Hi all, long time no see. I've been really away from this great forum dealing with life and such, but althought it has been a couple of difficult years, I'm glad I wasn't in the need of selling my CA18 powered 200sx.

Now that the times are better and my motor has definetly started to collapse, with 1 or possibly 2 dying cylinders, I'm getting ready to purchase some needed overhaul parts. Once I take everything apart I will be sure what's the full extend of the damage, but for starters I would want to at least do a strenghtened standard rebuild.

Please comment on the list below, if it's ok, or if you see anything wrong, know a better part or know a better price:

Nissan Complete Engine Gasket Kit (A0101-56E2E) $224.95
Nissan S13 CA18DET Water Pump (21010-50VY5) $79.95
Nissan CA18DET Oil Pump (15010-35F01) $158.95
Nissan Piston Rings Set STD CA18DET (12033-44F02) $124.95 <- possibly +0.5mm if needed depending on cylinder status
Cometic Intake Manifold Gasket Nissan CA18DET .060 (IR772060AFM) $19.95 <- for my 4-port head
ARP Engine Head Studs Bolts CA18DET (202-4702) $125.95 <- UKDM engine part number
ARP Engine Head Studs Bolts KA24DE (165-5401) $99.95 <- work as Main studs bolts according to the Parts thread
ARP Pro Series Flywheel Bolt Kit (151-2801) $19.12
ARP Rod Bolt Kit from ericsperformancepartscorp at ebay $55.00
Crankshaft Main Bearing CLEVITE / PERFECT CIRCLE TriMetal TM-77 MS1565P $48.79
Connecting Rod Bearing CLEVITE / PERFECT CIRCLE TriMetal TM-77 CB1287P $6.79 <- undersize measure depends on??


Would also love to upgrade the head if doug lasts, but it is not a must. For this I was considering:

Tomei Poncam Camshafts (143025) $396.95 <- 256 In / 256 Ex Duration
Tomei Valve Springs Set KIT (13203R410) $216.95 <- 10.35 mm lift
Greddy Extreme Timing Belt (13524502) $133.95

Can you please confirm if I could use Tomei springs with Poncams and everything else standard in the head??

Please let me know if I'm missing something I should change since the engine is disassembled.

Thanks in advance. Best regards to all.

skip ARP main studs. stock are more than up to the task. As for the rod bolts, bring rods to machine shop with the ARP's, have torqued to spec and pay to check the big ends for out of round.

also see if you can squeeze in good used t28, on wastegate pressure your stock injectors will handle it and itll bring those cams out a little more

hi guys, quick question regarding ARP Main Studs. I went that route either way as I had the cash available, but now my mechanic says that 2 studs stay out longer.

Bought ARP 165-5401 Engine Head Studs Bolts Kit Nissan 240SX KA24DE S13 S14 Item #: 165-5401 , as per the part numbers thread

Is this normal, I remember reading something about an additional washer for 1 of the studs in the head, but is it ok to use an additional on down on the crank case? Can I use the spare ones that came off from the head?

Bough also Poncams and CP 9.0:1 pistons, so I'm looking forward to get the engine back together ASAP

Thanks in advance for your comments.

AFAIK, that's the first I've heard about the main studs being too long.

Two bolts will be longer and you're going to have to adjust your oil pan to accomdate the longer bolts. I have them in my fully built motor and I physically adjusted the oil pan. Let's just say it has two extra dimples in it now

Is there anything a hammer can't fix!?! LOL

Awesome! Thx for the info.

Will let you know if we run into other things as we put it back together.

hello all, me again with more questions now that we are putting everything back together.

Sadly encountered the Socket size problem while trying to install the ARP head studs. Luckily was able to find a PROTO branded 13mm socket that barely fitted.

Now I have a question regarding the waterlines around the Intake Manifold. I would like to remove the heater lines (as the lowest ever ambient temp here is like 25°C) and simplify the intake water lines while keeping the turbo water lines unblocked as I'm using an S15 BB turbo.

Do you guys think I can do the aggressive mode found in driftopia and still maintain the turbo lines?
http://www.driftopia.com/2007/11/14/ca1 ... ines-to-1/

Or it would be better to perform the mild mod? (sadly pictures aren't loading for this one)
http://www.driftopia.com/2007/07/02/ca1 ... rculation/

All your comments are appreciated.

Cams wrote:Now I have a question regarding the waterlines around the Intake Manifold. I would like to remove the heater lines (as the lowest ever ambient temp here is like 25°C) and simplify the intake water lines while keeping the turbo water lines unblocked as I'm using an S15 BB turbo.

Do you guys think I can do the aggressive mode found in driftopia and still maintain the turbo lines?
http://www.driftopia.com/2007/11/14/ca1 ... ines-to-1/

Or it would be better to perform the mild mod? (sadly pictures aren't loading for this one)
http://www.driftopia.com/2007/07/02/ca1 ... rculation/

All your comments are appreciated.

Hello, I too am looking at removing the heater core and simplifying the water lines as I live in the tropics. Have seen the driftopia writeup, and also found some info on the UK silvia board sxoc.com regarding the CA18det water lines here:
http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php? ... l-of-pipes

After looking at the CA18det cooling circuit in the fsm and at my engine (which is currently in pieces atm), I'm more inclined to think that the description by "skyshack" in post #8 of the above sxoc thread is the correct one.

My engine is a JDM CA18det wihout the oil-to-water heat exchanger. So what I'm planning to do is to remove all the under manifold plumbing and associated hoses, then:

Tee 1a into 2a (driftopia.com pic referenced below):


As the turbo gets one of it's coolant feeds from the under manifold pipe, removing said pipe would also remove this coolant feed. To fix that, I am planning to remove the hex shaped fitting as shown in the pic below (the fitting to the left of the knock sensor, with the rubber hose attached to it), then attach a fitting in it's place which will allow me to run a steel braided hose coolant feed to the turbo.


NOTES/CONCERNS:
What I'm concerned about is the flow of coolant thru the turbo. In the stock setup, coolant flows from a high pressure outlet on the block -> turbo -> under manifold pipe (low pressure as it goes back to water pump inlet).

I'm not sure whether there will be sufficient pressure differential to allow coolant flow through the turbo in my proposed setup.

you need to grind the 13mm socket to fit into the head for the two rear head bolts when installed the ARP head studs. a used T28 is a great idea as well. I've been running around 10-12 psi with no issues. even with the clutch still in that came with my swap back in 2008!!! haha. Looking good man keep it up!

Thank you very much for your comments.

The whole waterlines things just got complicated, looking at what CCB explains. I would appreciate the experts input on this, as I was overheating on long trips and at the track prior to the start of the current overhaul. (already bought a bigger RAD)

Here is a pic of my shiny 4port head and can barely see my 200SX in the back needing some love.


Love the S15 BB T28. I want my car rebuilt ASAP!

Seeing as you don't need interior heating as well, I thought it would be good to share my plans for discussion in your thread.

The driftopia writeup on coolant lines simplification is kinda like the only one on the web with nice pics and all, was almost gonna follow that one. BUt I chanced on the sxoc thread which made me re-think it abit

Are you planning on retaining the oil-to-water heat exchanger?

By oil-to-water heat exchanger I'm guessing that you refer to the thing were the oil filter usually screw on to, right? I wasn't planning on removing it.

It would be great to know the simplest setup that would maintain the proper water flow direction.

Reviving my dusty old thread, finally made some progress and we are getting close to drop the engine back in the car.

I may get flamed for this, but we decided to gut all the complimentary water lines as much as we could. We only left 3 Key components:
- Main Engine Block / Radiator Lines
- Oil to Water heat exchanger line
- Turbo Water line feed, coming directly from main radiator line (black braided hose in pictures)

Feel free to comment.

Cams wrote:

I wouldn't cap that outlet just behind the T-stat housing as shown in your above pic. With the stock piping setup, that point actually Tees back into the larger main suction below it. IMO, this allows coolant to circulate from the head back into the pump suction when the T-stat is closed. If capped off, the coolant in the head will only move once the T-stat is open - how detrimental this is to the engine I have not much idea, but I think it might be good to have coolant flow thru the entire engine from startup so the different parts warm up "evenly"??

Cams wrote:

I also ran the turbo water return line back into the main radiator suction like you did
Looong hose run to the other side of the block but I figured that doing it this way would guarantee sufficient pressure differential to ensure coolant flow thru the turbo core.

If you're inclined to, you could replace that hex-bodied fitting with something like this:


Takes away the rubber cap which could be a potential leak point

I think you should not block the 16mm (5/8) coolant hose connector that near the coolant temperature sensor, that is the main exit for coolant circulation from the head when thermostat is closed, its also to let the coolant to flow through to open the thermostat at once if it is hot enough.
That is not a problem only if you do not have a thermostat inside.

Thanks a lot for your comments. It now makes a lot more sense on the bits and pieces that we removed, and answers my doubt if I could or not continue using a Thermostat.

The lowest ever local ambient temperature here is about 24°C (really late at night), which is why we removed the heater lines and don't see any particular problems for discarding the Thermostat. It might take longer to heat up, but the S13 will not be my daily driver so not a big issue.

If you notice any other odd thing please comment right away.

Hello. Hope someone can help me real quick. Engine is back on the car, yay! Got a Mishimoto rad and the fan clutch is touching the Shroud, nay!

Used to be have FAL electric fans, but they were too power hungry for my worn out electric system, so I prefer to go back to the Fan clutch setup.

Any recommendations on how to modify the shroud to work with a thicker rad?

Thanks in advance.

You can't use the stock clutch fan with a thicker radiator. MAYBE you could trim the fan blades to make them not rub, but that is probably going to decrease air flow.

Thanks for posting. Ended up doing exactly that. Trimmed the blades a bit.



I'm actually very happy as it is back in the car and working OK. Hopefully I can get it back on the road this week to continue the break-in distance

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEhNyScoQGw[/youtube]

Hi Cams,

Great work, purring along nicely with the injectors ticking away! Was quite surprised how much quieter the CA was compared to the SR I had when I first fired mine up earlier this year after the rebuild. It had a whine which went up with the revs - but that was traced to an over tight timing belt.

Are you running a fmic in front of the radiator? Are you using S14 SR fmic piping, and how well do they fit the CA18?

Good luck with the break-in

Done over 30 kms on it without any big issues and finally got all the pending paperwork so can use it as daily without problems continue the break-in. Need to change the tranny and LSD oil next.

Only thing that has me wondering is this weird rattle at 2000rpms. I have no issues revving up to 4000, but the rattle is sooo precise. Any ideas?

Yes, I'm using S14 FMIC in front of rad. It was a while ago, but I remember cutting the front bumper and modifying the 2 cold pipes, 1 to rotate it several degrees and 1 to fit the DSM BOV.

Btw, want to buy the A/C solenoid thingy that goes on the IACV if someone has one laying around, as the connector on mine finally broke off.

Ok, I think everything is progressing nicely. Got rid of the 2000rpm rattle with the Transmission Oil change. I guess 4 years old oil can cause this sort of issues. Also new Diff oil + friction modifier put in.

Engine feels very responsive while rolling. Short WOT highway runs in 4th and 5th gear up to 4K rpms give 11.8afr @ 10psi.

My biggest issue right now is rough idle and low rpms while standing still. Idle afrs are off the charts. Cleaned up AACV, but haven't had any success adjusting idle screw, tps or even timing with CAS. Not sure where to start.
- 9.0:1 pistons
- Poncams
- 36psi @ fpr
- 370cc injectors
- CA18 MAF
- ECU is O2 sensorless type with H-Dev Stage 2 chip
- old AACV and TPS
- air regulator removed

Had to adjust the TB bump stop screw to keep it around 950 rpms.

Any suggestions? I guess I better start saving for a Nistune kit.

Check the TPS. IIRC there is a closed throttle switch inside. If the TPS isnt' adjusted properly, or the TPS is just bad, the switch won't close and the ECU doesn't know that it should be in closed loop idle and won't idle well.

The process for inspection and adjustment is in the FSM.

Haven't done much tweaking yet. After 2 weeks vacations have only done about 250 miles of standard break-in. Drives just fine on the highway. Looking forward to rev it high and drive it under boost.

If I ever go for a Nistune setup and a Z32 MAF, what size injectors do you guys recommend? I don't think I'll ever go over 18psi on my S15 turbo, but you never now.

550's and Z32 is a common matchup and they work well together.

Time for an update now that we are close to the holidays, again.

Took the time to clean up the engine bay a little bit. Still far from being actually clean, but it is a bit better. Flooded my spark plugs and everything.






Still dealing with an annoying Powersteering leak, bought a new Rack to end up breaking the same hardline that was broken on the old rack. : Doubleslap:

Was able to set my TPS correctly, after 30 minutes trying to find the proper pin on the ECU.

My Nistune board arrived yesterday and I'm eager to get it installed ASAP. Z32 MAF and 550cc Evo8 injectors on the shelf waiting to get installed aswell. Reading a lot of info to see if at least I can do the rough tune. If all goes according to plan I might get a proper tune by the end of January.

Oh, and some pics of my S2000.

Super nice S2k.

Both cars are looking great!