Jump to content
SAU Community

R33 Fix or Sell?

Blakeo
 Share

Recommended Posts

Blakeo Rising Star

Blakeo

Posted
Posted

Hi guys, I am after some advice with my 33. I have been having thoughts on selling it as I only am able to drive it every couple of weeks. I don't feel like the engine is going to last much longer with being on e85 and running 400rwhp. And if the motor goes I am looking at least ~$12K to rebuild it properly. At the moment it looks like the motor is leaking oil from the head gasket on the exhaust manifold side. There is oil higher up but it looks like majority of it has pooled near the head gasket. It needs another timing belt kit in about 20,000km but I may do it sooner than that as last time I did it was 3 years ago. Also has rear main seal leak, sump is leaking and I believe the gearbox needs to be rebuilt as it is notchy into second gear and can't always get first gear in it.

I have put about $8-10K into the car in my ownership, with the turbo, exhaust, fmic, afm, coilpacks, fuel pump and multiple dyno tunes. At this point it really needs a new ECU as I'm not happy with the blow-thru setup on the car at the moment. 

I believe I'd need to put at least $20k into the car to get it where I want it to be and I don't think its worthwhile. What are your guys thoughts?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/477060-r33-fix-or-sell/
Share on other sites
admS15 Grand Master

admS15

Posted
Posted

400whp on e85 is a walk in the park for an RB25. Your oil leak is more likely to be from the rocker cover gasket or half moon seal rather than head gasket. Rear main and oil pan gasket, theres quite a few hours of labour there.

Gearbox rebuild is around 2k, new box is around $3200 or you can just refill it with redline oil which will make it feel better.

I don't know why you'd want to rebuild the engine if oil leaks are the the only issue. I can understand if you have real low or uneven compression or some other serious problem.

My own rb25 has been making 420 rwhp on e85 for a few years now. Done over 30 track days where it gets completely flogged. Compression is still really good, i recently had the head off, everything looked in good knick, could still see factory hone marks on bores. Valves and guides where in great condition, as was the 23 year old head gasket. The only thing that wasn't great was one of the valve stem seals. IMHO if it aint broke dont fix it.

If you really want an engine, there is an Sau member selling a forged rb25 for 3k.

I suppose it's up to you how much you like your car whether it's worth it or not to get it back up to scratch. Personally i wouldn't be rebuilding unless i really had to or was aiming to increase power substantially.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/477060-r33-fix-or-sell/#findComment-7905496
Share on other sites
Blakeo Rising Star

Blakeo

Posted
  • Author
Posted
18 hours ago, admS15 said:

400whp on e85 is a walk in the park for an RB25. Your oil leak is more likely to be from the rocker cover gasket or half moon seal rather than head gasket. Rear main and oil pan gasket, theres quite a few hours of labour there.

Gearbox rebuild is around 2k, new box is around $3200 or you can just refill it with redline oil which will make it feel better.

I don't know why you'd want to rebuild the engine if oil leaks are the the only issue. I can understand if you have real low or uneven compression or some other serious problem.

My own rb25 has been making 420 rwhp on e85 for a few years now. Done over 30 track days where it gets completely flogged. Compression is still really good, i recently had the head off, everything looked in good knick, could still see factory hone marks on bores. Valves and guides where in great condition, as was the 23 year old head gasket. The only thing that wasn't great was one of the valve stem seals. IMHO if it aint broke dont fix it.

If you really want an engine, there is an Sau member selling a forged rb25 for 3k.

I suppose it's up to you how much you like your car whether it's worth it or not to get it back up to scratch. Personally i wouldn't be rebuilding unless i really had to or was aiming to increase power substantially.
 

Who is selling the forged 25? Is he w.a member? 

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/477060-r33-fix-or-sell/#findComment-7905536
Share on other sites
admS15 Grand Master

admS15

Posted
Posted

Vic member. In this post here, last quarter of the list.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/476651-fs-r34-coupe-other-parts-garage-sale/&share_tid=476651&share_fid=62372&share_type=t

FS: r34 coupe + other parts garage sale

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/477060-r33-fix-or-sell/#findComment-7905539
Share on other sites
7amooda.007 Apprentice

7amooda.007

Posted
Posted

Man tough call honestly, I mean you like the car and I know this from the time/money spent on it from your side.

I say study it well and see whats ur best options.

I'm afraid from your situation that one day I wake up and say I dont want my R34... [emoji26]

I say do a proper diagnosis of the engine and take it from there. Best of luck.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/477060-r33-fix-or-sell/#findComment-7906135
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • MBS206
      Jacks that fit under GTR lips that can reach the subframe?

      By MBS206 · Posted

      You know how your car rolled through a fence in your last jacking escapade? Scissor jacks increase the likely hood of that sort of thing happening immensely!
    • Piggaz
      Jacks that fit under GTR lips that can reach the subframe?

      By Piggaz · Posted

      http://calfinn.com.au/product/1500kg-standard-trolley-jack-cj-2t-c/1500kg-standard-trolley-jack-cj-2t-c   I have this and fits under a S3 33 GTR with no issues. Purchased in 2009 and not one issue. It was $950 back then. Not cheap but something so important isn’t worth cheaping out on.
    • MBS206
      R32 GTST - 600KW+ RB28/CD009 Build

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Just trying to get my head around this. At 5psi of boost, you turn on your wmi pump, and then you're using a 3000cc injector, to allow flow upto the actual engine, where you have your 6x200cc injectors and a 500cc injector. If the above is correct, what advantage are you obtaining by having the 3000cc injector blocking flow, is this just incase a line breaks between that injector and the motor you can stop flow immediately? Or are the 6x200cc and 500cc less injectors and just spray nozzle?
    • f00stx
      Intro/R33 owner

      By f00stx · Posted

      Welcome! New member myself, but I had an R33 back in 2002. Best advice I could give, based on my experience: if you're running the factory turbo, be very conservative with boost. I made the mistake of just fiddling around with the boost controller and cranking the boost for fun, and the end result was my intake pipes popping off frequently from the constant deluge of oil that was being blown into the recirc by the stressed-out turbo, which itself was siphoning oil from the engine and farting it out both sides of its centre bearing (or something to that effect). If I could do it all again, I would have gotten a new turbo and had a tune dialled in professionally and then just left it alone! Funny you mention the metal shavings in the gearbox, as I had the same thing - the probe plug (magnetic drain plug, essentially) would come out caked with shavings. At least it was doing its job. Not sure if that's just sacrificial wear and part of the deal, or if my gearbox was shagged, but I wasn't abusing it. Enjoy the R33 - they're a dying breed, and if they weren't $35k+ on CarSales in Queensland, I might have picked up one of those again, instead of the 370GT I own now (though I'm loving the 370GT, that big 3.7L V6 just hits different).
    • f00stx
      Second time Skyline owner (R33 GTS-T and now a V36 370GT)

      By f00stx · Posted

      Howdy folks. I owned an R33 back in 2002, which was thoroughly beyond my capacity (financially speaking) to maintain/insure, so we parted ways in 2004. Fast forward 21 years (to literally yesterday, in fact) and I'm now the proud owner of a 2007 V36 370GT. I'm happily surprised by how much power the VQ37VHR makes, compared to the RB25DET, considering the latter is turbocharged. I had planned to add a turbo at some point but I'm on the fence about whether I'll even need it (though I do love the sudden onset of extra torque). Any other 370GT owners around the traps, I'd love to hear about your experiences with this car (good and bad).
×
×
  • Create New...