This definitely wasn't in my plans for this year. A few weeks ago my car started to leak oil which it had never done in the year and some I've had it. To make things worst about a week ago it started making this horrible knocking sound around 2.5k-3.2k rpms so I took it to my mechanic. It seems I blew (?) a piston and I need to rectify the block and buy new pistons. Now since the block will be opened and I have turbo plans in the not so far future I beleive it's time to upgrade a few things here and there although since this wasn't planned for my current cash flow is severely restricted. So this is the list my mechanic gave me:
- Pistons : I'm thinking forged pistons or billet aluminium (which is best?) and keeping the stock comp so I don't loose driveability since this is my daily driver (+25 miles everyday in stop and go traffic). What brand is the best bang for the buck?- Ring kit : which I'm guessing I'll get with the pistons (?). So far the only input I've gotten from older threads is not to go with total seal rings, why?- master gasket set : do I upgrade or stay OEM?- connecting rod bearings : do I upgrade or stay OEM?- main bearings : do I upgrade or stay OEM?- timing chain set : is this really necessary? I highly doubt it.
To the list I've added:- Connecting rods : as the pistons I'm gonna go OEM specs but either forged or billet (same questions apply here)- Any other stuff I should add?
Now to the main issue. Since I live in a third world country all of this stuff either cannot be found or is quite expensive. So I really need help from all of you on where can I find this stuff online? What brands to look for? What brands to stay away from? I've used a lot of time just looking at some signatures from people in this forum so I have some clue as to where to start but help is always appreciated.
Any inputs on my I-didn't-plan-it engine rebuild are welcomed so please post away. And sorry for the long post.
Bad luck with my KA
Nobody sells billet pistons. Pistons are usually either cast aluminum (stock) or forged aluminum.
Connecting rods...the factory rods are forged and shotpeened. If you get aftermarket rods, you would get them because you want them to be beefier, not OE size...because then you wouldn't have much to gain. The stock connecting rods have proven reliable at boosted levels of 350rwhp.
Right now there aren't any good upgrades from stock headgasket or main bearings. Nissan Motorsports makes a set of main bearings...but they probably aren't much better for the most part.
What power level are you looking for? For anything under 350rwhp, I'd just rebuild it with a factory head gasket and forged pistons in an 8.5:1 or 9:1 cr, factory bearings, replace timing chain (much easier while the motor is already apart, and worth the extra parts cost). Piston manufacturers...JWT sells Arias pistons, Wiseco, JE, etc. all sell pistons...but none of them stock KA pistons (except JWT). I think that KA pistons are still custom from Wiseco, JE, etc. I saw a guy selling a set of Arias pistons on one of the other message boards within the past month for under $500.
Unless you are sure you are going to be turbocharging...I wouldn't rebuild with lower compression forged pistons. You might be better off to try and find a low mileage stock motor, save cash on the rebuild, and add a turbo kit to that.
Dennis
Connecting rods...the factory rods are forged and shotpeened. If you get aftermarket rods, you would get them because you want them to be beefier, not OE size...because then you wouldn't have much to gain. The stock connecting rods have proven reliable at boosted levels of 350rwhp.
Right now there aren't any good upgrades from stock headgasket or main bearings. Nissan Motorsports makes a set of main bearings...but they probably aren't much better for the most part.
What power level are you looking for? For anything under 350rwhp, I'd just rebuild it with a factory head gasket and forged pistons in an 8.5:1 or 9:1 cr, factory bearings, replace timing chain (much easier while the motor is already apart, and worth the extra parts cost). Piston manufacturers...JWT sells Arias pistons, Wiseco, JE, etc. all sell pistons...but none of them stock KA pistons (except JWT). I think that KA pistons are still custom from Wiseco, JE, etc. I saw a guy selling a set of Arias pistons on one of the other message boards within the past month for under $500.
Unless you are sure you are going to be turbocharging...I wouldn't rebuild with lower compression forged pistons. You might be better off to try and find a low mileage stock motor, save cash on the rebuild, and add a turbo kit to that.
Dennis
d240, thanks for the reply. Right now I am planning to turbo and I've already bought everything I need except for the manifold, intercooler and piping. And when I was about to buy what was needed and install this happens :thinker . My plan is to reach 10PSI which I'm guessing will give me about 240HP. I'm probably gonna upgrade the fuel system later on (when the boost bug bites 
) and up the boost but not just yet. But since this happened I really wanna make the rebuild right.
Anyway, for those of you paying attention out there, this is what I have found so far from other lists/forums and d240's reply:
Pistons : forged alluminium (still looking for best price/brand) ($300-$700)Master gasket set : stay OEM, look in midwestgaskets.com, courtesyparts.com for them (aprox $80)Bearings : stay OEM, need to look for them probably at courtesyparts.comtiming chain : worth to change it. I saw a complete kit at courtesy for $400
So right now it's looking to be around $800-$1000 plus the bearings.
Any further inputs are welcomed.
) and up the boost but not just yet. But since this happened I really wanna make the rebuild right.Anyway, for those of you paying attention out there, this is what I have found so far from other lists/forums and d240's reply:
Pistons : forged alluminium (still looking for best price/brand) ($300-$700)Master gasket set : stay OEM, look in midwestgaskets.com, courtesyparts.com for them (aprox $80)Bearings : stay OEM, need to look for them probably at courtesyparts.comtiming chain : worth to change it. I saw a complete kit at courtesy for $400
So right now it's looking to be around $800-$1000 plus the bearings.
Any further inputs are welcomed.
Don't worry I have already bought 370cc injectors of a SR20DET and the 255lph Walbro fuel pump. I'm sure this setup can get me to around 10PSI although I'll be upping the boost slowly and monitoring everything. I'm also researching to modify the stock ECU for the 370cc injetors.
By the way I found the complete gasket set at midwest $92.82. Still looking in courtesy for the other parts, their site doesn't help much.
Ohhh and I forgot... no FMU for me. I don't want to have to worry about fuel leaks... I already have plenty of stuff to think of.
By the way I found the complete gasket set at midwest $92.82. Still looking in courtesy for the other parts, their site doesn't help much.
Ohhh and I forgot... no FMU for me. I don't want to have to worry about fuel leaks... I already have plenty of stuff to think of.
Right...if you have the injectors, you don't need an FMU. A couple of people have modified the stock MAF to get the 370cc injectors to work...info is on freshalloy and zilvia.
Personal preference, I'd get the OEM gasket set from the dealership and pay the extra 30 dollars probably...over an aftermarket gasket set. Although...if I could get that group buy on Cometic KA headgaskets...I'd get the midwest kit and use the Cometic headgasket.
Dennis
Personal preference, I'd get the OEM gasket set from the dealership and pay the extra 30 dollars probably...over an aftermarket gasket set. Although...if I could get that group buy on Cometic KA headgaskets...I'd get the midwest kit and use the Cometic headgasket.
Dennis
Yep, I've read up on that MAF mod a while back on Zilvia... does seem a bit getto to me. If I get knowledge enough to modify the stock ECU I can do much more than run 370cc injectors 
Right know I'm just trying to get a daughter board wired to the stock ECU. Then I'm gonna start messing around trying to figure the maps locations and stuff... it's gonna take a while but I beleive it's worth it. If I ever get to do it I'll post the stuff up, I know of someone in another forum that by asking around finally came up with a solution... he then set out to erase all his posts on the subject and 2 weeks later was selling the daughterboards 
. I don't like his attitude one bit.
Now what do you mean by 'group buy on Cometic KA headgaskets'? Where? I've never heard of cometic. Anyway I can't get the parts from the dealership (unless you mean something like courtesy). Dealers here charge an arm, leg and eye for them... :thinker
Right know I'm just trying to get a daughter board wired to the stock ECU. Then I'm gonna start messing around trying to figure the maps locations and stuff... it's gonna take a while but I beleive it's worth it. If I ever get to do it I'll post the stuff up, I know of someone in another forum that by asking around finally came up with a solution... he then set out to erase all his posts on the subject and 2 weeks later was selling the daughterboards . I don't like his attitude one bit.Now what do you mean by 'group buy on Cometic KA headgaskets'? Where? I've never heard of cometic. Anyway I can't get the parts from the dealership (unless you mean something like courtesy). Dealers here charge an arm, leg and eye for them... :thinker
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S14Zilvia
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2002 11:23 am
- Car: '90 300ZXTT, '92 S13 coupe, '06 Ram 3500 Mega, '93 del Sol Si
- Location: Virginia Beach
Have you looked into the greddy e-manage?
From your list it sounds like you'll have a motor with a lot of potential, but you don't want to skimp on fuel management.
The e-manage is run off a laptop (so if you don't have one that's a problem) and the software (support tool) is about $100.
CKwik is running the e-manage on his ka-t, I know of another guy running it with his ca.
For the $300 price tag of the main unit and less than $500 cost for everything, that's the route I'll be taking.
I shy away from things like fmu's, as it seems like a ghetto way to add fuel.
Check out the mkiv supra yahoo group for the e-manage, all the info there you'll need, as well as http://www.mohdparts.com
Just a suggestion if you're weary about the ecu tuning/fmu ideas.
From your list it sounds like you'll have a motor with a lot of potential, but you don't want to skimp on fuel management.
The e-manage is run off a laptop (so if you don't have one that's a problem) and the software (support tool) is about $100.
CKwik is running the e-manage on his ka-t, I know of another guy running it with his ca.
For the $300 price tag of the main unit and less than $500 cost for everything, that's the route I'll be taking.
I shy away from things like fmu's, as it seems like a ghetto way to add fuel.
Check out the mkiv supra yahoo group for the e-manage, all the info there you'll need, as well as http://www.mohdparts.com
Just a suggestion if you're weary about the ecu tuning/fmu ideas.
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S14Zilvia
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2002 11:23 am
- Car: '90 300ZXTT, '92 S13 coupe, '06 Ram 3500 Mega, '93 del Sol Si
- Location: Virginia Beach
Here's the info on the e-manage if anyone's interested.
http://www.mohdparts.com/emanage/
Check out the resources toward the bottom of the page, as well as the listserve. I'm on the e-mail list, and a lot of good tuning info comes through there. CKwik is on it as well.
http://www.mohdparts.com/emanage/
Check out the resources toward the bottom of the page, as well as the listserve. I'm on the e-mail list, and a lot of good tuning info comes through there. CKwik is on it as well.
Yep, I thought about using a piggy-back but two things keep me back
1. Price tag, I bought a guinea pig stock ECU for $652. There is someting about DIY that I love :pface and I ought to put my Electronics degree to work someday... jeje
Anyway, when I was looking at the piggy-backs someone mentioned one called 'Perfect Power' that goes for about $450. http://www.perfectpower.com... and actually I'm writing from my laptop... so no issues there. What is included along with the $500 price tag, apart from the $300 main unit?
I'm not trying to skimp on fuel, I just want to have the satisfaction of doing most of the work myself.
Although since I'm probably going to rebuild the motor (the mechanic still needs to get back to me) I might as well include the price of the piggy back into the rebuild budget.
1. Price tag, I bought a guinea pig stock ECU for $652. There is someting about DIY that I love :pface and I ought to put my Electronics degree to work someday... jeje
Anyway, when I was looking at the piggy-backs someone mentioned one called 'Perfect Power' that goes for about $450. http://www.perfectpower.com... and actually I'm writing from my laptop... so no issues there. What is included along with the $500 price tag, apart from the $300 main unit?
I'm not trying to skimp on fuel, I just want to have the satisfaction of doing most of the work myself.
Although since I'm probably going to rebuild the motor (the mechanic still needs to get back to me) I might as well include the price of the piggy back into the rebuild budget.
I have never heard of an individual that modified the ECU and started tuning. That is a lot of research work for an individual to undertake, then give away, IMO. Courtesy is usually a good solution.
Cometic makes extremely good head gaskets, a metal composite. They need 50 orders to start making them...at $72-78 each retail price, after someone sends them a stock headgasket to copy. I have slowly been working on trying to get orders for this...but that is a whole lot of headgaskets... and it is not working out too well so far.
http://www.cometic.com
Good luck with the ECU thing...for the most part, it seems like a whole lot better to do proven mods, like just spending the money on the JWT ECU, getting an AFC, modifying the MAF, etc. That ECU thing could take a whole lot of your time up, with no results in the end. Have you tried contacting JWT about buying either just a daughterboard from them, or getting an ECU redone by them to mess with...and see what they did. I'm not sure of the legalities or business ethics issues with those...just tossing out ideas.
Dennis
Cometic makes extremely good head gaskets, a metal composite. They need 50 orders to start making them...at $72-78 each retail price, after someone sends them a stock headgasket to copy. I have slowly been working on trying to get orders for this...but that is a whole lot of headgaskets... and it is not working out too well so far.
http://www.cometic.com
Good luck with the ECU thing...for the most part, it seems like a whole lot better to do proven mods, like just spending the money on the JWT ECU, getting an AFC, modifying the MAF, etc. That ECU thing could take a whole lot of your time up, with no results in the end. Have you tried contacting JWT about buying either just a daughterboard from them, or getting an ECU redone by them to mess with...and see what they did. I'm not sure of the legalities or business ethics issues with those...just tossing out ideas.
Dennis
I thought about it some more...I don't think it is illegal unless what they have done is patented...and I don't think it is. Regardless...if one were just to reverse engineer and copy what JWT did...I'd have a hard time sending them my money instead of JWT the money. JWT did the research and development, and also has the knowledge to give good customer support and tech advice. Also, they continue to update their chips on a regular basis as they learn more (through ongoing R&D).
Those are just my thoughts...now...if someone engineered their own daughterboard and sold it, along with other hardware/software needed to reprogram, I'd be interested.
Dennis
Those are just my thoughts...now...if someone engineered their own daughterboard and sold it, along with other hardware/software needed to reprogram, I'd be interested.
Dennis
Actually I thought of that. Before I purchased the stock ECU I was going to purchase one off of ebay and just update the external ECU ROM as needed, but the price went up a bit and out of my budget. I spent a bit much on a good new turbo and SBC and stuff so I'm working on a real tight budget, that's why I want to do the work myself.
I'm pretty sure it is not illegal even if patented cause I'm not gonna be selling anything I'm just gonna work on a Nissan ECU to make the microprocessor use external ROM instead of internal. Also there are many companies out there doing reverse engineering...
The process of making the daughterboard shouldn't be that hard, of course I haven't even sat down and dissambled the ECU... haven't got the time you know. To have the microprocessor use external ROM it's either changing signals on a single pin or reprogramming the uP. I've even thought of buying a new uP with the same pinout cause the KA24DE uP is just a motorola rip-off by Hitachi and Motorola has newer versions of the same uP.
The hardest part is getting the ECU's address map. I've found address maps for SRs, CAs, RBs and even VGs but no KA. Someone else is working in the KA24E ECU doing the same, lucky him the E one has external ROM to begin with. He already made a graphical rep of the E ECU ROM and it's quite evident where the maps and code are, it's just that we don't know which is which
If it comes to that I'll just start reading the code to make sense of it and find out what the maps are for, probably gonna be using a simulator of sort.
Now back to the reverse engineering thingy... anyone got pics of an opened JWT KA24DE ECU? It sure be helpful.
I'm pretty sure it is not illegal even if patented cause I'm not gonna be selling anything I'm just gonna work on a Nissan ECU to make the microprocessor use external ROM instead of internal. Also there are many companies out there doing reverse engineering...
The process of making the daughterboard shouldn't be that hard, of course I haven't even sat down and dissambled the ECU... haven't got the time you know. To have the microprocessor use external ROM it's either changing signals on a single pin or reprogramming the uP. I've even thought of buying a new uP with the same pinout cause the KA24DE uP is just a motorola rip-off by Hitachi and Motorola has newer versions of the same uP.
The hardest part is getting the ECU's address map. I've found address maps for SRs, CAs, RBs and even VGs but no KA. Someone else is working in the KA24E ECU doing the same, lucky him the E one has external ROM to begin with. He already made a graphical rep of the E ECU ROM and it's quite evident where the maps and code are, it's just that we don't know which is which
If it comes to that I'll just start reading the code to make sense of it and find out what the maps are for, probably gonna be using a simulator of sort.
Now back to the reverse engineering thingy... anyone got pics of an opened JWT KA24DE ECU? It sure be helpful.
You're welcome. Pulled off of courtesy Nissan's site...from JWT.
That picture may not be a KA ECU, but it is a JWT Nissan ECU, and looks exactly like the insides of my KA JWT ECU. Maybe the ribbon cable wasn't in the exact same place...but its pretty close.
If it is patented and you do it, it is illegal. But they'd have to find out about it...and decide to sue. Plus, I doubt it is patented.
Dennis
if you spun a main bearing you better becareful because their is a reason you supn it you might not be getting enough oil pressure our metal shavings in you oil my first 240 spu a bearing then just pu in new bearings then it sup another one two months later thats when i realized my oil pump was bad and i had a rod throught the side of my block before i made it home. it was my fualt though i should have parked it. jus thought i should put in my two cents. if i was you i would go ahead and rebuild it first then do you rturbo stuff that way you can work out your fuel problems while its been rebuilt.
I don't think I'll have fuel issues with my setup and I do have a fuel press gauge just in case.
Now regarding oil... your the second person to warn me about this. I'm gonna be checking the oil pump just in case.
Does anyone know if the OEM oil sender is an analog type sender? I mean can I connect a voltmeter to it and measure volts or is it just a switch type sender? Enough pressure = ON, Not enough pressure = OFF?
I'm thinking of connecting the BLITZ SBC optional harness to this to monitor oil pressure.
Now regarding oil... your the second person to warn me about this. I'm gonna be checking the oil pump just in case.
Does anyone know if the OEM oil sender is an analog type sender? I mean can I connect a voltmeter to it and measure volts or is it just a switch type sender? Enough pressure = ON, Not enough pressure = OFF?
I'm thinking of connecting the BLITZ SBC optional harness to this to monitor oil pressure.
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I am Technoman
- Posts: 979
- Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2002 6:49 am
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