do u do the work?

[nissan~240sx]

Hey im a 19 yr old kid going to school and on a student budget. i had to get my SR swap done at a shop because i have no knowledge of how to do it myself nor do i have the tools/supplies(i wish i did ). i was wondering how many people do the swap themselves and are there any other people like me who have to go to a shop and get it done that way

i have since learned that doing it yourself is probably the best way to go because i dropped my car off a month and a half ago and still dont have it back but it will hopefully be ready by this weekend.

is any

[hks240sr20]

Hey, I did the swap myself, it's really pretty basic if you have the tools and supplies it pretty well slides right in. My car is the third one that my friends and I have done and there is definitely a learning curve especially if you have any kind of wiring difficulties. I think that if you get your engine from a reputable shop and everything arrives in great condition than it is a job you can tackle by your self no prob. However with my swap the harness was hacked all to hell which made for some problems but I do have a good background in wiring so you just kinda have to work through those things. Is there any certain reason that shop has had your car so long?

[nissan~240sx]

Hey, I did the swap myself, it's really pretty basic if you have the tools and supplies it pretty well slides right in. My car is the third one that my friends and I have done and there is definitely a learning curve especially if you have any kind of wiring difficulties. I think that if you get your engine from a reputable shop and everything arrives in great condition than it is a job you can tackle by your self no prob. However with my swap the harness was hacked all to hell which made for some problems but I do have a good background in wiring so you just kinda have to work through those things. Is there any certain reason that shop has had your car so long?

mainly the ECU tuning, they had to ship the ECU out to california in order to get tuned because he couldnt do it himself. its just been such a long wait!!! i want it back so bad.

[Jesse SR20]

DIY or go home.

Hell, if I was a baller and had tons of money, I'd pay to have my swap done professionally.

But for the cost of labor, you could buy the tools, FSM, and gain all the knowledge you'd need to service the swap in the future. Never underestimate your ability to learn.

[Kalypso]

DIY or go home.

Hell, if I was a baller and had tons of money, I'd pay to have my swap done professionally.

absolutely. I did it myself because I couldnt afford 1900$

I did it myself while I was in, class and through finals. I put in about 3 days a week for a month and a half. I got into an accident and I had to pull my SR from a red coupe and drop it into a black coupe.

I bought a swap dvd from drifting.com and taught myself.

get 4 stands, a tall jack. a torque wrench 8, 10, 12, 14, and 17mm sockets. an adjustable wrench and a container to put all your bolts.a work table and some free time. and you can do it.

read ask questions... its all very simple an s13 was designed to be deconstructed, repaired, and reassembled. it can be taken apart and rebuilt.

you can service it forever, make it better, and know that you built the soul of a great car. I am grateful for that feeling... it feels really good.

[Kalypso]

double post

[nissan~240sx]

wow guys thanks, i promised myself after this swap is done to never have anyone service my car unless its completely necessary, i dont have that feeling u guys have yet, i def wanna be able to share that feeling someday.

[fast_s13]

i have done the work to everyone of my cars..i wont let anyone else come near it with a wrench

[240sxHitman]

I just got my motor and when I get everything together imma do the swap myself and if need help my pops wll help, I need another pair of hands. I got the swap dvd, read heavythrottles swap guide hundreds of times and any oher swap guide I can find. the best feeling is to have done it urself an when ppl ask where it was done, u can say you did it urself!

[Kalypso]

I just got my motor and when I get everything together imma do the swap myself and if need help my pops wll help, I need another pair of hands. I got the swap dvd, read heavythrottles swap guide hundreds of times and any oher swap guide I can find. the best feeling is to have done it urself an when ppl ask where it was done, u can say you did it urself!

[duffman1278]

Yea dude, its pretty easy nothing really that requires certain skills like head porting, it just takes time and patience so that you don't worry about messing up on stupid stuff. I did mine, but luckily for me my dads a machinist so he has all the tools I needed, but its seriously nothing crazy. Some tools like an impact gun make things really convenient.

And before this swap, I didn't know too much about SR's, but its incredible how much knowledge you get out of it, believe me, you'll be amazed.

[S14toRPS13]

I let a shop do my SR swap before and it took about 6 months before I got my car back. This was back in 2001 though and there weren't too many shops in NorCal at the time that could do the swap. My current hatch is all done by me. I did the entire SR swap from start to finish with basic hand tools(minus the cherry picker that I rented)all by myself in my garage in about 5 days total. I'm a diesel mechanic though and swapping out engines is what I started out doing. So it'd be a shame if I couldn't do a 4 cylinder engine swap.

[nissan~240sx]

see the thing that would get me worried would be the tuning and the wiring aspect. thats the hardest to do right?

i guess the rest is just a learn and get your hands dirty type of job, but i guess i just havent had time because of school.

[duffman1278]

I go to school full time, and work part time, but I did most of mine during summer so it wouldn't interfere. You shouldn't have to mess with tuning, and as for wiring I would suggest either finding someone who knows how to do it or send it to one of our advertisers who does electrical.

[inkslingers13]

i do ALL my work my self, things like a full one off 16G top mount twin scroll mani thats over 2000$ i leave up to my buddy jef at pfispeed race shop lol. other then that i take pride in my work, im ocd as hell when it comes to motor swaps, its gota be completely wire tucked and the cleanest swap you will ever see... in my book thats how it has to be, no dirt, no grime, no nothing! just a big a$$ top mounted turbo a motor and a intake mani lol. just my take on it. plus you can never trust any one but your self

[nissan~240sx]

plus you can never trust any one but your self

you could not be more true about that one man, i've sure learned my mistake!

[Mistaken]

I'm 19 years old also and I have done the full swap myself... i am also paying my way through school at Kettering university as I am going for a degree in mechanical engineering.

It is a great feeling at the end of the day when you finally get the car started ,either for the first time ever or for the first time that day, to look back and know you have accomplished so much.

My work in progress.

The first start video of the new setup.http://smg.photobucket.com/alb...1.flv

[nissan~240sx]

I'm 19 years old also and I have done the full swap myself... i am also paying my way through school at Kettering university as I am going for a degree in mechanical engineering.

It is a great feeling at the end of the day when you finally get the car started ,either for the first time ever or for the first time that day, to look back and know you have accomplished so much.

My work in progress.

WOW!!!

thats a really nice lookin engine man! +1 for doing yourself at this age!

question though, where did u work on the car and did u have any previous mechanical knowledge before doing the swap?

i have minimal mechanical knowledge and live 100 miles away from my home. i go to school for free but im majoring in business. this is why it is hard for me but there is always summer!

i really appreciate all the feedback guys, im not letting anyone do the work for me anymore, nesides wiring/tuning lol

[Mistaken]

I was pretty mechanically inclined when I started the project... partly because i had a 96 camaro z28 that i did some work on, and my first car was a 95 mustang that i had rebuilt the motor on with my dad, but ive also been restoring a 66 gto since i was a sophmore in highschool.



That rear sheet metal is all new, we cut out the complete back end and put in new metal. There was quite a bit of custom fabrication involved since some of the parts are not in production anymore. We are further along then it is in that picture but that is the most recent picture I have.

one last edit*** I did all of the work either in my driveway or my garage. The SR swap is basically bolt in with the exception of some wiring.

Nicoclub is a great source of information, as are local forums and local members. What college do you go to?

[Kalypso]

i have minimal mechanical knowledge and live 100 miles away from my home. i go to school for free but im majoring in business. this is why it is hard for me but there is always summer!

my friend let me use his garage for a few weeks and I did the whole swap in there.

wiring isnt difficult, its just frustrating, some people just get it. I want to learn so I am going to stick it through. If you think the prices are unfair, then deep down you know its something you can do yourself.

[schanne]

If you think the prices are unfair, then deep down you know its something you can do yourself.

Thank you, I needed that!

[inkslingers13]

im also 19 years of age, when i was 15 i did my first motor swap, H22a into a accord, it dynod N/A in colorado 186Hp to the wheels, its a beast. since then ive gone up hill on working on cars, i hate dirty motor swaps, like i said im pretty ocd on the swap looking better then anything, NO WIRES!!! top mount turbo, ill have my build thread up once i feel its ready for people to see as for my parts, i have a red top sr, with a one off top mount twin scroll mani, with a garrett t04s twin scroll turbo, RS*R 3 and a half inch exhaust, full aem stand alone, custom stainless 3 1/2inch down pipe, 3 inch charge pipes, god speed front mount. s13 silvia front end, tein super drift full coil overs, enkie meshy wheels and to much more lol. ill have a thread up soon enough

[skateboardstan]

its pretty easy...jus take your time and check everything twice. plus its alot more fun doing it yourself and knowing it was done right.

[positron1]

It is a great feeling at the end of the day when you finally get the car started ,either for the first time ever or for the first time that day, to look back and know you have accomplished so much.

That's the feeling that I am looking forward to!

[Sil80sushi]

Wow not many people who got there cars done at a shop, I dont have the time being a chef i work 6 days out of the week. I had a shop do my swap a Honda shop actually but then again i knew one of the guys since high school. It did take them awhile but some of the wait time was for parts and me searching around Nico and finding out i need more parts ~_~ Now that i do have my car and shes running i have done most of the work like Exhaust mani, Turbo Lines, Dp/Elbow, Ricer gauge. I guess i just dont have time/ big tools (Cherry picker, Electric reading tools, impact gun) but for all the small stuff ill do myself.

[inkslingers13]

i just cant let ANYONE tuch my car

[supreamS14]

i just cant let ANYONE touch my car

I have always felt the same way. I let xat do my wiring and diff. If I could do it again I would do everything myself & If I knew I was gona drop $10,000 over 2 years I would of went LS1!

[inkslingers13]

nah man, stick with the sr

[morgasmo]

i do my swaps myself and with friends, the sr20det swap is pretty simple if u have a motor that is in good shape, plus nico club has just about every thread u need to learn how to fix whats wrong with ur car and if u cant find one u just ask n they will help, frs sport.com shows u how to do ur wiring pretty straight forward colors on wires match up for tha most part, heres that link

http://www.frsport.com/sr20det....html

and theres heavy throttle they also helphttp://heavythrottle.com/

im on my second sr swap and i have had alot of little problems but i have read up on things and then went out n tried it and its almost done the best part is knowing that i put all the work n time into it which makes it that much better, didnt have to waste 2-5 hundred on sending the harness out nor have to pay a shop to do it and tax me, so if u do ur homework u should be able to accomplish the sr swap, and u dont need major tools all i really have is a ratchet set, wrenches, and screwdrivers, but thats really all u need except for the wiring best to use a sautering gun and shrink wrap.

[Thoughtful_One]

Not to make excuses, but my car is my DD, I'm a full-time student, and I worked more than 55 hours a week plus 20 hours a week commuting to and from work over the summer. With no garage, good driveway, or good friends, I had my swap done by a good shop and paid around $1000 in labor.

In terms of trouble-shooting, I would've had tons of trouble since not only did the shop have connections to get my S14 SR MAF, which are very hard to find, they found that there were 550's in the engine, and changed them out with 370's. Also, they had a connection that could get REALLY good prices on JDM Nissan parts, where I needed a brand new harness overnighted because my old one was chopped up. They also had access to a PowerFC to check for codes. I don't know about you, but I don't even know anyone that even touches their cars around where I live, let alone have a PowerFC.

As a mechanical engineering student myself, nothing seemed difficult except the wiring, which I am very uncomfortable with.

Looking back at it, I wish I had more time because I really wanted to do it myself. Although, I plan on pulling the engine in two years when I graduate to rebuild. Any and all work since the swap has been done my me alone.

I say, if you have the time/experience/friends/driveway/help, absolutely do it yourself. If you're in my shoes, I would say let a shop do it. If you're like me, your engine will not stay in your bay for very long anyways....