KA Swap Starting problem

[greazymule]

Hey guys,

setup is swapped s14 ka into an s13, changed over the IM, EM, Distributer, etc.

bolted everything up, no exhaust or fan, and it fired up and idled like a rock. i then installed the exhaust, fan, and filled it with water. and now it won't fire over.

tried:set the motor to TDC using the alignment pin and put the distributer silver pin on the #1 wire.

spark plug order is right

any ideas on what to try, whay irriatates me is that i had it running and idleing fine before and i didn't change anything and now it won't turn over, it wants too but neer does. any suggestions?

ALSO: leaking water from the front of the intake manifold. it is the passage right before the first intake runner. no matter how much i tighten it it keeps leaking water. any suggestions or has this happened to anyone? i am gonna just tighten it as much as possible then cover the area in rtv and pray it hold because an IM swap is a *****!!!!!!!!

ALSO: i had a connector that was unplugged becuase i had no idea hwere it went, it looks like a ground coming off the same loom that the starter cable is attached to. it hit the alternator and caused a huge spark. after this the CEL, or any warnings are gone. the seatbelt doesn't move and no "ding-ding" when i open the door. did i fry a fuse or the ECU or what?

[DjPantsSpecR]

okay as for your leak, this is gonna be abitch, but you gotta. you forgot to scrape off some of the old gasket off around that part of the intake manifold, so gasket is stacked up there and its leaking, dont over-tighten it, or you'll break a stud, but you need to pull that and redo it

check your alternator fuse my friend blew mine when he touched the alternator bolt and side handle of the ratchet ot the side of the wheel well. i know that almost nothing works and even your clock will light up but will not have any number on it.

start searching fuses, but i would start wiht those big fuses on the passenger side of the engine bay first, then report back

[DjPantsSpecR]

wow, on second reading you obviously said that you hit the alternator, you definately jsut blew the 75 amp alternator fuse, i did the same thing last week, no big deal, just swap a new one

and as for that connector, its either a ground on the starter, or one of the two grounds on the alternator, so make sure you have one huge ground adn one little ground on your alternator.

i'd laugh if you didnt hook up the big ground cable because it needs to be drilled out a little to even fit on the bolt its supposed to on for the s14 alternator.

hook that up and buy a fuse from nissan, 75 amp alternator

[erollinc]

i jsut did the exact swap you did man and the next 3 days im going to spend getting it to run itll crank but i still have to get the timing right and make sure the wiring and fuses are good... ill post pics tonight....maybe itll help you and me out

[greazymule]

i have the one thick *** cable going to the alternator and then a little "baby" ground. but i am not sure where this ground goes. the thing is i started the motor without it last time.

[DjPantsSpecR]

that wire runs to the back of the alternator and somehow it loosened itself on my car. its like a lil 8mm bolt that holds it on to the backside of the alternator

did you find the huge 75 amp alternator fuse you blew? i gotta know

erollinc, i can help you out too, i had to do this swap in under 24 hours last week as a transmission in my other 240 blew so i needed to get one car running in order to get back to school. easy easy swap, should take around 8 total hours

[greazymule]

i realized, from the other thread, that i am using the battery ground as the alternator wire. i need to put that one, black+yellow, to the IM and the one i currently have on nothing onto the alternator. would this affect the starting of the motor?

i am currently away at college and i went home for the weekend to work on the car. i will be going home next weekend to finish it off so i am getting all the help i can now.

thanks alot

[DjPantsSpecR]

well if that fuse is blown im sure it would. i didnt even try to fire up mine when this happened, but i would assume since the headlight motors didnt work, but the lights did, and the clock showed no digits and blah blah blah that blowing this massive fuse might cause this starting problem

like i said i didnt try so i cant give you a definitive answer, but i can only assume, and you know what happens when you assume...

you're gonna need that fuse from nissan anyways, so i guess we'll know in a week

[greazymule]

but the motor wouldn't start prior to the fuse blowing. anys suggestions on that. do i HAVE to swap the s13 alternator over? what else should i look for?

[DjPantsSpecR]

i have an s14 alternator on my s13 motor right now, no problem there...

does it crank and not fire or what are its symptoms, shoulnt be too hgard to troubleshoot just as soon as i kknow what the motor is doing

[erollinc]

i jsut did this swap... if that fuse is blown you wont get power to hardly anything..... i used the s13 alt... on.ly because there was a plug on it that the s14 one didnt have ... but anyway you need that thick *** black yellow stripe wire connected at the intake manifold.... and i should start up.....mine did

[greazymule]

UPDATE:

replaced fuse, fixed wires, swapped on an s14 upper IM and sealed the gasket.

once i set the timing it fired right up and idled rather well although i could tell there was a small vaccum leak somewhere. no stalling, drove smooth and pulled strong. 20-30min drive

let it idle, add more coolant, get ready to seafoam, pull the brake booster vaccum line and i leave it open a little to see if it will die(unlike the old motor). CAR WON'T START

it will sound like it wants to fire up every couple of seconds and right when i turn the key. but it never starts. i tried jumping it, different batteries, redid timing, no vaccum leaks, etc.

pull plugs and found #3 covered in oil. i know this isn't good. the valve cover gasket that surrounds teh plug holes was ripped but there was even oil on the electrode side which means bad rings right? still didn't fire after new plugs, cleaned oil.

I am not sure where to go from here. if anyone has any ideas please let me know.