Replacing Headgasket on Rb20

[gureno]

hey guys.

purchasing a 200zr this w.e which is essentially a 86" Z31 300zx with HR31 running gear...although its been all swapped out for a 32 silvertop and box.

its got a blown HG so its going cheap....its also been parked up for about 2 years since it blew.

just trying to get some advice on what i should check and what else i should replace.

i was going to have my mechanic just run a durapro VRS headkit through it.

would that be enough? or should i consider having the head and block decked before hand...i have heard its not necessary if your staying below a 1.2mm head gasket.

any help would be great. thanks in advance!

[MrMayhem]

Might be prudent before you start to remove the head to see how much coolant has sat in the cylinders for those years

[magic1]

a rb20 should only be up to 1000, get the car cheap and be prepared to swap the motor.

PM gav on here if you need a mechanic

[Milhouse]

any photos of the car ?

[Marti]

Depends if the engine was cooked when the head gasket went, I would still get the head faced and checked to make sure it's not warped, but as above with the head of check piston and bore condition

[gureno]

cheers. i pick it up saturday. so we will try get it running and then from there determine the severity of how bad it is. and wether its even worth replacing...otherwise ill be shopping for a 25 :)

ill try turn it over when i get there to see if it has seized up from coolant in the cylinders. if she cranks. ill get it prept at myplace and try fire it up...if it doesnt...ill be low balling ;)

[MrMayhem]

If you're going to pull the plugs out there for a look see, take some crc etc the 200ZR's silly intercooler bonnet scoop dribbles water through the coil cover corroding the plugs in ... gently gently

[Milhouse]

i wonder if this is clints old car... that thing disapeared after he sold it

[gureno]

yeah it is clints old car ;)

i found clints for sale thread tonight. put 2 and 2 together. its literally un changed. but yeah aside from blown head gasket...and dust of 2 years sitting dormant.

[mitchy]

put a 25 in regardless. :)

[gureno]

Yeah the 25 will be in by the end of the year or when the 20 decides to quit again. If it's beyond repair then the 25 will be in within a month ;) because I got the car so cheap, and alot of the base work was already done by that member Clint. It really just needs a motor as far as I can tell. And some love.

[BIGS]

Ah yeh gum tree one. As has been said sitting that long with blown hg might end up being cheaper to replace with another motor

[Milhouse]

post up some photos.

[gureno]

just got it home then. thought motor was siezed after i prepped it for its first start..couldnt turn over. tried to give it a roll start to free it up and dropped some ATF in the cylinders. no go...pulled all the plugs. turned over fine with out the plugs.=. which leaves me to believe water is just getting into the cylinders and its hydrolocking.

cars in reasonable nick. going to need a bit of work....

worth doing the head in the 20? or should i just chuck it and go ahead with a new 20 or 25.

[BIGS]

I reckon it's been sitting to long. Take the head off than you will know.

[gureno]

yeah head gets pulled tomorrow. will check for movement in the pistons to see if the rings are gone . if no play then ill slide in a new headgasket and get it running and work out any other issues from there. because it only has 154,000km's and it was sold with 140something silvertop only had (90odd thou) on it in 05, so hopefully its still reasonably tight.

fill you guys in tomorrow anyway. and try get some pics up. its still covered in 3inchs of dust. it was fun watching everything flicker back to life after 2 years being dormant though yesterday with the new battery. plus i got to go through a replace the perished fuellines which was fun :\

[magic1]

rb20zed :(

[gureno]

it will soon be reborn dont worry ;)

[RB20ZED]

aw me baby :<
would have bought that back in a heart beat if i knew it was for sale:<
throw a 26 in it (be easy to as its already had the sump conversion).
it is a heavy car and while it was freakishly fast for what it had back in the day i dare say the previous owner wasnt as nice to it as i was...
i would atleast replace the 20 with a 25 should be pretty much straight forward and be alot better due to the weight of the car.
Geez i blew some cash (and gearboxes) in that thing over the years.
Some of the original boys on here would know of some of the stupid antics we got upto in that car.
Good fun enjoy..
ps can i come see me baby when its fixed :>

[gureno]

Yeah the 25 is coming when I get back from Bali . But if I can get the 20 going. Then I'll have a bit of fun with it before I swap it out ;). Yeah no worries man come round and have a squiz. I gave it a wash last night it came up beautifully. There's a bit of body work to do on the rear wings where some filler has burst through the paint.but overall it's all still straight.... Oh and the engine bay is definitely not that chrome anymore haha

[gureno]

finally got around to pulling the head after the easter long weekend...

motor appears fine...sent the head off to get decked.

and running a full top end gasket kit through it.

maybe.......running by this weekend.

[PAGZ]

put a 25 in regardless. :)

This... After 3 rb20's i found the light

Edit : just read the whole thread.... carry on sir

[gureno]

she lives.

ended up getting the head fully recon'd. all top end gaskets replaced.

runs nicely. comes onto boost strong. shit load of axle hop on full boost from 1st to 2nd.


its strangely quick for a 20?

only annoying thing is its idling really high (cant tell how high cause the tacho's busted)

[Milhouse]

lol @ strangely quick :) clint used to know exactly how hard the car was revving without a tacho.

axle hop is probably due to the rear diff, its basically a 2way.

[gureno]

It feels like it's idling at around 1500-1900rpm.

Ill clean out the AAC valve tonight and try set the idle screw properly, think the mechanic might have not even Tried to set It

it's got some character that's for sure haha. It's awesome fun to drive, no one has any clue what it is, and even people that know z31's assume it's a 300zx hehe