timing chain replacement and exhaust question.

[danzan240]

hello. i have a 1989 240sx with i believe the original ka24e. it has about 170k miles. im replacing the timing chain pretty soon and i was wondering if there was anything else i should replace? it has that "bb's in a tin can sound". i remember reading that the ka's had timing chain problems just cant remember exactly what it was. also i put an exhaust on my car it has a 2 and 1/2 inch pipe. did i lose some back pressure doing this? i have a k&n air intake, the exhaust, a 4-2-1 header. should i got back down to a 2in? any help is greatly appreciated. yall probably dont know me. i believe this is my first post on here but usually my first source of info for my 240. thanks

[drift_bucket]

right now i have a ka24e and i am running 3 inch straight pipe and i did loose back pressure but no 2.5 is perfect.

[danzan240]

thanks for the reply. thought my post had died lol. so 2.5 is cool? alright guess i wont be changing that. im movin to cali from tx so im trying to get some things fixed and settled before the long 20hr drive. thanks again for the post. ill be starting on my chain today. also gonna toss a z32 fuel filter in it. wish me luck.

[Vegascorbin]

If you want to be on top of things I would replace the oil pump and the water pump as you have both out allready. When you get done with the chain you should change the oil if you did not drop the pan.

Other than that just a good general tune-up should set you up ok for your trip.

[drift_bucket]

yah 2.5 is perfect and if your going on a long trip you dont want to listen to a loud exhaust the hole way.. it gets annoying on the freeway.. yeah i got a bigger fuel filter than the z32 i just went to autozone and looked for a big fuel filter. lol i was just going to do a head gasket and timing chain kit but now im taking out eh istons because i found the driver side timing chain guide sitting at the bottom of the oil pan.. ;( so im just going to spend the extra 75 bux on de pistons. with rings higher compression and another 40 for rod bearings. then yur rebuilt. not much more work. just if you want to spend the time and get into yur motor. and a good port and polish can never hurt. its cheap if you do it your self just you have to have a lot of patients

[danzan240]

is the oil pump fairly easy to replace? i just spend 200 bucks on parts. i had to replace some lines, got a new water pump, new thermostat, z32 fuel filter, timing chain and timing chain kit. and im broke till next paycheck. and i love the sound of my car. sometimes i drive down the freeway aimlessly at wot with the stereo off just to hear the roar of my exhaust. its relaxing imo, its what i do when i need to do some thinking :P. also replaced fuel injector gaskets.

[babababutler]

what exaust do you have

[drift_bucket]

yeah the oil pump is very easy to replace. there is a little bolt that is hard to see make sure you find all the bolt before trying to take it out.. it isnt hard to come out so if it dont want to come out then there is probably another bolt in there. and yah i had subs and and bad *** system in my car before i gutted it and it was off most the time just so i could here my car. i love it. just like my favorite bumper sticker ( loud pipes save lives ) lol its true i dont think i have used my horn once since i got 3" the hardest thing about doing the timing chain is the oil pan. you have to struggle and get all the bolts off and then take off the front sway bar and jack up the motor. becuase your going to have to replace that gasket.

[danzan240]

i just had a muffler shop open my exhaust from the cat back to a 2 1/2 instead of a 2in pipe. and then i think i have flowmaster muffler, with a 4-2-1 header in there. got rid of the downpipe lol

[danzan240]

put my new timing chain in. its alot better. my old chain was loose as hell. and there was a piece missing. my dad said that he didn't understand how my car was running w/o that piece but w/e lol.

[480sx]

Thats redic that you were missing that guide, thats a really important piece lol. I mean i can understand how it ran without it. Its mostly just a safety part for when the engine has no oil pressure on startup. It keeps the chain somewhat tight, and not flopping around. Without oil pressure and that guide, the tensioner does little to nothing and that lower chain was really loose. That put a LOT of stress on the chain. Good you caught it when you did.

[drift_bucket]

lol wow i had the exact same thing happend to me i was missing that guide compleatly and i took off my oil pan and there was about two hand fulls of metal at the bottom. so i highly suggest you take off yur oil pan.. asap thats crazy im going threw the same problem i have to take out my motor so i can check out the piston rings and bearings to see if there still good.. doubt it !

[danzan240]

well yesterday my dad had most of the engine put back together when i got there so we spend an hour maybe 2 putting together the rest. the car ran for about 5min and then nothing. we couldnt get it to fire or anything. after 2hrs of trying to figure out whats wrong my dad takes a flashlight and pops the valve cover cap and looks in there and he said the chain fell off. we got the valve cover off and started undoing the bolt for the cam gear, when i notice a bunch of little metal shavings falling. when i finally get the gear off i see this. thats the back of the cam gear. its supposed to be a flat surface... the guide on the cam that goes in that little notch made that groove



god i was afraid my engine was gone. idk what would make this happen. man i was freakin bad for about an hour lol.
Modified by danzan240 at 5:10 AM 7/28/2008

[drift_bucket]

dam thats crazy how these ka's just eat up metal like crazy.. lol idk what could of caused that ??