RD28 woes

[dann]

About a month ago I started the process of changing the timing belt on my 98 rd28.... Fairly straight forward job (I thought) but I've run into some corrogations along the way, here's the list:
-removal of crank timing cog (it had no puller holes and I wasnt game to drill any so I got creative with some hose clamps and puller bolts wrapped heavily In duct tape)
-Next I noticed some play in the cam timing cog....enter hairline crack above locating pin, the slop had also badly pitted the cog so new cam and gear ordered from japan (amayama trading, about half the price of Nissan if anyone's interested)
While I had the tappet cover off I decided to pull the injectors and get them tested since she blows a bit of smoke under load....spanner on injector slipped off and I wrapped the spill line around number 1 injector and severed the little wire (and most off my knuckles)

This is were I'm at now, injectors are off to be checked, ordered a new spill line from Nissan ($65, rather reasonable) and I'm waiting to hear back about the chance of saving number one injector.

Don't get me wrong I love tinkering and problem solving but if anyone's had any experience with these things on an rd28 (specifically number 1 injector) and can offer any advice it'd be much appreciated 😁

Also ordered a new harmonic balancer bolt 👍

[mudnut]

Hello, dann and welcome
to the forum. A few
rd28 owners have had
trouble with the harmonic
balancer coming loose
and causing damage to
the crank.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?31581-2-8-spun-crank&highlight=rd28

So check all of that out
while you have it all apart.

[dann]

Hey mudnut, thanks for the reply
The woodrows look ok, is it advisable to change them anyway?

[mudski]

Hey mudnut, thanks for the reply
The woodrows look ok, is it advisable to change them anyway?

Definitely! For a few bucks for new woodruff keys, its a must. Last thing you want to happen is to get it all together and then one of the keys sheer and slip goes the balancer. Common issue with the RD28's. And make sure the balancer nut is torques correctly.

[mudnut]

As mudski posted, even if you
have to borrow a torque wrench
to get the job done properly.

I would check the torque
after a few weeks just to
make sure it tight. If I
owned a 2.8, as a precaution
I would check the torque at
each service.

The RD28 uses an RB30 engine
block fitted with diesel
components, crank and head.
I am speculating that
the extra kick that the diesel
gives is a bit too much for the
crank at the balancer.

[dann]

Thanks for the advice fellas, I'm off to get some new keys and loctite!
on another note, turns out if you damage the wire coming out of injector one it's buggered....was lucky enough to find a bloke wrecking an rd28 around the corner though 👍

[Jim Eastwood]

G'day members of this group, I have just joined to offer you my experience with crankshaft pulley retaining bolts, in general all crank bolts that must be removed to change a camshaft timing belt must then be tentioned back to manafactures torque specification which at times is quite hard to do in the chassis BUT this MUST be done with the crank pulley locked and in the case of a RD28 the tention is critical otherwise it will most certainly come loose.
This is a very common fault with most timing belt diesels that the mechanic fitting the new timing belt doesn't have the appropriate crankshaft locking tools so as to fully tention the crank pulley to the manufacturers specification because it is usually very hard to hold the pulley at that torque.
It must be noted that the manafactures don't use locktite and there is no history of crank pulleys coming loose prior to the first timing belt service change, that's worth noting.

[mudnut]

To torque the crank bolt in Patrol, put it in 4th gear and pull the handbrake on tight.

For an auto, some success has been achieved by using an old fan belt wrapped around the harmonic balancer and twisting it tight with a bar.

If the engine is out, get a piece of pine from an old pallet (at least a metre long), drill some holes to match either the Flywheel to clutch cover bolt holes or the crankshaft bolts holes. You then fasten the wood to the engine and use that to counter the torque for the crankshaft bolt.