intake cam oil tube not getting oil - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

Kingtal0n · 05-28-2020, 07:35 AM

Almost 20 years ago I tried my hand at getting an SR built.

First machine shop had some kid do work and cross threaded a cam bolt, then put a helicoil in it crooked. trashed that head

Next machine shop gave me back a block and head with so much crusty crumbly metal particles in it I had doubts about even putting it together. And immediately of course the cam oil tubes clogged and toasted the valvetrain.

next machine shop decked the head wrong or did something to the block and the head would not seal against the block properly, engine constantly leaked oil. It had other issues too but there was no way I could salvage the bad deck job so it was trash.

At the same time my friend had an SR done somewhere else and they left out the bolts that go through the oil pump caused a similar issue. That engine also had a mysterious compression issue we never solved, trashed it. I think he still has it crammed into a dark corner.

Next machine shop I'm a little fuzzy but iirc this was the third or fourth engine attempt, I forget what they did exactly but it wound up losing oil pressure after 500 miles and roasted another set of forged parts. It was either oil pickup or debris related or both.

they seem to have difficult time properly cleaning up after their work

Finally last shop, got it back and the timing chain was set incorrectly, they had bled all the oil out of the lifters (I guess on a Honda you do that?) so the valvetrain rattled like crazy and the valves would bounce on their seats causing chatter marks up every valve stem. Ruined all new valvetrain hardware.

Started doing research and its pretty hard to build an SR20 engine, look how many built and failed so fast

SRs that built and failed quick:
http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=535520
http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=569861
http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?p=5765974
http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=579996
http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=586960

My learning experience is that machine shops will fuck you some way every time. Avoid at all costs. Unless you can do the work yourself, its like rolling a fixed die

These days the way I do it is, 1. decide how much power you want and what you want to do with the car, then 2. find a stock engine and transmission that will handle that power and 3. Dont ever let a machine shop near your shit

I have yet to see a rebuilt SR or KA engine with more than say 20,000 miles. Oh there are a couple out there, don't kill me. it's not impossible to do. Just super fuckin rare

05-28-2020, 07:35 AM	#6
Kingtal0n Post Whore! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: South Florida Age: 42 Posts: 4,829 Trader Rating: (17) Feedback Score: 17 reviews	Almost 20 years ago I tried my hand at getting an SR built. First machine shop had some kid do work and cross threaded a cam bolt, then put a helicoil in it crooked. trashed that head Next machine shop gave me back a block and head with so much crusty crumbly metal particles in it I had doubts about even putting it together. And immediately of course the cam oil tubes clogged and toasted the valvetrain. next machine shop decked the head wrong or did something to the block and the head would not seal against the block properly, engine constantly leaked oil. It had other issues too but there was no way I could salvage the bad deck job so it was trash. At the same time my friend had an SR done somewhere else and they left out the bolts that go through the oil pump caused a similar issue. That engine also had a mysterious compression issue we never solved, trashed it. I think he still has it crammed into a dark corner. Next machine shop I'm a little fuzzy but iirc this was the third or fourth engine attempt, I forget what they did exactly but it wound up losing oil pressure after 500 miles and roasted another set of forged parts. It was either oil pickup or debris related or both. they seem to have difficult time properly cleaning up after their work Finally last shop, got it back and the timing chain was set incorrectly, they had bled all the oil out of the lifters (I guess on a Honda you do that?) so the valvetrain rattled like crazy and the valves would bounce on their seats causing chatter marks up every valve stem. Ruined all new valvetrain hardware. Started doing research and its pretty hard to build an SR20 engine, look how many built and failed so fast SRs that built and failed quick: http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=535520 http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=569861 http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?p=5765974 http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=579996 http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=586960 My learning experience is that machine shops will fuck you some way every time. Avoid at all costs. Unless you can do the work yourself, its like rolling a fixed die These days the way I do it is, 1. decide how much power you want and what you want to do with the car, then 2. find a stock engine and transmission that will handle that power and 3. Dont ever let a machine shop near your shit I have yet to see a rebuilt SR or KA engine with more than say 20,000 miles. Oh there are a couple out there, don't kill me. it's not impossible to do. Just super fuckin rare