Hey all!
I have a friend who is looking for some help with his 1991 240. Hes had it for a few months and has only been able to get it going for a couple of weeks after replacing the starter and then it died again.

Now here is the problem.
According to the mechanic it needs a head gasket.

Now Ive come to realize that replacing a head gasket is not a 5 minute job... not even a few hour job. Im guessing more like a full days worth of work. Also the $800 plus price tag from the mechanic ($50 being for the gasket and the rest labor) kinda got him wondering how many months it would take to save up to be able to fix his car.

We've also come to realize that we cant find a manual of any kind on his 240 so we cant even begin to figure out how to do this.

***Now I know Im just throwing this out there, but has anyone here ever changed a head gasket on a '91 240 (or s13 I guess I can say)?

We're desperately trying to find someone with some knowledge on doing this. We wouldn't mind some pointing in the right direction or a link to a guide or a step by step on how to do it. My friend is even willing to pay someone to guide us or tell us what to do step by step (we will do all the dirty work required).

***If theres anyone that can help us find a guide on the net on how to do this plz let us know.

***If theres anyone interested in being paid to tell us what to do [ experience required =) ] than please let me know.

Thx all for reading and for any help that you guys can give us!

-Nick-
813.494.4681

 

okay..a ka24de motorset isnt even 800..
so go ahead buy another motor..and put it in..
while the other is out it should be easy to change the gasket

 

Nah we dont even have $800 laying around. Hes a senior in high school and I just graduated last year so that kinda money takes some saving. Thx anyways

 

yeah...but im just saying...KA motor is pretty cheap..
my cuz bought 97 KA super low miles for 250

just gotta look around..800 is rape

if ya do a quick search on TR..you can find the FSM for the 91
240SX

 

Here is a link to a S13 KA24DE FSM. http://72.29.75.31/~videof6/manuals/...40SX_91-94.zip should help you out a bunch. Removing the head should be pretty much self explanitory (given it's pain in the ass nature.) You will more then likely have to remove the radiator for starters. I've heard of people tilting the engine a bit out of the engine bay to get the timing chain (and related parts) off. How many miles does this engine have on it ? It maybe wise to just take it apart and rebuild it , if major components are still reusable (i.e. pistons/rods ).

 

Where do you live, and what kind of downtime can he have.

It really is not a hard thing to do, but having no experience will make the job take much longer. Figure out how much downtime you can have, get a good place to start work, make sure you have proper tools (metric wrenches,sockets/extensions/hex key for head studs) and order your parts ahead of time.

Make sure to take plenty of pictures of you have a digicam, mostly of electrical connections, and hoses. Colored tape, and a market will come in handy, aswell as ziplock bags to label parts. You want to be able to put it back together when you are done.

The most difficult part of this is probably removing the intake manifold, as its a pain in the ass, and has all kinds of shit attached to it.

 

Damn thanks a bunch for the help and info. I can get together 3 of us for atleast a full day... maybe a whole weekend, but definately 1 full day.

Good thinking with the motor... didnt realize it could be had for that cheap (Im guessing theyre from ppl who did swaps?). But the only deal there is that none of us have enough experience to pull a motor and swap in another. Not something you learn in tech class in high school or anything.

Its probably going to have to be done with the engine in the car, unless he can talk his mom into buying another engine for him. Then theres the problem of dropping it in. Always gotta figure something out and damn its rough....

 

Oh and we live in Riverview... south of Brandon.

Good idea Tak on the digi cam... we were planning on using address labels and wrapping them around each hose/connection and numbering them or whatever just so we wouldnt mess it up. You cant really mess up if you match up "hose 1" with "nipple/connection 1" ya know what I mean.

His mom is letting us use a wide open 2 car garage to do the work in, and Ive got plenty of tools (Im a handyman on the side) so I hope we're taken care of there. Its the "never done it before" feeling thats holding us back a bit.

Thx Eluder for the adobes on the S13 KA24DE FSM. The mileage is just a lil over 100k, and if we knew how to rebuild it then Im sure we would. I think starting with changing the head gasket will be step one for us lol before we start going into engine rebuilds. Either way I just dont wana see him sell it as a non running car and lose 2k-3k on this car just because it blew a head gasket.

Thx all for the help. Ill be checking back lata tonight for more info if you got it.

 

Hmm if its that easy to unplug it and plug it all back in then.. Ill throw ya a few bucks to do it next weekend after we find a KA for $250. Now I gota find a KA for those prices! Thx

 

I pulled my engine out and did all of the work outside. It took me a whole day plus i did it all by my self. I have to tell you it saved me alot of headaches this way. If you get a couple of friends and by them chicken wings you should be able to have your car running by the end of the day.