The Best Machine Shop for RB Motors

[Duncan]

Great thread, well done guys.

In sydney I have just been using Dominator Engines in Guildford, they have done a great job, do their balancing in house etc etc. And Geoff for your criteria, they have a sprint car parked out the front

For those assembling yourself, I think the main thing has been covered off. You need to thoroughly clean EVERYTHING you get back from the machine shop, including the Bores. I cleaned with kero, then a final check with engine oil and a white rag to make sure it stayed white.

[proengines]

Sorry for the slow reply, I've dug through some photos and found some for most parts of the process, will shrink them down but there is still a lot of photos, does anyone mind a really long post with heaps of pics?

As for running in, my preference would be to fill the engine with a mineral straight 30w or similar and start it, run it up to temp, take it for a short drive and then dump it out and change the filter as well, refill it with the same and take it for a decent drive, lug it a little up some hills being careful not to have it ping. After 500-800km, drain the oil and change the filter and fill it with a good synthetic, something like Motul 5W40 or similar. It's a good idea not to keep it at a constant revs for long periods, for example, a trip to Sydney staying at the speed limit, it's good to vary the engine speed a fair bit. Change the oil and filter every 5000km, it's pretty cheap insurance compared to the money spent doing the engine to start with. I'd always use a synthetic oil once the engine is run in.

When the block is honed using a torque plate the bores are spot on round and the rings take very little time to bed in so running in is not as big an issue. An engine that is finished without a torque plate is pretty easy to spot, towards the top of the bore you will see 4 areas where there is a different wear patern, these are in line with the head bolts and the different wear is because as the head bolts are tightened they pull the bore very slightly out of shape and the rings don't seal properly in these spots. One thing you do need to be very careful of is fuel mixtures, too rich and the bores will have the oil washed off them and the bores will glaze up, too lean and the rings will overheat and lose their spring.

Bad tuning will kill a good engine very quickly. Detonation is the biggest killer of turbo engines so it's worth spending the money having it tuned by someone who does know what they are doing. No matter how much you spend on parts they still will fail if the tuning is not right.

[GTRgeoff]

Thanks for that, good to see that the logic to running in hasn't changed dramatically and is precisely how I run my engies in.

Feel free to put as much or as little detail as you feel necessary. You are already helping heaps by adding to the knowledge base.

Just for interest, I actually paid $75 to have my block fully prep cleaned and sealed in plastic as I don't have any filtration and separation facilities to clean a block properly, and the quantity of cleaner and crap that can come out is astonishing...and harmful to the environment so it was worth the extra.

As for tuning...well don't I know it. Yet to pull the head and ascertain the extent of damage but after fitting unknown injectors that I was told were 440cc cleaned and flowed, a short run in 2nd to 5psi, a miss developed very rapidly....about half a second, then loss of power. I now have 25psi on 1,2,3 and 125psi on 4,5,6 so I assume a very lean situation developed and I'm up for another rebuild.

[proengines]

Here are some pics of different bits and pieces, I can't say it's a definative start to finish operation but it gives a fair idea, hopefully the photos will show up.

http://www.proengines.com.au/rb26/1-bore-tp.JPG

[proengines]

here are some photos, hopefully they will run from one end of the operation through to the other. There are some jobs that i didn't have photos sitting around for but I'll try to dig some up.

I hope it doesn't look like I'm trying to hijack this thread, i'm really not.

Geoff, it's good to see someone who is worried about the environment, it's amazing how much stuff we have arrive at the workshop that people have degreased on their driveway and the oil etc.. has run into the stormwater, it's a real shame. That's a pretty good deal too, it's a good couple of hours work to clean it all up properly before assembly, maybe we should offer the same.

The photos are attached 10 at a time as that seems to be the limit.

[proengines]

Some more..

[proengines]

Some more...

[proengines]

Finally..

Any questions let me know.

[Alf]

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/at...achmentid=35233

Does oringing a block include grooving the head and the block?, this is what I gathered after going through the pics.

BTW: This would have to be one of the best threads on this forum, it's more than worthy of a sticky

[Turbine]

This thread has definately got my attention.

Turbine

[proengines]

Does oringing a block include grooving the head and the block?, this is what I gathered after going through the pics.

BTW: This would have to be one of the best threads on this forum, it's more than worthy of a sticky  

Alf, if you o-ring the block, you are better off cutting a reciever groove in the head for the gasket to push up into, the o-ring is 1mm dia and protrudes .4mm, the reciever groove is around 2mm wide and .2mm deep. this stops the gasket from being held away from the block by the o-ring and seeping water or oil. Copper gaskets seal compression really well in conjunction with an o-ring but aren't crash hot at sealing water or oil as they really dont compress, thats why you need to use a silicone sealant on them.

A very low Ra (roughness average) surface finish on the block and head in necessary to prevent coolant tracking along the machining marks on the surfaces, thats why you should use PCD (polycrystaline diamond) cutters on the alloy head and CBN (cubic boron nitride) cutters on the block, they leave the finest surface finish. For a street/occasional drag/track day engine running in the 20's boost wise I would use an MLS gasket as they are better at sealing water and oil but a copper gasket and o-ring will ultimately seal compression better in extreme cases. It's really a matter of what a customer wants and if they are prepared to put up with a little crusty coolant sitting around the sides of the head gasket which you occasionally get with copper gaskets.

Greg.

[GTRgeoff]

proengines, great effort and I would say this is no hijack, well IMO anyway. It is 21 years since I last worked engine reco's so I appreciate this detail.

As for the cleanup, it's like anything else really important in the engine. Get it done right the first time and so much crap can collect in the casting roughness inside the block it's awesome. Also you develop a conscience after a while (especially if you have stood on the back of a Leopard Tank throwing grass seed into the turn marks to rejuvenate the environment after passing).

Just wish I was in ACT as i'd have a fair idea where I would be getting my engine machining done.....

[WetGTR]

proengines, this is exactly what this post needed, some information about the processes required to machine and prep an engine rebuild, so no hijack at all.

Just some information for some people that might be thinking the same as me (if only proengines were in my state and not the ACT), I have just sent my engine (head and block), an RB26 interstate. From Brisbane to Melbourne and it just cost me $155.00

That is with them bringing down a tilt tray truck with a pallet jack to my house as I had no way of getting the engine onto the truck, otherwise it would of cost me $111.00 VERY GOOD VALUE I beleive anyway

It also took only 2 days to get there - now thats fast!!

The company that I used was Concord Park Pty.Ltd Ph: (07) 3271 5555 and they can pickup from any state and deliver to any state. BTW you don't need an account with them but you need to have it on a pallet. I used a plastic one so it wouldn't break and I boxed it in using other wooden pallets.

Some of the other prices I got were @$450.00

Hope this helps

[FATGTS-R]

Sorry for the hijack but I am in the transport industry and that is a extremely good price, especially as it included the driver getting off his butt and doing something and double handling the pallet to put it on a semi after the tray.

People should note that number down for future reference.

[Sydneykid]

Great work Greg, good reasoning to support your choices of suppliers and processes. The forged piston silicone content is always a good discussion starter. Closely followed by bearing metalurgy.

PS; I like the running in process, I do the Sydney - Bathurst - Sydney run. It has a nice variety of conditions, with some good quality mountains to cross.

[Beer Baron]

very informative thread mate. it has me thinking that when (if?) my RB26 fails Canberra is not such a long way to take a ute with an RB26 on the back..

[Alf]

very informative thread mate. it has me thinking that when (if?) my RB26 fails Canberra is not such a long way to take a ute with an RB26 on the back..

i'm thinking the same but with a RB30 block and the 25 head

[Duncan]

muahahah my ute has often had an rb26 in it good thread guys

[gawdzilla]

Bolts/Studs- ARP main and head studs if the budget allows.

awesome info. do you have the part number for the ARP main studs? i was planning on reusing the OEM ones- is this a bad idea? :Oops: .

i got arp conrod and head fasteners, just no mains. Also, if i did upgrade to ARP mains, would i need to have my mains re-machined for the new ARP fasteners? (my mains were checked originally w/ the OEM mains).

Thanks!

[GTS20X]

Proenginges, so the need to run-in an engine for 5,000-10,000kms before using a synthectic oil is a myth? Also what is your opinion on the RB30 twin cam conversion?

Carlos