Thread: Help my engine last longer!

Hi guru's! I need your expertise!

I just started using a NX2000 with a SR20DE as a dailydriver. While doing regular maintenance (oil/filters/sparkplugs) I also decided to replace the valve cover gasket because it was leaking a bit.

This is what i found:





Cams are abit scratched Fingernails catches imperfections. No missing pieces atleast!





So, what should be my top priority to get this engine cleaner and more reliable? Did wipe of some of the top smudge on the valvecover and camoilers, but some of the crud is too damn stuck.

What to do? I did not expect the engine to be in such a shitty condition . What should be first pririty to replace? Camoilers? Part number? Engine oil flush solutions? Help!

check out forum member Vadim and look up sludge monster. he went threw the same thing. and did a few things about it. id start saving for another motor. time to upgrade and if thats not possibly go with another DE.

Those cam lobes have been worn down below spec. If you get the sludge cleaned up, think about some replacement cams. They should be cheap in good condition.
x2 on looking up Vadim's "sludge monster" thread. Lots of good ideas in there.

Yeah, some good reading there.

Went to the Nissan dealer today, and they quoted me 140€ for a pair of cam-oilers. Think I'm gonna remove them and clean them out instead of replacing them.

Sucks that I live here in Finland, engine swaps are costly as /"#&. A SR20DE alone costs over 1000€, and that engine would have atleast 150k at the clock. And here you can't just "VE that shit", because of legislation. (max 20% overpower compared to stock engine"

Fingers crossed I wont run into problems. Frequent oil changes here i come...

Frequent oil changes are the best thing. Avoid engine flushes, perfect way lock up a motor.

You should be able to clean those cam oilers, no problem. I hear soaking in diesel fuel works wonders for clearing slug. Some brake cleaner might just do the trick as well.

what oil have you been using? and how high do you usually rev this engine?

Run a Quart of atf fluid every oil change. Also add half a can of Seaform into the crankcase.

I'd buy new cam oilers. They are hard to clean and can wipe out your engine in no time flat. Very cheap insurance if you ask me....

ga16eats:
I use Mobil 1 5W-40 fully synthetic.
I usually rev to 3.5k-ish, most I've done was 6k when testing the limits. Will play it safe now until i get it cleaner

BenFenner:
I'll start with cleaning the valvecover, and then soak the camoilers in some diesel/brake-cleaner and run a barrelcleaner through them. Then I'm gonna spend the whole weekend carefully cleaning out every piece of gunk i can. Sucks I have to use it as a daily now when going to uni. Will post some pictures once i get started next week.

Thanks guys!