1991 Truck Build

[Rev_D21]

Ok KA gurus! How's this for perplexing??

Every auto/manual swap thread I have read to date has referenced an 'auto pilot bushing' located where the pilot bearing is supposed to be installed for any manual transmission, at the back end of the crankshaft. I have researched for hours to see what this piece looked like and how it is to be removed. Most forums said you need a bearing puller.

Well...

What's to pull???? It's bare in there!!

Most threads I read referred to this...(see item on right)


Guess what!! I don't have one of those!! So I sat at the computer stumped for hours as to how I was going to remove something I did not see. Well a light went off over my head last night...it was dim but the wife claims she saw it for a moment. When I removed the flex plate last year there were two adapter plates that came off with it. One was on the outside of the flexplate and came off with the plate (see pic below on left), the other slid off the end of the crankshaft by hand and has what looks to be the bushing as part of it (see pic below on right).

BINGO!!!


Nissan must have changed design after it discontinued offering the 240SX with the KA24E motor in 1990. My engine was built in late 1990. So there's nothing to press out, it changed to an adapter sleeve. Just an FYI for anyone doing the swap.

[Rev_D21]

Headway Headway Headway!

Finally reached a tipping point this weekend. For the first time since I started this swap I actually installed parts instead of removing them. That means I am past the half way point!!

Pilot bushing is in. To install the pilot bushing I used a small dab of high temp grease on the inside of the crankshaft. I used the butt end of a 15mm socket and a ballpien hammer to tap it in.

Adapter plate is on. The block lacks the dowels that a manual setup would use to hold the plate in place. You can them if you like or you can hold it in place with bolts while you work around it.

New starter is wired in. The starter for the automatic will not work with the manual. Teeth count is different. This was easiest with the flywheel and adapter plate removed. With everything out of the way I was able to slide the old motor out from the rear of the block and set the new one up in position. Bolting it to the transmission will be another story for another day.

Flywheel is on. I have to torque it to 105-122 ft lbs. I forgot my torque wrench that day.

Throwout bearing and fork installed with new boot. The t/o bearing fork has a "V" shaped retainer that I found bent up from use on mine. It's less than $2 at the dealer so no-brainer says replace it. I greased the pivot with high temp grease. Also greased up the inside of the t/o bearing collar. A little goes a long way. Finally the rubber boot on the fork that keeps road grime out was torn so I bought a replacement from the dealer for that. I would hate to do this job twice because of $10 in parts that I skipped. And that's where I left off as I ran out of time.

Of course pics!





The rear axle as seen from the center of the flywheel.


Interior looking less cluttered as parts are getting installed rather than removed.


Can't wait till she is off the stands.


Found a paint job, going to do a 'relic'd' version of this.

[dvdswan]

coming along nicely. I like the paint scheme.

[Rev_D21]

Got the new transmission installed this past Saturday with the help of a couple friends. It really helps to have someone operate a floor jack while everyone else holds up the transmission. I have read horror stories of it taking people hours to get the transmission stabbed in but we took about 35 minutes. The cheer once the thing slid in place was deafening. I left off with two bolts holding the transmission in. Called it a night. Still a list of assembly work left before this thing is able to drive again. But the good news is that there is no evidence this truck was ever a column-shift automatic!!!

On to some pics!




Prepping the trans. I taped some rags in the tailshaft and taped off the shifter so no crud could get in or out.


All taped off.


Getting things in position.


Up up and away!


The auto transmission speedometer cable will work on the manual transmission, it just needs to be re-routed. I haven't cleaned anything up yet.


How things look from the drivers seat.



And now I am working on my to-do list for next weekend. Got a lot of loose ends to tie up here.

[Rev_D21]

Updates from this weekend.

Engine and transmission fully bolted together!!

Slave cylinder is bolted into place.


Getting the rear mount installed.




Newer style steering wheel.



And to stand back and soak the whole project in again since it's been so long I threw the grille on to inspire myself.


Making progress even if totally slow.

[Rev_D21]

Major thread update needed.

Here's what I now know.

-The rear half of the regular cab KA24e automatic driveshaft is exactly the same as the rear half of a regular cab KA24e manual transmission driveshaft.

-I used a 4wd flywheel and that has given me some starter fitment issues. I have decided to try a 4wd starter. I will report my findings.



-No more 3" drop. The blocks I installed trapped water and rusted badly. This truck has not been driven and has been garage kept shortly after the install. Not good. Decided to install 3 extra helpers on both sides. This ups the load capacity of the truck quite a bit. I don't need another truck that only carry a laundry basket. I am building this one to carry stuff.


-Let the wifey get crazy with painting the driveshaft and axle. Jade axle it is then.

-Shifter installed. Frontier shifter boot with cup holder will not work. Need standard shift boot.

-Thrust is your friend.



Back to one wheel drive. Saving the LSD for another project. This is the original axle to the truck. It has 3.7 gears which will raise my RPMs slightly but still get good highway miles.

ARP clutch pressure plate bolts FTW.

Made a big list of everything I could think of that needs to be completed.

-Interior
-Bleed Clutch
-Starter
-Bleed Brakes
-Radiator and Coolant
-Air Cleaner Assembly
-Ect.

So far everything has been plug and play.

[Rev_D21]

Progress from today.

-Installed shorter u-bolts. Thank you to Thruway Spring in Rochester, NY for making them in less than a day. They fit perfectly!

-KYB GasAJust shocks installed on the rear axle.

-Replaced a bunch of vacuum lines.

Sorry about the shaky pics.




Getting closer to first start. Wish I could work on it day and night.

[Adverse Effects]

looking good

love the candy stripe tailshaft

[Rev_D21]

Thanks man, the wife did a great job. She's been very helpful in several phases of this truck and I can't thank her enough.
The truck is off the jack stands as of last night. Two friends and I stood on the rear frame to see how much she'll squat. No squat at all. The only squat came from the tires which are low on air. She's going to ride rough but she'll carry a ton. I essentially built her into a 1-ton heavy duty when I added the extra leaves. She has more leaves than an actual 1-ton HD did.

Random thoughts.

-I started tinkering with the starter only to find the cover plate between the engine and trans is not lined up, it's off by a hair. We are going to try using a dremel to open the holes more.

-I figured out something neat. I was rummaging through my V6 parts truck looking for any odds and ends I might need to put this red truck together when something dawned on me. The cooling system bleeder on the old V6 trucks is basically a hose union with a bung. That could make an awesome OEM hookup for a coolant temp gauge. The hose size is the same as the 4 cylinder. I am thinking I am going to have to try that.

-I found the pinion seal leaking. Going to have to replace that.

-Going with the V6 radiator fan. The V6 fan has one more blade and unlike the 4 cylinder the blades are evenly spaced. Nissan used uneven spacing on the 4 cylinder fan blades to keep the noise down. I will be using this truck to haul things so I thought I would give the v6 fan blade a try. It's a direct bolt on.

-Inside the vapor canister purge line is a very small reducer. I never knew it was there until last week. I cut off a small section of hose to help me match up some new hose. While looking through that small section I noticed what looked like a blockage. I cut the hose open and discovered a small metal cylinder that fit inside the hose perfectly. It was completely chance I discovered this. Had I not stumbled upon this I would have replaced the entire hose leaving that reducer out and ran the risk of a performance problem down the line. So check your purge line for this reducer if you are replacing lines. It's located on the canister end of the hose.

I will update my thoughts as they come to me.

[Rev_D21]

Thoughts on this cover plate.



Nissan has discontinued the 2wd part number for this plate. This goes without saying but the auto plate will not work. You could use a single cam 240sx plate but I imagine that has also been discontinued from the dealer. You can still get the 4wd part number for this plate and there is no difference between that and the 2wd plate.

One thing to keep in mind, because this is holding me up right now, is the fact that the auto engine block does not have a dowel pin at the top for lining up and holding this plate in place. I got creative with bolts but I am a hair off on the starter bolts holes. Make sure you line this plate all the way up or else you are going to be doing what I have to...loosening up the transmission bolts a bit and tapping the plate into position.

Just an FYI.

[Rev_D21]

It lives!!!!!!!! It lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I drove it down the street!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APouk9jGcWQ[/youtube]

Me shifting what used to be a column shift auto!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YGevDZ_JFU[/youtube]

The fancy driveshaft my girlfriend painted for me.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dymgb80JZQE[/youtube]

It runs rough, we think it has bad gas after sitting for 2 years. It drives nice once up to speed. There is still a lot of fitting out left to do. Had to replace a leaky pinion seal, that axle may only have a short time left on this planet. The trans was nearly empty so I overfilled it with 4 quarts of Redline MT90 GL4. It shifts nice and smooth, no grinding or other noises.

We got lucky, I dropped a thread chaser through the starter mounting hole and into the bellhousing. Thought we were going to have to remove the transmission to get it but quick thinking I sent a magnet through the clutch fork boot hole and was able to grab it. The truck started and moved under its own power that night. I saved filming it till the next day when the camera could actually see something.

Overall I am thrilled I have gotten this far. Not much info on this swap can be found, most of the info is for 240SX owners doing it. Lots of info translates, some does not. Lots of learning. Next truck I buy will be stick, no more autos.

Pics!





One last thing. In order to get the truck to start you will need to trick it into thinking it is in park. The easiest way I found that worked it to remove the inhibitor relay at location 8M. Jumper terminals 3 and 5 at the connector with a couple spade terminals and a little wire. Pat yourself on the back for such a simple fix.
Thanks for looking!

[Adverse Effects]

One last thing. In order to get the truck to start you will need to trick it into thinking it is in park.

good work mate looks grate

sounds like it may be not firing on 1 cylinder tho

as for the starting / park thing

the other way do do it is put a switch on the clutch peddle and move the "park switch on to it that way it wont start if you haven't got your foot on the clutch

[Rev_D21]

Putting a switch on the clutch pedal is the safe way to do it but...it's a LOT of work if you are not good with wiring. The jumper took 2 seconds to crimp up and the results are instantaneous.

The rough running could be a missing cylinder for sure. We are going through some old gas right now. I am planning on a tune up but need to free up some $$$ first.

[Rev_D21]

Got the box on and the tails wired. Installed the light bar too. The truck is so redneck but at the same time simply amazing with the patina look, 24 years of scratches and sun fade make it a relic.

The engine is running great now. Must have been some sediment and bad gas going on. I had it idling wonderfully for a while yesterday. Took it for a couple test drives up the street. I have fallen in love with the 3.73 gears, so peppy. Hauls way more a** than my green truck with 3.5 gears.

The exhaust is unbelievably loud. Going to have to sort that out.

Still need brake cables and shift boot.

The only reminder that this truck was ever auto is the PRND12 on the instrument cluster. I find that funny and I plan to leave it there.

A couple pics. YeeeHaw!

[Adverse Effects]

i so want a 3.73 or lower diff

so jealous

[Rev_D21]

I am liking it. The 3.5 gears kill the 4 cylinder. Good for MPGs but no fun at all. I am going to hit up the junk yards looking for another or better...a 4.11 out of an auto D22 Frontier.

[D21LosAngeles]

That looks great!
Is that an OEM roll bar??
I have been looking for one like that for a while!
It looks great!!!

[Rev_D21]

That's actually a junk yard roll bar off a Ford Ranger.

[Adverse Effects]

i have the CA39 3.9:1 diff i can drive up hills (i wouldn't want to walk up) in 5th gear at 50Kmph (30mph) i so need a 3.7 or better still 3.5

most of the time i go 1st 2nd 5th

[Rev_D21]

3.5 is good for highway driving. My 95 averages 25mpg with that ratio. I autocross that truck though and it's a dog. Forget going up hills, it's 1st gear most of the time. 2nd drops the rpm too low and she starts bucking. I have a H233b with LSD and 4.3 gears waiting to go in. Someday. I like the 3.73's with the 5 speed and the 4cylinder. It pulls nicely.

[Adverse Effects]

i have not been game to take my ute past 130Kmph (about 80MPH) because the motor is revving its nuts off (and i really mean hard) at that speed and i can drive around town at 50Kmph (30Mph) in 5th no trouble at all so i would really like a 3.7 if not a 3.5

[Rev_D21]

I think the 3.7 is a good split between performance and economy. It has pep but you are not bouncing off the limiter at 55mph in 5th gear at the same time.

[Rev_D21]

Got more things done tonight.
-Back up lights wired and working.
-Shift boot installed.
-Carpet installed.
-Built an exhaust system.

Starting to look like something redneck.




If you look in the FSM you will see the wire colors do not apply for the back up light switch. I used a power probe to find that the back up lights use the green wire and the smaller diameter black wire.



Lots of projects in the shop today.

[Rev_D21]

Built the exhaust using OEM pipes. Still have some minor things before this is checked off the list complete.

[Rev_D21]

Shifter boot out of a 1996 regular cab. Carpet installed. Still need a passenger seat. All in good time.

[Adverse Effects]

looking real good/redneck

i got called a redneck once and i am not even a yank i am an Aussie after he saw My toy

[Rev_D21]

Finished hanging my exhaust. Installed a custom plate light. Had to swap steering wheels to get the horn working. I hate the wheel I installed though. It's only for a short while I hope.

[Rev_D21]

Finished hanging my exhaust. Installed a custom plate light. Had to swap steering wheels to get the horn working. I hate the wheel I installed though. It's only for a short while I hope.

[Adverse Effects]

i like the build

and i love the tail shaft lol

[Niti QX4]

I know it's been a while, but how did this finally finish?