my GT2860s and my exhaust setup (and the increase in HP) TÜV'd anyways maybe they can just correct the entry in the papers or assign a badge to the front pipe. I'm no expert either though, will inquire about this. Thanks for the insight. Not sure if having a custom made pipe is good or not. Will find out in due time I suppose. Would be kind of funny if this was made in Germany though.

See this is a really tricky topic as technically the same rules apply to all cars but for cars but there is a difference. If you want to modify a car like the Skyline which never existed here you have a bit more freedom as they do not adhere to EU specs anyway. Any modification you do has to be in dividually checked anyway so as long as one of the inspectors think it's ok and within the TÜV ruleset you can get stuff like a top secret rear diffuser put in your papers. Which frankly would need a shitload of tests and certificates for EU spec cars, like a 2010 BMW M3 for example. But if you DO run these tests and all tests come out ok (safety stuff for the most part) there is no problem running such a part legally. It's just way too expensive to do for a single person on one car. The most touchy parts are emissions related mods, like an exhaust, turbos, air intakes. If it makes noise or alters the carbon emissions it's essentially illegal until you prove it's not. Meaning it doesn't exceed noise limits or have worse carbon emissions. I'd say for hoses if you replace them same same it doesn't matter what material they are or what brand you use. Same for nuts and bolts usually, they won't go and specifically check that your water hoses and some bolts are 100% OEM parts, that is nonsense.

The inspectors are not forensic by any means but if you forge your documents and/or badgings on vehicle parts and are found out, the consequences are just far bigger than if you just run illegal parts. And their job quite literally is to cross reference what parts you got installed and what your papers say you got. Something as silly as your suspension being 1mm too low will fail you. Nonetheless I asked if someone knew the damn pipe and I certainly did not ask for smartassery or underhanded comments, no idea why you need to be told this. Great way to waste both our time.