Yes, another one. I've done some reearch this time. Ok, I think I have a 95-96 S14 head, supposedly you can drop the 1991 exhaust cams (I have 2 of them) into these no problem because they still have all 12 cam caps whereas the 97-98 has 10 cam caps. It shouldn't have the single upper timing chain sprocket either because the 97-98's only have the single one. I have a S13 block and the S14 head, the only difference is the timing chain cover, which I'll need to get one of them. Besides that everything should work, right? This is whats I've gathered from google, KA-T.org and on here. is there anything else I'm missing?

Besides that I want to run the motor obd1 and get rid of any unnecessary sensors and vacuum as possible. I have a S14 T28, 370cc injectors and a N60 maf. I still need a tune, fmic/bov, metal headgasket, arp blahblah. I'm starting school soon and I'm taking out a student loan and I already got the pell grant. So I want to get this pos motor built with the some of the loan. What I'm wanting from TR Nissan Tech is, have I forgotten anything and where do the TR users recommend for machine work, like honed cylinders, decked block, milled head, turned crank and whatnot. Will the basic redneck shop do and be cheaper or should I go to a more reputable or Nissan shop in Tampa?

and please no shittalk or criticism I just want to put my motor back together and be happy.

 

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damnit, it didn't come out in the order I want, but here are the number 1 and 2 pistons from my block (sorry shitty cellphone pics) but the 2nd and 4th pic is the #1 piston and the 1st and 3rd pic is the number 2 piston, the worse of the scuffs/wear are on the intake side. I also have the pics for the #3 and #4 piston as well, the pretty much look the same. I'm wondering, should I replace my pistons too? This is where the experienced KA engine builder guys come in, like "mewantkouki" and lmk what you think.

 

take it all apart.
send it to a shop to have them rebuild the engine for you.
if you insist on trying to do the work yourself, then get a FSM. pretty sure there is a link for on in the sticky up top.
You'll need more tools than you have now, so be ready to hit up harbor freight.
Spend the money and the FSM printed and bound. Pretty sure office depot will do it for like 200 bucks.
Keep your greasy fingers off of it. s you learn little tid bits, put some notes down in the book. That way, you have all of the knowledge you will need written down.
From there, send the block off to a shop. Pretty much any machine shop will do. Get it hot tanked and honed.
Send the head off too. If you insist on using a s14 head, then just use the stock cams until it is all together and running. Why make more problems for yourself when it isn't even together yet? send the head off to get it hot tanked and decked. I would suggest having them do a valve job and getting all new everything. But, you can get away with using the same springs and what not. Just replace valve seals. (no choice in that if you get the head hot tanked)
Meanwhile, get your rebuild kit delivered. Don't skimp out on this. Get everything you will need. new seals. new pistons. new everything. I would highly suggest a new oil pump. (from the way your pistons are, I would say that the stock pump isn't keeping up as good as it should be. Most places that sell the kits will be able to help you figure out what you need. Enjuku sells a rebuild kit don't they? Don't just order a ebay kit. most of those people are dumb kids that just throw cheap parts together and if something isn't right, you're fucked.
From there, I would suggest having the machine shop assemble your lower assembly. Maybe even splurge and have them balance the whole thing. its overkill, but hey, why not. Getting pistons on wrist pins and the rings on, and back into the cylinder without screwing up can be a challenge if you don't know what you are doing. If you insist on doing it yourself. Be careful. You need to treat it like you are working with glass. The FSM should walk you through it step by step. Don't cut corners. Don't "think" you know what you are doing. Get it all back together to factory spec. If you are going to use arp studs, then do that when you put the head on. Get it all together. and make sure the oil pump is primed and all of that fun stuff. Assemble the rest of the engine. Get it in the car. Triple check everything. Don't cut corners. Expect there to be problems along the way. Get it in the car and running first with stock stuff before you try to "go fast" get the engine broken in before you do anything. While you are going through the break in process and trouble shooting all of the minor problems along the way. Make sure you have all of the parts you need for boost.
If you are wanting to use the s14 stuff, then make sure you are using things from the 95. that will keep it all obd1. Once it is broken in, swap the cams out for the s13 cams. But use the intake and exhaust cams. The dual exhaust cams don't really do anything and the overlap is terrible, even more so with boost. Then start the process of swapping in your turbo parts. You should have a spare ECU that you had a base tune put on for your parts list that way the car should start and run, maybe not awesome, but it should run. Again, triple check everything before you start it. It is much better to let it sit over night so you can check it again the next day instead of blowing something up because you were too excited to notice that you didn't have an oil line hooked up to your turbo. Once you get all of the little things figured out, then take it straight to get tuned. The base tune is ok, but a real tune is better and could mean the difference between living for a month to living for years. At that point, take it easy on it. Don't start lead footing all over town because you have boost. Make sure things are going to pop off. Work your way into it. That way you can actually enjoy it and not just stress about it falling apart.

On a more personal level, don't just take a parts list and duplicate it. You need to move beyond just having some knowledge to actually having an understanding. If you don't know the difference, then start there. Figure out the difference between knowledge and understanding. Once you know the difference, make sure you have total understanding of what you are about to do before you do it. Being a college kid, you don't seem like you A) have the budget to do this a second time because you screwed it up the first time and B) have the luxury of having your car out of commission for months. Things like your 300zx Maf. Do you understand why you need it? If you do, then you would realize that you don't need to install it right away and that it might be a better idea to put that on the upgrade list after it is all put together. Do you understand why the clearances are the way they are inside an engine? Do you really understand what is happening inside an engine? Do you understand a turbo? If you don't understand all of that, then you need to spend more time researching and learning. As cheezey and cliche and it sounds, the best tool in your toolbox should be your brain. If you understand all of this stuff, then you'll be able to figure it all out by applying your understanding. And at that point, I have total confidence that you'll be able to build something worth talking about. Without that, I totally expect you to have a dozen "what noise is this" Why won't my car start?" "is it bad that my number 3 piston is in my hand?" "I give up, I sold my car, now I drive a single cam, 87 honda" types of threads.

So with all of that, good luck

 

The entire motor was pulled and torn down by me the next day after I spun the bearing, I have almost every tool, I need to buy a torque wrench again because I returned mine to sears because I never used it, I need the piston ring compressor pliers as well. whats that thing it looks like almost 2 oil filter wrenches that people use to install pistons, I need one of them too. Besides that I have alot of tools. I also have the FSM for this car on my computer but I will need it printed out. My oil pump was done for, I scrapped my s13 head, it had burnt vavles, it was probably reusable but I sent it out in a load of cast aluminum (probably dumb move) I really do want to give this a shot, I've been going over steps on the fsm, looked at dyi build threads w/e on KA-t. I'll defiantly take you're advice, be careful, don't cut corners and don't rush into it, I like how you couldn't stress that enough so I'll need to be in that mindset. I am a little bit scared about installing the pistons, and getting the wrist pins out is a sob, because I was trying to save these pistons, I didn't wanna stick a socket where the wrist pin is and hammer it out and break the piston. I check Courtesy Nissan and they have pistons but its like $55 a piston w/o rings where the NPR's are like 85 or so for a set with rings. Oh and no, it wasn't cliche when you said the best tool you can have is a brain, I totally agree. I'm sure I understand the tolerances and plasti gauging, and to mee, that seems like it'll be the hardest part because it will be a pain in the ass to have to install the bottom end and take it apart, but it is necessary. and I think the reason why I have the N60 maf is to read/compensate for the more air needed for the turbo and the 370cc injectors, but I could be wrong. But the reason why I want to do the assembly is because I've worked on cars before, swapped a 7MGTE into my dudes n/a supra, he drove it from here to NY no problem, I've swapped out blown motors and replaced them with running ones you know, basic stuff. I want to go farther now and why not go with a motor thats already torn down. my room mate will be taking me to school but I will need a car soon so I guess I'll invest in a $800 special hoooptie on bo bos for now and slowly work on this project. I appreciate all you're words of wisdom and advice Empire.

Oh yeah it was the cam caps and seats (w/e they're on the lower side of the cap) they had got worn down read bad, like serious grooves. and the valves were white.

 

my comments on 248/240 s13 cam swap : KA24E / KA24DE Forum

 

If the oil pump took a shit, then you really just need to save yourself the headache and buy new parts.
courtesy nissan has all of the stuff you will need. Don't try and save those pistons. the pictures aren't the best quality, but they look pretty scared. I would bet the cylinder walls are pretty scared too. So over boring might be the better way to go, in which case, you'll want different pistons anyway.
Google around for some kits. Trying to remember the site... I don't know, its saved on my machine at home.
Do you already have a stack of parts? a good rebuild kit is really the way to go. Most of the decent sites out there have really complete kits. And I have found that it is cheaper in the long run to order one of those kits instead of nickle and dime-ing all of the parts you'll need.
sounds like you have the basic idea of what you're doing. I won't lie to ya, it is a hell of a learning curve from reading it on paper, to actually having it in your hands and doing it. Add to your tool's list an engine stand. One that you can spin the engine and lock it into place. You don't want to be balancing it on some blocks and it saves so much headache being able to just spin it over to double check where things are.
Since you spun that bearing, you'll want to be really really really careful with your crank, and rods and bearings. If that spin was bad, the crank and rod might be toast. Or, they might just need to be re finished. The machine shop you use will be able to help you figure that out. Have you started looking for one yet? My advice, find a shop that is willing to talk with you about it. If the guy seems like you are annoying him with questions or in his way or whatever, then I wouldn't work with him. Since you're looking to have basic work done, pretty much any machine shop will do. Don't need a nissan specific shop since they aren't assembling everything. In a perfect world, you should come armed with the knowledge and specs you want everything to be at, and then find out what they would charge to make it happen. See if they recommend anything. There is a difference between a recommendation and a sales pitch. Most of the time, you will go in, talk with the guy, get a feel for the place, if you like them, then talk about what you are looking to do, they'll give you some rough estimates on costs. Then bring in your parts and your spec sheets and talk to him some more, see what he has to say. It is their job to know if they can fix the part or not. He might tell you that the crank is shot. He might tell you that he can make it work. But understand that you might get bad news because of that spun bearing. An oil pump just doesn't die. It is a slow painful process. So it could have been several hundred, if not thousand miles of lower than optimum oil pressure, so things might be more worn out than they should be. They should work with you on figuring it out. You'll need to know what the FSM says the specs can be. These machine shop guys don't work with Nissan's all day, everyday, so they might not have the info handy. To me, that isn't really a deal breaker. I have no problem providing them what the FSM says the specs should be, and a sheet that says what I want them to be. My point is, don't just drop the parts off and go. Be involved in the process. Don't "tell" them how to do their job, just "ask" them if they can help you accomplish what you are trying to do. When you get to the point of having them do the work, they will probably want the pistons so they can match the cylinders to the pistons. This is a good idea. Especially if you are going to/needing to over bore. They ought to be able to test everything. they will tell you if you are needing new rods or not and all of that fun stuff. (random thought, Engine Labs seems to be a fantastic shop, some other people have used them. they seem to be really helpful and nice to work with I'd check them out)
Now, with all of that said, you can technically skip all of that. There have been plenty of people that have bought a "known to be good" engine. torn it down and slapped fresh parts in it and ran with it. Saves a lot of time, effort, work, and money. Some people have skipped even that part and gotten their hands on a running engine, stuck it in their car, powered its nose a little bit and boosted it and again, have gotten away with it.
So at this point, it really all depends on what your goals are and what you are looking to do.
Is the actually process of rebuilding the engine important to you? Or do you just want the final out come?
What are your power goals? Are you looking to build a bullet proof engine, or do you just want it to work?
Are you looking to get the best bang for your buck, or are you looking to get the best bang period?

maybe I should have started with those questions first as they are more important.

 

eastcoastchaos, which cam from the S14 is 232? I think I'll go for the 248/232, I'm gonna do a bit of research on that, but from what you said it sounds like it will be sweet.

Empire, yes like I said, I have almost an entire turbo kit for the KA, I have random sr parts and I have my block (its already on an engine stand) head, multiple cams and a box full of random brackets and a box full of bolts. I sold my transmission shortly after tearing down the motor because I didn't know what I wanted to do and I sold it, the oil strainer/tube and alternator all for $230. But my room looks like a garage because I have tools and parts everywhere.

I was looking over the specs again, stock bore is 89.00 and clearance of 89.030 is acceptable. I figure I'll go 89.50mm and use the 90mm mls headgasket, I've got this part covered, but even used a dial caliper or whatever and after reading the fsm, I'm a bit confused as to what the rod diameter is supposed to be, and undersizing the rods? this confuses me and this will be where I have a bit of trouble determining what size I go with on the rods. I had already checked out engine labs website and I'm gonna fill out the quote sheet and see what they say, also in my town up here theres a place called Ken's Speed shop, mostly works on GM's and making them fast, he's built a few awesome drag cars. I've been thinking about checking him out, my friend who loves GM's to death has dealt with him before and had nothing but good things to say.

and as for the more personal questions about the build, yes, the process of me completing this is important (mostly to rub it in my old bosses face because he tried 3 times to assemble a 460 and got no where, but yet he's a self claimed "engine master") My power goals, I saw a dyno run of a KA24DET on youtube with a stock rebuilt engine, only internals was Cometic hg and arp fasteners and his sheet was like 233rwhp and 300ft/lbs of torque, that sounds amazing to me. But I do want something reliable and maybe like 8-9lbs of boost and I want a KA that will last while its boosted. Almost every KA I've seen for sale and boosted turned out to have some serious problems, and its usually crappy safc tuning or having a "slap clank and knock" coming from the bottom end, I dont want mine to do that. Um, price is kind of an issue, but I'd rather spend a bit more dough on quality oem stuff.

 

well. here's what I would do.

I'd buy a running engine. a complete running engine. make sure compression is up to snuff. Pull the head off and drop the oil pan. Make sure everything is nice looking. New head gasket. New oil pump, maybe even a high flow pump. Good tune up and powder its nose some and what not. Make sure it is running really well. Then boost that engine. With the power goals being less than 250, you ought to get that out of a stock engine. Get it tuned so it won't blow up. Tuning has a major part in the life of the engine. Then rock out with that for a while.
Then, I'd go to town with that other engine you've got. You're gonna get bored with 250 hp really fast and you'll be temped to turn up the boost. Just don't do it. I'm serious. Its like crack. You'll want more and more and more. So build yourself a new engine that can handle the abuse of higher boost.
That allows you to have more options. You don't have to worry about down time because you have a running car, driving everyday on a conservative tune. Gives you more time to save a few more pennies for better parts. Lets you do all kinds of things that you wouldn't have done the first time because you needed it to be cheap and now.
In the big picture, it is a bit more money, but you'll end up with a car that you're very happy with. You'll get used to driving with boost and you'll figure out what you like and don't like about the turbo you have and the intercooler set up and all of that. And since you have a car to drive, you can take your time on the new engine. That way it isn't a big deal if you take 6 months because you decided that you wanted to save up your pennies for forged internals. But either way, you have a back up engine just in case anything happens. Which, at those power levels, I highly doubt you'll have problems. Of course, it depends on the whole set up, but at less than 250 hp, you're talking less than 8 pounds.