My RB20 Swap Has Begun: Pics from Start to Finish (no 56k)

[accel junky]

I figured I'd post pics of the swap progress so far. I plan on doing a full pictorial writeup from start to finish on swapping the RB20.

I bought the swap car this weekend on Saturday from a really nice couple in Brandon, FL. Its a non-wrecked, clean title, 2 owner 1990 5spd beauty that I picked up for $450 because the KA needed over $1000 in repairs and wasn't justifiable for repair.

On Sunday, I woke up at 9am and began removing the motor and trans. It took me till about 7:00pm to finally have it removed. But I had 3 meal breaks, a break to go borrow the hoist, and drink breaks. So subtract about 1-1.5 hours for that and this being the 2nd KA pull, and 4th motor pull for me made it quicker. NO POWER TOOLS USED, so time could be saved with those.

I finished up the day by pressure washing the engine bay, wheel wells, and complete underside of the car.

Next step for me is to acquire the RB20 motorset and prep the car for install. Prepping will include installing the walbro pump, rb20 crossmember (or mounts, havent decided), and removing the rest of the power steering lines and a/c equipment.

I will update accordingly and provide as many pics as possible of the process._________________________________________________________________

Day 1 and 2: Purchase and pickup of 240sx, Engine Removal, Cleaning-------------------------------------------------------------------

Before any removal:Airbox, Intake, Battery, Spark wires, and componets bolted to shock tower, removed:Fan shroud, radiator, removed and fuel lines disconnected (depressurize before by opening fuel cap):Mechanical fan, fan clutch, exhaust manifold, branch wiring, harness, power steering resevoir, A/C lines, throttle cable, cruise cable, brake booster hose, and rear ground removed:Chain was hooked to each mount and hooked to the host in the middle, angle is steep but it has worked this great this way, every time with a 240. Use a jack to support the transmission while the whole unit is being hoisted upwards. CAREFUL, watch to see that you are not hitting power steering lines and that wires are clear and not getting pinched off:You will have to lift the transmission up and over the front of the car while a buddy helps move the hoist back:Engine bay before cleaning:New 240 of left, old on right. The red one was my failed Rb25 project. I swapped a SR20 into it for a friend:Another pic of the old 240, quite a clean example as well:Drivetrain contents stowed away until I trash the engine, make sure to keep the wiring harness to use for extra wire and the lower transmission harness needs to be kept for the Rb20 swap:Engine bay after cleaning. I coverered the fuel lines, a/c firewall sockets, heater firewall sockers and electrical connectors with zip lock bags and duck taped closed to protect from water. I used Simple Green degreaser and let it settle for a minute before pressure washing the bay. I used a spread spray on teh pressure washer and kept a 12-24 inch distance from the paint so that I wouldnt damamge it. You can hit the crossemember and frame rails hard to get the gunk off:
Modified by accel junky at 11:40 AM 9/6/2005

[Wykid 240]

Great write-up man. Can't wait to see the RB go into the oven!

[ehacker01]

Sounds like you need to invest in some power tools. It only took me a couple of hours to pull the motor.

I've never seen a motor lifted by the mounts like that but it seems to work pretty good.

[accel junky]

Sounds like you need to invest in some power tools. It only took me a couple of hours to pull the motor.

I've never seen a motor lifted by the mounts like that but it seems to work pretty good.

I have power tools, just didn't have them at home (I don't live at my parents house any more and this was done there due to space).

I lifted it by the mounts because I was running out of time for the day and didn't feel like unbolting the mounts from the crossmember. I just unbolted the upper part of the mount from the isolater/flex part of the mount.

Works pretty good this way. How do you usually lift them?

[ehacker01]

I agree. looks like it worked pretty good. I always attatch somewhere to the head at the front and back. Less chance of the chains crunching something that way. Also if you hook up to the front & back of the head you can use a load leveler to help things out a little. That way all you have to do is unbolt the one bolt on each motor mount and the 2-4 transmission mount bolts.

Either way it works. It's a lot easier to change the motor in the 240 than some other cars I've worked on. My sami was a *****!!! Had to take off the whole front clip because the lift wouldn't go high enough (the samurai had a 10" lift and 33's). It also had a stupid intermediate shaft for the divorced transfer case that was a pain in the butt. The new transmission required a ton of tunnel modifications. etc. etc.

[sean8564]

cool glad to haev you back in the RB game why a Rb 20 and not a Rb25 agian.

[accel junky]

cool glad to haev you back in the RB game why a Rb 20 and not a Rb25 agian.

Thanks man.

I'm doing the Rb20 for cost reasons. I'm on a low budget for this swap.

[accel junky]

UPDATE:

Day 3: Picked up motor from JHOT in Augusta, brought it home, and unloaded it.--------------------------------------------------------------------------

At JHOT: Removed downpipe and auto transmission before loading into the truck.Loading motor into the truck.Strapped the motor down.Arrived at home.Unloading the motor.Rb20 dp, intercooler, to be reused.I was pissed when I discovered the turbo coolant line had been cut. Thats ok, I fixed it with some fuel line and made a little heat shield to protect the rubber portion from turbine heat.Torque converter and flex plate still attached.Removed the torque converter and flexplate. Ready for flywheel/clutch.Removed A/C and Power Steering.The lonely, motorless 240 awaiting its new heart.

[Kansei240sx]

Awesome, this is making me excited to start my RB25 project, btw... just wondering, how did you fail your RB25 project?

[yellow_jacket]

He blew the motor and then ran out of money. If you search for it, all the info is still on the boards.

[sean8564]

How much did you pick that Auto Set up for I paid 700 For my second Rb25 which was a auto setup.

[accel junky]

How much did you pick that Auto Set up for I paid 700 For my second Rb25 which was a auto setup.

$855 with GA tax. You got a smokin' deal on the rb25 auto though!

[sean8564]

yeah since the first one from Jhot was 1800 with out a warrenty and stared it and it had 2CYL. with bent valves. But the second one with GA tax it was $748.00 will you be a southern fried slide you can see it there here is the FULL story zerothread?id=119601that is still a good deal for a Rb20 they make good daily beaters

[accel junky]

southern fried slide

When/Where?

[accel junky]

Intermission: Parts Acquired-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bought my swap parts while I was back up at school. I'm going home tommorow to finish the swap.

Parts:------Nismo FPR-Walbro HP Pump-Autometer FP Gauge-RB20DET Manual Flywheel-Flywheel Resurfaced by Larry Smith Automotive Machine-Spec Stage 1 N/A 300ZX Clutch Kit-Apexi ELII Mech. Boost Gauge (PSI)-Top Hat Mounts (picking up tommorow)



I still need to get:------------------300zx fuel filter-300zx oil filter-Spark plugs-3 or 4 ft fuel lines

[fallen180sx]

sweet

[accel junky]

Day 4, 5, and 6: Motor prep, clutch install, motor install, intercooler install.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to remove the auto bushing (or pilot bushing if you have a manual Rb20 motor). The auto bushing is a beastly bastard and needs to be removed if you are swapping a manual trans onto the auto RB20 (why would anyone drive an auto RB20...).Take that you !@$!@^*& bushing!!! I cut the bushing almost all the way through and back, then used the chisel to break it apart. I managed to avoid any crankshaft scarring by doing this step carefully.Special thanks to the dremel/chisel/hammer for the auto bushing removal.N/A 300zx Oil Filter on, old is off.Be sure to remove the Rb20 temp gauge sender and replace with the 240's temp gauge sender for an accurate gauge reading.Keep the white dash plug from the 240 as it will be necessary for the wiring process. The extra KA wires will come in handy as spares for the wiring process.N/A 300zx Fuel Filter installed. Much beefier than the 240 one. You may want to go ahead and replace the fuel lines with some longer pieces since the motor has them cut and they may not reach. Easier done while the motor is out.Top Hat's RB20 Mounts. Special thanks to Mike, Tim etc... for getting these fabbed up on short notice.Removed the A/C components. Come on, this is the deep south, you've gotta have a good excuse to drive with no shirt on...Bumper was removed for a/c removal etc... Crossmember removed to get those pesky KA mount bolts off. @(*^@#)&!! ka mount bolts, you've done me wrong soo many times. Guess they didn't like cutoff wheel too much....mua hahahaha.KA mounts removed, courtesy of a cutoff wheel to the lower nut. Also, clean that biatch off while its easy to get to.Did some shopping: oil, gear oil, 14" electric fan, fuel hose, etc...Use a socket to tap the pilot bushing in. The socket should be approximately the same diameter as the bushing. I had to give my bushing a slight grind on the inside because the clutch "input shaft" tool did not go in.Flywheel installed. Please get your flywheel resurfaced if you are replacing the clutch. Its only about $25-35 at any automotive machine shop. Install flywheel bolts. The KA manual trans bolts will work fine if your Rb20 was an auto. Torque to spec. (I did 80ftlb, but that was based upon my memory and not the service manual).Use some acetone to clean off any oil that may be present on the flywheel and pressure plate surfaces.Insert alignment tool and then put the clutch disk on the alignment tool and snug against the flywheel.Install the pressure plate over the assembly using the dowel pins for alignment. Tighten the bolts to spec. (I did 35ftlbs from memory).Remove the old throwout bearing assembly from your trans (I used a KA 5spd trans, I wouldn't reccomend it for fitment purposes). Remeber the orientation of the retaining clip relative to the shift fork... or just reference this pic when if you forget.Using a screw driver and/or chisel, pry the old throwout bearing off of its mechanism. After I did a little prying I gave the bearing itself, a "love" tap with the small sledge hammer I had. Yeah, that'll do it. Try not to damage the smooth part of the mechanism that goes inside the bearing.Installt the new bearing onto the mechanism. I **gently** tightenend the bearing into the vice, then put the mechanism in from the top and tapped it into the bearing carefully. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE VICE, you don't want to damage the bearing. Make sure the bearing is oriented with the spinning side facing away from the mounting mechanism. Put some lithium grease on the inside of the mechanism when you are done.Take the assembly back to your transmission and install the TO bearing onto the input shaft and reinstall the retaining clip. Make sure to grease the pivot ball of the fork before moving on. Gently move the fork back and forth. It should move the TO bearing assembly fore and aft on the input shaft.Install trans onto the motor. If you are using a KA transmission (which I don't reccomend), you will need to drill out the top right bolt hole to be able to get a bolt in there. I managed to get all but 2 bolts to line up. YOU MUST ALSO CUT OFF THE RB20 TOP DOWEL PIN!!Remove the stock motor mount bracket and install the Top Hat mount that is the longest on the intake side. Torque to spec.Remove the stock motor mount bracket and install the Top Hat mount that is the shortest on the exhaust manifold side. Torque to spec.Install the lower Top Hat mounts onto your crossmember as shown. Contrary to the pic, I reccomend not tightening the bolts yet because you will have to do some SERIOUS jostling to get the motor mounts to go in.Motor going in at 3am. Damn it took us from 2am-7am to get that thing into the mounts. What a ridicualously tight fit.Ahh..the morning after. Feels good to have it in. Doesn't feel good to go to sleep when the sun is coming up.Install the transmission bushing and then the tophat trans mount. It actually worked good with the KA trans.Driver's side mount. Make sure the rubber isolater is not preloaded. This process is outlined in Top Hat's mount install guide.Passenger side mount.This is why you should dent the firewall before installing. This is the starter bulge in the transmission contacting the firewall. Of course this is with the KA trans, so maybe the bellhousing is slightly bigger.Oh $%!^! Shifter woes... from using the long as KA trans.Thats ok! Just cut out a notch for the shifter hole and flip the shifter in reverse and you won't contact anything while shifting. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do about a dust boot and shift boot. This is in 4th gear, and you can see there is no hitting anywhere.Thanks JHOT.... I appreciate the lack of main relays... Thats ok though, because the SR20 clip that a buddy got from Jarco had some spares...that I took.Route the harness into the interior. Don't be a dumbass like me and forget the grommet.I used a jack to hold the sidemount intercooler into place while I measured everything for cutting to install it. You may want to use a wood block so the jack doesn't damage the lower row.I cut a rectangle out with the cut off saw, but if you are clever an careful you can cut individual holes to make it look cleaner.Side mount installed. I made a bracket for the lower left hand side from cutting and bending the original sidemount brackets. The right side is supported by a few strong zipties.14" Electric Fan from Discount Auto. Rumored to work. We lined it with insulating weather stripping foam to give it a good contact to the radiator so all of those CFM's aren't blowing out the side.Fan installed using provided hardware. Not wired up yet.Intercooler piping installed and tightened up. Current status of the swap.

Next weekend I will go home to try and finish up the swap by wiring, installing driveshaft etc...

NOTE: With the KA trans the stock 5spd driveshaft is TOO long. I am in the process of ordering a shorter one-piece version from The Driveshaft Shop. Oops, there goes the cost advantage of buying the Auto RB20 motorset.
Modified by accel junky at 11:38 PM 9/7/2005

[hannibal]

Wow, you got a lot of work done over the long weekend. Keep it up!

[accel junky]

^^ Yeah, I hit about 51 hours total but probably around 5-10 of those were low in productivity.

[sean8564]

looks Good. Can't wait till you start her up

[Eikon]

Hey Accel Junky...

This is one of the best threads on NICO! Thanks for taking all the time to post photos and write ups. It is really great stuff. It should be a very valuable guide for those getting ready to do the swap. It is also cool for those of us who already have the engine installed. It's neat to see how others do things.

Keep up the good work! Maybe Kamin can make this sticky material when it is done.

I have a couple questions... Not knocking the top hat mounts, but if you are using a KA transmission that is longer than the stock RB20 transmission, wouldn't you have been better off getting a RB20 crossmember? I think my stock crossmember sits my shifter about an inch or two forward of center... You would have had a better shifter fit that way?

Second question... why didn't you go to a front mount IC right away? They aren't that expensive... As long as you were taking off the front bumper, radiator, etc... I would have done FMIC right away. Just curious.
Modified by Eikon at 5:51 PM 9/6/2005

[accel junky]

Eikon, thanks for the compliments man.

As for the crossmember, hindsight is 20/20. It would have been a better choice than the mounts but I didn't realize that at the time.

As for the FMIC, I'm on a really tight budget and this is going to be my daily for a while. Plus if I did a FMIC, I would want a new IM to clean the pipig up a bit.

[s13burger]

Awesome walkthrough with lots of nice & clear pics. Hope to hear more soon, keep up the good work.

[Shift_Tommy]

thx for all the great pics, i'll find it useful when i do my swap

[accel junky]

thx for all the great pics, i'll find it useful when i do my swap

No prob. I figured why not take pics during the progress.

[BoostFab]

great job man! very well illustrated.

[sean8564]

Any updates yet how is every thing comeing along.

[accel junky]

^^ Yep. I'm on my 3rd day of having it running. I need to find some spare time to post the remainder of the pics and writeup.

Only trouble I'm having is that I have to crank with the gas pedal mashed down for like 10seconds to get it started.

Perhaps the "cold start" wire that I have heard about, needs to be connected?

[Yellow4g63]

^^ Yep. I'm on my 3rd day of having it running. I need to find some spare time to post the remainder of the pics and writeup.

Only trouble I'm having is that I have to crank with the gas pedal mashed down for like 10seconds to get it started.

Perhaps the "cold start" wire that I have heard about, needs to be connected?

Yes sir thats the one. I had the same problem with mine when I did the swap.

[accel junky]

Yes sir thats the one. I had the same problem with mine when I did the swap.

Did that solve the problem for you? Did you just wire the orange wire from the dash plug to pin 43 (or 45 can't remember)?

Thanks!