ka24de swap, a lot of problems

[93 Chuki FB]

so i bought a $200 parts car with a "good" DE i spend most of my weekend swapping it in, and finally i crank it over and zero compression, so we tested it to make sure and it came out too: 85, 25,10,30, so the next day i bought a another DE and with 126k, and without spark plugs it was kinda hard to turnover but it progressively got better and for $100 it wasn't a bad deal, so i just finished swapping it in and i crank it and it cranks kinda slow and it the motor misfires, but doesn't actually start, we have spark and we can smell fuel, the MAF is NOT hooked up along with most of vacuum lines, i removed the valve cover and its spotless under their, i mean it looks like a new motor, i set timing by have cams face opposite (180) from each other and i set the rotor so its facing 1 on the cap (i have no clue if this is right), i really need this car running again so any help is appreciated

[comatoseculture]

To start, I'm sorry. I've read your post a few times and it's just a lil scattered to understand or try to help. I'm going to try though seeing as no responses yet...

You stated (sorta): i bought a DE with 126k, for $100. Without spark plugs it was kinda hard to turnover but it progressively got better so i swapped it in. Now when i crank it, it cranks kinda slow and the motor misfires, but doesn't actually start.

We have spark and we can smell fuel.

The MAF is NOT hooked up along with most of vacuum lines.

I removed the valve cover and its spotless underneath, i mean it looks like a new motor. I set timing by having the cams face opposite (180) from each other and i set the rotor so its facing 1 on the cap (i have no clue if this is right).

I really need this car running again so any help is appreciated.

Ok so, youre just looking for someone to tell you...? what exactly would you like to know?

$100 is really cheap and there may be a serious problem.With sparkplugs removed there should be no compression and therefor no problem turning over. Something is/was stopping it. Built up carbon/gunk? Seized accessory pulley? IDK i'm not there.It shouldn't be misfiring. Could be internal timing (cam/cam/crank) or distributer timing. Its easy to mess up dist. timing. Sort of a trial and error learning curve to that one. Writeups help a bit.You have spark and probably fuel, what about compression? What do plugs look like? (old ones or new ones after attempting to start-please make sure you don't pull the plugs on a hot head stripping out threads tho)Why are the vacuum lines disconnected????????????? And i know they start up and run to 2400-2500rpm w/o MAF but, why is it disconnected?And roughly, that is how you would set timing, but be aware that a single tooth makes a fairly big difference in how it runs, as does the position in the housing being advanced/retarded.

Please respond with whatevers appropriate and I'll check back n see if I can help. GL

[93 Chuki FB]

the reason i don't have all that stuff connected is because i just wanted to see it start before i buttoned it up, and the compression came out too: 110,85,55,120 this is when the motor was cold (it never fired) the starter spins the motor kinda slow (doesn't even spin fast enough to build oil pressure) and even with spark plugs out it struggles (still doesn't build oil pressure) so i replaced the battery and same result, so me and a friend switched starters and mine cranked his motor just fine and his started right up, with his starter in mine and no spark plugs, his could spin my motor but really slowly, somebody told me that the bearing in the motor are bad and im starting to believe it cause the kid showed me a video of him drifting the car as proof of the motor running ( i know what ur thinking, but $100 is not bad for a parts motor or a potentially good running motor) i still cant get it to fire, im sick of this s***, i bought 3 motors this weekend and swapped all 3 into my car on same weekend (pulling all nighters) and all 3 have been duds so far

[jazz4890]

why dont you just get the parts from all 3 of your motors and put one good motor together? Get the Factory Service Manual (fsm) off of the internet for free. I mean if you can swap in 3 motors as fast as you say you can then building one good ka out of the 3 you have should be no problem. Just buy a gasket kit for like 100 to 200 that will really help with a rebuild.

[93 Chuki FB]

that was my plan, unless i can get another motor this week , im gonna build one use parts from all three, i have 1 S14 DOHC and 2 91 S13 DOHC, will the S13 head fit on a S14 bottom?

[corn322]

Yes. However the valve covers are different from S13 to S14.

[jazz4890]

yup hes right the head will bolt to the block you will just have the s14 valve cover but it will still work as far as getting it running and wiring it up. Don't forget to get a gasket kit you will be really glad you did in the long run.

[93 Chuki FB]

Their is a shop here in Washington called Kami Dori, im gonna buy a motor from them, i went down their today and the motor was still in the car so i got to see it run and the guy gave me a ride in his sick S14, so im just gonna buy his motor