:sad: Blown Head, while im at it what els should i do?

[StonedRhyder]

Well, I just blew me head gasket.... Im going to do it myself, and thought about putting some more money into the top end while I have it off. My question to the nico gods is while I have my head off, what would be good to upgrade? Oh I have a 1991 240sx ka24de with a cold air intake and also a 3in exhaust all the way back from the new headers. What worked for you guys? brand price range and exprience in putting them in. I was going to take it to a shop and they told me 10-12 hours......$1200 in just labor for a new head gasket. Might as well throw $1200 into the top end of the motor. What would be a good place to start? I would like to turbo it at one point so can I run a turbo cam with until I can afford to put a turbo on? Anything that might be a good ideal to replace while replacing the head that would help me out in the future for the turbo?

[Dattebayo]

Uhm, you meant to post in the 240 forum, right?

[StonedRhyder]

Uhm, you meant to post in the 240 forum, right?

my bad, right

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Moved. I would invest in ARP head studs, and send the head out to get rebuilt. You also might want to replace the timing chain and timing chain tensioners while you're at it.

[StonedRhyder]

freaky, you just and i just never mind. OKay, but cant i try to rebuild it myself with stronger parts instead of using oem parts? Any timing chain kit easier than the other? If I plan on putting a turbo on it shouldnt I throw some stronger timing chain gears? Ill go look at some of the prices of the head studs, ARP a good brand?

[motoman399]

yes arp is a good brand. i dont know what kind of tools or knowledge you have, but you might want to look into polishing the exhaust runners, piston tops, and combustion chambers. first you need to make sure your head is still flat. if it over heated then there are good chances that its not flat anymore it will take extra money to flatten it back so it can be machined. i suggest you get a manual to tell you how to do the head gasket swap. and i dont know how much power you want when you turbo but it you have the money you may want to put in forged pistons and rods. there are so many things you "can" do to prepare for a turbo. as for the timing gears and chain, just get oem nissan. there are no stronger or weaker gears. you can also look into some aftermarket timing sets (not like performance aftermarket, aftermarket as in not nissan) good luck

[StonedRhyder]

i just looked and the studs are only $100, i have basic knowledge and chiltons, me and an older guy are going to do it together. He runs a side business boring 302's, 350's, mostly trucks and bigger engines. Just thought if was was going to throw 1200 at the car for a labor i might as well throw it into the top part of the motor. sorry, still reading alot about the car itself but and suggestion on rods n postons. Would bore it out to 2.6 be to big for a turbo? Wouldnt I want to have 2.4 for more compression? ooober nooob question flame if you must.

[lrb_2000]

Don't bore over, unless your cylinder walls are messed up, maybe go .5mm over... leave the cams, they're fine. replace the valve seals and resurface the head. But a felpro head gasket, arp head studs, and main studs. That might be around $300.. get a full timing chain rebuild, oil pump rebuild kit, new main and rod bearings, intake/exhaust gaskets. Get the block decked, honed, hot tanked.. get the crank/crank pully/flywheel balanced. That's probably all around 1200.. then assemble. If you can afford it, get rods and pistons, otherwise a fresh rebuild will be plenty if you're going for a nice daily driver on pump gas under 350hp.

[kozanatos]

Don't bore over, unless your cylinder walls are messed up, maybe go .5mm over... leave the cams, they're fine. replace the valve seals and resurface the head. But a felpro head gasket, arp head studs, and main studs. That might be around $300.. get a full timing chain rebuild, oil pump rebuild kit, new main and rod bearings, intake/exhaust gaskets. Get the block decked, honed, hot tanked.. get the crank/crank pully/flywheel balanced. That's probably all around 1200.. then assemble. If you can afford it, get rods and pistons, otherwise a fresh rebuild will be plenty if you're going for a nice daily driver on pump gas under 350hp.

would be ready for a turbo when you want it to be, otherwise just a reliable car with a healthy motor!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I'm not 100% positive... but I don't think the cylinder walls in the KA are big enough to bore it out to a 2.6l... They don't make pistons for it anyway. The cylinder wall thickness is pretty damn thin.

You really shouldn't dump $1200 into the top end of the KA. If anything, do what lrb said and rebuild the whole engine, or just do the head gasket and head rebuild, and dump the rest into the turbo kit.

[CHAIVIP]

hey i would recommend having the top end taken to a machine shop so that it can be machined and flatened properly. i will bet that your cylinder head is warped and will definately need to be machined. i work at Ford dealership in service department and sent my cylinder head off to a local machine shop and it cost about 255.00 out the door to get it machined. i messed up the timeing when i pulled the front cover off the cylinder head. but thank god i did that cuz the timing chain guides were both messed up. i would make sure your timing chain guides are still good. (only cost 80-150 bucks directly from nissan. i got mine at cost for 80. and i would also go ahead and swith out the bottom end too if ya got the money, while the cylinder head is off. GL.. i just got mine running yesterday and my car is still skipping just a little. i think the timing is off by slight bit.

[StonedRhyder]

will keep looking into the guides, i wanted to throw a new timming kit, and oil pump while i was there. thanks for all the help everyone, ill take some pics while we do it. where would i be able to get the crank, crank pully, flywheel balanced? no stupid question, just stupid people i know.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

That's a tough one... MAYBE the machine shop, if they are that into it. So it sounds like you've progressed from a "top end rebuild" to basically an entire engine rebuild.

[CHAIVIP]

a local machine shop might be able to do all that work, but if not, i would recommend going to a junk yard and looking for some used parts and pulling them yourself. make sure you look at your fuel injectors. i bought my car all jacked up and when i did the rebuild the other day i noticed that one of the fuel injectors had been modified. it had tape on it to hold it in place. lol. needless to say i had to replace all 4 injectors. i paid 75.00 for each injector (4 total). i didnt need a new oil pump, but i did need new hoses and a new water pump (the water pump was stock, had 200k on it and was totally f'd up).
money i spent on top end rebuild...
1. machine head 253.00
2. head gasket set 100.00
3. fuel injectors x4 300.00
4. oil pan gasket, water pump, thermostat 75.00
5. timing chain guides 75.00
6. labor- cost of beer 30.00

total cost 4 top end rebuild 833.00

[motoman399]

Yes some machine shops will do the balance. There is only one of about 6 that will do it in my area. You should have the pressure plate, flywheel, crank, rods, pistons, and crank pulley done. It should cost from 140 to 180 for the balance.

[breadbox]

how do you balance the pressure plate? And all that for under $200?

[motoman399]

how do you balance the pressure plate? And all that for under $200?

You should call your local shop. I called mine and also one out of the area. The local said 150 (I know his son but he has never givin me a deal that I know of) and I called an out of town shop who said 180 (was a big shop in Portland or.) So I can't see it costing much more than that unless they are ripping you off.

[StonedRhyder]

i just pulled the motor, while was messing with the transmission i noticed that the oem pressure plate was really thin and my clutch has been acting up. so i have a stage 2 clutch on the way also. never really noticed hiow big the engine bay was. mmmmm if i can only find a ls1......mean machine in the mist
very dirty, going to wash it up. should i paint it?


pulled the cover offto take a look inside before the heads off