How hard is it to build up ur own RB30 maybe using forgies or even just reconditioning using standard psitons and new rings and bearings and seals?? i would guess u would have to send just the block away to get honed and bored if you went with a bigger forged piston. wat about the rest? wat would be involed that the normal car enthusist could do with abit of knowledge and a Tourqe wrench and manual.

its definately do-able.i build all my own motors and i save a fortune obviously.i taught myself on holden 202 motors.rb30's are much easier to build that the old 202. so i say just do it.your only gonna learn one way. (tip) befriend a machine shop Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Yep, it's a piece of piss. Get your machine shop to check all tolerances, take your time and don't be shy with the assembly lube.

ok kool when u say lube u mean grease aye. also just say when i buy the pistons what do i say to the guy boring and honing my block about wat size it has to be for the piston?? like duz it say it on the box they come in. i was thinking of just getting a set of forgies probley about $1600 new bearings (nismo or beter) new head gasket and head bolts. new seals aswell. ill get the head shaved clean of all stuff let over from head gasket. get my standard rods shot peened probley cost about $90 for all 6. i head the standard crank is pretty good so i might just get it deburred cause i dont really knwo what it is or wat it duz but heaps of people do it. if i knew wat it was i could probley do it myself. then all other additives like a GTR Oil Pump,water pump. then put my RB25 head on it. wat u guys think?

just take the piston in when you take the block. they will sort it out. new head bolts arent necessary.they dont stretch. i have measured ones that have been used over 5 times and they measure the same as ones from a virgin motor. your on the right track man.

ok sweet im just going to build up a standard RB30E with forgies and so on then when its all finsihed ill swap it over with my RB30DET and use my Rb25 head on the engine i just built. ok so if i just take 1 piston in to them they can sort the rest out. wat if i was to use the same size pistons would i need 2 get it bored and so on or could i just use new rings and it would be alright? i wanna do as much of the work myself id even fit the pistons and so on.

nah u take in all six pistons and get them custom fitted to each cylinder for example the first replacement pistons u put in may be 2 thou over stock but there is still a tolerance in production of pistons and even though very slight it is best to get each piston matched to each cylinder. make sure u get all your balancing done on crank pistons rods etc

yeah 1 piston will do. if the block is in good nick you could get away with just a hone. i would get a block that is standard bore, have it bored as little as possible and then buy the pistons to suit the oversize.

Quote: Originally Posted by vltrb-0 nah u take in all six pistons and get them custom fitted to each cylinder for example the first replacement pistons u put in may be 2 thou over stock but there is still a tolerance in production of pistons and even though very slight it is best to get each piston matched to each cylinder. make sure u get all your balancing done on crank pistons rods etc man you must be getting some shit pistons

its a standard engineering production line, do u think that everything ever made is the same size, they have tolerances. In my old mans business he manufactures strip not for moving parts in most cases and he has to follow the australian standards on production. i guess when building your own motor though its your own opinion, i'll stick to my way and im sure u'll keep to yours.

ok well this is when i start to get worried cant they just make up for 2 thou on the rings?? or it dosnet work like that. if i was 2 pay $1600 for a set of 6 forged pistons that would be about $266 per piston now i know there are more exspensive pistons then wat im getting and i always thought u get wat u pay for. im guessing that $266.67 per piston isnt cheap from my pocket i wouldnt want to get faulty pistons either cause that is wat u are actully saying vltrb-0 that there are faulty pistons in every set and if theres a difference in size would there be a difference in weight?? also about geting the crank balanced why do people balance parts like wat is it for? i know why they do drive shafts after the been modified or somthin but why a crank?? wouldnt a standard RB30 crank be allright cause its str8 standard??

this would probably seem obvious to most, but make sure u pre-oil ur oil pump gears before assembling it to the block.that way when u first crank the motor over,there will be suction and oil will be sucked up. If you dont preoil them, then they may not suck any oil up which is bad. I dont think all car manuals tell you to do this. just a thought!

My bro and I have been rebuilding his 265 Hemi for the last 12 months, just when we have time and he has money to spare. New cast pistons, balanced and prepped rods, new bearings, all machined and balanced. It's great fun, and you learn heaps about how it all works. Yeah I agree with one of the above statements, dont be shy with the lube!! It's all easy enough, with the right tools, and a engine builders guide, anyone can do it. Just keep ya parts clean, keep it all organised and triple check everything, and have fun!

If you are grinding the crank and/or using new big end bearings, then take all 6 pistons/rods in with the block. It's best to get the rods checked in case they need resizing. If you are using same size pistons, then the block needs honing only. You can then just use new rings with the same size pistons. If the block does not meet specs for taper, ovality, etc. then it needs boring too. Fitting pistons to rods is not a hard job, but you must be very careful and double check everything as you go. Fitting rings is also not a hard job, as long as you take your time. There should be instructions included with the rings and pistons to make assembly a bit easier. Assembly lube is your friend, some people don't like it because it makes the oil go black but it is very useful when you are first starting a motor. Engines are balanced so that they can rev higher and harder without the small variations in weight that would otherwise rob it of power. If you think about it, a few grams difference in crank weight spinning about a 15 cm radius at 5000rpm has a fair amount of force behind it. MAKE SURE YOUR WORK AREA IS CLEAN!!! Dust and dirt will screw up a perfectly good motor fast.

ill be rebuilding my motor this weekend i just got it back of pav-tek spent $544 on head surface, decked, honed,linish crank, o-ringed and a few other things, is that a go price. What is the hardest part on the rebuild?

Quote: Originally Posted by HYBRID VL ok kool when u say lube u mean grease aye. No, you can get assembly lube from any auto parts store. Just don't use it on the pistons/rings/bores. Use engine oil for them. Quote: Originally Posted by VLT_280 this would probably seem obvious to most, but make sure u pre-oil ur oil pump gears before assembling it to the block. I use vasoline. Creates a good seal around gears = better suction.

Ok guys, I'm about to build my motor and need to know one thing. Are there any keyways on the RB30? When I rebuilt my 5K motor for my rockinrolla, they had a keyway on the crank. I knew nothing about this and had a bitch of a time with it. Then a mate told me about them and it was a piece of p1ss. Any ideas and tips would be appreciated.

coastvl, there are two keyways on the front crank snout. One for the timing gear and one for the harmonic balancer. Buy the half moon keys from Nissan when your redoing it. What forgies do you guys recommend? SPS, Arias, Ross ?

Quote: Originally Posted by duz360 just take the piston in when you take the block. they will sort it out. new head bolts arent necessary.they dont stretch. i have measured ones that have been used over 5 times and they measure the same as ones from a virgin motor. your on the right track man. I beg to differ here. As carcrazy said, an angle gauge for torquing takes into account the bolt materal, thread pitch, diameter and amount of torque/twist required to force the bolt into the elastic region. If the bolts are not in the elastic region then they will not seal the combustion chambers properly. As a rule of thumb, if your serious about an engine rebuild, you would be stupid to resuse the bolts again as ou dont know who has tampered with them before and if they were torqued up right (even from factory). Once the bolt passes the yield point, it will deform plastically - perminately. The bolt would have stretched, but its still 'useable' to they layman. Ive had a friend snap bolts into his block from reusing the bolts for the 3rd time. If you want to be serious about an engine assembly, using a torque wrench is murder for things like head bolts because they are all calibrated diferently and your hand could be in the wrong position. As i said, Angle gauges are the most accurate tool when your using factory specs. Almost always the factory manuals will give you Angle gauge and Torque specs.

lovin the info here guys, if you have any other tips, I'd love to hear em Is there a good manual any of you guys would reccomend?