am I killing my KA?!?!

[MrMiyagi901]

Ok, well over the past couple days, my engine has developed a knocking. And before anyone says timing chain, I should mention that I've already changed both chains and the guides. In fact, this was the same problem I thought I was having with my old motor before it spun a bearing.

Oh yea, and for the record, this is on a 96' s14 with stock internals engine

So having said that, this is how it started.Just yesterday, we got a nice bit of rain down here in Austin. So i figured, lets go drifting. So I went out to my usual spot and started practicing (back and forth drifts, if it matters). HOWEVER, in practicing, I got a little too much angle and lost the drift on some turns. When this happened though, my car died Being that the car started right up afterwards though, i didn't think anything of it. Today though, I noticed a little bit of tapping/knocking, or whatever u want to call it. I just thought I hadn't noticed it, since I just put this engine in my car a couple weeks ago.So today I went out for a little more practice. This time though, I was pushing it some more and spun out a couple more times. What scared me was that when I tried starting the car up again, it didn't want to for a couple seconds And now, the knocking/tapping is even worse. It doesn't happen at idle, or under a decent load, but when I'm just cruising at a constant speed, giving it maintenance throttle, I hear the noise. It also seems to start a little after 1k rpms and speeds up though 3k. Haven't noticed how high it does it, but I'd assume it just keeps getting fast though the rpm band.When I opened my hood and tried to listen for the noise, it sounded like it was coming from the middle of the valve cover, so that also excludes the timing chain a bit.

Sorry for such a long story, but I just wanted to make sure I mentioned all the symptoms and variables.

Also, when my old motor spun a bearing, the knocking/tapping noise was at it's highest, but it was more around idle than anything. So being that the KA has hydraulic chain tensioners, I was wondering if the noise was a result of low oil pressure, which could also explain why I spun a bearing. AND, if so, would that be related to why the car was dying when I would loose the drift and slid to a stop? Am I starving my engine of oil, and if so, why would that cause that noise? Or is the car just dying because of fuel starvation, and the noise is simply a result of pushing the engine too hard?

Once again, sorry for the long write up, but I'm just trying to tell the whole story.Any thoughts or comments would be HIGHLY appreciated.

Thank You,Mi¥agI

[IanS]

Keep your "drifting" to the track, and maybe if you werent spending so much time "drifting" you wouldnt be eating rod bearings left and right. Just because you think its cool to drift on the street, doesnt mean we do, its stupid and its kids like you that are ruining it for the rest of us.

[wzntha]

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[MrMiyagi901]

well, i never really said that I was out drifting on the streets, but I'll agree that it's wrong and would love to be able to go to a track. Unfortunately, there aren't any tracks around here. You have to drive out a good couple hours just to get to any decent venue.I was however in a parking lot that I've been lucky enough to receive permission to practice on. It's not huge, but it's good enough for some decent 2nd gear stuff.But yea, I was trying to do some research on the matter and was wondering if the noise could actually be from a loose rod bearing. I heard somewhere that the noise was similar to that of a loose timing chain, but can't be sure if source is very reputable. If that is the case though and the rod bearing is "loose" how long can something like that hold up before finally going out?

[shally2186]

...alil here and there in a vacant parking lot nowhere near anything won't hurt anything.....drift in moderation tho...ur prolly looking @ spinnin a rod bearing "again"..them KA's dont hold out long especially when drifting them...did you take off the valve cover and make sure everything is in place and tight??? if its ur bearing then i wouldnt drive it too much and be sure to put thicker oil in it..if the thicker oil helps then its prolly a rod bearing.....if the tapping isnt too bad then you can replace the bearings before it gets worse...u did the right thing and got permission.me on the other hand has to pay $1,450.00 to re-paint the whole parking lot..lol..o well live and learn

[MrMiyagi901]

Well, I'm not going to really have a chance to look at it tonight, but I'll take it to my uncle's shop and check things out in the morning. But if it is the rod bearing, what might have caused it get the way it is? I'm guessing oil pressure? Is that why the car died in the slide?Cause I've been thinking about doing a dry sump setup for some time now because I knew that if I were to start getting more serious about drifting and track outings, I would need a more powerful oil pump. Which also reminds me; does anyone know of a company that makes a scavenger pan for the KA24? I've found one company, but supposedly it was designed for the mexican truck engines, and they don't bolt up quite right.

[IanS]

Ok, playing around in an empty parking lot with prior permission is cool, keep it off the streets though. As far as dry sump, you dont need it, have someone build you a better oil pan with baffles. Was the second engine a rebuild or a used motor, if it was used, then the stress of being in high RPMs is most likely what killed it, that or you were low on oil. Do some research, and stay safe.

[MrMiyagi901]

yea the new one is just used. I'm planning on taking my time and rebuilding the old one though. But, depending on the condition of the head and valve train on this one, I might just rebuild the old head to withstand some higher revs and put it on this block. Everything has been a learning experience though, and I'm reading up on my stuff as I go, so I don't know much about some of the common problems these engines have. If the rod bearings are ok, what are the first things that start to cause valve noise?

[shally2186]

some people stay KA,but seriously if you wanna drift then upgrade...unless you want to dump alot of money into internals for ur KA.not to mention the labor..just get a CA,SR,or RB and call it a day ..the KA isnt a good drift engine

[480sx]

..the KA isnt a good drift engine

I really have nothing to add to this thread but i wanted to lol at that comment.

[shally2186]

u think they are???

[MrMiyagi901]

I dk. I keep hearing that =(I kinda just want to be different though. The fact that I already have an extra one lying around and they're easy to come by since ppl don't really want them, is why I was also gonna stick with it.As far as labor, we have our own shop so most everything we can do ourselves. And I've also made a couple connections with people that do machine work. So thats why I was thinking I could put all the money I'd spend into getting and doing an SR swap into just building a KA. But even then, I don't know if the end result would be worth it. Cause I really want to build an engine that'll be reliable and good for road racing use, but from what I'm hearing, I might have to re-consider.

[shally2186]

well its mainly up to you..a friend of mine had a RB25DET,SR20DET,CA18DET,and is currently buildin a all motor KA..he knows exactly what he is doin and if the engine after bein fully built couldnt hold up then he wouldnt bother tryn..if you got the money and the desire then prove me otherwise and have a KA worth drifting ...just every other stock KA spin rod bearings