Project Ghetto Fabolous - RB25DET into s14

[240sxed]

Well i couldn't think of any other name, so there it goes. I start off with my 1998 240sx SE which some how I luckily picked up from my cousin in near perfect condition, somehow my uncle had passed it down to her, and she had just commuted on it. I turboed it with the boost designs kit, put a lot of work into that and doing a few extra things to it. Long story short, I blew the motor so I figured I'd do something new, I sold the turbo kit and decided upon the RB.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lets start with Day 1 - Undoing the KA-TFull Engine Bay shot of KA-T

Last pic of it still running:

Pic of it in the garage with the turbo off, front bumper off, intercooler off.



I will pull the ka motor out this weekend and clean out the engine bay...thats day 3. But first Day 2

[240sxed]

Day 2 - Engine compression / Purchase / Parts

Went to venus auto purchased a series 1 front clip.



Ignitor and recirc valve, I'm guessing that this ignitor confirms its a series 1 motor.

Intake manny side

Fan Radiator etc



Coilpacks, plug cover off for compression test. (If I remember correctly 175, 160 160 175 175 160 Just about correct, I mean off maybe 5 at the most. First Cylinder had 140 first time we did compression. I held the Thottle body open ... while we cranked 5 times. The guys i think they put some oil in there after taking the spark plugs out...i hoping to lubricate?)



ECU - It says "TJ" is this the correct ECU for an R33 RB25det Series 1 ? Its a clip but ya never know, b/c he disconnected the engine harness from the engine.



Fuses / Relays - Im guessing i need those relays right next to the ecu, thats the bread and butter of the swap, besides the lower harness?



TPS, Plug cover. On the TPS unit (i think thats what it is) it has wires "going" to nowhere? is that correct or is there something to be connected to it? It was like that in one of his other motorsets. In the Series 2 i've seen 2 plugs connectd to something. So... did he possibly cut the wires from that tps or what?

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Mckinney Drive shaft

Differential Side

Transmission Side

The whole shabang

--------------------------------Mckinney motor mounts - I think im going to paint um black?







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Slave cylinder for RB25DEt, just incase you don't know what the diff is between the slave cylinders, notice th holes are on the same side, not opposite sides like the SR20, and Ka24 slave cylinder



Tranmission Mount

-----------------------------------------------Engine Id card...thingy

[Joe]

if you add oil to a low cylinder and it brings the compression up its a sign the rings are going bad.

good to see another kouki RB25, even if you went the mckinney route

[240sxed]

if you add oil to a low cylinder and it brings the compression up its a sign the rings are going bad.

good to see another kouki RB25, even if you went the mckinney route

Really, I didn't know that, they added rings to the thing before even the first compression test.

[Joe]

Really, I didn't know that, they added rings to the thing before even the first compression test.

they added oil?

im not saying the engine is bad, lubrication is a possible factor for the reason they did it because lord only knows how long the engine has sat. but everytime ive known people to add oil during a compression test is because the rings are shot. since its impossible to do a "correct" compression test on a cold engine, the oil may help a little.

[240sxed]

Yea, i figured it was just for lube, its been sitting a while, since it a 93-94, it probably finished up around 2002, and ended up here less than a year ago.

[Aznboi64]

How much did you pay for the clip at Venus?

[240sxed]

Got wholesalepricing, not sure if im suposed to disclose? (I run a parts store and home based garage). Oh well 2500

How much did you pay for the clip at Venus?

[kouki-gymkhana]

Your car is going to be the tits! Be sure to change out the water pump and timing belt on the RB before you slide it in! I like those VS-XX rims too but the offset is kind of weak

[240sxed]

Fudge, water pump and timing belt? When is it usually due for a change...at what milage?

[Ramius83]

Well considering we do not know the "true" mileage of the motor, you want to do all the hard things when it is out of the car. Also, considering how long it has sat, there is no telling how much corrosion there is inside the engine. There are a couple photos in the past I have seen on here where the old water pump was removed and the blades were corroded, pump seized, etc etc etc. And since the timing belt has to be taken off to replace the water pump, why not just replace that as well? Kill two birds with one stone ring a bell?

Doing the water pump and timing belt is basically mandatory these days. Why spend thousands of dollars to swap a motor in, and to not simply do the water pump and timing belt?

[Joe]

Well considering we do not know the "true" mileage of the motor, you want to do all the hard things when it is out of the car. Also, considering how long it has sat, there is no telling how much corrosion there is inside the engine. There are a couple photos in the past I have seen on here where the old water pump was removed and the blades were corroded, pump seized, etc etc etc. And since the timing belt has to be taken off to replace the water pump, why not just replace that as well? Kill two birds with one stone ring a bell?

Doing the water pump and timing belt is basically mandatory these days. Why spend thousands of dollars to swap a motor in, and to not simply do the water pump and timing belt?

exactally, do it right or dont do it.

[240sxed]

Ok, should i refer to the fsm for this? Anything special I need to know?

[Nameless EJ6]

The Mckinney mounts you have look like the RB26 set I once had.

Maybe it's an optical illusion.. or maybe they're similar to the RB25 kit?

Nice swap.

[kouki-gymkhana]

Ok, should i refer to the fsm for this? Anything special I need to know?

Yes, you should refer to the FSM for the proper procedures. You can find the entire FSM online though you should have it already if your doing the swap. You have to pull off the timing belt to remove the water pump anyways so you might as well change it then. I got a Power Enterprises Super Strong Timing Belt from Phase2motortrend and it's a very nice piece. A littly pricey but it was about the same as the Greddy one. I couldn't find an OEM replacement so those were my 2 options.

Keep us updated with pics as the swap progresses if you can!

EDIT: There's a guy in Sacramento selling an OEM RB timing belt for $40 shipped over in the classifieds right now. I'd jump on it!zerothread?id=117985
Modified by kouki-gymkhana at 3:41 PM 5/23/2005

[240sxed]

Damnit.... I was too late. I've orderd PE timing belt, OEM waterpump. Got my tophat intake plenum today, bought it used off some guy. The RB20/RB25 intake plenums are the same yes? Guy said it was rb25 if I remember but other things lead me to think it was a rb20 one...anyhow. I recently dismantled my KA this weekend adn I had some issues follwing the FSM for that...

I was trying to find TDC. I believe when the #1 cylinder has both camshafts facing the outside of the motor, and facing away from each other. Also, that crankshaft at the bottom is set on "0" at the bottom with that little pin thing?

I couldn't find where the cam timing marks were, I saw 2 notches, but they never really lined up, the other 2 things were 2 yellow chain links, one on the cam chain and one on the other thing.

Basically im confused how to mark the belts/chains to keep proper timing and so forth? I've seen a couple guides but im very sketchy. Im going to pull the cover off, mark , and take a picture labeling which step to do next so i dont' screw something up, would you be willing to help me out gymhkana?

[240sxed]

http://www.speeddreamz.net/mod...id=13

Day 3 of the RB Swap - Pull KA, Inspect, and...then I found out that I kinda broke one of my pistons...kinda...

[IMG]http://www.speeddreamz.net/modules/gall ... d.jpg[/IMG]

Click for more pics and info of the current stage of the project.

[kouki-gymkhana]

Damnit.... I was too late. I've orderd PE timing belt, OEM waterpump. Got my tophat intake plenum today, bought it used off some guy. The RB20/RB25 intake plenums are the same yes? Guy said it was rb25 if I remember but other things lead me to think it was a rb20 one...anyhow. I recently dismantled my KA this weekend adn I had some issues follwing the FSM for that...

I was trying to find TDC. I believe when the #1 cylinder has both camshafts facing the outside of the motor, and facing away from each other. Also, that crankshaft at the bottom is set on "0" at the bottom with that little pin thing?

I couldn't find where the cam timing marks were, I saw 2 notches, but they never really lined up, the other 2 things were 2 yellow chain links, one on the cam chain and one on the other thing.

Basically im confused how to mark the belts/chains to keep proper timing and so forth? I've seen a couple guides but im very sketchy. Im going to pull the cover off, mark , and take a picture labeling which step to do next so i dont' screw something up, would you be willing to help me out gymhkana?

My knowledge is limited to what's in the FSM. I had no problems finding the proper timing marks so take another hard look at your motor and it should make sense. I was really anal about not having the crank or cams move after i took off the belt so I actually fabricated a bracket that locked the flywheel in place on the engine stand and I GINGERLY draped the new belt over the cam gears so as not to entice them to move. I also used some white out to mark the old belt. One thing I will say, however, is that the FSM's recommendations for setting the timing belt tension are pretty poor and assume that you have a brand new tensioner to go along with the new belt. If your a dumbass like me, you don't and plan to reuse the old one. I followed the instructions and I'll find out tomorrow if it's too tight or too loose after I fire it up for the first time (just got my replacement CAS today after waiting 6 friggin' weeks!) Good luck, take your time, and be meticulous!

Also, you might want to think about replacing your T-stat as well since that series 1 motor you got there looks a little beat.

[240sxed]

Is the thermostat located in the waterneck? err..where is it located at just off hand ?

Also, if its too loose or too tight, how would you know, and how would u re-adjust with the motor in?

[kouki-gymkhana]

The thermostat is located just beneath the lower coolant elbow on the block. There should be 2-3 bolts holding on the elbow that you need to remove and the T-stat should be staring at you. You can't tell if it's bad just by looking at it so just change it out since it's cheap insurance. I went with a NISMO T-stat since I'm in S. FL and I'm using the KA radiator (with FAL fans)...Haven't overheated yet (though today is the first day I've driven the car since the swap was completed last night, hahahahaha) and I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic this morning when I was bringing it home.

If the timing belt is too tight it should make quite a bit of belt noise. I'm not sure how to tell if it's too loose aside from if it starts jumping teeth on the cam gears (Bad of course)

Trust me when I tell you that all the work you're doing to swap in that motor is SOOO WORTH IT! My car ****ing hauls *** and sounds so wicked!

[240sxed]

Yeah, that thermostat im assuming I can change later on then? Im kind of poor, i did plan on gettin the T-stat , but later on.