I finally got a job that will pay me money instead of peanuts, so I'm going to start saving up to turbo my KA...
But before I decide that's what I'm going to do, I just want to make sure it's a good idea.
My motor's got about 120k-ish miles on it. I noticed there is an oil leak in cylinder 3 - on the top of the plug, not where it fires...I have not yet had a compression test, but I will soon. I was told the leak is probably due to a bad valve seal...
Since it's pretty damn hard to find a KA with low mileage (especially because I would rather use a 91-94 as opposed to the 95-98), would it be ok to turbo a high-mileage motor? I don't plan on boostin higher than 10psi, and I'm going to do all the necessary upgrades for a turbo (pistons, injectors, fuel management, air flow controller, etc)...should I replace the head gasket as well?
Just need some suggestions before I start to get serious...thanks!
Questions about building a KA-T...
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supra brit
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Re: (NateDogg)
Agreed. Sounds like the inner valve cover gasket (the one that keeps oil out of the plug wells). It's like a $15 part (at most) and it'll take 15 minutes to change out. May as well replace the outer gasket while you're at it. Nissan dealerships replace those gaskets anytime they remove the valve cover. Personally, I resuse them as long as they aren't damaged.NateDogg wrote:Your oil leak sounds more like a valve cover gasket.
If your engine is in good running condition, there's no reason to rebuild it. 10 psi is easily attained with the proper engine management.
I'd still do a compression test. If that's good and, as Nate said, the engine is running well, then I'd go ahead with your turbo project.
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AustinSilvia
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just a note... if you replace the inner valve cover gasket you have to replace the outer one too... the inner is like $15 and some change and the outer is $25 and some change... i just bought them a few days ago.
as above i agree that building the engine is not necessary. it's all about fuel management my friend. you can make loads of power on a non built engine or a built engine and if it detonates once it's over, regardless of if it's built or not. balancing and some machine work would be a good idea for higher boost because ka's are known for flying apart with higher boost because of their displacement and lack of balance. i have never experienced this myself but have heard it a million times over now. spend the money you would spend on building the engine on fuel management and dyno tuning with a wide band o2 sensor. there are never any garuntees that it won't fly apart no matter what you do. it's a gamble no matter what, but the good thing is that if your engine does fall apart ka's can be had for a few hundred bucks and then you're back in the game. if an sr falls apart, which is much more rare, well then good luck finding a short block sr for less than $1200-$1500 or so.
regardless of your compression i think you should do it... haha my friends del sol has bad compression, so he just turns up the boost more.... lol
i'm half kidding but as long as your compressions not terrible then you should do it. but as long as your car is running strong and you dont see indications of terrible compression chances are that it's fine.
as above i agree that building the engine is not necessary. it's all about fuel management my friend. you can make loads of power on a non built engine or a built engine and if it detonates once it's over, regardless of if it's built or not. balancing and some machine work would be a good idea for higher boost because ka's are known for flying apart with higher boost because of their displacement and lack of balance. i have never experienced this myself but have heard it a million times over now. spend the money you would spend on building the engine on fuel management and dyno tuning with a wide band o2 sensor. there are never any garuntees that it won't fly apart no matter what you do. it's a gamble no matter what, but the good thing is that if your engine does fall apart ka's can be had for a few hundred bucks and then you're back in the game. if an sr falls apart, which is much more rare, well then good luck finding a short block sr for less than $1200-$1500 or so.
regardless of your compression i think you should do it... haha my friends del sol has bad compression, so he just turns up the boost more.... lol
i'm half kidding but as long as your compressions not terrible then you should do it. but as long as your car is running strong and you dont see indications of terrible compression chances are that it's fine.
Re: (AustinSilvia)
I disagree with having to replace both. Best case scenario, you'd replace 'em both whenever you remove the valve cover. But...if one is worn and damaged and the other is fine, why replace them both? It's just a piece of rubber, nothing magical.AustinSilvia wrote:just a note... if you replace the inner valve cover gasket you have to replace the outer one too... the inner is like $15 and some change and the outer is $25 and some change... i just bought them a few days ago.
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AustinSilvia
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Re: (BadMojo)
his engine has just a few miles on it... those gaskets get very hard very easily with all the heat and everything. chances are that it hasn't been replaced before. my engine has less mileage on it, and i replaced both because they were stiff and pretty much fell apart when i took off the valve cover. obviously it is dependant on the condition of the gasket and if they were installed correctly and given the reccommended 6-8 ft-lbs, and their age and everything else, but i just wanted him to be aware that there was more than just one gasket under there and it could be very possible that both must be replaced.