I have a 91 240, since i bought this car a year and a half ago, ive loved it. It has had the timing chain rattle the whole time, and it blows smoke out of the exhaust which ive been told its burnin oil. So im pretty sure i have a ring problem, heres my questions.
1. With these problems, is this motor worth building?
2. Should i address both these problems before i do anything else such as aftermarket bolt ons (eg. exhaust, intake....)
3. Is the timing chain a project i can take on myself, i dont know a whole lot about cars, but ive been told this is a pretty self-explanatory project, especially with jasons step by step off of 240sx.org?
4. I want to build a NA car, so i dont want an sr, so would just finding another KA24DE is better condition a better answer?
I will appreciate all your help, and i appreciate any input one of you can give me.
General ?
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quiksilvia
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1. if u fix them and there is no damage, busted timing chains can hit things and be a problem2. i would definitely fix these as soon as possible.3. its not hard, plus the dealer will rape u with no lube, only a sandpaper condom, for the labor, easy4.u already have the de, so if u gonna build it anyway, then keep it.
what about the oil issue? and have you seen the step by step i talked about, and how accurate do you think that is? i have a chiltons, but ive been told its not accurate enough. and if i do do it myself, what other things would you do while you have the cover off, and oh yeah, sorry man but im clueless, i was told by a mechanic that you have to take the heads off to put the timing cover back on, jasons thing says nothing about that, what do you say? THANK YOU SO MUCH MAN
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quiksilvia
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the timing chain, tensioners, guides, the dealer can sell u all the related parts as a kit. the heads? not that i know of...http://240sx.org/faq/index.htmlgo to timing chain q's and a's
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quiksilvia
- Posts: 3197
- Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 7:09 am
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its always good to replace all that timing chain related crap while doing the chain, or did u mean that the link meant that u dont have to go through the head or whatever? and the oil thing should be a head gasket issue i think, but could be soemthing as minor as leaking vacuum line, or the rear main seal, do a compression test
You don't have to remove the head to change the timing chain. The only reason the FSM says to do that is because the head gasket also covers the gap twixt the sprocket cover and the front cover. However, since that part of the head gasket is somewhat superfluous, you don't have to replace the whole thing necessarily - as long as you're careful and don't tear the gasket when you remove the covers.
Exactly. I believe http://www.courtesynissan.com sells a kit to do the whole timing chain, the chiltons is woefully inadequate for doing the timing chain, I've tried before. Your best bet would be to see if your local Nissan dealership will let you borrow their FSM, or at least photocopy the pages out of it to do the install with.
Not really, there aren't any shops around here that do work like that due to liability issues. To be honest, if I worked for a shop I wouldn't do it for liability issues. Your best bet is to negotiate an under-the-table deal with a mechanic you know and trust, most mechs I know do work at their houses on the side and are perfectly reliable. The net is the cheapest place for parts by far, but call wherever you are ordering from first and see if you can get a better price.
Given enough time and space, you can do the whole thing yourself, yes. There's not any special voodoo formulas required.
As for piston rings, they are easy to replace w/a compressor and an expander, takes all of 5 minutes (unless the oil control ring decides not to cooperate). The question is the wear of the cylinders. If the cylinder walls are worn out of tolerances, then replacing the rings won't do you any good. The only way to measure that is to have an FSM and a good set of micrometers, and verify the piston/cylinder clearance is still within factory spec.
As for piston rings, they are easy to replace w/a compressor and an expander, takes all of 5 minutes (unless the oil control ring decides not to cooperate). The question is the wear of the cylinders. If the cylinder walls are worn out of tolerances, then replacing the rings won't do you any good. The only way to measure that is to have an FSM and a good set of micrometers, and verify the piston/cylinder clearance is still within factory spec.
To have the timing chain done, parts + labor, will generally run you $800 to a grand. Varies, of course, by mechanic.
Piston rings are another story entirely. Are you positive the source of your oil leak is the ring? And not a bad valve seal? Could mean a huge difference in the amount of work you need to do. A head is a lot less work to rebuild than an engine.
Piston rings are another story entirely. Are you positive the source of your oil leak is the ring? And not a bad valve seal? Could mean a huge difference in the amount of work you need to do. A head is a lot less work to rebuild than an engine.
What you need to do is called a "Leakdown test". You need to have some special equipment to do this, and since it's expensive stuff, you're probably better off having a good shop do it rather than invest the money yourself.
It consists of a special air compressor and gauge that is inserted into the sparkplug hole. It works in a similar way as a compression test, however, in the leakdown you will be listening closely for where the air is escaping the combustion chamber. If you remove the oil filler cap and air is blowing up from the crankcase, then it's the rings/pistons. If you hear air blowing through the intake manifold, then it's the intake valve seals.
This is really a rough explanation of how it works, you can find a lot of info about leakdown and wet compression tests on the Internet, as they are more complex than the basic process I'm describing.
It consists of a special air compressor and gauge that is inserted into the sparkplug hole. It works in a similar way as a compression test, however, in the leakdown you will be listening closely for where the air is escaping the combustion chamber. If you remove the oil filler cap and air is blowing up from the crankcase, then it's the rings/pistons. If you hear air blowing through the intake manifold, then it's the intake valve seals.
This is really a rough explanation of how it works, you can find a lot of info about leakdown and wet compression tests on the Internet, as they are more complex than the basic process I'm describing.
I don't really know how to ask a question, this is my first time being on this site, but here it goes. I have a 95 240sx with a s14 swap that I've had for about 2 months. About a week ago the fuese for my gage cluster blew, I replaced the fuese several times but it'll blow just minutes after the new fuese has been put in. The shop that did the swap is telling me that I need a new altinator because the altinator is causing to much voltage that is blowing the fuese, this is the first s14 swap that this shop has done, so I don't really feel that they are sure that they know what they are talking about. I was wondering if someone might be able to help me, or recomend a shop that deels with sr20dett mortors in the Orlando, FL area. Iwould greatly appriciate it. Eddie s14
