if i were to get a spare set of heads for my VE, would it be easier to rebuild the VTCs and have them work more reliably (since i wouldnt just throw it together after running out of patience) as i'd be able to do a better job (if its possible).

 

Rebuiding is hit or miss. ie.. 50/50 chance. I can only recommend new ones. I had both rebuilt on mine. The rear one screwed up after 10k. So I replaced the rear one myself(@#$% dealer!!!). The front one is still okay.

 

$40 vs $700+. i can do the labor myself, but when it comes down to it, i just cant afford new ones. i'll make sure the kit/new VTC is the last thing i buy though, because if i'm still in school when i have the parts and stuff together (including the cams reground and installed, everything cleaned and ready to go..) and i'm still in school, i'll wait a month and just get the new assemblies, but if i'm scraping to get all that stuff together, i'll go for the rebuild.
is there anything i can do to make sure the rebuild will work? i change my oil regularly (used to be every 3750, but i'm doing it myself at 2500-3000 now)..is there anything to flush the gunk out of the engine? almost like cleaning the throttle body, only the whole engine?
i have alot of time to do this, so i want to make sure its done right. i'm taking 2 weeks out of work and i'm going to my friends uncles place and doing it all inside a clean fully tooled garage, but i dont want any complications when i go to do the swap (which is why i want do this stuff now instead of at the time of the swap)
i'm done rambling.

thanks jeff!

 

You had better make sure you know what you are doing when you rebuild them. Do it wrong and it will go bad again right away. Clean the oil gallies leading up to the VTCs and chain tensioner. Get ahold of the two TSBs that deals with the VTCs. Oh and if you don't have a 2 ton press, you can't take them apart.

 

how would i get ahold of these TSBs? also, is there anything that i could acquire that would have an outlined process of the VTC rebuild?
i mean, other than a FSM.

 

Alldata.com is one source. VTC rebuild is not outlined in the Nissan FSM(I think). But it IS needed if you want to attempt this type of repair. Considering you don't have this basic info, you have quite a bit of research to do before you even think about tearing into the engine. This stuff is fairly technical(although not impossible)