how much for the geo vert?

no offense, but your price for the ka is way high.

you can run the ca without the intercooler. you can either run a pipe from turbo to tb and dont beat on the car.

or you can run it na, just need to have the mafs ib kine to the tb somehow. mke sure nothing can get in the turbo.

Yeah, you'd get $700 if it were oem rebuilt, but not on a stock KA.

I've been keeping up with your build from day 1 (lurking). Good job man.

ca18datsun510 wrote:how much for the geo vert?

no offense, but your price for the ka is way high.

you can run the ca without the intercooler. you can either run a pipe from turbo to tb and dont beat on the car.

or you can run it na, just need to have the mafs ib kine to the tb somehow. mke sure nothing can get in the turbo.

LOL the Geo isnt for sale. Thats one of the school cars. It gets its little 1.0L inline 3 pulled out literally every semester. Its stick shift and when you drive in it with the top down it feels like youre in a go kart! Funny little thing.

Thanks for letting me know about the price ive got for the KA. Im getting this a lot and i will keep lowering it. Im not trying to say anything by the price its just i didnt know where to start you know. Thanks for looking out.

I've been trying just to get the engine running but wasnt sure if i NEEDED to have the rest of the piping and intercooler. Im almost there as yesterday(May 8) it ran!

Neejay wrote:Yeah, you'd get $700 if it were oem rebuilt, but not on a stock KA.

I've been keeping up with your build from day 1 (lurking). Good job man.

Gotcha, I will lower it then. Thanks!

In the mean time, enjoy this new updated progress of the build.

Some progress:

Here is a back shot of the head and the coolant line and vacuum line for the turbo boost solenoid. You can also see how i've hooked up some of my vacuum lines for the Nismo FPR and Power Valve Actuator aka butterfly vacuum pot. I used the picture/diagram from Nissan FAST. Actually i insist you get the FAST sections on coolant lines and hoses. Also theres Air and vacuum lines in different sections.

Again.

Heres the new exhaust manifold. I got this from Austrailia. The welds look great and the piping isnt too thin or of crapiness. I guess its a decent upgrade. Its not that bad of craftsmanship.

Oil and coolant hard lines for turbocharger are installed. These were cleaned fist and bent slightly to compensate for the new exhaust manifold's new position.

Ah heres a better shot! I also used Loc-tite on all the studs and nuts. I've heard of too many stories of bolts, nuts, studs, turbos, outlets, you name it coming loose. I should be ok but ill keep a check on them either way!

OH YEAH little CA monster!

This was the flywheel that came with my motor. Its aftermarket and about 11lbs. It appears to be made of billet steel, maybe. Its a one piece and it was in bad condition when i pulled the trans and clutch off. The original clutch disc was down to the rivets and metal! I was able to salvage this and reuse it atleast one last time. Fingers crossed. Its going to let the engine rev soooo easy cheesy! I cant wait!

Clutch slave Stainless Steel line and bleeders from SPL parts.

Here the Centerforce Dual Friction clutch kit for 1992 KA24DE 240SX. I dont know how this clutch is going to be like but i hope it holds up to a good amount of abuse!

SPL Pivot stud vs OEM stud.

After all the crap was cleaned off, this is what the old fork and throw-out bearing looked like. They look better now! Dont loose the retainer spring either!

Heres our new bearing! You'll have to pull off the old one and press in the new one. I'm going to leave it up to you to decide on how to take it out. FYI i used a two jaw puller, although id say use a three jaw puller instead! Tap the bearing in with a mallet or dead-blow hammer using a wood block. Or press it in with a machine. Its up to you.

Heres what the bearing and fork installed should look like. Keep using the FSM because theres plenty of good information in there. For somethings, some of these may seem redundent.

Put a few dabs of grease on the pivot stud and on the clutch disc splined shaft. Do not overdo it!

Install the retainer spring. You should be able to lock it onto the pivot stud. If not, remove one side of the retainer spring, place pivot stud into spot on the fock, and lock the retainer spring in place.

Here my CA's factory coil on plug setup. It used a distributorless ignition system and uses a proven drivetrain and bottom end designs similar to the RB serious engine! Internally the motor uses beefy rods, low compression and a quick spooling turbo. Although its not the fastest car on the road, for me its a good step in the right direction.

We chained up the CA with four bolts on the head and lifted the engine off the stand. Un-bolt your stand and set aside. Prepare for flywheel, clutch and any other parts that might relate to what you are working on!

Here it is chained. Wow that looks good! I love this little monster engine! I want to drive it so damn bad!

Moving it around.

Same. Make sure you are going over everything that can be done while the engine is out of the car! Not doing these things now will only make them a harder later once the engine is in the car. Double check, triple check to see that you're doing as much as possible.

Make sure you install the rear main seal and gasket the correct way! I messed up and forgot to put the gasket behind the metal bolt bracket. I got it done, it wasnt easy, but im so damn glad its done!!! This was huge a pain in the ***!!!

Next you'll have to install the metal plate that goes between the trans and block. The flywheel is next after that which require the eight bolts to be torqued to Nissan's specs. Remember, the FSM is your friend!

I didnt take pictures of my clutch install because that day i forgot the camera. Doh! I used an alignment tool for the clutch disc and bolted the pressure plate up to the flywheel to spec. Make sure everything is center and bolted done correctly! We'll say i was installing the "clutch" at this time since i dont have any pics of the clutch/flywheel install.

Bolting up the transmission isnt the easiest thing to do but it sure is makes is a hell of a lot easier doing it out side the car! Wiggle it in and after sometime it will go in. Make sure you use the right size bolts for the right size holes! Tighten the bolts on the black brackets too. The last item to install should be your starter, two long bolts and its done!

The engine bay looks way better now! No more dirt, grease, gunk, and shiit all over the place.

I wanted to sand and get rid of some of the rust then prime and paint it but i didnt have enough time. This can be done later down the road when i have more free time. Still doesnt look too bad though!

New in the box Nismo engine and tranmission mounts. Heres the part numbers for anyone that wants to get their hands on them. When i removed the KA, the old mounts were toast! The car should feel better once these are in.

Pay close attention to which mount goes on which side. Number "1" goes on the intake side.

Number "2" goes on the exhuast side.

My new SPL Stainless Steel clutch line. I plan on keeping the clutch damper even though its a pain in the asss to bleed!!!

Here we go, one last look at it before it goes in! Remember the thing i said about removing the shift lever. Remove it if you have'nt.

Theres your new home CA!

Lets get this thing in! Suprisingly this wasnt as intimidating as i thought at first. Having the right people and tools for the job made it easy.

With a little pushing and pulling, the engine and trans will go in. Dont try to rush anything and take it slow. Lower and move the engine around to get it in just right!

Go easy with hoist. Slowly and steady will provide you great results.

Becareful not to get caught in between the engine and the engine bay walls. This dude did and it barely pinched his skin! I could of done more but luckily it just pinched him. Remember, this thing does weigh around 500 lbs. so be very careful!

Almost there!

Heres a short clip of CA going in! Booo Yeaaaah!!!

Thats it, its in!

Make sure you get the engine mounts in the cross member's holes. Its hard to miss them so you should'nt have too much of a problem with this. Im glad i didnt have to do all this at home with the car on jack stands. For all the people that have done it at home or with out power tools, more power to you because this obviously isnt an easy task!

Tighten the mount nuts.

Im in yo face!

Just another shot.

Make sure to get everything underneath. You'll have to install the clutch line, driveshaft, mounts, and any other item lurking underneath.

Looks good even from underneath.

Here we are working on the transmission crossmember. By this point you should have installed your trans mount before you tried putting on the member, atleast thats what seemed to work for me. It was a biitch trying to hold up the trans and tightening the 4 bolts at the same time so get a jack of some sort to help you out. Also if you got a small pry bar about a 1/2" in diameter use it to move the crossmember alittle bit to make the holes for the bolts align easier. I didnt at first and i cross threaded two bolts! I had to fix the threads on the bolts, cleaned up the thread in the chassis, and then finally installed this all together after a few minutes of struggling!

This was a great day for me! So far everything is going smoothly and there really wasnt anything too difficult with the install. I have to say the new engine looks really hot in there!!! Theres sooo much room and its so easy to get at things for repairs, adjusments, etc. I love it.

There it is! Atleast its in the car now! Next ive got to move onto the wiring, hoses, and vacuum lines that remain. I also have to put on the cam covers and start figuring out what goes where.

Under construction...
Modified by davidricardo86 at 1:36 AM 5/15/2007

cool

Hey David, awsome progress. Just one question though, right next to your altenator is a hose, which comes from a tee, said hose is cut and just hanging there. I have the same thing and have been wondering where this hose goes for months now, any thoughts? Thanks!

P.S- I did the whole swap, me and one buddy, in my slanted driveway last saturday. It was a pain lining up the mount holes and tranny cross member!

jiggy180 wrote:Hey David, awsome progress. Just one question though, right next to your altenator is a hose, which comes from a tee, said hose is cut and just hanging there. I have the same thing and have been wondering where this hose goes for months now, any thoughts? Thanks!

P.S- I did the whole swap, me and one buddy, in my slanted driveway last saturday. It was a pain lining up the mount holes and tranny cross member!

Thanks dude! I've some more progress and pics to upload but i will do that asap. The hose you're talking about i believe just goes to the original intake/intercooler piping. It supplies fresh air to the idle control devices.

Damn that sucks! I know it would've been a pain in the asss trying to do it at home. Props to you for getting it done though! I was using lifts, power tools and the aid of others and sometimes it still seemed to be alittle difficult. I'll be sure to keep a look out for your progress too.

adam-gtX wrote:cool

Heres a few more pics for now.

These are the part numbers for the vacuum tank, check valves, and solenoids i bought from Nissan so i can get my NICS system to run right.

Some more. I will take a pic of what my setup looks like for future use if anyone wants to set their's up too.

Heres a few engine shots with wiring harness and a few other things put in.













Heres a little clip a few weeks ago when my engine started cranking but not starting on it own. I've got a few mini-videos of it running that i ill upload as soon as i get a chance. I was so happy the way it sounded and that it was turning over!

Thats it for right now...

Modified by davidricardo86 at 12:20 AM 5/14/2007
Modified by davidricardo86 at 12:55 AM 5/15/2007

*****David you are my F**k'n HERO man I love every bit of your build up*****

Thanks for the quick response David! That last set of pics, with the engine in the car, are damned AWSOME! So clean, so much room, I love it!

As for watching my progress, well Ive hardly taken pics, just gone along using the info from people such as yourself. Im waiting on a few parts to come in and am on my way outside in an hour to finish the wiring. As soon as I recieve the backordered parts ill be scooting along.

Heres what i did for the exhaust so far:

Megan Racing Turbo Outlet i bought from http://www.hopupracing.com.

Oooo nice and shiney!!! This piece is much nicer than that heavy cast iron unit. Decent quality too! Nothing too crazy here.

My RSR ExMag Downpipe. This one i got from hopupracing too and it was because of a certain misunderstanding but i ended up keeping it. The quality and craftsmanship is fantastic not to mention its huge and made in JAPAN!!! These few pieces combined with a new 3" catback should yeild some nice deep throaty sounds, and more power!

Ok this is what i can afford at the moment. This new exhaust is 100 times better then my old crappola stock exhaust! Starting at the turbo outlet is a turbo outlet pipe from Megan Racing, a new RSR Exmag Downpipe and a Resonator from http://www.intensepower.com. I have been considering many cat-back systems but there are lots of choices! The HKS Hi-Power unit stands out the most! This was a relatively easy setup considering we hade to modify the downpipe bracket. With a cut-off wheel, a bench grinder/wire brush and a mig welder we got this done in a good two hours or so. Not bad at all!

"Made In Japan"

I opted to use a resonator to tone exhaust noise levels down a bit. Later i will change for a high flow cat.

The newly modifyed bracket. Everything fits and is pretty sturdy. This should'nt give me any problems!

I used Loctite Threadlocker Red on critical nuts and bolts. I dont want anything coming loose because of vibration, and harmonics!

You dont see too many good shots like this out there. Its good for refrence.

That thing is huge (thats what she said)!!!

The new fuel pump from Walbro.

This will hold up to my future power goals! Its kind of a "peace of mind" type of thing! The old sock was really dirty and appeared to be an original Nissan JECS unit. This will be sufficient.

And heres a clip of me starting to run the engine. The injectors werent getting power from the resistor so i had to use Propane to start it. These led me to the injectors. I couldn't here the injectors "clicking" when cranking. I set the fuel pressure to a factory 36.3PSI and was not getting any fuel. As always it was electrical. I'll go into further detail later.

I'll keep 'em coming!

Modified by davidricardo86 at 12:44 AM 5/15/2007
Modified by davidricardo86 at 1:03 AM 5/15/2007

Nice, clean and detailed set-up, David . Now that we've seen the pics, if you've followed all the tid bits on this forum, it should run just as good as it looks and not be up for a sale in another month or so. Again, great job with your project.

Dee

Yes, this build gives me new faith in you.

I remember your first thread where you wouldn't shut up about Honda engineering.. :-)

Good to see you've seen the light, and followed it.

I'm a little concerned about the dented sump. I know this sort of damage is lethal on an SR20, but that's still a big dent. Keep this in mind.

What do you think Dee?

sr20's oil pickup is flat on the bottom with a small oval opening. it sucks oil only off of the very bottom. when the sr pan gets dented, it closes off this opening.

ca uses a conical mesh screen that sucks oil from the bottom and sides. dented oil pan will not affect it as much.

dattodude wrote:Yes, this build gives me new faith in you.

I remember your first thread where you wouldn't shut up about Honda engineering.. :-)

Good to see you've seen the light, and followed it.

I'm a little concerned about the dented sump. I know this sort of damage is lethal on an SR20, but that's still a big dent. Keep this in mind.

What do you think Dee?

Yeah datto, I agree with you! Watching him transition from the honda camp to the nissan family has been a thing of beauty and I am truly proud of him. Would love to see it run just as beautiful as it looks as well.

Dee

dattodude wrote:Yes, this build gives me new faith in you.

I remember your first thread where you wouldn't shut up about Honda engineering.. :-)

Good to see you've seen the light, and followed it.

I'm a little concerned about the dented sump. I know this sort of damage is lethal on an SR20, but that's still a big dent. Keep this in mind.

What do you think Dee?

Thanks dude!

Yeah i remember that was one of my first posts i made. I wasnt trying to directly point out any of you guys its just that there are a lot of people out there, on Nico or any other forum, who dont really know what theyre talking about when it come to engines, or cars in general (obviously its not this forum). Usually they would involve a "honda vs nissan" theme or something like "sr20 vs ca18." Those people will exist aslong as there are guys like us out there but a lot of them are probably just newbs getting started so i guess i gotta take that into consideration, now im not as bothered by it because theres not much one can do. I guess we all must start somewhere.

PS - My bro drives a pretty cool stock EK Civic Hatchback w/ an H22 which i plan on beating as soon as i get the remaining pieces to this puzzle. Its a pretty quick car and we like going on the twisties so it'll be lots of fun to compete against him!

You know i looked at the dent from the inside and it doesnt look that bad. I probably should have hammered out the dent but it honestly didnt look so bad as it would cause any interference with the oil pick up tube. I use my best judgement and decided it would be ok as of now. If i encounter any problems, ill be sure to let you guys know about it. Good looking out!

boost_boy wrote:Yeah datto, I agree with you! Watching him transition from the honda camp to the nissan family has been a thing of beauty and I am truly proud of him. Would love to see it run just as beautiful as it looks as well.

Dee

Hahaha thanks Dee! Now i know there are a lot of board members who've come and gone and couldnt complete or gave up on there projects but i can assure you i am not one of these people! Considering the fact that im trying to get my automotive degree(s) and make this type of industry part of my career and life, it would be a huge let down to see myself give up on something so big yet so simple! It is only my first big car project but its something ive been wanting to do for the longest! I've come this far and theres no looking back. Too much time and not to mention my money has been invested into this. This is something i must prove not only to myself, but my family, my good friends, fellow technicians and board members alike! I've made the committment to this and have made a big effort to document this process so others can use the information later as a guide. If i were to quit now, i'd look like the fool. Also id like to keep a "good" reputation amongst others on the board. I want to be known for what i have accomplised, not the other way around.

The engine runs now but it had a few bugs. Mostly electrical and i did have a huge intake manifold leak! The electrical is not as hard if you know how to read a few wiring diagrams, solder/shrink tube, and the other stuff is just mechanical tinkering. I checked the intake mani bolts and they were all loose! I must of not tighten them and they could literally be rotated by fingers. Now that i fixed the leak, i noticed an improvement in idle and startup quality. The electrical was sorted out and it was mostly due to the fact that i had to "wire-into" the old relay/fuse box. Within a few days, ill be posting a detail write-up on the wiring and how i went about fixing it. I tried to use my brain and what i already knew before i hopped on here to ask questions. If i do it myself, ill remember and learn more from it! I'll upload a clip of it running, all i can say is "WOW!"

I do have to thank a lot of you guys on here as the vast majority of the information is just in here for the taking. A lot of you guys already went through this and your information was a great help! And you wonder how some of the others still continue to fail or give up... to each his own.

Thanks again, David.

david that is amazing, congrats on one of the cleanest ca swaps ive seen yet. i love it, now i wanna steal your car

I truly do believe you in the fact that you'll be around for a while. You truly have a wonderful little engine that's willing to give you thrills and chills as well as remain reliable for daily uses. Continue on the path that you're going and I'm sure you will have grown ten fold before you've realized both in knowledge and mechanical abilities. Keep up the good work man and stay in the fight!

Dee

Again, AWSOME work. So clean and tasty.

Think you could post up pics of the various wiring harness item locations (ex. Ignitor, dropping resistor, resistor locations)? I know you LOVE pics!

jiggy180 wrote:Again, AWSOME work. So clean and tasty.

Think you could post up pics of the various wiring harness item locations (ex. Ignitor, dropping resistor, resistor locations)? I know you LOVE pics!

Yeah im going to go into more detail on the wiring and hopefully make it easy to understand what i did to get the engine running. I'll do that as soon as i get the chance so keep an eye out!

boost_boy wrote:I truly do believe you in the fact that you'll be around for a while. You truly have a wonderful little engine that's willing to give you thrills and chills as well as remain reliable for daily uses. Continue on the path that you're going and I'm sure you will have grown ten fold before you've realized both in knowledge and mechanical abilities. Keep up the good work man and stay in the fight!

Dee

Thanks dude. Check it out... IT RUNS!

dsc4130 wrote:david that is amazing, congrats on one of the cleanest ca swaps ive seen yet. i love it, now i wanna steal your car

Im storing this car in a secret underground bunker now! My intercooler, radiator, and electric fan will arrive this week so i cant wait to toss these last items on, then i can actually drive it!!!!

Heres some video clips of the engine finally running on its own! This first one was earlier last week when we had just gotten it to start by itself wiring everything up correctly and suppling power to the resistor then from there to the injectors. Luckily i had this guy named Danny, he is shown here in the begining of the clip helping me out. When Danny was younger, he used to tune Toyotas and "sport compacts" like us. You know how much Puerto Ricans love their Toyotas! Guatemalans too! Back in the day he put a 2-rotar rotary RX7 engine into an old school rear wheel drive Celica. The guy knows what he's doing and he sure showed me a few things! Sorry for the crappy quality of the videos but its the best my camera can do.

Here is the clip of the intake manifold vacuum leak. You can hear it and coolant/water was leaking out the front and clearly visible! Luckily it was the bolts were loose and i had to retighten everything up and it ran great after that.

And heres another clip of it actually running better without the leak.


Modified by davidricardo86 at 1:06 AM 5/15/2007

for some reason the clips link don't work. Ill hopefully be getting a ca motorset soon as I dont want to regret it when there gone. Keep up the good work.

Incredible work, isnt it nice when things come together and look good... then later perform better than they look

David, the only video that works is the engine install video. The rest are set to private.

David grats on getting your motor in and ever so closer to driving it. I'm sure it runs as good as it looks and it looks GREAT! It gives me motivation when it comes time for my build! Keep up the great work and the pics coming!

Wei

mrzabala wrote:for some reason the clips link don't work. Ill hopefully be getting a ca motorset soon as I dont want to regret it when there gone. Keep up the good work.

I dont know what the hell is up! Im trying to fix that. Im on the lookout for another one too... hopefully.

Hogg wrote:Incredible work, isnt it nice when things come together and look good... then later perform better than they look

Yessir!

float_6969 wrote:David, the only video that works is the engine install video. The rest are set to private.

Damn it! Im trying to get them to work. Let me know when you can see them.

anumeric wrote:David grats on getting your motor in and ever so closer to driving it. I'm sure it runs as good as it looks and it looks GREAT! It gives me motivation when it comes time for my build! Keep up the great work and the pics coming!

Wei

Thanks dude. I am really liking this part of the build. The point where im literally there, just havent actually tasted the sweetness. It sucks that more time must pass by but i guess i can be a little more patient. I will update asap!

looks/sounds good, gives me an excuse to hurry my *** up.

Videos work. Very cool. The lighting was dark so I didnt know or see what you did to the radiator and hoses when it was running. Great job. Sounds way better than the ca I swapped in and that only had 45k miles. Sweet!!! Seeing your progress and determination really inspires me to get a ca again.

They all work now David. Keep up the good work!

i wanna know what you get for compression lol, and your break-in technique

looking really good man, since im doin this right now it helps, really nice write up

man, can you do me a favor?

do you have pics of how all the lines on the back of the motor are run, thats the ONLY thing i didnt take pics of

thanks