Full on rebuild for Ma09 motors...any hints

D

Duncan

OK this place has been way too quiet lately....so here is something different.

The motor in my car is smokey, runs too hot, leaks oil, probably has a blown head gasket etc etc. Plus it was due for new timing belt and seals anyway.

So...I think the only sensible thing to do is to chuck the spare motor in, then strip and do a serious rebuild on the original motor.

My questions are:

Where do I get a metal head gasket? (custom?)
Do nissan sell a good gasket/VRS kit?
Do I need new head bolts, aftermarket head studs, new rod bolts, any other weak links?
Who makes good pistons? Probably 0.5mm oversize so I can bore it out and re-use
Do I stick with the factory crank? Is there an aftermarket option? Are there strokers available?
What oil pump and water pump do I use? Nissan or some aftermarket gear?
Should I modify anything while in there? sump? oil galleries? oil returns? valve size?
Should I chuck in a new cam, if so what is around?
Any externals I should replace?

Goal is to support significantly more power than standard :D

Any other tips gratefully received.
 
Hi

i am currently rebuilding my ST engine after the block cracked.

Nissan do not make the 930cc head gasket i dont think, the figaro head gasket should fit, this is what i am doing, but will leave a 0.5mm clearence around the top of the bore (will be reduced if you bore out the cylinders like you say)

thats all i can think of at the moment sorry, dont know about after market internals for them, check yahoo auctions in japan :)

good luck!

Steve
 
Thanks Steve - I've been keeping an eye on your thread, looked pretty much like a standard rebuild though and I'm thinking a bit sillier than that :D
 
Where do I get a metal head gasket? (custom?)

Custom for high power or Fig OEM.

Do nissan sell a good gasket/VRS kit?

Standard MA10 gasket set is all you need.

Do I need new head bolts, aftermarket head studs, new rod bolts, any other weak links?

No weak links in this engine. You can re-use the stock bolts if you wish, they are not stretch bolts.

Who makes good pistons? Probably 0.5mm oversize so I can bore it out and re-use.

JE Can custom make you something suitable. There is nothing on the shelf. I could help you and get them done for you, but that would not be your cheapest route.

Do I stick with the factory crank? Is there an aftermarket option? Are there strokers available?

Not for this engine no. Stock crank is fine. (same as 1.0 crank as well)

What oil pump and water pump do I use? Nissan or some aftermarket gear?
Should I modify anything while in there? sump? oil galleries? oil returns? valve size?

Nissan OEM is all you need from MA10 engine.

Should I chuck in a new cam, if so what is around?

Nothing. Standard is pretty good and will do 180+bhp.

Any externals I should replace?

Turbo? Weld on an adaptor plate and stick a GT25R or something turbo if you want more power later on.

Goal is to support significantly more power than standard :D

You do then :)
 
hey duncan,

the temp gauge reads high, did for the previous owner as well, he changed EVERYTHING in that system to get it to read right but it refuses to.. it never moved from where it normally sits the whole time i owned it..

personally i'd rebuild the spare, as i'm sure you'll get a few K's worth of day to day driving out of the current one as is

spare is ready to go when you are!

cheers
Marty
 
Thanks Ed for the detailed and very helpful reply as always. I have to admit I am surprised you haven't found anything worth upgrading except the head gasket. Have you had forgies done before? Are the rods OK as is (new rod bolts surely?). And how is the 1.0 crank the same, is the difference in bore only?!?

Snickty....no idea the spare is just a wrecker motor afaik. could be better, could be worse!

Marty....its possible I might have been treating her a bit rougher than you did....she is using heaps of oil and leaking a fair bit (rear main seal I guess). Using about 1l a week....I can do a compression test but there are so many things that need doing I may as well build a new one. I figure I might as well sling the spare one in first because it may take a while to collect all the bits and I need it mobile in the meantime.
 
Up to say 160-170bhp and under stock rpm there is no need to change anything internal. I am working on a head, and I have all forged parts for my rebuild, but I have not touched it for nearly a year. I just have to many other things I want to do first distracting me.

You will need new rod bolts. ARP may be able to help there, or again Nissan MA10 if your staying within stock RPM which I wouldn't go above on stock pistons, however you should hear the MA09 @ over 8K rpm they are evil.. haha.

Yes the bore is the only difference on the block. MA10 = 68mmx68mm MA09 = 66mmx68mm (bore/stroke). Everything else is identical except for extra drilled oil way for turbo feed. However the head and pistons are different due to low compression, and the cam profile

IMO there is lots of potential for head improvements. Cast manifold is so-so. No better or worse than other cast offerings.

If Marty is right and the temp always stayed stable, even if it appeared high - thats normal. the ST with blown head gasket WILL creep up under boost, if yours doesn't then I bet you have no problem.
 
40 degree days and supercharger whining away, needle never moved and power never dropped..

that said, i am looking forward to seeing what that little car is capable of :D
 
see now ed you always do that...."no need to change anything" and "I have all forged parts for my rebuild" :p. Other than pistons, what would you suggest? Actually can you just send me email or phone number I would be happy for you to organise these since my english is better than my japanese, and I guess the british custom performance bits industry is a long way ahead of we colonials. duncan(at)skylinesaustralia.com

200hp is outrageous from a .9l motor....but I'd still like to do it, even if it has to rev a little higher to take advantage of a ported head, and I guess will need a cam at a minimum to get there. I've always got a spare motor if I decide I want it slower or more standard. Essentially about 100kw at the wheels is my goal which is about 200hp.

re headgasket - there is no apparent coolant in the oil, but there is a little oil in the coolant. also it uses coolant. so there is some problem. but more importantly it is using heaps of oil which I assume is worn rings (not that I've done a compression test yet). Does anyone have the expected compression levels? Or a factory engine manual, even in japanese would be handy.

I'm interested that no-one has mentioned turbo seals - I would have though a super charger and no BOV would be murder on the turbos...are they die a regular death? Surely the tubro is getting smashed every time it makes that cute chochocho noise.

Final question in this rambling.....what pump fuels do you guys have access to? In Oztraya we are seeing "E85" which is 85% ethanol, 15% regular pump fuel (91 or 95 octane). The results people are seeing is amazing, basically the timing can be advanced so far that it stops making more power before it starts detonating. On the downside it needs about 30% more fuel so I will need a substantial upsize in injectors and fuel pump. Otherwise we use 98 or 95 RON unleaded.
 
oh cmon bump! have you guys all taken a break for xmas? or is it just that no-one really pushes these motors? where's your sense of (expensive) adventure???
 
I am only changing things as I had to, the gudgeon pins etc are all daft sizes so if I wanted forged pistons I had to also change the con rods. I'm not changing them because I needed to!

I dont use the standard turbo I am using a Roller bearing Garrett GT series unit, and yes I have a BOV

We have 98 octane (ron) fuel here.
 
excellent...now we are talking. I think I will look into custom rods and pistons there are a few places here that make them up, and at least there are only 4 of them :D
 
ed but surely it would have been cheaper to have the rods made to fit the gudgeon pins than have whole new pistons too?
 
one thing I haven't seen around here....does any one have the expected compression test results? I really should check before I pull it all apart
 
i have an original head nismo gasket for my own and i am waiting my engine to crack so i can rebuilt with forged pistnons and etc....
 
oranje said:
i have an original head nismo gasket for my own and i am waiting my engine to crack so i can rebuilt with forged pistnons and etc....
Click to expand...

You can come and rebuild mine while your at it lol, where are you getting your forged parts from?

Thanks

Steve
 

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