ka24de build Q's

[moso]

ok so im building a NA KA with plans of boosting it in the future, the core motor i got had been rebuilt 70k ago and was immaculate inside.im also swaping it into a 90 hatch so there may be some q's about thatlater but im shure i can find a suitible walkthrough for that. anyways on tothe questions.

1) whats the best set of near stock compression pistons that i can get? or at least a few suggestions. i hear some pistons (CPs) have weak ring lands, is this true.

2) what is the most (realistic) amount of boost i can hope to run on stock internals with upgraded pistons and clevite bearings?

3) i hear all kinds of things about headgaskets should i be concerned with buying a cometic or other MLS headgasket or will the Fel-Pro one that came with my gasket kit work well?

4)should i replace my oil pump, the guys at nissan laughed at me when i said i was thinking about replacing it saying "thay last forever" and "i have never herd of one going bad". is this true?

5) what is this busted peice of plastic between the first two cam carriers behind the timing chain? was it important?





6) inside the block at the head mounting surface there is a small passage (possibly brass or copper) and a detent ball and spring inside the oil filter mounting area. i assume these are related and in some way hold oil pressure, do i need to replace them, and how?





7) what is this, it mounts between the 2nd and 3rd cyl on the outside of the block above the oil filter



ok that seems like it..........

.....for now

thanks for the help

Mike

[zachattack_5491]

As long as you have something to tune with and an upgraded fuel system you could probably run around 10 or 11 psi with good pistons. From what I hear, stock pistons are the weak link. I'd probably only run about 8psi most days for reliability's sake.

[theother1wstolen]

that "plastic" piece should be metal, and should be the timing chain guide, which you are supposed to remove anyway, so thats fine. and that round thing that mounts above the oil filter is the knock sensor.

[moso]

by remove do you mean i dont need to replace it?

[liquid_cool]

this is good advice from pro's bro...remember this! ( when you have an engine that dirty..you should allways get it hot tanked!..to get rid of the crap lodged inside..it allso lets you see any hidden damage that might be hiding under the crap)....hot tank service will run 30 to 50 bucks..depending on the (Machine shop)...good luck.

[moso]

i hear ya on that one, its going to get ridge reamed, honed, hot tanked, crank polished, and have the head and valves worked in the morning! and yes thats one dirty motor

[tweetersbro2002]

iirc, number 7 is the knock sensor

[TimeAttackTheory]

1. As fas as pistons go. Whoever told you CP pistons have weak ring lands probably made some kind of mistake when building their engine to cause damage to the CP pistons they were using. I've built 5 engines all using CP pistons, I have CP pistons in my rb20det right now. I beat the crap out of every car I drive and I never had any problems with CP pistons. I would actually recommend them to you or anyone looking for a good piston.

I would go with CP or Supertech pistons in a KA. You can get them in a 9.0:1 compression ratio.

2. With a set of forged pistons i've seen a KA run 20psi. But if you're going to upgrade your pistons you might as well get a set of connecting rods and ARP head studs and cometic head gasket.

3. Fel pro makes really good gaskets, however the fel pro head gasket is an OEM replacement gasket. It would be like using your stock headgasket. If you plan on boosting this car I would upgrade to a multi layer steel gasket like cometic.

4. Seriously, unless you have an RB engine that has the small crank collar keep that oil pump you already have. Clean it, replace your front main seal and youre good.

5. I believe that piece of plastic youre referring to is the timing chain guide. Look up the timing chain rattle TSB and follow it.

[Vegascorbin]

I can not speak about the DOHC but on hte SOHC the oil pumps do go bad. We threw a rod due to an oil pump failure. For the cost of a pump vs the cost of your rebuild I would replace the oil pump and water pump just on principle.

'I also recomend replaceing the radiator. Or at least have it gone through by a good shop.

But that's just me.

[TimeAttackTheory]

I've heard of oil pumps going bad on SOHC Ka's but I've never ever seen one go bad on a DOHC but it wouldnt hurt to replace it. I didnt replace the oil pump on my old ka dohc...150000+ miles later it still worked fine with no problems. I've never even seen a water pump go bad on a Ka, Sr, or Rb but I always replace them.

[moso]

ok so im sorry i havent posted sooner but my build has been sailing along.i decided to go with Wiseco 9.0:1 pistons, arp everything, felpro headgasket (i couldent make up my mind and decided to go with what i got), and i replaced my oil pump (good thing too the old one was all scared up). almost had a heart attack here tho....



if you cant tell im holding the threads that go to the intermediary timing chain gear! can you say Heli-coil!

if you want more pics go to http://www.photobucket.com/michaelschwartz

anyways so onward i went. i decided to go with megan motor and transmission mounts and let me tell you thay are stiff as hell. i managed to scavenge everything i needed off a car in the yard to put a/c on (i live in louisianna its a must) as well as a brand new radiator (go figure) and have installed all that but when i was runing my wiring for the motor i ran into a bit of a snag. now mind that i have ALL the wiring out of the donor car so this should be a easy fix. i repined the brown body plug on the ecu/motor harness so it now sports the sohc plug with the pins in the correct positions but when i went to install it i found another plug? do i just need to repin this connector too?

also anyone know the pinout of a obd-1 port? i would like to splice one into my ecu/motor harness so i can use a consult cable.

[godrifttoday]

its how much power the block can take and not just pushing a t25 to 30 pounds because thats just a lot of heat and more of a posibility to lean out the motor

[moso]

huh?

well after looking over my schematics i think i have figured out how to wire up a consult port onto my ka24de wire harness and it accually looks quite simple, i dont have a consult cable to test it with tho ill post my thoughts on it after i get back from work. still no ideas about the other plugs.
Modified by moso at 12:35 PM 8/20/2009

[moso]

Glorious day! while at the J/Y pulling my 5speed brake pedal out of a 93 hatch i decided to look at the wiring harness while it was still in the car seeing as tho i never got that chance getting all my wires in a big box as i did, i came to find out the ecu wiring harness for the manual and auto is quite different. the manual ecu wiring harness has no such strange white plug! after half an hour pulling that harness along with another 5spd ecu (you can never have too many) im ready to wire up my body harness connector and try to splice in this obd connector. pics up tonight.

[moso]

obd1 ka24de swap wiring guide with consult port

zer...nsult
Modified by moso at 12:29 AM 8/22/2009