Well i just bought it from the orignale owner , completely stock no dmg interior a lil messed up and 180k miles! but i only paid $450
my question is should i just get a new motor if so were?
or redo the old motor?
Bought 240sx 1990
If the engine's till good, just roll on it. It will be cheaper to rebuild the stock KA24E. If not, you have the choice of doing the ever popular SR20DET swap, or even the RB25 or RB26 if you have the budget for it.
Questions like this are hard to answer for anyone else but you since it concerns budget, your skill in working on cars, overall shape of the car, it's intended use, how long you want to be doing the project, etc. etc.
Questions like this are hard to answer for anyone else but you since it concerns budget, your skill in working on cars, overall shape of the car, it's intended use, how long you want to be doing the project, etc. etc.
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Kaioshin1982
- Posts: 1738
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:55 pm
- Car: Not a 240 =) Thinking of getting one again...
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masticatingcow
- Posts: 2338
- Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:39 am
- Car: 94 Mazda FD3S
It's important to have a feel for the car you drive before you start upgrading power. An engine swap may very well be in order for you, but I would recommend playing with the KA for a little while. As Kaioshin1982 alluded to, you have a TON of options. (KA-T, SR, CA, RB20, 25, 26 maybe)
A lot of owners have reported wild success with turboing the stock motor. Others have swapped the SR or RB engines into their cars and enjoy them immensely... it comes down to your preferences... here's a very short summary of each engine's advantages. (Know that they all have disadvantages, too...)
KA24DE - Durable stock motor with surprising amounts of torque (good for launches) Due in part to it's relatively high displacement (2.4L) and derivation from a truck engine. NOTE: Derivation! The KA in the S13-S14 is not the same as the KA in the Frontier!
KA24DE-T - Stock KA motor with a turbo system. A huge improvement over the stock trim, maintaining good torque and great powerband for drag racing.
SR20DET - Stock JDM turbo motor, 2.0L. The engine USDM owners felt cheated out of. He he. Silvia cars were designed for this engine, so minimal chassis mods will be required for the swap. Excellent powerband for autocross and drifiting. Huge (and still growing) aftermarket support base.
CA18DET - Predecessor to the SR. Also an excellent engine. 1.8L, high revving. Slightly less powerful, but an affordable and easy swap that can quite easily run with the SR with modifications. Good for autocross.
RB20DET - The 2.0L engine from the ever-vaunted Skyline. Durable 6-cyl motor with more power than any of the above in stock trim. Will fit with relatively minor modifications, and is pretty affordable. Excellent all-around motor.
RB25DET - The 2.5L straight six from later model Skylines. It has a ton of power on tap stock. Bulletproof bottom end able to hold more boost than you'll ever REALLY need. Moderate modifications needed to make it fit, though entirely possible.
RB26DETT - A bored RB25 with a twin-turbo layout. Massive power... probably one of the most popular engines Nissan EVER built. Incredibly durable, will fit with modifications both to the chassis and engine. Will require a RB25 transmission, as the 26 AWD setup will not work with the S13 chassis.
EDIT: You may not have to modify the chassis. According to karay240, McKinney mounts will make the engine fit without modification, also saving the TT setup. Also, I typed "will fit with modifications to both chassis and engine." By engine I meant drivetrain, indicating the need for a RB25 transmission.
I hope this helps. Remember that there are downsides to each engine swap/build as well... for instance, on the RB26DETT, you'll be hard-pressed to fit BOTH turbos in the engine bay without a lot of work. Also, with the KA-T, without a proper build up, you're looking at a blown engine and fast.
At any rate, these boards are saturated with information about each motor swap. Just do a search on which ever piques your interest and go from there.
Welcome to the boards!
A lot of owners have reported wild success with turboing the stock motor. Others have swapped the SR or RB engines into their cars and enjoy them immensely... it comes down to your preferences... here's a very short summary of each engine's advantages. (Know that they all have disadvantages, too...)
KA24DE - Durable stock motor with surprising amounts of torque (good for launches) Due in part to it's relatively high displacement (2.4L) and derivation from a truck engine. NOTE: Derivation! The KA in the S13-S14 is not the same as the KA in the Frontier!
KA24DE-T - Stock KA motor with a turbo system. A huge improvement over the stock trim, maintaining good torque and great powerband for drag racing.
SR20DET - Stock JDM turbo motor, 2.0L. The engine USDM owners felt cheated out of. He he. Silvia cars were designed for this engine, so minimal chassis mods will be required for the swap. Excellent powerband for autocross and drifiting. Huge (and still growing) aftermarket support base.
CA18DET - Predecessor to the SR. Also an excellent engine. 1.8L, high revving. Slightly less powerful, but an affordable and easy swap that can quite easily run with the SR with modifications. Good for autocross.
RB20DET - The 2.0L engine from the ever-vaunted Skyline. Durable 6-cyl motor with more power than any of the above in stock trim. Will fit with relatively minor modifications, and is pretty affordable. Excellent all-around motor.
RB25DET - The 2.5L straight six from later model Skylines. It has a ton of power on tap stock. Bulletproof bottom end able to hold more boost than you'll ever REALLY need. Moderate modifications needed to make it fit, though entirely possible.
RB26DETT - A bored RB25 with a twin-turbo layout. Massive power... probably one of the most popular engines Nissan EVER built. Incredibly durable, will fit with modifications both to the chassis and engine. Will require a RB25 transmission, as the 26 AWD setup will not work with the S13 chassis.
EDIT: You may not have to modify the chassis. According to karay240, McKinney mounts will make the engine fit without modification, also saving the TT setup. Also, I typed "will fit with modifications to both chassis and engine." By engine I meant drivetrain, indicating the need for a RB25 transmission.
I hope this helps. Remember that there are downsides to each engine swap/build as well... for instance, on the RB26DETT, you'll be hard-pressed to fit BOTH turbos in the engine bay without a lot of work. Also, with the KA-T, without a proper build up, you're looking at a blown engine and fast.
At any rate, these boards are saturated with information about each motor swap. Just do a search on which ever piques your interest and go from there.
Welcome to the boards!
Hey masticatingcow, can you expand on your comment on the RB26, when you said it "will fit with modifications both to the chassis and engine" 'Cause if you use the McKinney mounts, you won't have to do either. PLUS, you WILL be able to retain the twin turbo set-up.
Also, don't you think that the turbo KA would actually be (dare I say) better w/ driftimg than the SR since it has more torque to break the tires loose? I'm not trying to critique your post to be an a$$, but I'm wondering where you got that from.
Also, don't you think that the turbo KA would actually be (dare I say) better w/ driftimg than the SR since it has more torque to break the tires loose? I'm not trying to critique your post to be an a$$, but I'm wondering where you got that from.
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masticatingcow
- Posts: 2338
- Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:39 am
- Car: 94 Mazda FD3S
karay240--
No offense taken.
As far as the RB26DETT swap goes, I am not familiar enough with the McKinney motormounts to know either way, so I'll happily take your word for it. I was under the impression that the turbos would interfere with the steering system, but perhaps I am confused on that. If it was a problem and the McKinney mounts solve it, then that's great! I typed "engine" and meant "drivetrain." I was referring to the idea that you have to use the RB25 RWD transmission in the 240sx.
Not to sound like a jerk, but I didn't say that the KA-T was a bad drifiting engine. What I did suggest is that it is a better drag engine, largely due to it's lower powerband and larger displacement. I agree entirely, being a KA guy myself, that the KA would be great for breaking the tires loose for drifting, but I think bouncing off the rev limiter during the drift would be more problematic for the KA than an SR, CA, or even RB. Remember that the KA has harmonics problems around 7000 RPMs (give or take) that the other engines don't have so early.
No offense taken.
As far as the RB26DETT swap goes, I am not familiar enough with the McKinney motormounts to know either way, so I'll happily take your word for it. I was under the impression that the turbos would interfere with the steering system, but perhaps I am confused on that. If it was a problem and the McKinney mounts solve it, then that's great! I typed "engine" and meant "drivetrain." I was referring to the idea that you have to use the RB25 RWD transmission in the 240sx.
Not to sound like a jerk, but I didn't say that the KA-T was a bad drifiting engine. What I did suggest is that it is a better drag engine, largely due to it's lower powerband and larger displacement. I agree entirely, being a KA guy myself, that the KA would be great for breaking the tires loose for drifting, but I think bouncing off the rev limiter during the drift would be more problematic for the KA than an SR, CA, or even RB. Remember that the KA has harmonics problems around 7000 RPMs (give or take) that the other engines don't have so early.
