My 240 is dying, so....

[dbhittin]

its almost motor swap time. i dont know if i should do a rebuild on the ka and build that up or do a sr20det swap. i dont have tons of money to spend, so i just want to know what u would choose. i also wont be able to do this my self, and dont want to pay alot to have someone do a custom job, so would i be better off getting a new KA and have it built better?

[180fan]

I think if money is an issue, you'd be better off repairing your KA. The sr can cost quite a bit. Especially if you can't do it all yourself, you're better off fixing the ka and living with that until you can get more money to build up the ka or go sr. but if money is seriously an issue, go with the ka.

[toledo240]

I personally would do the sr20det swap, its not hard as you think long as you have help and have the tools and the info. How much hp are you trying to get anyways?The price of porting and boring and changing all the internals also add up. There are people that spend more than 3 grand on getting a little more than 200 all motor power.You have tho put in consideration for a bulletproof ka at 3 grand no turbo. Or a sr20det engine which can hold 500hp for about the same price even cheaper since you live in washington and there are alot of sr20det guys there.It basically goes to the same price, it just matters if your a "motor" guy or "turbo" guy.Have you looked into a ca18det, they are bulletproof engine and very cheap. Lots of people rebuil this and get crazy hp!

[daniel240]

i think either one is going to cost quit a bit. you say build up your ka. you could just get it fixed and running good for pretty cheap but if your planning on building it up for more hp then that will cost you close to the sr swap

[Hellion240sx]

sr20 just my 2 cents tho. you can always go custom turbo for your car for about $1000 $1500 tops.

[dbhittin]

also, my transmission is messed up, i dont have a 5th gear anymore, so do most of the sr20det motors come with a new transmission?

[DeathBy240]

If you are on a budget, do a CA18DET swap!

[dbhittin]

is a ca18det easier to install than a sr20det? i got all the tools and a garage, but i dont want to start and have something go wrong.

[DeathBy240]

Its the exact same install, no more work, no less. But the engine itself you can find much cheaper; if you look hard you can get one for half the price of an SR.

[DeathBy240]

Most engines come with trannys as thr bellhousing is different.

[Altiman94]

with the transmission problem yu have, I would say swap out the entire motorset for either a ca, sr, or rb series engine. With money to spend, go with the RB25.

[toledo240]

When you get a engine swap it will come with the transmission, if its a place with a reputation. Now the only problem is your gonna want to change the clutch before you put the transmission on the car.

-WHen swapping to something like this you have to think about how much hp and money and time your really trying to put in this thingCa are cheap and are small and the ebgine is very strong, but many people drop thousands down the road to make this thing really go fast.Like me I chose an sr20 because with basic mods on a t25 turbo you can get 13's. Which I set my limit to.Now Like Altiman man said if you had the money and wanted the power do the rb swap.WEll we all can help you on your choice but I think everyone knows that this a money issue and how much power you want? IS it gonna be an everyday driver, or straight up drag car.

[dbhittin]

im not looking for a really fast car, just low 14's would be fine for now, this is my first (fast) car that i had, so its seems pretty quick to me.` the local shop here said they would swap my motor with a SR20DET and transmission for $2600 installed, and would take 4days max. I think i might do the CA motor, and just upgrade the turbo when i can. Thanks for all the help, One more question, about whats the avg. life of the SR and CA if well takin care of?

[toledo240]

Avg life is like any other nissan there is no limit as long as it well taking care of. 2600 is a very cheap swap, its about 4 grand where I live I would defintley take advantage of that. A stock sr runs mid 14's low 14's bone stock.

[Onizuka]

Ask the shop for refrences to other SR20 swaps they have done, not honda swaps, not rotory work, not V8 builds, just sr20 swaps. You'll probably end up getting screwed hardcore if they have never done it before, there are several people on this board who went with the "cheap" swap and now they are paying for it. Since it sounds like that cars drivetrane is on its last legs and you have no money, go with a CA clip or just a used KA+transmission out of another 240.

[Turb0wned]

go sr

[k6kicker]

the ca is a mighty fine little motor if i do say so myself stock not a whole lot mroe pwoer then a ka24de but potential and its so smooth and just nice

[Hellion240sx]

toledo240 sir what mods do you have???

[toledo240]

Hellion- I purchased an sr20 and now that im break from school for a month hopefully have a chance to put it in.I only have basic mods,fuel,intercooler,intake,ex/dp/tp,afc,maf,vlsd,and clutch. thats all I wanted to do, I had a friend that had a couple of the thing for dirt cheap and hooked me up. I was real close of just turbing my car, but my friend turbo'd his car and I wanted to be different.So decided to just stay with a little sr20's t25 and be different from the other 240's around here and just get the swap in.What do you got? How long have you had yours?

[Hellion240sx]

moth#$%% this is the third time typing this!!! try this again

HAH i wish. no not yet. i have 3000 saved up for a an emergency engine swap (i.e. ka go boom). but i want to have about 5000 saved up for the swap b/c i want to do some suspension tunning too. um so far basicc swap also im going with the haltech ems. basically i want to hit 12's, auto cross, and drift in it. along with it being a show car! so i figured about 300rhp ish. sounds about right. upgrade turbo. more boost. eh, in time tho, in time tho.

this guy has an 89 240 with a new motor in it. 150 miles on a ka24de. dont those come with the ca??? hmmm his story just doesnt sound right. he said got the motor from huston but it was nissan, japan????? wtf!!! yeah i know im confused too. ill call him tomm and get the 411. hes moving so he wants to sell it for 4-500. wouldnt be a bad daily driver. perfect ka24de-t sleeper is what im thinking

[toledo240]

That is defintley not bad deal! I have a my winter 240 and im gonna drop my kade in it, and I bought the car for 300 bucks, I think 400 bucks would be good if he doesn't really know about what that car is capable of like we do. You should try to push his buttons since he's trying to get rid of it ask him 300-350 and point out every thing wrong with the car. And tell him how much it will cost you to fix it.Just show him cash and I bet he'll take it. It worked for me and this guy was selling it for 900 obo. and I got him to 300 But he also didn't know I knew everything about the car.Thats how I got my car down to a perfectly running 240sx.