Stock swap ?

[blk240sx1]

Hello, I'm a noobie here. I have a 91 240sx that I bought with a blown head gasket. The engine has 194K miles on it. I found a KA24DE with 85K miles for $500. I have never done an engine swap, and wanted to know how hard the engine install would be or if spending $400 for someone to do the swap is worth it? Thanks

[RedlineRacer]

If I was you, I would swap a SR20. If you plan on tuning you car, this is the best bet. You are going to have to swap an engine, why not do the SR?

[blk240sx1]

I have to be realistic with myself. Don't get me wrong, I would love to do the SR20DET swap, but realisticly I know I wont be dropping that much money into the car.

[F3600]

I'm taking out my old Ka24E this weekend and what is the most annoying thing to do is to unbolt the tranny from the block, its a hard place to reach... :bash:
if you have some abilities in mechanical stuff dont be afraid of doing it ..its actually fun :)

[phrozen]

if your on a budget get a ca18 =D, save the 500 u can find a full CA swap for under 1000 bucks

[radiationman]

$500 for the engine and $400 for install is right on.
Don't listen to these "JDM nut swingers" - that think swapping in a JDM engine is the only thing or the only cool thing to do.
This is a 240 board not a 240 poser board :axe: Though that is changing.:(

[DuffMan]

Swapping a CA or SR will always end up being more expensive than you think. Stick with the the KA. Install shouldnt be that hard really. It will probably just take a while since its your first time doing it. But if you have the time and access to basic tools, I would say do it yourself. It will be an invaluable learning experience.

[Dousan_PG]

should take a day to 2 days max
in and out.
:boink:

[Yoshi]

Originally posted by blk240sx1
I have to be realistic with myself. Don't get me wrong, I would love to do the SR20DET swap, but realisticly I know I wont be dropping that much money into the car.

Wow.
I like you blk240sx1, you're the first noob I've seen on this board who didn't have dillusions of grandeur. You just want the thing back to it's factory working order, and that's commendable... it's also by far the cheapest. The guys above are talking CA's and SR's and u know what? if you want one that's done right, it costs A LOT of money. I know, I speak from experience. THere's also tons of custom work that needs be done to swap any engine other than the KA your car came with.

For you, if you have the proper tools, it should be very straight forward. You may want to take polaroids or digicam pix of parts like wiring, or certain bolts, anything you might forget exactly how it goes later on. Rent a cherry picker, get a few friends together (usually friends who are hesitant to help are easily swayed by offers of beer and pizza... kinda like moving) and go to town, best of luck man!

[Warwick5s]

my advice: before you unplug anything from the harness, put a little white tape tag on it with a number, and then write down the number and where it goes in a notebook

keep on rocking the KA man. no way would you be able to put in a CA or SR in that amount of time and for that amount of money. :rolleyes:

[drift freaq]

I have to agree with Yoshi on this, blk240sx1. You are doing the right thing given the budget you have. To many people here have the idea that putting in a CA or a SR does not cost as much as it does. I have first hand experience dealing with people that think a car should not sell for what it does. Even though the person selling the car nine times out of ten is taking a hit i.e. loss on the car.
Fact is even if you do a CA or SR install yourself, you need to be prepared for the unexpected and its not quite as simple as people think to do it.
To many times I have seen home installs with messed up wiring, or not running, because even though they followed guidelines someone put up on the net it did not fire anyways.
Put that KA in and make that car run good stock and spend money on your suspension . Down the road when you feel you might want more power and have extra cash saved up then think about what to do next engine wise.
you should get the newbie rookie of the week award for being so smart.:bow: :bowdown:

[blk240sx1]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and rookie kudos !!! I'm going to buy the engine next week and do the install with a couple of friends over that upcoming weekend. Should be fun. I'll take plenty of pictures and let everyone know how the install goes.

[F3600]

i just took out my engine with the tranny... its more easy than unbolt the tranny.

i have a pic of my engine on the cherry picker

but now the shell is going to scrapyard...:cry:
I'm building my sohc while im trying to find a decent 89-90


Fred

[YoungRookie]

Will you have to take the front bumper or any of that stuff off to get the engine out or just to make it easier?

[DarkRaptor42]

Go with the KA, its cheaper and legal. SRs cost alot and are in my opinion over rated. Also if you race at all, the KA lets you stay in an easier field while the SR makes you run mod. Go suspension and KA. KA all the way.

[Jsquared]

let me know if you need any stock KA24DE stuff, I have parts from my SR swap...

[transient]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is what to do with the old engine after the swap. You might want to consider rebuilding it. It would give you some great experience and possibly give you a better engine to work with down the road.