Downsides of the Ka24de '91-93

[driftk2000]

I'm very interested in knowing the downsides of the Ka

motor, especially the malfunctioning associated with the

timing chain. I heard the timing chain on ka's are wack. This

one dude bent all of his valves because of a problem

associated with the timing chain I think. I'm looking for a

solution and preventive maintenance advise for this problem.

[trpower7]

It's usually the guides that go bad, causing the chain to go bad. Guides going bad is denoted by a harsh rattling or tapping at the front of the valve cover. KA timing chains are not wack, at least with a chain instead of a belt you get a real good signal before something starts to go seriously wrong, and it won't just snap on you and cause the damage that such a thing causes. Do a search for "timing chain" "chain guides", etc.

[BadMojo]

The KA24E and KA24DE are tough engines. Take a look around these forums. You'll see quite a few people with very high mileage engines still going strong.

As trpower7 said, you'll definitely be able to hear a problem with the chain. Keep in mind that these *are* interference engines, so you really DON'T want the chain to break. If you hear a strange noise from your engine, don't just ignore it.

The only other downsides I can think of are:

a) slightly underpowered for this application

b) somewhat loud engine

There is some good performance stuff you can do with these engines, and the noise won't matter with a nice exhaust system and an intake with a cone filter.

[driftk2000]

Thanks guys..I plan to stick with ka's that's why I needed some insight..

[Touchdown038]

Yup, the KA is a good engine. I think once on here I saw a guy who had 300,000 Km on the original KA and it was still running strong... I have 147 thousand or so and it's doing great, no burning oil or anything.

[Ramius83]

Our 96 Nissan Altima has about 259,000 on the odometer. Still the original engine and still the original transmission. Talking about durability.....

[trpower7]

Yeah, to show you how good a KA is the DE has gone virtually unchanged for almost a decade now. It's in the 240, Altima (excluding the brand new model), Hardbody pickup, and MIGHT still be in the four-cylinder Xterras. And how many of all those cars were produced......the KA is definetly something close to a "flagship" engine for Nissan.

[Meantime]

Yeah, don't be overly intimidated by some of the problem posts on this forum. The timing chain can become an issue in some cases, but not a fatal or major one for the most part. I had over 150k on my 90' KA24E and never had a single problem with the chain or guides. Keep in mind there are only a handful of horror stories about valves bending, chains jumping etc...and there are literally tens of thousands (if not hundreds) of KA series engines out there still running strong with no problems at all. It's a good design, as is the rest of the 240.

[davidae86]

ok low end torque... no power after 4500 rpm ..smooth engine though.. well compared to my 4age in my ae86...