hey guys, head gasket went out today, not quite ready to do my ka swap yet tho, how long would it take an average guy to do one? and is there any pointers to one of these?

With the manifolds on it should take the average guy 3 hours to do. without the manifolds about 5 1/2 hours. Make sure you get a V shaped block of wood to hold the timing chain after you set it to No.1.

hey i was talking to my dad about your issue and he says you might also might want to make sure the head is not warped other wise that could be bad.

ok, and also what will i need as far as tools and parts, i am going to college and all my tools are at the shop, and i am going to do htis on the weekend, and need to know what i need to bring home

and where is the adjuster for the chain?and are the head bolts reusable?

Your gonna need a head gasket kit. As far as tools, id say sockets deep and regular, wrenches, screwdrivers you know the regular stuff, also a torque wrench and your gonna need to make something to keep the timming chain from falling off the lower sprocket. Im not too sure about the head bolts every vehicle ive done head gaskets on that had aluminium heads needed new bolts. hope this helps

yeah thats what i was looking for! jus making sure there is no specialty tools required, and ill jus be safe and get new bolts

This might help you too. No Linking to outside forums... thanks you

also remember NICO and ODPL do not require you to log in to see info!

im doing head gasket as we speak! computer is with me in shop, and i cant get the chain off!! where the hell is the tensioner?? i cannot for the life of me find it! fast responses please!

tensioner is against the left side of the chain (when looking at it from the front of the truck) and if you need to get to it you'll need to remove the from engine cover!sorry that wasn't a little faster!

long story short, heads off, its cracked betwene one set of valves, and between valve and spark plug, so it has 2 cracks, and im pissed, cuz i wanted to finish this weekend

so where can i get a replace ment, or what is the best to upgrade to? ka24 head maybe? need to keep carbed tho, dont wana hastle switching to fuel injected yet, can a ka head bolt right up to the bolce and i run my z manifolds on the ka? and which is cheaper? if it was a ka, i would need a complete head, if it wan z, i'd only need the actual head, no valve train....... anyone got either of the 2???? rather go to ka if i could tho........

the KA may need a little modification to fit properly... not many people have done it so i can't tell you for sure if it needs modification or not... BUT... you will not regret using the KA head... guaranteed!

evarywhere i have looked, it says it bolts up, cuz its almost the same block, with mall differences in the main bearing and the oil pump it bolted up in a different pattern and the bellhousing..... but from what i can tell, the head bolt pattern and all the oil and water passages are identical!

exactly... you might need to modify little things that shouldn't be any big deal.... i'd say go for it!

just remember to use the KA valve cover as well... don't think the Z one will fit over it

ok so i jus called the local junkyard, huge selection of everything!well there rates are 150 for a 4 cyl head, ready to go, they have it taken to a machine shop and checked out for cracks, and milled down if needed at no charge, and clean it up real good! they have set rates on everything, no matter what vehicle! 4 cylinder head, $150 v6 like $210 a set, and so on

so i should have that with in a week or so! and ill update you guys soon!

its a little pricier than where i go... but the place i go doesn't do all the stuff yours does... sounds good man!

Wow those prices are high compaired to out here! You can get a whole engine for $150 or if you go on tuesday thats half price day ! Anyway good luck on gettin her together .

wow i wish the whole engine was $150 he said i could have the whole engine, including everything, with ecu and wiring for 300 bux, and they make sure it runs first, and take a video or let me hear it before they pull it for proof

i really wish some one knew for sure this would work! haha well i guess ill have to find out the hard way!

oh one more question, i got the sohc, woulld have i been able to use a dohc?

if i could, i can call them today or tomorrow, cuz they have to pull it off the vehicle, and they saidn it might be a few days..... i told them im not in too huge of a hury

this websie has huge amount of information! i have read quite abit, but came across 15 as quite helpful! but what i didnt read, is whwat do i do for ignition? z24 is 8 spark plugs, ka24 is 4..... which distributor do i switch to, or jus caps?

BTW, I forgot to read. There are no modifications required to put a ka24e head (fwd/rwd same) onto a Z24 or any Z for that matter. With the Z24, this is a direct swap and you can use either the z24 or the ka headbolts (same). You can use either the z24 or ka24 headgasket, they are identical, the head will mate to the block as if original. A ka24 piston swap would be wise for proper compression ratio, you will have to use the d21 pistons which are press fit pin design, and the rod pin end must be narrowed for the pistons to fit. This is a simple operation for any machine shop. Use the z series timing chain system, upper timing gear swaps right over to the ka cam.

If putting ka24e head on any other z besides the z24, the medium deck height z headbolts must be used (z22, z20). Always use a z24 or ka24 headgasket.

I can go into more detail on anything if desired.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, anytime a KA head is used on a L or Z series, an external inline thermostat must be used.

Edited for crosslinking. We're trying to build up the forums here on NICO. If you find info somewhere else you must post it rather than linking to it. Thank you.

oooo.... i think you can use an L series distributor... it mounts the same (possibly slight modification) as the z series does but its only a 4 plug dizzy!

man this swap is starting to sound better and easier, every time i do a lil research! i think if it is this easy, and is proven to give a lil better numbers, and is all bolt on, a lot more people will be doing it!

well i will be doing it eventually (assuming its legal in my autocross class) so the more info you provide the better off i get!

one last q, will my manifolds bolt up to this head?

intake should.... exhaust will for sure

ok, so that website i listed earlier, i joined it last night and did lots of reading and stuff, and i asked a few q's today, i brought up the mounting of manifolds, and they said will not bolt up, exh might, but ports will not be same....... but that is an ausie site, but i think these motors are pretty much identicle.... well i guess if it doesnt work im going to get a stock head again, and another complete motor to do the ka head swap on, with turbo and either the efi, OR ( i like this idea better) a custom intake manifold, with a blow thru weber carby!

lol... yeah when i do my KA head i'll be using KA headers i assume... and custom ITB's with EFI... so yeah.... that eliminates my issue there

itb's would be bad a**! i want to do twin side drafts, but the prices are crazy for a set of those!!! maybe one day ill man up and snatch a set, but not now, ill stick to my already expensive 300 dollar 38/38 weber

i'm thinking 38/38 for now too... don't even have money for that right now tho lol

You could use the Z dizzy, only the exhaust side wires only.

thought the intake side were primary? in fact i'm pretty sure they are cause i had a messed up plug on the intake side once and it caused a lot of issues