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DoriMonster
01-31-2009, 06:14 AM
SR20DET Swap Guide
When you decide to swap the SR20DET motor into any chasse, there are a few things you should consider. How much is it going to cost? This is a Japanese motor is this legal? What am I going to need? Do I have all the necessary tools, and if not where should I go to get them? How much expertise with cars do you need to have in order to swap the engine? Where do I get parts when they break? Where do I get a factory service manual in English? How do I put it in? These questions are the types of questions that will be answered in this guide.

The first thing you should do is research. There are a lot of places that you can buy engines from. Some are good, and others are not so good. When you find the company you want to order your engine from, get a compression check, photos of the engine that you will be receiving, and the exact parts you will get with the engine. The average cost of the SR20DET engine will be about 2500.00-3000.00 US dollars for the engine ad necessary parts to swap. However Recommend going with a full front clip, you will pay between 3500.00 and 4500.00 depending on who you order from. The reason for going with an entire front clip is that you will receive everything that is on the motor in Japan. Therefore you will not need to buy any extra parts. Modifying the harness will still be necessary, however that is very simple. The instructions on how to modify the harness will be provided later in this guide. Another reason for going with the front clip, is that the oil pan should be in good condition, and with some of the clips depending on who you order from you can get the dash, and body panels these parts you can easily resale and make some of your money back.

What exactly you will need for S13 to S13 Chassis and Motor Swap “the s14 and s15 are a little different, will post that guide later”:
· SR20DET Engine with Transmission
· SR20DET Uncut Wiring Harness
· SR20DET Igniter
· Side or Front Mount Intercooler
· SR20DET or KA24DE Aftermarket Radiator “you can modify the hose for the ka to work, by going to AutoZone and just buying what you need to make it work, you use the stock thermostat to link the hoses.
· SR20DET, KA24DE SOHC Mass Airflow Sensor
· SR20DET Downpipe
· Extra Wire
· Sotering Gun
· Sotter
· Boost Gauge
· Clutch, Pressure Plate, and Flywheel “recommend aftermarket”
· Recommend New water and Oil pumps
· Either Battery Relocation kit, or Lawnmower 12V battery
· SR20DET ECU
· Power Steering Lines from DUAL CAM KA 1991-1998 Hi-Pressure and Return


What tools you will need:

Metric Socket set: “10MM 8MM 14MM 17MM 19MM 12MM sockets”
Socket Extension
Metric Wrenches: “10MM 8MM 2x14MM for driveshaft 17MM 19MM 12MM sockets” for ratcheting wrenches some bolts are unreachable because of the size of the wrench end
Sotter Gun
Angle Grinder or plasma cutter to cut holes for intercooler
Wire 8 gauge for the battery relocation
Engine Hoist
Clutch Alignment Tool
Wire Strippers
Screw Drivers Phillips and Straight
Drill, for mounting purposes
LED or Shop Light or Flash Light
Jack
Jack Stands
Welder “only if you want to do custom brackets.”
Lock Tight
When your engine arrives inspect the Oil pan for any kind of dents. If it Is dented, go to AutoZone and pick up gasket sealer, and Oil pan Gasket. Take the oil pan off and bang out the dents, with rubber mallet. Recommend getting all new hoses, i.e. Vacuum Lines, Fuel Lines, and Radiator Hoses. Make sure the stock motor mounts are good, if not you’ll have to buy some aftermarket. You can tell if there good, by looking at them, and moving them back and forth. They should move but not to far about one inch in either direction.
SR20DET FAQ

Specifications for the Red Top SR20DET
(Found on the 91-93 180SX & Silvia)

Displacement: 1998cc (2.0 liter)
Cam Type: DOHC 16 valve, chain driven cam sprockets
Bore & Stroke 86mm x 86mm
Compression: 8.5:1
Horsepower: 205ps @ 6000rpm
Torque: 203 ft/lbs @ 4000rpm
Stock Boost: 7 psi
Throttle Body Bore: 60mm
Injector Size: 370cc/min
Turbo Specs:
Compressor: T-25, 60 trim 56mm BCI-1 compressor.
Turbine: T-25, 62 trim 53.8mm 0.64 A/R turbine housing.
Center Section: Journal bearings
Performance:
The stock turbo will be safe to 13-15 psi. After that, the turbo is past its efficiency range, and power increases will fall off and are not worth the risk of turbo damage. The engine should produce 230-250 RWHP at safe boost.

Specifications for the Black Top SR20DET
(Found on the 94-98 180SX)

Displacement: 1998cc (2.0 liter)
Cam Type: DOHC 16 valve, chain driven cam sprockets
Bore & Stroke: 86mm x 86mm
Compression: 8.5:1
Horsepower: 205hp @ 6000rpm
Torque: 203 ft/lbs @ 4000rpm
Stock Boost: 7 psi
Throttle Body Bore: 60mm
Injector Size: 370cc/min
Turbo Specs:
Compressor: T-25, 60 trim 56mm BCI-1 compressor.
Turbine: T-25, 62 trim 53.8mm 0.64 A/R turbine housing.
Center Section: Journal bearings
Performance:
The stock turbo will be safe to 13-15 psi. After that, the turbo is past its efficiency range, and power increases will fall off and are not worth the risk of turbo damage. The engine should produce 230-250 RWHP at safe boost.

Specifications for the S14 Black Top SR20DET with VTC
(Found on the 95-98 Silvia)

Horsepower: 220hp @ 6000rpm
Torque: 203 ft/lbs @ 4800rpm
Turbo Specs:
Compressor: T-28, 60 trim 60mm BCI-1 compressor in T-04B housing
Turbine: T-25, 62 trim 53.8mm 0.64 A/R turbine housing.
Center Section: Ball Bearing
S14 SR20DET's use a different ECU and harness, these are extremely expensive and hard to find.
Variable valve timing system and a different turbo are the significant changes from the S13 SR20DET engines.
The S13 uses a "low port" intake design vs. the S14 "high port" design.
Performance:
The stock turbo will be safe to 13-15 psi. After that, the turbo is past its efficiency range, and power increases will fall off and are not worth the risk of turbo damage. The stock engine should produce 250-260 RWHP at safe boost using stock turbo. Upgrading turbo, fuel and rest of need parts will yield 300-375.

Specifications for the S15 Black Top SR20DET
(Found on the 99+ Silvia)

Horsepower: 250ps @ 6000rpm
Transmission: 6 Speed, Close Ratio
Injector Size: 480cc/min
Turbo Specs:
Compressor: T-28, 60 trim 60 mm BCI-1 compressor in T-04B housing
Turbine: Inconel turbine wheel. Cast divider wall between turbine discharge and wastegate.
Center Section: Ball Bearing
This engine is expensive and hard to get. If you are on a tight budget, please consider other options as the money you save from buying this engine can be better used to build up a really nice red top.
Additions: 6 speed manual transmission. The 6 speed cannot be used on the S13 and S14 motors, and uses a different driveshaft. Speed sensor is located in the differential. The 6 speed is cool, but is not as strong as the 5 speed from the older cars. There is basically 6 gears inside the same housing that was designed to hold 5 gears. This makes the gears smaller and weaker, therby breaking more often.

Power Output and Generation Specific Differences
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o107/Silvia_Convertible/SRChart.jpg

Basic Maintenance Items
Spark Plugs: NGK Iridium BKR6EIX Gapped to .036” for stock performance.

Oil Filter:
For S13 1993 Sentra SE-R 2.0L Oil Filter
For S14 1995-1998 Sentra SE-R 2.0L Oil Filter

Arguably some would say it doesn’t matter, but it does the s13 is slightly smaller than S14, and has some tendency to pop off, if you get the new versions, and vice versa if you get the older versions for S14 it may have the tendency to pop off.

Oil

The SR20DET holds about 3.5 quarts of oil, unless you have aftermarket Oil pan.
Recommend “10W 30 Royal Purple Synthetic.”
Typically, 15w50 is recommended by some mechanics for summer and 10w30 for winter.

Synthetic oils are the best type for turbo motors, as they resist thermal breakdown longer and better than conventional oil. On turbo motors, the oil sees extra heat transfer from lubricating the turbo's center shaft.

· Parts Compatability

Motor Oil Seals: Identical to Sentra SE-R SR20DE (P/N front: 15020-79E00 /rear: 12279-1N510)
· Water pump is a JDM item. The FWD SR20DE is not compatible. You can order pumps at various vendors. Courtesy Nissan (http://www.courtesyparts.com/) should be your first stop to buying one
· The timing chain kit is identical to the FWD SR20DE.
· The Idle Air Control Valve (IACV) is a RWD SR20DET item only.
· Water temperature sensors for both ECU and dash cluster are identical to KA24DE. Make sure to get the same sensor as your year chassis
· Knock sensor is identical to KA24DE, although the sub-harness is SR specific
· Motor mounts are identical between KA24E, KA24DE and RWD SR20DET
· Motor mount brackets are a RWD SR20DET item only.
· Fuel injectors are identical to NA 300ZX (Z32)
· Fuel Pressure Regulator is a RWD SR20DET item only
· Alternator Belt P/N K050370 (Gates P/N)
· Power Steering Belt P/N K040345 (Gates P/N)
· Exhaust Manifold Gasket '91 Sentra SE-R w/SR20DE
· T25 Turbo gaskets '90-'95 300ZX TT T25 gaskets (note turbo to O2 housing gasket dose not fit on S13 T25)
· O2 sensor '87 300ZX Turbo
· Ignitor chip '95 Q45
· Fuel Injectors '95 300ZX TT (purple plugs)
· Fuel Injector Seals '95 300ZXTT kit
· MAF '89-'90 SOHC 240SX
· Tranny rear main seal '93 240sx
· Slave cylinder '93 240sx
· T.O. bearing '93 240sx
· Pilot bearing '93 240sx
· Clutch 89 Nissan Maxima 240mm 9-7/16" spline 24x1
· Belts (PS, AC, alt) Gates K050370 Alt. K040345 PS & AC
· Spark Plugs NGK BKR7ES11 or BKR6 (hoter plug)
· Coil Packs '90-'95 300ZX or '95 newer Maxima
· S14 SR Oil Filter '95 Sentra SE-R
· S13 SR Oil Filter '91 Sentra SE-R
· Fuel filter '90 300zx TT
· Front and Rear main seal '91 SE-R
· TPS '95 KA TPS will work with some soldering
· Temp sensor S13 or S14 (depending on chassis not motor) KA24DE temp sensor
· Thermostat '91 Sentra SE-R
· Radiator cap '90 300zx TT (slightly more pressure for better cooling over stock cap)
· Knock sensor '95 240sx
· Oil pressure sender '95 240sx

Parts that don’t match and you have to order from Japan are the starter, alternator, water pump, and head gasket.

Clutch Facts

Stock RWD SR20 clutches utilize a 240mm diameter, 24 spline clutch disc with a 25.6mm diameter sprung hub.

Fuel Pressure Regulators (FPR)

are to be set to 43.5 psi with the vacuum source hose unplugged from it. With the hose plugged in, the regulator should read 36 psi. Aftermarket fuel pumps tend to force an old, tired regulator to run higher pressure. A Walbro 255 lph fuel pump has been shown to consistently run stock FPRs at 43 psi with their vacuum sources plugged in. This will result in a slightly rich condition, which doesn’t affect drivability or performance. It does seem to adversely affect injector life, however.

Safe Limits of Stock SR20DET

Many people ask what power levels a stock block SR20 can handle. The internals have been known to support 400 whp reliably. However, that is dependent on your fuel management. Proper supporting mods must be done to the fuel system to support this number, or you will melt pistons. The pistons are the first part of the motor to fail internally. They tend to overheat and either burn holes through them, or their ringlands crack and fall apart.

The crank has yet to be proven as a week point, and it's rare to see someone crack or snap one due to power output.

SR20DET Swap Engine Harness Wiring Diagram Guide SR SR20 provided by
This guide is for swapping an S13 SR motor into an S13 240SX chassis.

http://www.frsport.com/sr20det-swap-engine-harness-wiring-guide-sr20-p-665.html

Before we begin, please make sure you have the following tools in order to simplify the process:


A roll of Electrical tape (3M brand works best)
Wire stripper & cutter
Soldering iron & solder
Heat shrink tubing (optional)
Heatgun / Lighter to shrink the tubing (optional)
Vaccum Diagrams
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o107/Silvia_Convertible/VacDiagramSmall.jpg (http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o107/Silvia_Convertible/VacDiagramSmall.jpg)
http://img (http://img/).photobucket.com/albums/v470/touchdown6101/Car/Vaclines.bmp

SR20DET FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL S13
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/180SX_SR20DET.pdf (http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/180SX_SR20DET.pdf)

Starting the Swap

If you have any questions on how to do any of this please AIM me at Lostinyoutoday, the swap is really easy don’t stress out about not knowing how to do it. The only thing you might need help on, is the Vacuum, and putting the engine in takes about 3 people.



Step 1

· Drain all fluids from your KA “oil, power steering, tranny, coolant”
· Remove All hosing, and wires
· Take out the stock ECU “located on passenger side.”
· Take off the Stock Exhaust from the stock manifold back
· Disconnect the driveshaft and the differential
· Set the drive shaft to the side
· Take bottom bolts off of motor mounts “14mm ratcheting wrench works great”
· Take the shifter out of tranny
· Hook Engine Hoist up to each side of the engine and crank away

Step 2

· Start prepping the engine bay “recommend cleaning with brake cleaner, and power washer, then sanding and painting to help negate rust.
· Prep harness, please refer to FRsport wiring harness guide
· Also put US speed sensor in tranny
· Put in new power steering lines
· Put oil filter on “its way easier when it’s out of the engine.”
· Replace spark plugs
· Tighten all the belts


Step 3

· Take out shifter from SR
· Check all the pumps, and hoses if you didn’t replace them, also make sure to check turbo gaskets
· Hook hoist up
· Lower slowly into the engine bay, if you lower a little bit at a time and guide it in it makes it easy
· Put motor mount bolts on “tighten half way to allow for play when you’re putting tranny brace back on.
· Put shifter back on 12 mm wrench and extension from inside should do the trick
· Put the tranny brace on
· Tighten down motor mounts
· Put the drive shaft back on
· Connect downpipe to turbo and test pipe
· Connect the radiator up
· Connect the wires, they only fit in to their own connecter, and they should be in the relative position to their connecter when you lay the harness out “YOU MUST SOTTER ALL WIRES, OTHERWISE THE VOLTAGE WONT BE CONSTANT”
· Connect power steering
· Make sure to plug in the igniter
· When connecting the fuel lines , be sure to connect the return line where the fuel pressure regulator sits, and the feed line goes to the line after the first curve in the intake manifold, should stick out between the first and second curve.
· Hook up the vacuum system, contact me for help if you can’t understand the lines, and I will take pictures for you.
· Relocate the battery with sub wires, just cut and extend main battery wires, make sure to sotter.
· Tighten motor mounts all the way down
· Connect your intercooler and piping
· Fill tranny with fluids
· Buy crappy oil and run sea foam through engine with oil drain plug out, then run crappy oil through, when it is finished running through, put the plug back in and fill with royal purple.
· Fill coolant
· Turn key and vroom

Is it legal to do the swap?

Yes its legal however, make sure to go to the DMV before removing the dash and touching the VIN. If you swap dashes and the Japanese dash doesn’t have a DMV approved VIN swap, cops have been known in Nevada to ticket it as tampering with the VIN.

Whether or not its legal depends on the state you live in. States without emissions, it’s perfectly legal. Good or bad, most states have followed California’s lead when mandating their own emissions standards. Currently, it is legal to perform engine swaps in California if certain criteria are met. Most importantly, the new engine you’re swapping in must be from a Nissan vehicle of the same year or newer than the vehicle you’re swapping it into. The new engine must retain all of its original, functioning emissions equipment, and any aftermarket performance equipment that has been installed must have a California E.O. number assigned to it to keep your swap legal.

In order to get your engine swap approved, you need to go to a Referee Station and pay about $30 to have your vehicle inspected. The referee will inspect your installation to see if you used the same or newer year engine. He’ll check operation of all the emissions equipment, and if it passes inspection he’ll slap an ‘Engine Identification sticker on your doorjamb, meaning a legal record of your approved engine swap is always on the vehicle. Contact your local DMV office and ask for the number of a Referee Station near you. The person answering the phone may ask why you need to go to a referee, and your answer should be “engine change.” If you say “engine swap” you’ll confuse the employee on the other end of the line who has the power to cause you hours of endless grief, so remember to only speak in language they’re familiar with. If you’re not in California, check with the DMV.


Conclusion


This swap is really easy, no real mechanic skillz are needed if you follow it step by step, and refer to all the appropriate guides.

MisawaJason
01-31-2009, 09:29 AM
any chasse huh?

DoriMonster
01-31-2009, 09:25 PM
dude you can put it in a civic you really wanted to, man you can put any motor really in any chasse if you have enough patience and fabrication skillz

axiomatik
02-01-2009, 12:42 PM
....
Fuel injectors are identical to NA 300ZX (Z32)
....
Fuel Injectors '95 300ZX TT (purple plugs)
....


Do NA & TT Z32's use the same injectors?

wannabe_drifter
04-02-2009, 12:25 AM
Acceptable compression test numbers would be great to have in there

2_Liter_Turbo
04-02-2009, 08:56 AM
Stock compression is 156 PSI, bare acceptable minimum is 128 PSI. You do not want a spread of over 14 psi between all four cylinders either. The people who advertise 180PSI across all four, don't know what they are talking about, lol. BTW, this is with a warmed up engine with oil... so in a clip with no Oil, it will be lower...

bigjacsoc
07-15-2009, 04:58 PM
Will my auto KA ('93) lower harness plug into my sr alternator starter ect.?

s13newb
07-25-2009, 12:24 PM
will a sohc work on the rewiring steps ... or is it for just dohc?

pbcompgeek
08-13-2009, 09:30 PM
Hey so you said if i was confused you'd take pictures so could you of your whole setup please the diagrams arent helping especially when people say stuff needs to be capped off.

Sellek83
09-16-2010, 12:49 PM
I have a JDM S14 Silvia making 320bhp on the stock internals and stock GT28R ball bearing turbo @ 1.5bar/21psi.

Its has an Apexi filter, Apexi Duel exhaust, enlarged turbo elbow, Tubular manifold, 255lph fuel pump, piston type DV, FMIC, Blitz EBC and the ECU has been chipped. I'm unsure at to whether the injectors have been swapped as it had all the modifications other than the tubular manifold and turbo elbow when I got it at the start of August.

It has 255/40/17 Pirelli P-Zero Rossi's on the rear and they struggle to keep the tail in line in lower gears so I expect it to be producing over 300 lb/ft of Torque as well.

RHDskyline
10-01-2010, 10:43 AM
Can you put a link up to a site that is actually working, that has the wiring info.

I know i found it somewhere else but i can't remember.

I will be swapping the sr in favor of a ka24de so and the wiring is the only think holding me back.

THanks


EDIT: Found it

http://www.frsport.com/SR20DET-Swap-Engine-Harness-Wiring-Diagram-Guide-SR-SR20_t_26.html

fliprayzin240sx
10-03-2010, 08:57 PM
I have a JDM S14 Silvia making 320bhp on the stock internals and stock GT28R ball bearing turbo @ 1.5bar/21psi.

Its has an Apexi filter, Apexi Duel exhaust, enlarged turbo elbow, Tubular manifold, 255lph fuel pump, piston type DV, FMIC, Blitz EBC and the ECU has been chipped. I'm unsure at to whether the injectors have been swapped as it had all the modifications other than the tubular manifold and turbo elbow when I got it at the start of August.

It has 255/40/17 Pirelli P-Zero Rossi's on the rear and they struggle to keep the tail in line in lower gears so I expect it to be producing over 300 lb/ft of Torque as well.

What color are the injectors? If you're boosting 1.5bar on a GT28R, I highly doubt its stock. Probably atleast 550s...Nismo 550s are yellow if I remember correctly.

RHDskyline
12-12-2010, 08:31 PM
This thread has good info about parts that are compatable, But as for actually swapping the engine

The heavy throttle write up that was done is good for visual people and it talks about intercooler, the vacuum lines and re-timing the engine



Not sure what the rules are for posting links on this site. IF you want it. Pm me or google it

sr20lol
12-16-2010, 07:28 PM
Are there any how to threads with detailed pictures of the actuall swap

driftlife
03-19-2011, 07:13 AM
does anybody have any pic on how the vacuum lines go on real life motor pic for a s13 sr redtop go?

Silvia716
03-19-2011, 09:12 AM
If its like the s14 Sr20 the vacuum lines are by the intake manifold and you run them to your turbo and bov

jmegens
06-14-2011, 07:09 AM
I was thinking about putting the SR20DET S14 black top into my 74 610 wagon. Its been modified to hold the L28 but with SU carbs. I wanted to go back to a 4cyl power plant with fuel injection. Any advice on this potential project?

Havok1427
10-04-2011, 01:45 AM
I heard running royal purple on a sr20det is bad can anyone please tell me if they are wrong cuz im due for an oil change and idk if to stay royal purple or flush it and go something else please i need help asap

2_Liter_Turbo
10-04-2011, 06:47 AM
I heard running royal purple on a sr20det is bad can anyone please tell me if they are wrong cuz im due for an oil change and idk if to stay royal purple or flush it and go something else please i need help asap

I've been running Royal Purple on my SR for 7 years. Took apart the motor for my build (it was still running perfectly) and you could not tell the motor had 200k on it at all. The bearings looked awesome. RP has the highest film strength of any other oil that I've researched, which is why I originally went with them. The down side is that it's expensive, but at least you can get it virtually anywhere. That's their motor oil, their gear oil isn't anything special. I use Torco for gear oil.

12mcghee21
10-21-2011, 12:28 AM
i have a 1995 nissan 240sx, with a srdet20 swap, it is getting way to much fuel, what could it be?

RyanKuly180sx
01-24-2012, 08:07 PM
Improper Tune?

Check all your O2 sensors are in correctly, because obvs your ecu is trying to compensate for more air.

Krewlkid
02-02-2012, 09:54 PM
the FR sport wiring guide has been moved to

SR20DET Swap Engine Harness Wiring Diagram Guide SR SR20 (http://www.frsport.com/SR20DET-Swap-Engine-Harness-Wiring-Diagram-Guide-SR-SR20_t_26.html)

MIKE 34
03-28-2012, 10:37 AM
hey man so i cant swap a 1jz or 2jz in it to make it legal the engine hase to be from Nissan cant be any other engine ??

wangan_cruiser
03-28-2012, 03:29 PM
There is no need to open another sr20det faq thread Again. There is one already stickied too.

DJVAUGHN
06-22-2013, 12:28 AM
Do I really need the power steering line from dual can ka or can I just get a aftermarket one and if i do I need 2 or 1

powermymotor
06-28-2013, 12:14 AM
when i remove the ka engine what hose line should i expect to reconnect to the sr20 again? 2 heater hoses skip AC, 1 power steering line, throttle line, 2 fuel lines?, 1 charcoal filter line?, 1 oil catch can line???

riptor
08-25-2013, 01:55 PM
so theres no reason I cant get this done in a weekend right?

mindshot
05-01-2014, 07:54 PM
I have no spark and I'm using factory harness but a 1993 ignitor I have two wires (black and one blk with a color strip). Help or this car and motor go to the scrap yard

bsilvias13
06-01-2014, 03:07 PM
Just logged in for the first time in a VERY long time.I dont know if this guide was up when I was last active but, A+ work for those involved.

wiring specialties
06-14-2014, 11:05 PM
Splicing wires is a thing of the past. We have pre-made harnesses for all of the SR20DET variants that are plug and play to many different chassis.

S13 SR20DET engine swap - wiring harnesses (http://www.wiringspecialties.com/s13sr20det.html)

S14 SR20DET engine swap - wiring harnesses (http://www.wiringspecialties.com/s14sr20det.html)

S15 SR20DET engine swap - wiring harnesses (http://www.wiringspecialties.com/s15sr20det.html)

KAT-PWR
10-23-2016, 04:26 PM
Sorry to bump an old thread. Relooming my harness and made these diagrams, if it helps anyone, great. *not liable*


Also made these sheets for connectors/wiring
S13 SR
All references looking into connector, push tab up,, read from left to right.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u116/waxball88/E5D55511-D97A-4899-9A73-4ECD607652F2_zpsjw6c0ilt.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u116/waxball88/B97CC879-A96A-4E1E-A548-6FF939CD9D3D_zpsde3ursxf.jpg