TheBigS_42's SR20DET Swap.

[nismonieves]

hey man how long did ur swap take???

[TheBigS_42]

Well its still underway so I can't exactly answer that but I started at the end of this June. This is my first engine swap and the most intensive work I've ever done on a car so it is taking me longer than it would many people here, however I'm going in with an open mind and a lot of ambition to get me through. Right now I am ground to a halt waiting for some delayed parts to get here but once they arrive I hope to have it done in the next few weeks. Like anything though, I'm bound to run into more snags here and there. If you flip through the thread youll see some of the ones I've got caught up on so far.

[Neil]

It's definitely not uncommon for it to take a month or longer. That's a very natural pace as you figure things out and take your time, especially if you don't have the cash up front to get all the parts you need in advance.

If you have help and experience and all the parts you could possibly need, you can get it done in a weekend pretty easily. Or maybe even one really long day if you have the mindset and/or access to some quality amphetamines.

S_42, have you considered replacing the main and rod bearings? Depending on how much time you've got you might want to change them out since it's easy to do while you've got the motor on the stand. My blacktop supposedly had 45,000 miles and it developed rod knock after 9 months or so- actual mileage is probably closer to 145,000.

[TheBigS_42]

I hadn't considered replacing the bearings as of now. Time is a bit of an issue for me as I am still a university student living at home and school is getting going this week so my time to work on it will be little to none when things get busy. Also my parents would like their garage back here before the snow comes . Which also brings me to another point. I wont be driving the car in the winter, so if all goes south and it turns out I do need to replace them, Ill just pull the motor next spring again and go at it then.

As of now, if I can get it in the car and get it to fire up, that would be more than I first expected when I went at this. My knowledge of all of this stuff has gone from pretty much nothing to increasing humongous amounts, bearing in mind I still have a ways to go :P.

[nismonieves]

ya man thats what i been hearing and my sr comes in hopefully on monday and ima be doin the swap at my highschool so i have unlimited amount of tools but i only get 2 hours a day to work on it so my instutor told me it should take me bout a month but as soon as i get it ima replace the main barings and then i also have to custom make tubing for the turbo so hopefully mine will be done by the middle of october

[TheBigS_42]

Nice. Keep me posted if you have a thread going or something showing the progress. Always great to see what other people are up to, I know thats how I learn a lot about what I am doing.

[emmanueltan80]

thats the cap for your power steering fluid bottle

i'll take a picture of mine and post it up

[Neil]

^^ i knew it!

I've never heard of any S chassis getting a power steering fluid level metering cap.. that's kind of cool i guess

[nismonieves]

ya man once i get the project started ill definelty keep everyone posted and the oics will be up soon too and i think ima do what u did and paint my inside black while my motor is out haha

[emmanueltan80]

not sure about US delivered s13s but JDM s13s have power steering

anyhow pics as promised







BTW Gday from Australia! Good luck with the project TheBigS_42 .looks like its comin along really well

[TheBigS_42]

Hey, thanks for the pictures! Neat to see what that plug actually does. Unfortunately I dont think I have the bottom half with the dipstick on it, unless it comes out of the KA one, that is if there even is one? So Im assuming Ill have to do without it in my case.

In other news, the Megan Drift spec catback, downpipe and test pipe came in yesterday. Turbo elbow and filter kit should be in tomorrow or monday. Pictures to follow.

[Neil]

Weird.. Looks like it could be a temperature sender instead of a level indicator like I originally thought..

OP, if you don't have that dipstick attached to your cap, then there's no point in using it and worrying about hooking it up. If it were me I would cut off that bit of the harness, make sure the wires don't touch anything or each other, and just forget about it.
Modified by Neil at 6:02 PM 9/12/2008

[TheBigS_42]

Put the new front main seal in just now, installed it just a hair below flush with front metal edge. (Correct me if that is wrong) I was going to put the crank pulley back on then I realized that I used my impact wrench to get the bolt off and that getting it back on will not be so easy. I assume 250ft lbs that the impact has is too much seeing as the FSM says 105-112? How can I hold the pulley in place then?

Thanks

[Neil]

either wait until the motor is in the car and you can work against the e-brake, or get it to the point where you can rest the motor on the ground and wedge a giant screwdriver between the studs on the flywheel and the floor and have someone else hold the motor while you torque. edit: lulz, actually probably the safer way to do the same thing is to get one of these tools which essentially gives you (or someone else) a handle to hold the flywheel stationary with. Gonna need it or something like it for reinstalling the flywheel too.

and yeah my rule of thumb is most impact guns are for removal only.. some you can use for installing wheel lug nuts but for most anything that's torque sensitive, never use the impact gun. A+ for stopping and thinking about it before doing it.

[TheBigS_42]

Thanks! Crises averted

Ill try to get around to posting some pics one of these days.

[positron1]

If your engine is still on the stand then you can loop a chain around the rear of the crank and thread two flywheel bolts in like I did and tighten it that way.

[TheBigS_42]

So I finished on the front side of the motor and moved on to installing the new greddy turbo elbow. I got it all on although I have a few questions about the studs. Everything lined up right but It didnt seem like the studs were long enough. As the instructions were in Japanese I couldnt really refer to them. But i assume the included lock washers were intended to go on the outside under the nut but there wasnt enough room to even get the nut started then. I inserted the 3 studs with the short side into the turbo and the long side into the elbow. I didnt use the lock washers and instead put some locktite on the nuts. It looks and feels as though it will hold just want to make sure. I dont think I got the wrong part since Im pretty sure the greddy elbow fits all SR engines. The side of the box says S14 outlet. Anyways refer to the pictures below to see what I mean and let me know if you guys think it should hold:

Front of engine

Elbow attached, you can see how short the studs are, although they are about 3/4 deep with thread and the nuts tightened securely.

[TheBigS_42]

EDIT: Solved my own other problem, so bump for input on above. It does look secure, just want to make sure though.
Modified by TheBigS_42 at 11:57 AM 9/17/2008

[Neil]

I have the same dump. From an engineering standpoint the included studs are a joke, they are way too short. You're supposed to be able to bottom out a stud into whatever you're threading it into and then have the nut be able to thread on completely with at least a couple threads to spare. You can't get more than a few threads of grip out of the included studs on either end no matter what you do, and that's not including the use of lock washers, which are necessary IMO for the kinds of heat expansion that this area sees.

Instead of those studs, I used some new grade 10 bolts where I could, and kept the old studs on the underside. That allowed the use of lock washers.

If I ever have a reason to remove my dump pipe again I'm going to hate it... I really don't like how sharp an angle the piping itself is at / how close it is to the flange at the bottom making it impossible to get at with the motor in the car. it's more retarded in design than it is beneficial for performance. Plus I had to saw off the protruding divider plate, since my 2871 has one built into the turbine housing.

On a side note about GReddy products- If you bought their downpipe, it's probably the ****tiest thing they make, and I'd definitely recommend returning it or selling it or something before using it. It fits properly but it's thin wall mild steel tubing, and like cheap headers for a V8 it actually radiates the sound of the exhaust pulses and makes it sound like you've got an exhaust leak. Plus for the price they sell it for it's not even stainless. I bought a Blitz downpipe to replace my Greddy and it's awesome now that I don't hear that ****ty/embarrasing sound reflecting off of everything I drive by.
Modified by Neil at 12:37 AM 9/22/2008

[TheBigS_42]

Thanks, I may consider putting some longer studs or bolts on it, although its holding pretty well, just depends if I feel like I really want to mess with another part again. Unfortunately I snapped a bolt off in the flywheel the other day which Im getting drilled out today. Nothing is ever as easy as it looks :P.

On a side note, my downpipe and catback, and what not is Megan racing, actually my turbo elbow was supposed to be too, however the shop in town somehow ordered a greddy one and I really didnt want to wait for them to return it and swap it so I went with it.

[supreamS14]

Was the flywheel bolt a used bolt? Or was it over torqued? I broke 2 bolts, both were not even torqued to 80ft. lbs. ... then SNAP!!! 1 was new 1 was used.

[Neil]

it may feel like it's holding well now, but it's not running up to 800°+ at the moment. As everything expands from the heat, the nuts may break their torque and vibration can make them back off of their studs which will create an exhaust leak. That's actually the reason why the T2 flange has those shims with the lock tabs on them. With the tabs bent down they hug the side of the nuts to keep them from rotating off. I would be especially concerned about that if the hardware isn't even gripping by more than a few threads.

For all intents and purposes, you need to do something about that hardware before the car is put on the road.

[TheBigS_42]

Alright, here comes a long overdue update. I've been without a camera for a while so unfortunately I didn't catch photos of a lot of things but I'll post what I have. Also as with many things this update comes with good progress, good news and of course some bad news, (and with that a cry for help )

So since I last posted I redid as much hardware as I could on the turbo elbow to make sure it would hold properly. Got my flywheel redone and installed the clutch kit and bearings and all those goodies. Attached the transmission and skipping various other things...dropped the engine in the car with a few hours of struggling and cursing trying to get it to line up on the mounts. Hooked up a few pipes and other things as well.

Pictures of that before I continue:

Engine in with intercooler pipes mocked up.

Top view

Left top

Top view of intercooler to show my make shift mounting method. (As much as I've liked the kit so far the brackets included were pretty confusing/useless so I used two of them and used some strong steel ribbon for the top. The intercooler may have to be lowered before im done however as I dont think the top of my hotpipe and cold pipe are going to clear the hood.

Right side

Parts that were waiting to go in still

---------------

That was where I sat for a while until the next weekend I had a chance to hang the exhaust:

Megan Drift spec muffler, even though they sent me the wrong kit Im overall pretty please with this one. Install was pretty straight forward.

Underside view

With better lighting

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That brings us to this past week where I finished the intercooler piping install, spliced my b.o.v. piece into the cold pipe (big P.I.T.A. still needs some tweaking/cutting but it fits), ran the wires and little odds and ends:

Under the right fender area. Going to need to do a bit of work down here to get everything sitting right.

Relatively Finished

BOV spliced in. Recirc hose is a random radiator hose from NAPA which happened to fit.

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This leads me to when we finished it all up this weekend and turned the key. Long story short, the good news is first try it cranked with the CAS off to get the oil moving. Hooked it back up and within 10 seconds she started. Engine sounded great.... turbo I believe did not. It was hard to tell if the shot bearing sort of sound was coming from the turbo or the PS pump but judging by the smoke coming from under the manifold Im going to guess it was the turbo. Also leading to that suspicion was the fact that after we turned it off was when i saw the oil leaking out of my hot pipe.... later followed by pouring out half a cup out by the intercooler.

Pictures:

Bottom hot pipe

Hot side of intercooler.

Exit of turbo

-----

So this is where my cry for help comes. Other than the turbo mess everything seemed to work flawlessly which kind of surprised me this being my first swap. I was thinking the seal must be blown, but if that smoke and grinding sound is the turbo im guessing its more than that? Luckily the oil didnt make it through the intercooler as the cold side was clean still. Also I had a vacuum signal running to the wastegate actuator when running and while reving did not see the arm move so I assume the turbo is barely spinning or making boost? Open to input for what I should do next.

Thanks!

[Jah1mon]

Sounds like the turbo blew.

Was there any shaft play in the turbo prior to you kicking it over?

I also would have suggested new turbo feed and drain lines as part of your maintenance prior to kicking it over. You would also have to check, when priming the engine, that oil is meeting the turbo through the feed line.

Your best bet is either pick up a used turbo, or rebuild the current one depending on its condition.

[TheBigS_42]

Sounds like the turbo blew.

Was there any shaft play in the turbo prior to you kicking it over?

I also would have suggested new turbo feed and drain lines as part of your maintenance prior to kicking it over. You would also have to check, when priming the engine, that oil is meeting the turbo through the feed line.

Your best bet is either pick up a used turbo, or rebuild the current one depending on its condition.

I checked and did not notice any shaft play when I had the engine out of the car.

So is my best bet to take the manifold and turbo off and start looking for a new turbo? Im back at school and at this point the most cost efficient option would probably be the best, probably another used t25 if I can find one.

[TheBigS_42]

How do I know if the turbo is beyond repair, ie getting it rebuilt or is there such a thing. Im trying to find the most economical option here since time and money are at a bit of a premium. I think I might briefly start the engine again before I pull the turbo with the PS belt off to see if the noise is the bearings in the pump or if it is the turbo.

Any thoughts?

[supreamS14]

You could get a rebuild kit. I think diesel shops can balance the shaft. You could have them look at it. Just make sure the wheels and fins are straight and haven't contacted the housings. If you can't afford to get a new turbo, than you might as well rebuild the one you have.

[TheBigS_42]

So it turns out that there isn't anywhere in the province I live in that is willing to rebuild the turbo. I made a pile of phone calls and hit dead ends. A few places told me to call diesel shops which I did but they said they only deal with larger turbos.

So instead I think I may just start the hunt for a reasonably priced used T25 that doesn't have any leaks. I'll either keep the old one around incase I find somewhere that wants to rebuild it one day or sell it if someone else wants to.

In other news I got the intercooler off the car and it is sitting sideways to get any oil out of it . Got the hood on and to my surprise my blow off valve contraption spliced into the cold pipe actually fits with the hood closed, although I think its touching so it may still get some tweaking. And its a good thing I took the intercooler off because i tried to fit the frame bumper over it and it would not go in far enough to reach the holes since the core is rather thick so it will have to be put in a lower position in farther anyways. Also ran the harness through the car properly and cleaned up a few wires in the engine bay.

So for now I think I will put up a WTB in the classifieds and see if anyone has a working T25 kicking around. Anyone else have any suggestions where to look?

[david200095367]

very nice build love the writeups. i dont know if you mentioned this but where did you get the motor from?

[TheBigS_42]

very nice build love the writeups. i dont know if you mentioned this but where did you get the motor from?

Thanks! I got the motor from a company in Montreal Quebec called JDM racing motors. They were really helpful in making sure everything was as described. They don't seem to check for incoming emails though, but they did send me pictures of my engine and of its compression test the day I talked to them. Shipping across the country was also very reasonable as I had it delivered to my door too.