Ka24de question...

[GrandLominion]

...okay, I'm new to the Nissan world (Long time fan, new owner) and I have a quick question, possibly a stupid one so please, be gentle. I have a 96 240sx, stock Ka24de motor in serious need of rebuilding. I only have 1 car so I need to rebuild another motor while driving this one and swap after rebuild is done. I know the Ka24de comes in not only the 240 but also the Altima, Frontier and Xterra. My question is are all Ka24de's the same, meaning will any Ka bolt right up to my trans, or are the bell housings different? Are the Ka motors specific to each vehicle? Are any of the different years vehicle specific? I know the altima is FWD, will that make a difference since mine is RWD? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[pepesilvia]

FWD KA's from altima's are different and will not work in your 240sx. The Frontier and Xterra KA's may bolt up to the 240sx transmission but the intake and exhaust manifolds are different, as well some other things i think (like belts and stuff if i remember)... So no, I dont think you can use a KA from any other car except a 240sx. sorry

[GrandLominion]

Good to know, that'll save me some trouble, thanks so much. Okay, now on to searching for a ridiculously overpriced stock 240 motor to rebuild and the ardent but misplaced hope that it's somewhere in the mid western hemisphere;)

[pepesilvia]

Just be careful when re-building the KA because they are very sensitive tolerance-wise. If you are out of tolerance even by one-thousandth (by debris or particles) it could cause engine failure in the future.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

yeah I'd recommend just finding a decent engine and swapping it in. They can be had for under $500, while rebuilding could cost you in excess of a thousand.

[GrandLominion]

Under 500 bucks would be great, although I will eventually Ka-T, which is kind of why I wanted to rebuild from the block up. I figured some decent, upper level, higher performance internals would compliment the cast iron block well, as opposed to the Sr20's aluminum block. I haven't been able to locate a replacement Ka24 anywhere nearby me. Living in the Metro Detroit Michigan area, there are very few 240's around, especially 95-98. For some reason it's a very rare car around here.

[CJH]

In the midwest I can find KA24DE's for $300-$500 all the time. I've never seen a stock KA go for more than that.

[GrandLominion]

Okay, found one, now here's another probably dumb nube question that's no doubt already been addressed in some previous thread that I haven't been able to locate, and not for lack of trying: Will the motor from an automatic work the same with my manual trans? I figure as long as the bell housing configuration is the same everything should work fine when mated, but I haven't seen this motor yet, nor have I been able to investigate or examine the bell housing on my OWN motor yet, so I'm flying blind. Hate to buy a motor I can't use, can anybody answer this idiot question without insult, or at least with minimal insult? Thanks in advance:)

[sx moneypit]

It will work,they have identical bolt patterns.

[GrandLominion]

Thank you all so much, you've all really helped a ton!!! And your responses are so fast...Kiddos;) I may be new to this forum, as well as to the Nissan/Infiniti realm, but I will be frequenting this site often. Thanks again, friends.

[sx moneypit]

Welcome to NICO!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've never swapped an auto to a manual, but I think the pilot bushings have to change...