My CA18DET Build

[s13drifter88]

Well after months and months of waiting, saving and aquiring almost all of my parts Ive started the build on my CA18.











I got my Greddy Z32 maf and suction set from a friend and decided to put the turbo manifold combo on my spare CA just for a few pics. I think it looks sexy lol

[s13drifter88]

Some more pics of the turbo and the actual block ive started building. I put it through hell and it took it like a champ!!!
The turbo is a GT2871R .64ar 52 trim

[s13drifter88]

Some pics of alot of the stuff i got. Manifold and dump is OBX. I figured theyre better than ebay chinese no name super ultimate mega jdm garbage

[s13drifter88]

cleaned the engine bay of the massive power steering leak that i refused to fix for over a year

[s13drifter88]

some pics of whst is used to look like when i first put it in. going to try and clean things up a little bit and re-route a lot of the wiring and vacuum hoses

[s13drifter88]

Now just waiting on my rods and bearings to get here and then saving up for my pistons and oil pump. block will be going to machine shop after i get the pistons coz i just dont take anything at face value since ive been in college for machining the past year. Id like measure them before i get it bored. Ill be ordering Supertech 83.5mm pistons so i'll be boring .5mm larger and after checking the block with my straight edge and feeler gauge ill have the block decked .006 to true the surface

[sjbsuperman1425]

I have a question..is the Greddy intake you bought the one for an SR20 S13 using an S14/S15 Turbo? Let me know how it all fits. I actually see alot of similarities between you're build and mine, besides tearing the engine apart, but I'm guessing something happened to yours correct?

Good luck with everything!

[s13drifter88]

yeah, i had a coolant leak. the head gasket had a tiny crack between the water jacket and the edge of the block. no coolant got into the cylinders or the crank case, just leaked about a quart a month. it was a tiny leak under #1 exhaust port. i started to do a head gasket and i just said f*ck it, build time. Yes its the S13 SR to S15 turbo. it looks as it'll fir just fine. i figured for $20 it was worth a shot to try.

[sjbsuperman1425]

you got that intake kit for $20?

[s13drifter88]

yep

[s13drifter88]

Well i ordered my supertech 83.5mm pistons, Pauter x beam rods, ACL X race rod and main bearings, ARP main studs, complete Cometic street pro gasket set and my Deatschwerks 750cc injectors. Got the block and head ready to go to the machine shop. just waiting on the stuff to come in so I can take my spec sheet for the pistons to the machine shop to keep skirt to wall tolerances within spec. Head is getting all new seals with all new supertech valves. Found spec info on using the Cometic gaskets for the CA18, .001" tolerance with a 50RA surface finish on both the head and block. It was great to find this as it should help avoid any sealing problems.
Saving for my 1 peice allumium driveshaft and that should be about it for parts to purchase. All build from here

[s13drifter88]

well been a while since anything came in but i got my order today. its like christmas already lol


ACL race bearings Standard size


Supertech 83.5mm forged pistons and gas nitrided rings


Pauter forged X beam rods


Complete Cometic Street Pro gasket set

[s13drifter88]

well I got the block over to the machine shop today. Having it bored .5mm and surfaced for my Cometic gasket. Finishing up the port work on the head and getting it ready to be machined also. The cams and oil pump should be in next week or so. After that its all assembly from there

[s13drifter88]

Ok so I got a few more things in today. This is supposed to be a pretty big week for me since Im expecting an order every day this week. Coilovers, suspension arms, sway bars, tower bars, body bars, valve springs, wheels and tires are all still to come.


(Right) Stance alluminum subframe bushings (Left) Stance alluminum differential bushings
(Top-Left) Energy poly steering rack bushings


Brand new OEM CA18DET oil pump


Tomei Poncams


AEM UEGO wideband kit

[S13SilviaK]

Great update man! I'm gonna be looking into the bushings very soon for my car! I'd really like to replace all the bushings with that Energy suspension kit along with the sub frame bushings. I cannot wait to see this beast run! Are you going to be painting it after the motor work is done? If so, what color is it gonna be?!

[s13drifter88]

Im going to repaint it the factory burgundy. It black now coz I had to replace my hood and trunk due to a hail storm here in Huntsville, AL in 2009. They were both black so I sanded and sprayed the whole car down primer black. Im not gonna paint it tho until Im done working on it, I dont wanna turn wrenches over fresh paint. Im going to have it painted at the BMW dealership body shop down the street from my house as I tend to be VERY anal over paint and body work and I like the idea of people that repair bodies on M3's, M5's and M6's painting my S13 lol.

[s13drifter88]

Ok so I got a few more things in today. The Circuit Sports toe links are on back order and the availability is still currently unknown so I dont have them yet. Enjuku is going to them out for Isis toe links and credit me back the price difference so Im game with that.


Tension rods


Upper control arms


Traction links

[s13drifter88]

Ok so I got my block back today and started assembly on it. I got the whole lower deck assembled tonight except for the oil pump and the oil pan.


Pauter forged rods with ARP2000 hardware; Supertech Pistons with Supertech Rings


Block surfaced to a 50RA surface finish


Cylinders bored to 83.5mm


My best friend Thomas came over to hang out. He has an RB25 in his 86 300ZX Turbo


Me glad to finally get started putting it back together


ARP Head Studs


Bottom end assembled


Pistons. They got lint on them from where I used a paper towel with brake cleaner to clean the assembly oil off.


Just a rondom pic I decided to take. After buying the box for $4600 I decided that everything inside needed to be Snap-On as well.
Now the snap-on man owns my soul. I do have my bill down to $1800 so no biggie. After 4 years I almost got it paid off!

I forgot to take a picture of the main studs but Im not going to take it all apart just to take a pic to put it up on here lol. Trust me, anyone that can afford Pauter rods prob bought ARP mainstuds lmao

Im still waiting on my Tomei valve springs to come in. Then I can assemble the head and put it on too. Once I get the motor together
I'll puch the car from my backyard to my driveway and drop the rear subframe and front crossmember so I can begin installing my new bushings, suspension arms and coilovers. More work for another day I guess.

[s13drifter88]

Well I got some more things in today. Still waiting on my Tomei valve springs, RSR exhaust and Ksport coilovers.


Got my toe links in today.


Got my wheels in today. XXR 18x9.5"

[sjbsuperman1425]

what kind of toe links?

still looking good! those rims are wide as fuuuuuuk

[s13drifter88]

the circuit sports toe links were back ordered as hizzail so i asked enjuku if they could just send me the ISIS toe links and make the difference in next day shipping for free

[s13drifter88]

Ok so this picture is totally pointless but it's so funny to all of us here in Huntsville, AL. This is a friend of mine Wes Patterson asleep at his apartment lmao!!!



SUCK THAT THUMB BOY!!! LMAO!

[s13drifter88]

So Ive made a lot of headway yesterday. Started assembling the motor and got it timed. I think Im finally getting close to the light at the end of this tunnel.


My coilovers FINALLY came in!


Got the head on and torqued down. Local machine shop hooked me up with a big jar of Comp Cams assembly lube
so theres icing all over this cake.


Cams installed and torqued down. Tomei goodness


Black block, plain allum head and soon to be powder coated R34 GTR RB26 dark red valve covers.
Timing covers painted black also but not in this pic as they were still wet and not installed.


Motor timed, thanks Boost.


Turbo, Greddy suction kit, manifold and DIF braided oil/coolant lines installed.

[S13SilviaK]

Where'd you get that white plug at?! I'm using some crappy plug but I want to get a legit one (For the BoV Recirc on the intake). Looks like it's coming along nicely dude!

[sjbsuperman1425]

in addition to S13SilviaK's questions, what size is the recirculation bung on the intake?

[s13drifter88]

the white plug is one of those floor protector ends for chairs like what people use to keep charis from scratching hardwood floors. I wanted a black one lol. Im not sure what size it is, its just held on with a hose clamp

[s13drifter88]

Timing cover painted black

[cbh148]

hell yeah kyle! i came here to look up CA18 parts and info and i found this haha.

if anybody has any of these parts for my budget CA18 build, let me know! i have paypal!
clutch, downpipe, 3" elbow (non-divorced), intercooler and piping, main & rod bearings, BOV, oil pump.

sorry to threadjack. sweet build man.

[sjbsuperman1425]

any chance I could get you to measure it for me..? i bought a recirculation fitting for my SSQV but i think I bought the wrong size..

[s13drifter88]

I had to get another subframe since mine was broken in 2 places. Ive got my Circuit Sports suspension arms and the Stance solid subframe bushings installed now. The diameter of the recirc bung on the greddy suction kit is 1 1/8in.




Broken completely in 2 here


Stared breaking here. That explains my bad "bonk" every time I shifted lol




New subframe assembled with the arm kit and solid bushings.