New to Forum, New to KA, looking for some advice!

[JMeansS14]

Kinda long post, but if you care to read, all feedback would be put to very good use. Thanks

Alright, i bought a 1996 S14 a few months ago, and love the car. It has 240k on the odo, and the guy i bought it from claims the motor has 110k-150k. Ive been looking around trying to figure out how to make the engine sound again because it seems a lot slower than what it should be. My radiator cracked a while back and i heated the engine up, but not too bad I dont think. I replaced that and the water pump. I have a rattle in the top of the valve cover and i believe its a timing chain guide, soon to be fixed. Ive taken the car to napa to have them run for codes, the only one that came up is 34 ( knock sensor ), I have a new sensor on the way and im hoping that will help things a little bit.

Basically what im needing is any advice on how to increase the performance of this motor to its glory state, before any upgrades. I have not the knowledge or cash flow to rebuild it, and it seems solid enough as it is. I can give you guys any other info you need including pictures, if youd like to help.

Thanks, Jordan

[JMeansS14]

bump, theres gotta be a noob helper somewhere

[asoomal]

Basic tune up (cap, rotor, plugs and wires), clean intake manifold and the IACV and also add 2-3 grounds in the engine bay.

[JMeansS14]

Yeah, I've replaced distributor, spark plugs and wires, but not grounds. I'll look that up and get it done asap. Appreciate it!

[asoomal]

You replaced the whole distributor or the cap or rotor? O_O

[JMeansS14]

Cap and rotor, excuse me lol. Do you have any idea if replacing the knock sensor and O2 sensor will have any effect?

[JMeansS14]

Im going to seafoam it tomorrow, following the guide on site. never done it before, maybe something noticable will come of it.

[Metal Angel]

I can't offer any real advise... But I will offer this, even a healthy KA can feel pretty underwhelming. This is why turbo conversions and engine swaps are so popular in the s-chasis. It should feel a little faster than your average Honda, at least in the lower revs, but feeling like your KA is not making enough power is a common feeling.

[S13_RB25]

Cap and rotor, excuse me lol. Do you have any idea if replacing the knock sensor and O2 sensor will have any effect?

Yes the knock sensor, if not working properly, the PCM won't get the signal and can greatly retard the timing. Which in turn will affect your performance. The O2 will also help, since your OBDII it can run rich or way too lean if the signal isn't right from the O2 sensor!

[JMeansS14]

Thanks for the help, seafoamed today, changing valve cover gasket and fixing timing rattle tomorrow. Is there a basic routine of testing, that someone could tell me, to see if my KA is healthy or not? and maybe 4-7psi turbo ready?

[asoomal]

You could start off by doing a compression test and an engine leak down test.

[rva240]

Did you ever replace the knock sensor? I pulled that code from mine too. And what about the timing chain rattle? I've got that identical sound (only at start up though). I'm trying to get my KA pristine as well.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Knock code could be something else. Have you checked the timing at all?