1993 240sx KA24DE

[240sxonfire(literally)]

Its kind of depressing, i wanted my first post here (i've been lurking for a LONG time) to be in the 240sx forums, asking questions about my new car, but unfortunately, its here in the Mechanic forums...

i'll try to keep it relatively short, and if this is the wrong board i apologize profusely, i'm really not sure where a post like this should go...

So anyway, i've spent the past several weeks looking for a 240sx in good condition, after hanging around these boards for some time, i made the decision to get one. I love cars in general, love working on them, and especially making them faster, and from all the things i've read about the 240, it seemed like a great car. eventually, after several duds and dead ends (from an rb20det swap, to a "rebuilt with less than 50 miles" that wouldnt start) i found my baby, a beautiful white 240sx with an almost perfect body, an engine that sounded plenty healthy, only downside was the automatic transmission (which i plan to swap out with the help of NICO) so i buy the car, drive off, and about 20 miles down the highway, i hear a "THUMP" see something fly out from underneath the car, followed by billowing smoke from under the hood. i pulled off to the side of the road, popped the hood, and the engine is on fire. i managed to put it out with a well placed energy drink, and called my insurance, etc... now my question, or quetions, which hopefully belong in this forum, are as follows,

1: it SOUNDED like a connecting rod snapped, and the engine kept running, and after i had it sitting, and the fire out for a while, i tried to see if it would start briefly, and it did, very roughly, and i could hear what sounded like a loose rod rattling around inside. i'm not a mechanic by any means, but i've worked on my own cars for a long time, and from personal experience, thats what it sounds like. but i dont know for sure. the fire seemed to be coming from underneath the block, on the right side (facing the engine bay) of the engine, there was SOME oil leaking, but not an awful lot, the oil pan appears to be intact, and i didnt have a jack, or the time to closely inspect. so first off, does this sound like a rod maybe snapped ? there was a loud pop or bang, which i'm assuming was some kind of seal, or maybe a portion of the oil pan bursting off, followed by the rattling inside the engine.

2: i've never actually gone to the trouble of rebuilding an engine that something apparently drastic like this has happened to before, because the only cars on which something like this occured were cheap disposable junkers, not worth the time or money. i'm wondering if this is something repairable ? or will i probably have to end up replacing the entire engine ? i had eventually planned on either going KA-T or possibly doing the swap for an RB series engine, but that was going to be a few months down the road, once i'd gotten some more money together. and i really need a running car ASAP, i havent looked into it much, but i believe the KA24 engines are fairly cheap, so i may have to go that route.

and 3: i unfortunately dont have any garage space right now, so whatever needs to be done to the car, i doubt i'll be able to do it myself. i've NEVER had to take a car to a mechanic for an engine swap before, and i'm completely at a loss for what to look for, should i take it to a local nissan dealer ? i tried doing a google search for engine shops or engine repair in my area (fort hood, tx) and come up with nothing but the usual muffler/transmission/small engine, etc. who exactly would do this kind of work (i'm assuming the work to be a complete engine swap) and is there some resource online, or here on NICO listing mechanics in different states/areas that are known to do good work at a fair price ?

overall, im just trying to figure out what to do. i dont think theres any way i can get my money back for the car, and honestly, i still WANT the car ... but have no idea how to go about getting it fixed. so any help, advice, etc, is GREATLY appreciated... i should be renting a trailer or some such, and going out to pick the car up and tow it tomorrow ... but i dont have a clue where i should tow it TO.

thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to answer, and hello NICO, its nice to finally be a member of the club
Modified by 240sxonfire(literally) at 10:35 PM 4/13/2008

[OldmanPurdy]

Sorry to hear about your car must be pretty rough to buy a car and have it die so quick, to answer your question if your engine did indeed throw a rod you engine block is probally destroyed. Confirm what damage has been done to the engine first but your best and cheapest option is to get a used KA24DE from the same year and just do a direct swap, since people ditch the KA left and right in favor of jdm engines you can find them pretty cheap. Find an engine get some friends and family to help and you'll be done in an afternoon.