SRDE swapped for SR20DET?

[mould_jesus]

i've got a '96 200SX SE-R with the 5-speed manual transmission.

recently, i threw the rod in cylinder 3 and it blew a hole in the block, caught the engine bay on fire and spilled all my oil out on the side of the interstate.

so i'm going to replace my engine. i'm thinking getting a JDM SR20DET and slapping it in there for some extra power and a better rev range. i know the DET has a different build on the bottom end, ported heads, slightly different valvetrain, etc. but is it built on the same block?

i need to know if the engine mount locations are the same and if i can run the turbo exhaust manifold down to the same place and if my transmission will bolt onto it and which way the intake manifold comes out on the DET so that i can see if i'll be able to order one and just drop it in.

i don't want to have to modify too much, so if it's gonna be some crazy *** job then i'll just get another DE to put into it.

Modified by mould_jesus at 3:29 PM 4/25/2006
Modified by mould_jesus at 5:45 PM 4/28/2006

[phuphyter]

Welcome to Nico!

Before everyone comes in and starts flaming you, try the search button and the FAQ's at the top of the forum. That should have most, if not all the answers you need.

FWD Silvia? Don't let the 240 fanboys see that

[mould_jesus]

yeah i was looking for a 240 for several months. one of my friends has 4 of them but won't sell any of them.

they're hard to find. i was going to sell my car for one because i really would rather the rear wheel drive... but then my engine exploded and so now i probably won't get much money for it.

basically, i decided to stick to it and find out if the DET swap is easy. i don't want to have to drop 5 grand on an engine swap to get it to start up and drive.

i'll check around for something about it. i did a little bit of browsing before i signed up and decided it might be easier to just sign up and ask about it.

[nametakennow]

A DET swap is incredibly easy in this car compared to swaps in other cars. The block is essentially the same, enough so that you won't need any significant re-routings.

If you're willing to swap it yourself (there's an engine swap thread somewhere around here, the process should be roughly the same), it definitely won't cost $5k. If you have a shop do it, I still don't think you'll hit the $5k mark.

[phuphyter]

I just read your sig. How did you manage to blow a fully built engine?

[mould_jesus]

using it as a daily driver for a few years and racing it frequently. if you put 100k on any engine when you're driving it the way i do, you can blow it out.

it wasn't a weak blowout either. that thing shot a piston and both halves of the rod out of the block, blew through the radiator and caught something in the engine bay on fire. i also noticed that it knocked out some of the tubes from the water pump and the fire inside there was so hot that my headers are melted a little bit.

i was very disappointed.

[mould_jesus]

by the way... just to stay on topic and all, i was planning to half do it myself and half get one of my friends to do it. i can do an engine swap. problem is that i don't have the resources to do it. so i'm going to get my friend (that guy i was talking about that has 4 240SXs) who has the equivalent of a shop at his house to do it. they've got an engine hoist and all that special stuff that i don't have.

so with both of us working on it, after i get the engine in from japan, it shouldn't take long to have it in and running. i'll make sure to take pictures for the forum when we get started.

[nametakennow]

Good stuff.

You'll be well under $5k in that case.

[mould_jesus]

yeah. my boss is good friends with a guy from san francisco who imports engines from japan. he's cuttin me a deal on the DET and the quote is around $750

so i'm expecting the total cost - engine and all parts that might be needed (i'll have to redo the intercooler tubing and possibly have an exhaust manifold fabricated for me since the engine will be mounted laterally instead of frontwards) - to come out to around $2500.

i think that's a good deal for what i'm getting out of it.

[nametakennow]

That's quite a good deal.

What's this about mounting the engine differently? Elaborate...

[mould_jesus]

front-wheel as opposed to rear-wheel drive.

in rear wheel, the engine is mounted front-to-back, to line up with the drivetrain.

in front wheel, it's mounted sideways to line up with the driveaxles (since the engine sits right on top of the front axle).

[nametakennow]

Right, I know how engines are lined up depending on drivetrain (though my brother's Audi A4 non-Quattro has it's 1.8T mounted longitudally). My concern is that it sounds like you're trying to put a RWD engine (Silvia?) into a FWD car, when you could just get a FWD SR20DET to start with and save yourself a lot of headaches. Go for a Bluebird or Avenir DET.

[mould_jesus]

ok. i wasn't aware that they put the DET into any other cars.

though it seems like an SR20DET is an SR20DET and the car itself determines whether the engine goes in easily or not.

[nametakennow]

No, there are several different SRs. Please check the SR20 FAQ at the top of the page and you'll realize how many variants there are even in the FWD world.

Do not, I repeat, do not try to put that RWD SR in your FWD car. It's a lot of hassle that you can very easily avoid, and in the end it will be much cheaper to use a FWD motor. The RWD block is very different outwardly than the FWD.

[mould_jesus]

i know there are several different SRs (SR20DE, SR20DET, highport, low port, etc...) but i was thinking an engine is an engine and as long as i got the right year and everything then it would either go in or not. i thought they built the car differently depending on what kind of engine they put in it.

guess i was wrong.

[nametakennow]

Well they have to take engine bay considerations into mind. Mounted transversely in a more cramped bay, things can't be in the exact same place as there's less room, especially around the intake and exhaust manifolds. Additionally, since the mounts are in different places, it'd be tough to use the exact same block for every engine regardless of what car it was going in.

[Bimmerboy]

My concern is that it sounds like you're trying to put a RWD engine (Silvia?) into a FWD car, when you could just get a FWD SR20DET to start with and save yourself a lot of headaches. Go for a Bluebird or Avenir DET.

+1 i was begining to wonder if anyone was gonna say this.BTW.....

http://sr20forum.com/showthread.php?t=154996

[nametakennow]

That looks delicious...

[mould_jesus]

well, to make a long story short, this idea is dead.

i went ahead and sent that bad boy to the junkyard so i could buy an S14.

now i'm working with rear wheel drive and the idea to put in a VG30.

but if it's too much money or too much hassle, i might just turbo the KA.

either way i'd love 500 whp, which i believe is pretty possible with both setups.

[NSR_s30]

......