Headgasket

[hacknik]

I just recently acquired an 89' s13 hatch with an original SOHC KA with about 270kms on it and the chassis. The only issue that it has right now, would be the fact that the headgasket is blown. Now, i know that this can be a quick and cheap fix, but my question is, what happens when the head itself is warped? How much (roughly) would it cost to fix? And seeing as it is only a single cam, would it be a smarter decission to ignore the leaky gasket (and most likely the warped head) and just go along with a DOHC ka that has lower KM's?

[CrazyKoukiS14]

if this isnt your daily driver then in my opinion you should just dump that engine and forget about and swap in a KA or an SR, w/e you can afford. But if you want to fix it and drive on it then just get a new stock head gasket and then razor blade the remains of the last one off your cylinder head and block that way you apply the new head gasket on a fresh and smooth new surface

[hacknik]

yea, i thought it over, im just going to ditch the current single slammer, and grab a DOHC KA. then save up over the winter for a CA18.

[Walperstyle]

CA18? why? just to be different? They are good engines but in Canada there is NO parts. Anywhere. KA-T DOHC or SR.

[ESmorz]

Originally Posted by hacknik

I just recently acquired an 89' s13 hatch with an original SOHC KA with about 270kms on it and the chassis. The only issue that it has right now, would be the fact that the headgasket is blown. Now, i know that this can be a quick and cheap fix, but my question is, what happens when the head itself is warped? How much (roughly) would it cost to fix? And seeing as it is only a single cam, would it be a smarter decission to ignore the leaky gasket (and most likely the warped head) and just go along with a DOHC ka that has lower KM's?

Take the head to get re-surfaced and re-valved it really isn't that expensive.

[CrazyKoukiS14]

yeah forget about the C18, build the KA if anything, personally i dont like SR's with all the money that you spend on the swap you can have a bad ass KA sitting in your engine bay

[hacknik]

true, but a buddy of mine has a fully built CA18, and i love the fact that he can rev the piss out of it. The power band is amazing, it sounds different, its light, and for the most important part, its different. Its kind of annoying when ever you talk to other S chassis owners, and find that they all have either SR's, or N/A KA's. Then there are the small amount of guys with the KA-T's, and an even smaller amount of guys with CA18s. The engine has potential, and i don't mind how much money i end up putting into it, or how long it takes. In the end, it will be worth it. I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love revving to 9,000 and not having to worry about anything blowing up? =D

[CrazyKoukiS14]

one dont you become one of the few that has a KA-T, my friends got one and his car runs amazing