S13 Coupe Restoration

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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And today I got the black pleather worked onto the glove box. I cut things a little short on one side so it didn't tuck under the plastic tray piece and also cut the recess for the handle wrong, but luckily the handle covers most of it anyways, can still see a corner peaking through, but not half bad for a first timer I believe :)

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Also today before I got rained out I finally got a little extension piece on the air intake to push the air box further away back into its factory location and off my fan shroud. The Excessive power steering delete kit also came in today so I installed the bracket, now I just gotta find which moving box my idler pulley relocated itself to lol...

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I haven't washed the car since before we moved either so its incredibly dirty, you can see all the dirt and salt in the old intake pipe vs the new one on the end of the MAF here...

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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This bracket I have to say is terribly designed. they sent me a nut thats way too big for the tensioning bolt. its supposed to act as a lock nut because the hole for the bolt is to pass through from water pump side and screw into the bracket/spindle of the pulley. This is literally the dumbest schiesse I have ever... cuz if the head of the bolt is on the inside... when the belt pulls on it it just slides back out right? solid. so they give ya that lock nut thats too big, so I found a nut to fit it and eventually that works out, but because of this bolts design- that the oem tensioning bolt threads don't run all the way up to the head- and the sickness of the plate, even if you run the lock nut all the way tight on it theres still like a quarter inch or more of in and out play lmfao. I mean it works, because the lock nut still stops it and you can adjust it out, but it just seems like the stupidest design imo. like just put the dang nab it hole for the bolt on the other flipping side like it is OEM and then people like me don't have to spend freaking two hours looking around for nuts and bolts to rig this s***. I mean really. $140 for this crap and they don't even send you a freaking pulley with it. smh. the quality of materials and welds looks pretty ok, but design is just really annoying imo. or at least maybe note in the super over detailed instructions they sent about all this because its clear as mud. atleast its on.

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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That glove box came out nice, and yeah, I'm not sure what the heck is going on with that bracket. Why didn't you just use OEM?

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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well I wanted to just get a new pump and a high pressure line, but when I went to get one from the local part stores here... literally no one could even order one. every time we tried a vendor order it would say vendor out of stock. I tried ordering two offline only to find out they are also intergalactic back ordered. so rather than spend $200-300 on parts I saw this delete kit online for $140 and I was sold. my money gettin tight, still don't have a job and been ballin on a budget trying to get this thing to run since I left my truck back home this all I got haha. so yeah you cant use the oem bracket in any way I figured anyhow to get the pulley to sit right so I went with this. it relocates the idler pulley over where the pump usually goes. and my AC bracket I took off below that afterwords since its just added weight at this point lol. hubs and ball joints came in yesterday I might do them today or tomorrow. I think today im gonna focus on getting the headliner back in and the wiper motor and wiring so the glove box can go in. and thats pretty much the interior back together. found an amazing video on youtube where a guy goes through making his own chassis harness and he covered how to make the turn signal switches wired up so hazards and all work, thats been something I was struggling with...

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Well I've been busy. parts coming in and all so ive been getting to it. hubs are now on but waiting on the right lock nuts to show up for them

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headliner is now in

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and I installed the wiper motor and wiring harness I made for it, just got the lighting stalk harness made as well and will be integrating it tomorrow...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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That headliner looks good!

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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So I got the hazard and turn signal lights working off the oem switches and made the harness and routed those wires! Also got the glove box in after securing all the wiring up under the dash and glove box area.

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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also what's a good fix for broken tab holes on the back of the ac/radio/shifter trim piece? I bought this one off eBay and while it looks really clean theres only really one tab that still securing it tightly and one thats kinda loosely hanging on right now... sucks cuz I paid the price for a clean one but thats eBay. maybe ill make one out of wood and stain it ebony, or see about a carbon fiber one. id love to get a carbon hood and trunk lid down the road...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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Do you mean the piece that you remove that has the shifter boot on it, or the piece that it snaps into in the dash itself?

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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the piece with the boot actually on it. it has those screws on the back that hold the little metal snaps in place that clip into the dash. and well, most of the little holes themselves are broken on the back of mine so I cant even screw a new screw and metal lock tab onto it. I need some way to fix it up so it'll secure....

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Got the new rack bushings and the new ISR rack lines installed today

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Also went ahead and swapped out my s13 balljoints for s14 ones...

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which I keep hearing mixed information on that, I mic'd the s13 ball joint and compared it to the s14 Moog joint I ordered from FRSport. the s13 appeared to be 41.1mm and the s14 was 41.0mm at the base. which lines up with what ive heard about people being able to swap them. I kept reading if I ran s13 ball joints id die cuz I have s14 spindles and the taper is different between the two so. the s14 is a little longer and also fatter at the base of the taper. which lines up with everything I read online. but what was odd was everyone alone said they had to press theirs in or atleast give it a few good whacks with a hammer. well I had a rental C clap like tool to press mine out and it was stiff, BUT the s14 Moog joints I mic'd to be .1mm smaller diameter I could push in almost flush with my hand then wiggle it a little to seat it fully. it kinda worries me these weren't machined correctly or something... I posted it on a facebook group for S chassis that has over 50k members and so quickly everyone started saying mixed things. "you can use s13 ball joints in s14 spindles its fine, just not the other way around" or "no you cant the s14 ball joints are smaller" I(completely opposite every thread on this ive read both on Nico and Zilvia)| and even "you have to use S14 lower control arms man, you can only put s13 ball joints in the s14 arms not the other way around." ... so im completely lost. all my math and measurements indicate for best results use whatever ball joint for whatever spindle you are running but LCAs don't matter because ball joints are interchangeable... and then mine fit loose and they all say all that stuff... so like idk everything feels tight on these too, the measurements are so close im just gonna run these s14 joints and see if it feels right, if not I suppose ill go swap the s13 ones back in and see how that feels... but failure isn't really an option with that particular part... atleast not the catastrophic type ive heard results from the s13 ball joint snapping... but some guy claims he's ran it for years no issues... if anyone has a definitive answer, not my buddy does, or I did this, but someone who has tested both, please let me know...

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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And the Magnaflow hi flow cat came in today so I got it installed

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Also the ISR 3in blast pipes came in...

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and the car is incredibly dirty lol

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As well the new floor mats showed up. I really like these theyre nicely made and comfy

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So im now just waiting on an oil pressure gauge to show up, a fuse block so I can connect those wires up laying in the seats and floor there, correct spindle nuts, and some spacer inserts for the s14 spindles that FRS makes so you can keep the stock smaller s13 bolts and don't have to modify the shock mount. tomorrow im gonna solder the last wires on the wiper motor side, and tape wrap and loom the wires in the car that aren't loomed right now as well sort out that kinda rats nest in the corner of the bay - just clean up the wiring job and secure everything, also picked belts up today so they'll go on tomorrow. and thats really it. just playing the waiting game on these last 4 parts to show up so I can take it for a drive. still curious about the ball joint situation...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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Not sure about the ball joints... I've always just replaced the whole control arm. Seems like the right thing to do (get new bushings and ball joints all at once).

As far as that trim piece goes - just look in a junk yard or in the classifieds for part-outs.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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New video coming soon. Ive got the wiring craziness tidy up, the last part to be functional should arrive tomorrow. my oil pressure gauge was on back order apparently so im still waiting on it, for now im just gonna rent a tester and tape it to the windshield for the first drive so I can make sure my oil pressure is correct out the gate rather than risk it. if its good on the first outing then ill just run awhile without one I think mine will be in in a week or two, should be just fine. can't wait to hear what this exhaust sounds like. Tomorrow the correct spindle nuts arrive and I have the coil mount spacers to install in the spindle so the s13 bolts and all fit, then I've got a little solid bushing for the steering linkage to put on, and I just need to grab some coolant and a fuse block for the headlight and wiper controls and interior stuff- since the one I ordered is stuck in customs, and hook those wire leads I have waiting in location for it to it. Then its time for a drive! im not positive if it has new rings and a hone or not but im treating it like so because it sure seems that way when I was getting that first start up done and running test. any who, that being said for a break in drive I know vacuum is important to seat the rings well, but I also need to set timing and make sure its not going to overheat... so like is time of the essence here? like do I need to go drive it immediately to get a good break in off the bat just up the street and back while it warms up so once im back it can be right about done warming up so I can fine tune the ignition timing with the gun, or like should I let it warm up first and set the ignition timing fine tuned with the gun, making sure its up to temp and then going for a drive? or does it even really matter at all? how long and how hard would you say to drive it? ive heard do like 2-5k rpms and have as good engine braking as possible going on for good vac pressure to seat rings the best possible. only other thing is like I live kinda deep in this new apartment complex with huge speed bumps everywhere so its gonna take me a solid probably 2-4 minutes to even get out onto a Main Street, and im at the bottom of a hill more or less so theres no real downhill area for me to engine brake well, so im wanting to know what the best course of attack is really... like should I go up the hill and come back down or will going up the hill make for a bad break in because it'll have to power up the hill before we seat things which may cause excessive wear compared to a good break in? (not that I suppose it matters, were talking about fine details here but im a perfectionist). And will the time it takes for me to even get out of the neighborhood and the way ill have to be revving to make it over these speed bumps (I think theres 7 I have to go over before im out) cause any issues with the best possible break in process? I cant really avoid that one though I suppose...

And im a little nervous about the lower ball joints up front, theres so much mis information out there its ridiculous and I have no idea where to go from here but to real world test things. most forums say "YES you CAN put s14 ball joints in the s13 arms" with people chiming in saying yes they pressed them in, and other people chiming in saying no the s14 is smaller in diameter and fits loose! (like mine do). idk if others just had rust and grime in the way cuz its a tight fit- I still had to wiggle them by hand to make them seat but... by hand is not press fit!. everyone kept saying the MOOG K9820 ball joint is the one they used that fit and I double checked and thats what ive got. one person who said theirs fit loose was a part number K9449 I believe, so maybe its possible they sent me the wrong parts? idk also the forums tend to say match ur spindle to ur ball joints so the taper angles match, if you run s13 BJ in a s14 spindle the top fits tight but the s14 spindle has a wider base diameter for the taper than the s13 so it will snap the ball joint and result in massive failure. but then a bloke told me he's been running that setup for 3 years now, so idk what to believe. im worried my s13 ball joints will snap if I put them back in, and im worried my s14 ball joints currently in are going to bang about from loose fitment in the lower control arm... up and down on bumps hitting the snap ring till it ultimately fails or pops off and the entire thing goes to s*** but sounds less catastrophic and less instant than the ball stud sniping and a wheel physically coming off potentially and destroying the fender and door and god knows what... others said you have to change to s14 lower control arm but I mean hell I paid $100 for these new, then paid a guy $100 to weld the extensions and gussets on, then spent $60 on these s14 ball joints... $13 on spacers, $25 on new nuts, then I just changed those hubs back to s14 from j30 and that was like $250... plus someone chimed in and said the s14 arms will throw the alignment all to shiss. but I guess my FLCAs are extended anyhow... idk I suppose I could wrap something around the ball joints base to make it a press fit like some wire or some quick weld metal steel putty stuff, just make sure its dry first and trim it down then force it in... kinda seems a rough way to do things though and id like to replace easy in the future... hmm...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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Yeah I wouldn't f*** around with ball joints. When they go bad catastrophically, bad things happen.
Just get a whole new damn control arm with the correct ball joint for your spindle.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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well thats the thing. cant really. the s14 arms throw the suspension geometry all to wack. idk what im gonna do tbh. maybe in the mean time ill swap back over to the s13 ball joints. atleast they felt like they fit tight and one guy on FB group and a few others here and there have told me they've successfully ran the s13 ball joint with s14 spindles, you just cant do it the other way around they say. BUT again, idk the way the forum post reads if one were to fail the s14 would give me more of a heads up if its going to not work and also if it does fail it wouldn't be as bad as if the s13 failed. due to the way they fit for my setup. so idk maybe I will just leave the s14 ones in there cuz once I hit the first few speed bumps leaving the neighborhood id hear them popping and hitting their snap rings if they're too loose fitting in the lower control arms worst case snap ring comes off but things are atleast surrounded by the lower control arm hole still... the s13 feel fine but I read under stressful driving since the taper angle is greater with the s14 (s13 tapers out to 18mm base, s14 tapers out to 18.6mm base) so the s13 ball joint snaps halfway up the stud or at the base of the taper under stress...which means the wheel comes off fully or atleast flies back into the fender and door and takes all that out causing massive damage and depending on speed possibly killing me lmao so yeah Idk what to do. damned if I do, damned if I don't with the s14 spindles it seems...

also now struggling with the power steering system. since no one had the pump locally or could even order one I can only order online and tried twice and both out of stock. I have one but no idea if it works. maybe ill just put it back on.. but right now I have the excessive delete kit on with the belt anyhow. so I figured id just unbolt the lines that normally goes to the pump and put an adapter in there and hook up the hose to the reservoir so I can at least keep fluid in it till I get some income flowing again and get a new pump on there and lines and whatnot. BUT the pump line is rather large so I need some sort of crazy adapter or an adapter on my adapter. and even then im just now learning about how the rack really works and that people actually take them apart and de power them fully and fill them with grease and actually have rather good results. for now since Im in no position financially or living situation wise to do a job like that on it I just want to hook that one line up now and if it blows seals out then fine ill just fully de power it later anyways. tomorrow im gonna go to summit racing and hope they have an adapter for cheap or something I can rig up with some AN stuff or something.

I did get the rest of the wiring sorted out and my interior fuse block should be arriving tomorrow so I can get all that hooked up for headlights, brake lights, wipers, blower motor. Also wiring specialties support team emailed me back about the knock sensor not plugging up, they said it was because I bought a generic Chineese harness. SO I had to order a new pigtail from them of course. so now im really waiting on that to show up and that back ordered oil pressure gauge before I go anywhere. but the alternator and VSS wires are on the fuse plug for the sub harness I found out. my wiring help when we were trying to get it started before the trip hooked the main ALT wires up just not that charge light wire which is needed to energize the alt so it charges back. SO now that I got all that sorted out hopefully parts will arrive soon and we can get under way. I swear this car has battled me every step of the way im just ready to be done tbh lol

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Well I went ahead and did the steering column bushing replacing it with a new good 'ol made in 'murika solid aluminum "bushing".

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And my fuse block finally arrived from over seas lmao...

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The best place I could seem to find for it was pretty much right in the way of the passengers feet like everyone else does it lol I wanted to keep it looking cleaner down in the floor boards, if I were to do it over id have put all this over where the factory SMJ goes. but whatever it works and it looks just as good as the rest lol...

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Tomorrow ill hook up the main power and ground for it and the rest of the leads. some of them need to run back up under the dash through the smaller in line fuse holder there and into a terminal on the engine harness, only problem is I don't have a male terminal that fits it... and its got the alternator and VSS wires on it... eh ill figure it out. I like how its coming along tbh. But tomorrow after main power and ground the wipers and headlights should work. still need to connect the leads from the turn signal bulbs to have them work. I even have the hazard switch working :)

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Whats up! So I got the right ball joints finally!!! After talking to some people who kept saying "Moog is crap quality and that will happen with the moogs" I decided to run to the local AutoZone, for $20 a pop they had s14 ball joints in stock and they actually press fit in :dblthumb:

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So with the suspension all mechanically straightened away now I moved back onto the final wiring...

I got the fuse block sorted out in the trunk for the engine stuff, and also put a breaker in the main lines by the battery...

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And the interior fuse block I was working on...

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which I actually completed just a few moments ago!

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Turn signals and hazard working, but the headlights/running lights/ cluster backlighting isn't coming on. im too tired and its too late to try and dive into why right now. I looked and it should all be working either a dead really or bad connection off the relay wires is my current guess, its all hooked up right though I should get some inline fuses in there down the road on some of those things. also I straight up forgot to test and see if my brake lights worked or my wipers because of that but ill test them tomorrow too...

I did hook up some in line fuses in the engine bay by the wiper motor for the charging light, brake light (fluid level), and VSS

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So that's pretty much it! long as the wipers work and I can get headlights and all that junk working all I really have to do tomorrow is make a little looped hose off the ends of the power steering lines im gonna chop off so I can make a little loop and just forget about the reservoir and all that for now since I deleted the power steering pump. I want to do a manual rack conversion later but right now I just want to drive it! and I don't need those headlights or nighttime lights for day driving so tomorrow ill run out and get a little hose and chop those line ends to make the loop and then throw coolant in and go for a drive!!!!!

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Finished my wiring up this morning! Everything seems to be working! wipers work, turn signals work, hazards, work, brake lights work and DTRL or running lights for night all work!

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im about to just chop those line ends off from the rack and just take a flare tool to it and clamp a hose to them to loop them together so I don't have to go buy any special AN fittings or anything, but I will ruin the hardlines so no going back without finding new ones later or doing a little rigging haha, ill save them just in case. But yeah I was gonna take it for a drive after that but I just realized my stupid tags expired this past August, so tomorrow I gotta go get a WA tag and registration and put insurance on it and possibly get my new WA license if thats needed to get the registration and all, and someone mentioned I might possibly have to get a WA title as well? but that doesnt sound right to me but idk! so tomorrow paperwork and then whenever weather is good on a weekday when traffic is low in the early afternoon well go drive the balls off her for break in!

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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Damn! That's a s*** of wiring.
Good luck with the paperwork. I've actually found that around here, cops are pretty cool with you saying "man the thing was off the road forever and I just got it going... taking her out on a shakedown run" or something. If they see all that wiring, they should believe you. But yeah, get it legal ASAP.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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yeah my old roommate was telling me theres some law here in WA about that? that you can actually legally go take a shakedown drive on rebuilt "race cars" but you're limited to 30 miles. course sometimes he gets a little mixed up on details so im not positive ill have to look into that! Either way tomorrow the oil pressure gauge shows up and my subconscious keeps going "dude just wait till the oil gauge gets in so you don't blow it up over something silly like that." so kinda glad the tags stopped me. hopefully tomorrow when the DMV is open I can go get all my paperwork done, come home to an oil gauge to install, and then depending on weather and light ill either take it for the break in tomorrow or Tuesday if weather allows, lots of rain this week unfortunately. Yesterday I got all the lighting sorted out lmao I had the turn signal indicators on the cluster backwards and tried to correct it in the dark and messed it all up, took me all yesterday to correct lmao. but its all right now! im installing the fan switch today, and thats everything but a blower switch and radio! im so so freaking happy to be down with all the wiring! But learning as much as I did along the way I really have a hankering to want to go back and do it all a little better eventually. like the way I ran my loomed harnesses and all im actually really happy with except that little rats nest looking pile by my wiper motor. its all correct, its just all bunched together bc of all the fuse box and battery relocation situation and trying to keep the bay looking pretty clean. but id love to find a better spot for that fuse panel than where everyone (including me) puts it by the passengers feet, just if my wife throws her purse down there and one of those metal tabs that hangs off the zippers lays across a few terminals on my distribution block then everything would get fried. works better for track cars lmao. I kept all HVAC so no room up there to hide it. I shouldve put it where the SMJ originally goes and that would've looked a lot cleaner, but also would be closer to weather elements risk so give and take. hell for now it all works I just need to take some tape and loom and get it all looking a little cleaner! ive found the wiring to be funny when I post with questions about it on FB groups people seem to assume its all janky and messed up and im like nah its all hardwired lmao no body harness or half of them are like OMG thats crazy great job lol especially the wiring pages. I cant tell you HOW many people over the years have told me "that 240 will never run" or "you're never gonna be able to wire it up to the factory switches man, not without the body harness youre screwed." well piss on all y'all, she runs great, all the OEM switches work on all OEM functions just about (minus a few wiper settings and the pop up headlights bc I haven't hooked the timing module up), but I couldn't be more excited!

As well yesterday I got the cigarette port working so I can charge my phone while I work now lmao. and I got the dash headlight indication bulb working for when the headlights are on as well. Brake lights now working, all running lights, turn signals, wipers, and hazard button even works appropriately like factory. have yet to take a break in drive so im not sure if my speedometer actually works or not. it'll be interesting to see if it reads double when it does work. im not sure how the SR sensor will read to it, but im thinking correctly, we shall see lol

The plan is to start it up and immediately hold it about 2k RPMs for around 20 min, till it comes up to temp while im putting coolant in it, set the timing once it gets warm, then shut it down, let it get bare bones cold again. Drain oil, cut filter open and inspect for large metal pieces. Start it back up and let it get warm holding idle high still and then go for a drive, never letting it idle, always keeping the RPMs moving through the range up and down. I won't redline it im not that type and this isn't a loose built race engine but I am going to hammer on it on the break in run, powering through the gear, but not exceeding 4k RPMs, then letting it rev down with as best engine breaking as possible, then after the first 2 hours or 250 miles of driving im going to change the oil again. Then basically go out and keep doing the same thing but I believe I aught to be able to let it idle now? not going to risk it probably though, and then when I hit 500 miles ill call that a pretty good break in and change the oil a final time before returning to regular oil changes at 3k miles. eh 500 mile break in likely depending on how it feels, may keep it up till 800 miles or 1k miles not sure yet. as well of course I seem to get a different answer no matter who I ask on break in. "Baby it!" "no break in break in" "beat the living tar out of it" these are what I kept hearing. after looking into it I found a guy who built two engines fresh and beat one in and followed the more gentle factory recommended procedure on the other, first taking the engines to be spec'd at a machinist, then after breaking them in checked the compression and leak down and all those figures, took it back to machinist, did full engine break down and re measured it all and turns out even all but one non factor measurement was really any different to the .001th of a degree. So does it make a difference? a little bit. it always depends on application. mine just has new rods and bearings and im thinking rings since there wasn't any cross hatching on the cylinder walls and the rings stuck from sitting just like a year... yeah. so I don't have to worry with any cam break in or anything but I definitely don't want to seize a wrist pin or spin a bearing or anything so were gonna take it slow--ish and try to do this break in correctly and carefully. any tips for break in lmk!

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Well today was a complete bust. I woke up all excited my oil pressure gauge was going to arrive today, and it did,

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BUT after an hour of trying to get the new sensor they sent to catch even a single damn thread by hand I started getting very frustrated. measured the thread pitches and they were the same. held them end to end and diameter looked the same so I was cursing the sky wondering why on earth this bastard wouldn't go in the damn hole. TURNS OUT the very very first thread on the sensor was messed up from the factory :wtf2: my freaking luck with parts lately from enjuku has been terrible... cant really tell with this potato camera but here she is:

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I ended up msging the people I bought it from who are literally no help, so decided to say screw it and ran to the local AutoZone to get an adapter (so I can cross thread it instead of my oil filter adapter on the block). Well AZ didn't have it so I ran to mclendons hardware store. They were able to Hook me up with some 1/8 fittings that for some reason the stupid sensor actually threaded in just fine even with the bum thread up top. and this way it'll keep the sensor off the block, my old roommate was saying he had that issue on his SRT4 before- false high pressure readings from block vibration or something due to the flat design of the sensor where it mates to the filter adapter piece.

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Threw some teflon tape on it and installed it. seems to fit good now. will be curious to see if it leaks any oil... also today unexpectedly the correct knock sensor harness arrived. the Chinese junk made one I bought doesnt even plug in so glad to finally have that. I was so excited thinking I was gonna take 15 min and get that oil pressure gauge hooked up, 10 min to do the knock sensor harness and id be on the road for a test drive, but nope 15 min job turned into a 5 hour run around town job. I got back and got the old knock sensor off and put the new harness on it and it started raining like crazy and now its getting dark so im just hosed on a test drive today. really bummed out. been quite a while since ive had such an ordeal with parts on the car, well besides the ball joints... I just wanna drive the freaking thing man. I still have some firewall holes too that I need to figure out how to plug up... like where the AC lines come out of the firewall, thats where I ran all my wiring harnesses is through those holes, so like air and rain would be able to enter the cabin there and im not sure of any way to plug these holes up other than perhaps some calking, but A that won't look too good and B if I ever had to redo some wiring id also have to end up recalking it to re seal it so Idk what I aught to do there tbh

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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FULL VIDEO



as usual I've been busy. got the idler pulley fixed up cuz it was binding from the oem dust cover plate, the gauge is all installed now and working! its been non stop raining for like a week so as soon a I get a sunny day we can fire it up change some oil and go drive!

Blaqkfox
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Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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So we fired it up the second time, first real time to try and let it achieve operating temp. but quickly I learned my water pump pulley was loose and so it all went to s***. I tried to just let it ride it out since the pump was still spinning and its the first real break in start up attempt, but the NX cluster was showing the temp climbing rather than stabilizing. it stabilized for only a moment with the temp halfway (at operating temp). I also found a small coolant leak coming from the thermostat housing gasket area



So ive since got the pulley back on the pump and the pump felt smooth still so I think its internally ok. I also cleaned up the thermostat housing and put a new gasket on it. Boiled the thermostat and it opened up just fine. As well there was coolant in the block when I took it apart so I know coolant is getting circulated into the block at least. My engine mounts dropped my engine a little bit so my heater hoses no longer fit, I took the SR crossover pipe I had and put two 90 degree hoses on it to make it work but its a tad too long of a pipe and so one looks halfway kinked, that might be the only thing left to fix if it proves an issue today. Im not sure if my NX is even reading right on the temp tbh. at the parts store the s13 and the NX had the same part number for the coolant temp sensor but the forums say you need the NX so thats a bit confusing. ive got a radar temp gun so im going to utilize that to effective know what temp my engines at and see if the NX is accurate today. Might have just been that first attempt to get coolant circulating and all... I mean thermo wouldn't open till its warm and there's no coolant in anything so it probably just took too long to get things circulating to cool it off. probably wouldve helped if I had turned the fans on as well LOL. So yeah were about to go give her another go right now! updates soon.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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VERY BAD NEWS

SO I THREW A ROD TODAY. :wtf2:

we started it back up after I fixed the pulley situation with the water pump. everything seemed fine. took awhile to get coolant in it but all seemed well. I was having trouble doing it alone so I had a friend come help. once we got coolant in it my NX gauge climbed slowly into the HOT till it was all the way HOT. at first I thought it was just the lack of coolant and amount of air in the system but it stayed that way. I had a temp radar gun thing to measure the block temp at the freeze plugs and all around since the gauge cluster was unreliable. read around 190 at the freeze plugs and held steady, about 350 or so on the headers. we let it sit there and idle like 20 or 30 min. and about halfway through we went to set the final ignition timing with the gun. my stupid aftermarket crank pulley doesnt have TDC markings of any kind so I made my own. aint my first rodeo to find TDC real quick. So we set the timing roughly in place but it just didn't sound quite right when I revved it up to around 2K (which we've been doing for a long time for this "break in" before letting it idle for 30 min) and we heard like a slight knocking noise. to be honest at first I thought it was a bad lifter but it was almost more of a pinging. so we double checked and played with the timing ever so slightly off our TDC listening if it got better or worse and it didn't seem to change very much but we found the most quiet position and set things there. Well it was time to go for a drive and see how she does. everything seemed fine at first. oil pressure reading like 65 at idle when cold and came down to like 24ish on idle when warm. had my fans going the whole time it warmed up and on the drive to be extra safe as well. well my speedo read double and every time I clicked it to MPH it goes back to Kilometers lol but I would notice once I hit about a realistic 55mph (like 110 by my double speedo lol) I would get what felt like a massive fuel cut. just flat on its face like that old Audi I had! obviously for different reasons though. Well everything felt fine getting up to that 55mph mark, like I could mash the accelerator and get great pick up, it felt like it was speed related, almost like a governor kicking it ya know? so im like well is it something to do with that double rate speedometer reading??? maybe it is a govoner in the ECU or something??? so we just kept driving and I kept it at like 50 cuz all seemed well. I pulled over twice to check things, it smelled like burning from the tail pipe, like running too lean almost. but under the hood everything seemed fine once again, so we kept on going up the road about 20 or 30 minute drive to my friends house. by time we got there it was very clearly a rod knock going on on either cylinder 2 or 3. it wasn't too loud or seemed too bad, almost what most any old car starting to knock would sound like. so I attempted to drive it back. I noticed my oil pressure dropping and when I came to a stop my oil pressure now read about 5-7psi. not good booboo. and on full acceleration on the interstate I was seeing oil pressure about 36 and then watched it bounce around and slowly drop down to 22 as the rod knock got louder and louder. until about 5 minutes into our drive back home it finally blew. and thats that. I only looked really quick but the pan clearly is off on one side atleast. looks like the block cracked horizontally along the line where the oil pan bolts, but like the block itself is in half at that location, not just like the oil pan came off. it really really really sucks. its been all my time and money for the past 4 years for this... im heartbroken honestly. im not sure what im going to do but likely try to source a known good used KA dual cam block and head to just swap my stuff over and hopefully that'll be all I have to do. I really just want to put all this behind me...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
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That's rough man. I feel you. I've been in similar situations.
Best to get right back on the horse and see if you can figure out what the heck happened.
Probably would have been good to pull your plugs when you thought it might have been getting hot and/or lean, and looked at them to see if your suspicions were correct, but that's moot now.

Only thing I can really think of was if you DID get too hot and then boiled the oil or something, which then caused the rod to throw.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Mon Apr 15, 2019 11:56 am
That's rough man. I feel you. I've been in similar situations.
Best to get right back on the horse and see if you can figure out what the heck happened.
Probably would have been good to pull your plugs when you thought it might have been getting hot and/or lean, and looked at them to see if your suspicions were correct, but that's moot now.

Only thing I can really think of was if you DID get too hot and then boiled the oil or something, which then caused the rod to throw.
not gonna lie its just been replaying over and over again in my head. the NX cluster was reading but it kept climbing always pegging out HOT and I had a thermo gun with me and while we let it idle those 20 min I kept checking it every minute or two at the freeze plugs and it was holding constant at 185/190 F. perfect operating temp. once we got on the interstate and I felt that fuel cut feel at 60mph and pulled off I realized I left the heat gun laying on the sidewalk back at the apartment so like I know sitting idling its temp was fine with the fans running, but under load I had no idea how hot things were getting. but ive overheated many engines in my life and nothing under the bay ever smelled hot at all. thats why I kept going. of course who knows. it all happened so fast. but before we even put the engine under load as we set final timing we could hear the knock so it was there from the start, before any overheating or anything could have happened so I don't think it was the initial cause of the knock but for sure wouldn't have helped anything. I have noticed in the oil that dripped out last night it does have a strong coolant mix to it. course I suppose that could have happened after the fact.... oil pressure was great on start up but slight knock we could nearly hear, as it got louder oil pressure dropped, as that happened things got hot, probably blew the HG on its way out. odd though never seen a block crack along the bottom of the pan like mine did.

At any rate theres only 4 KA engines for sale around me. two that are turbo and asking 1500-2500 for those which is too much for my blood. theres a beat to hell looking one sitting on a tire in someones garage for $400 and theres an s14 that has like 80K original miles and he's about to pull it for a swap or something so ive been trying really hard to get that engine but homie wants to sell it all together for $600 and I just want the block and head really. ive been haggling. even worked my way all the way to $500 plus whatever parts I have that he would want- the HUD, the SR bell housing, the KA patch harness, a new oil pressure sensor ect. - but he isn't having it for some reason and told me he's gonna wait and see what he gets offered as theres alot of people after this one obviously.

On top of all that even if he said yes, id have to rent a truck as I left my F150 back in TN with my dad. and my engine hoist and stand as well. So I literally don't have any of the big equipment I need to do the job, and I don't have a garage so Idk where the heck id even put the engine. trying to literally talk the wife into letting me use house money to buy it and an engine stand again, clean it up, and let it sit in the living room till I can find a friend with a garage or rent a storage unit, and a friend with a hoist atleast, and then bang it out over a weekend.

It just really sucks. I just want it to be over. its not even exciting its just a KA lol

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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my other thought was maybe my pump wasn't getting the correct voltage with all my wiring going on. so maybe it didn't pump at a fast enough rate and I just ran lean? it smelled lean (hot) out the tail pipe is the only reason ive been dismissing the idea that my injector was washing the cylinder...


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