HOW TO: Replace ALL coolant hoses on the KA24DE

[nismo521]

I recently replaced all of the coolant hoses on my '93 240SX and decided it was definitely worthy of a write-up due to all of the frustration I faced, so here goes. I ask that you do not post until I say that I'm finished, b/c I know this is going to take up more than one post.

First off, DO NOT expect this to be a one-day job. My car was down for nearly a month, mainly due to me only having 4 or 5 hours every 3 or 4 days to work on it. I would say you need at least 3 days in which you can be without the car.

OK, warning out of the way, time to get down to business.

PARTS LIST (All prices are from Midway Nissan, one of our sponsors):

Intake Manifold Gasket: 14035-53F00 5.75Collector Gasket: 14032-53F00 2.66Hoses:14054-53F02 8.4914056-53F01 4.6514056-53F00 1.86 (Superceded by PN 21308-05E01, same part)14054-53F06 8.9914054-53F05 2.0314056-53F10 3.1321741-0C801 9.86 (Superceded by PN 21741-09W00)21501-53F00 21.3421503-53F00 20.4292400-40F00 10.3492402-53F00 10.3492410-53F01 7.69PCV Valve: 11810-86G01 7.48 (Your choice whether to replace this or not. Once you see where it is, you'll decide it's a good idea.)

That should be all you need unless you break something or find something else that should be replaced while you're in there. Pulling the intake manifold isn't something you're gonna want to do every couple weeks just for the fun of it.

Also, if you haven't done it yet, get the FSM. You WILL need it.

REMOVAL:

1. Open the underhood fuse box just behind the battery. Locate and remove the fuel pump fuse. Remove gas cap. Crank the car and let it run until it dies, crank it a few more times to be sure the fuel system is de-pressurized.

2. Disconnect the negative battery cable <Morie Finkle> DO IT </Morie Finkle>

3. Drain the radiator

4. Remove your intake pipe, this one's pretty self explanatory. Once it's off, stuff a clean rag in your MAF and one in your throttle body.

5. Remove the top half of the fan shroud and the condensor fan, the plug for the condensor fan is over on a bracket next to the battery, just follow the wiring from the fan.

6. Inspect your belts, if they look bad, now's as good a time as any to change them, if you are, just remove the old ones, don't put the new ones on yet. If you're not going to change them, remove the tension from the alternator belt, slip it off the pulley, and move it aside.

7. Remove both the upper and lower bolt (12mm) from the alternator, making sure you don't lose the nut for the bottom bolt. Undo all electrical connections from the alternator and remove the alt. Then take off the alternator bracket (2 12mm bolts).

8. Locate the intake manifold bracket that the alternator was previously blocking. It should have 2 14mm bolts on the bottom, then what basically looks like a pipe going to the bottom of the collector, then one 14mm bolt going into the collector. Remove all bolts and pull out the bracket.

9. Locate the intake manifold bracket between the oil filter and the motor mount, there is one 14mm bolt going into the block, and 2 14mm bolts going into the manifold. Remove all bolts and pull out the bracket.

10. Moving to the top of the engine, disconnect the fuel lines that run from the fuel filter to the fuel rail, mark which line goes where, since I'm pretty sure it's not something you'd want to get crossed up. Take the brackets for the fuel lines and the throttle cable(s) off of the manifold and disconnect the throttle cable(s). Take the bolts out that hold the wiring loom onto the manifold as well as the one on the valve cover. Disconnect the vacuum line from the fuel pressure regulator (little bulge on the back of the fuel rail w/ a vacuum hose running to it, depending on the size of your hands you may not be able to get to it yet, if not, just get it after you get the mani loose). Disconnect the brake booster hose and the vacuum hose that runs next to it.

11. Take out the EGR-BPT valve. I'll try to find a pic of it so you know exactly which one it is. Take out the 3 12mm bolts where the EGR valve mounts to the collector.

12. Unplug the 2 sensors where the upper radiator hose goes into the manifold. Remove both the upper and lower radiator hoses from the car. Disconnect any other coolant hoses that you can currently reach.

13. Remove the 3 12mm bolts and 2 12mm nuts from where the runners and the collector meet. Remove the 8 12mm bolts and 2 12mm nuts from where the mani goes into the head.

14. Slowly pull the mani towards you, don't jerk it, as some stuff is still connected. You need to get it far enough out to clear the studs coming out of the head. Once the upper mani is clear from the head, lift it clear from the collector. Reach behind the upper mani and disconnect the swirl control valve (should be the only vacuum hose still connected to the UPPER mani, there are still some connected to the lower mani).

15. Wash all the blood off of your hand from disconnecting the swirl control valve.

16. Locate the PCV valve, it is screwed into a box connected to the block between the oil filter and where the alternator used to be. Disconnect the hose from the PCV valve. Lift the upper mani out of the car. If it's not coming, get a bright light and make sure you didn't leave any hoses connected. You will have to move it slightly forward to clear the EGR valve.

17. Disconnect the four vacuum lines from the back of the collector, and the four from the front. Lift the collector out of the car. Same as with the upper mani, if it's not coming, more than likely something is still hooked up.

[nismo521]

OK, the hard part is over.

REPLACING:

1. Unscrew the PCV valve from its box and replace with the new one.

2. Lay out all of the hoses that you bought. No two are the same, so it'll be pretty easy to tell which one replaces which. I recommend taking them off one at a time so you know which one goes where. Go ahead and clean any corrosion off the nipples while you are doing this.

3. MAKE SURE ALL CLAMPS ARE ON AND TIGHT!!! You do not want to pull the mani off again b/c you notice as you are putting in the last bolt that you left a clamp off (Shut up, don't talk to me, it's getting dark and I gotta go find all the tools I just threw into the neighbor's yard.)

Putting everything back on the car is pretty much the reverse of pulling everything off. Use the FSM for your torque specs and consult it if you get lost when you're putting it back together.

FIRING 'ER BACK UP.

1. Fill up w/ water first to check for any leaks. If there are none, drain the water out and fill up w/ your favorite coolant mixture.

2. Reconnect the negative battery terminal, replace the fuel pump fuse, and put your gas cap back on.

3. Get in the car, make sure the radio, blower fan, pretty much anything that's gonna make noise is off. Turn the key to the ON position and listen for the fuel pump to turn on and run for a few seconds. Do this 2 or 3 times to get pressure in the system. Check for any fuel leaks where you had the fuel lines disconnected. If all is well, crank her up, bleed the cooling system, and enjoy the piece of mind that comes from knowing all your coolant hoses will be good for years to come!

OK, I'm done, feel free to comment, flame, whatever.

I'll get a diagram of where all the hoses are located and put it up tomorrow, as of right now, it's 3AM and I'm gonna hit the hay. If anyone runs into any problems while attempting this, my AIM is TheLines02.
Modified by nismo521 at 3:21 AM 9/3/2005

[babowc]

haha so you put this up!

maybe ill do this when im on winter break or something.. 3 days for an experienced person.. wonder how long it would take for an unexperienced person like me.. :P

[rico05]

Experienced person should be able to do this in a day for sure. I did mine in that amount of time. But, then again, me and a buddy did do my motor swap in less than a day and it fired at the first crank. Guess some of us just have it

[nismo521]

I know it can be done in a day, heck, the dealership quoted 4 hours. I just want ppl to realize they can't drive the car while doing this project and to build in a little safety margin when planning it out. Like I said, the only reason my car was down for nearly a month was my work schedule and the lack of a garage for working at night (mosquitoes down here will eat you alive).

[babowc]

yes.. it will.. it will definitely eat you alive

anyways.. i just looked around my engine bay on the hoses.. some were freaking cracking where it clamps..

aarrg!

[rswails]

Experienced person should be able to do this in a day for sure. I did mine in that amount of time. But, then again, me and a buddy did do my motor swap in less than a day and it fired at the first crank. Guess some of us just have it

Have what? A bragging problem

[SX APPEAL]

Wow, you know I was kinda thinking the same thing, of course I wouldn't have bumped a 7 year old (completely useless btw) thread to lay a smack on a guy who hasn't been active on this board in almost that long...

[Kahnklingonme]

Bump lol thanks mate