Engine Swap in progress

[AceInHole]

Part I:
So, today being bright and sunny outside, I began the attempt at resurrecting my car:

First off, the "old" engine is beat. #4 piston is low in the cylinder when it's supposed to be at TDC. I turned the crank by hand (well, by breaker bar) with a rod resting on the piston, and the sucker didn't move at all. Turning the crank back and forth produced a "clinking" sound. Rod is most DEF. busted.
What does this mean?? Well, for one, it means the problem was most likely an oil problem. Personally, i think it's most definitely oil. So, I'm ordering an oil pressure gauge to install next week.

On to the work:
Started out by finding a nice open space to work. Actually, the car was already parked in my uncle's driveway, and since it was nice out and the Beemer was taking up the garage space (stupid pampered germans) I "decided" to work on the car outside while my cousins were washing their cars (and asking me to fix random ricey objects such as busted blue headlight bulbs).
Ahh... the great outdoors:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/work_space.jpg

First thing was to remove the hood to get more work space and free lighting. Plus, all the great tuners remove the hood to work on the engine:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/open_engine.jpg

Intake piping was removed, and after some discussion with my uncle, he convinced me it'd be easier to remove the engine without the tranny and leave the tranny in the car. To do this, we'd have to slide the engine forward to disconnect it from the tranny, and in order to do so we'd need some space, so I drained the coolant and took out the radiator, fan shroud, and both fans.
This sucker needs to be cleaned anyways:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/radiator.jpg
I'm pretty sure there's enough space now:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/front_space.jpg

To lighten the load on the hoist and make things easier, I removed the P/S pump, A/C compressor, and alternator:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/unbolt_ac.jpg
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/remove_alternator.jpg
Then I strapped everything to the side and supported them to take the load off the hoses, and get a little space to needlessly remove the brackets:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/tied_pumps.jpg

I also removed the exhaust manifold with the turbo, and disconnected all the harness connections on the intake side and any vacuum hoses coming off the engine.

Tomorrow I'll be unbolting the transmission, taking the engine out, swapping some of the intake side sensors (possibly just swapping the plenum and runners as a whole) to convert from OBD II to OBD I, and installing the new engine!!

[96SEChick]

I'm impressed--being able to do all of that w/o taking it to a shop! Great job! Keep us updated tomorrow-----good luck! ;)

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by 96SEChick
I'm impressed--being able to do all of that w/o taking it to a shop! Great job! Keep us updated tomorrow-----good luck! ;)

might be more impressive that i did all that in 6 hours including an hour of pizza in addition to miscellaneous stuff like fixing my cousin's Civic ;)

tomorrow should be more fun... pictures of the empty engine bay :o

[RedSuns]

nice work...i am in the middle of pulling my SR out in the middle of a HUGE parking lot outside of the dorms that I live in.....

[Jeff240sx]

Bah. Getting your motor before I get mine! Humbug!
Are you pulling the motor and tranny separatly? I highly suggest not, because there are 2 bellhousing bolts that suck alot to get out, as well as needing to re-align the clutch (I personally don't like doing it under the car in a cramped space).
Just rip out the enigine and tranny at once. I wish I had.
-Jeff

[thx247]

Jeff-

tomorrow I'm putting in a 98 KA into a 93...I'm keeping the same transmission, but your suggesting keeping the tranny attached while I pull the engine and replace it because its difficult to line the clutch up with the engine?

So would it be easier to pull the tranny and engine whole, remove the tranny, put the tranny on the new engine, and then install the tranny-engine into the car?

[Jeff240sx]

It's not really the most problematic thing (lining up clutch), but what is a problematic thing are the 2 bolts. The top bolt of the bellhousing and the starter bolt. Those 2 took me hours to get out.
So, now I have an engine out, and a tranny swap in progress... and guess what? I'm bolting the engine and tranny together to install them, as opposed to fight with the firewall and half-ass the bolts in, cuz they are a serious pain in the ass.
-Jeff

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by Jeff240sx
It's not really the most problematic thing (lining up clutch), but what is a problematic thing are the 2 bolts. The top bolt of the bellhousing and the starter bolt. Those 2 took me hours to get out.
Took me 10 - 15 minutes tops to get all the tranny bolts off. BUY UNIVERSAL JOINTS AND LONG EXTENSIONS!! Makes everything easy.

Anyways, on to PART II:

After disconnecting some small odds and ends (vacuum lines, heater hoses, etc), I decided to make things a bit easier by removing the intake plenum. No easy task: the bolts that support the plenum are a PITA to get at. Had to remove the heater hoses and oil filter first. The oil filter was just as i suspected: gunked with shavings:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/filter_shavings.jpg

After that I was able to get at the plenum support bolts, and slip the runners off first, then the plenum:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/rem_runners.jpg
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/rem_plenum.jpg

With the intake off, I was able to see the damage to my block. Looks like I'll be buying Kookz's or something, whatever I can get cheap:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/hole_in_block.jpg
If you can't tell, there's a hole in the block above the starter assembly. A thrown rod at WOT..... yeah, just what you'd expect I guess.

So, with the engine naked, it was time to get to the real work:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/naked_engine.jpg

The first job was to get the engine hoist connected. I bolted a chain to the head on the front intake side and the rear exhaust side, and supported the tranny with a jack:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/hoist001.jpg

After that, all we had to do was unbolt the tranny bolts (easy enough), unbolt the motor mounts (surprisingly easy), slide the engine forward and lift it out.
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/big_catch.jpg

Once the engine was out, I used one of my ratchet adjusted straps (good for like 1500 lbs each) to hold up the tranny by my STB mounts.
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/tranny_strap.jpg

And to end the day, I sat the engine down on a peice of wood so I could take my precious SPEC stage III clutch off for installation onto the new engine.
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_II/engine_out.jpg

To be continued tomorrow.....

Things to do:
1. Clean an empty engine bay
2. Tap a larger oil drain fitting on the oil pan and install on new engine
3. Install SPEC clutch on new engine
4. Install OBD I equipment on new engine (i think i can get away with just swapping TPS sensors)
5. Buy more beer

[thx247]

Today we started on my 93KA to a 98KA engine swap, and I can attest to how difficult those bolts are to get, with extensions, with universal joints...they still are a pita to get at when you have a car with over 100k tightening them up on you.

We decided just to pull the whole thing, way easier, much faster.

I'm planning on installing the new engine with its original tranny and just keeping my tranny around as an extra.

[Kookaburraz]

Hmmm, those bolts didn't take me more than 15 minutes to get off, on a 232k mile car...no fancy joints either, just a 2 inch extension.

[Bbandit]

wow these stuff are helpful
we should make this sticky
ace = king of DIY!
:D

[thx247]

maybe...maybe you guys have magic socket sets? lol. I dunno, but for me it was easier to remove engine/tranny together.

:o

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by thx247
maybe...maybe you guys have magic socket sets? lol. I dunno, but for me it was easier to remove engine/tranny together.

:o

breaker bar = key

Anyways:

Part III:

I didn't get much done today because of a court date... but here goes:

First thing I did was take apart the old block since I needed the oil pan, dust sheild, and lower plates for the new engine (came from an auto). As soon as I dropped the pan I found the cause of my engine failure:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_III/oilpan002.jpg
That twisted peice of metal is the 4th cylinder's connecting rod endcap. (Nevermind the coolant, which was seeping out of the swaying engine's open drain hole). The rod is intact (beat up though). So, it was definitely an oil problem, as a couple of the other crank bearings were cracked.
Here's the 4th rod looking below the crank... twisted a bit:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_III/4throd.jpg

And the hole from the inside:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_III/sunlight.jpg

Then for the rest of the day I converted the new engine to OBD I (swapped intake plenums) and redid my oil drain fitting:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_III/new_oiltap.jpg
I used a drill bit for the initial hole, then used a grinding stone on my dremel to work it to just a bit smaller than my 1/2" NPT fitting. The NPT fitting flares out as it threads in, so as I threaded it through it tapped the hole and literally wedged itself in, ending up nice and snug. To make sure it didn't leak, i unscrewed it, and coated the threads with silicone sealant, then screwed it in a bit further than last time. It's in there well enough to hold the entire pan by the fitting. Should be fine for a peice under no stress or pressure.

So, tomorrow looks like cleaning up day.... at least, I hope that's how it turns out.

[Sixbanger]

Nice job, Ace. Keep the reports/pictures coming. Zilvia could use posts like this.

[Jeff240sx]

Ace! Another firm believer in JB weld for oil return bungs! Yay!
-Jeff

[Tyler Durdan]

Excellent work on the DIY...hope it doesn't rain though...:D .

On a side note, while your engine is out or Jeff if you already know the answer, is there anyway I can get you to figure out what size t connection is needed to run off the oil sending unit for the turbo feed lines? That's the last piece I need to finish up on the oil lines part of my project, and I really don't want to have to rip that sucker out. Thanks a ton.

Mark

[Jeff240sx]

IIRC it's 1/8 BSPT.
-Jeff

[Tyler Durdan]

Originally posted by Jeff240sx
IIRC it's 1/8 BSPT.
-Jeff

A thousand thank you's, and I'd ya a six pack if you didn't live in Florida....saves me a lot of time. Perhaps if we do a zilvia meet, the first round is on me.:D

[SR20DEe]

;) thats still not an sr20 ;)


is that thing running yet, im tired of being the only nissan kid on the block ;)

[mrmephistopheles]

WOW! That starter is World Class! :D :D

Excellent thread, Ace. Keep up the good work. I know how disctracting it is to stop and take pics every few minutes.

[Keisuke]

great job ace, keep it coming! wish i was there. . .

[AceInHole]

Part IV:

Didn't do much today really. Was stuck on a couple PITA parts:
1. Pilot bushing swap from Auto to Manual
2. Removing the Auto flywheel bolts
3. Install clutch
4. Cleaning and installing the intake plenum and oil pan for installation

The pilot bushing was a pain in the ass. I went to a couple automotive stores looking for a small bearing puller that could get at it from the inside but had no luck. Eventually, I gripped it with a huge pipe wrench, locked the crank with a breaker bar, and twisted the bushing loose (the auto bushing sticks out a bit). Then I kept twisting it and wedged it out by the pipe wrench with the screwdriver. Installing the manual bushing was simple: just tap it in slowly and evenly with a hammer and a decent sized socket as a "buffer".

Removing the flywheel bolts was also a huge pain in the ass. I went at it for more than an hour on and off with WD-40 and an impact wrench (used an electrical one. Didn't feel like moving the engine to within range of the compressor for air tools as I didn't think it would make a diff if i couldn't do it with the electric one). I ended up giving up on electricity, and went with brute force. Locked the flywheel with 2 clamps, then went at it with a breaker bar and a pipe extension (the extension i ended up using was roughly 1.5 times longer than the following pic).
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/flywheel_removal.jpg

Clutch installed easily once I found all the bolts (I had them wrapped in a rag in the large plastic container, but in the morning when trying to get something else out the rag opened into my trunk where I was storing the parts). No probs there.

Then I went at it and wasted like 8 cans ( a couple were almost empty though) cleaning the oil pan, intake manifold and runners. I found out that I couldn't easily just swap TPS sensors to convert from OBD II to OBD I. There's a lot of evap stuff on the intake manifold that differs, so I had to swap the plenums (kept the '97's runners though). Since I removed the EGR, I tapped a fitting into it instead of just blocking it to make everything just a bit cleaner (T-eed vacuum lines aren't as cool maybe). I also completely bypassed the EGR vacuum line by just running the EVAP line back from the T that's on the plate on the back of the intake runners onto the pre-throttle body intake line. That let me unbolt the solenoid on the same plate and get rid of the plate completely. Looks a lot cleaner and it'll make removal of the intake runners easier in the future. Also maybe a few more ounces of weight reduction!!

So, as it stands, tomorrow is almost fully dedicated to preping the engine bay itself (I want to clean it up a bit and see if I can't change some stuff around to "optimize" my engine bay) and installing the engine into the car. If it's not up and running by tomorrow night, it'll definitely be done by thursday (but, since it's supposed to rain thursday, I'm aiming for tomorrow night).

What I've got left:
1. Clean engine bay
2. Mount oil pan (it got dark while I was removing the old oil pan bolts.... so I quit and left the old pan on for the night)
3. Bolt on passenger side mount for easier installation since I put the plenum on already
4. Get the engine in the car and bolt it in
5. Connect the AC and PS pumps, alternator, and belts.
6. Refill fluids, connect harness, start it up, let it get warm, and check compression.

[AceInHole]

Part V:
engine is in the car, but didn't get to it till late in the day, so, it's ready to run, just needs to be bolted down so it doesn't run away from the car :p


So, today i installed the oil pan with $21 silicone sealant from a Nissan Dealership :mad: Had to custom make an elbow to clear the A/C bracket since I was too lazy to go to Sears and get a 1/2" ID brass 90deg nipple to have to come back and drop the oil pan and refit the fitting and seal the pan again.

So, since I had to wait for a 2nd pair of hands to arrive to get the engine into the car, I worked on the SMIC:

To fit the DSM sidemount in, I had to turn this:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_V/stock_top.jpg

into this:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_V/ic_top.jpg

Just used some shears and a dremel to enlarge the stock resonator's hole.

Looks like this from the front:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_V/ic_bumper.jpg

I figure an 8" fan should help the SMIC do its job a bit better, so I'll have to find one for it.

Otherwise, engine is in the car, SMIC is ready to be plumbed, and tomorrow hopefully the car will be driving around the New Haven/ Hamden, CT area.

[96SEChick]

Way to go Ace!!!!

[lbcklik1486]

Ace, your my hero of the DIY! I only wish that one day I can aspire to be a dremel pro.... dremels... they can solve just about any problem that stands in your way.:D

[AceInHole]

anyone got any ideas for a coolant reserve tank?? the stock one won't fit now with my SMIC....

[timmybgood]

no ideas for the coolant tank but excellent write up ace, swapping engines is fun, gotta love the pipe breaker bar, my favorite

[lbcklik1486]

Could you use a window washer fluid resevoir and just run it behind the intercooler? Or is there not enuff room at all... just a thought.

[AceInHole]

Part VI:

Installed all the pumps in a hurry (rained in the afternoon, but i beat it! haha) and started the car:
first start video (http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VI/first_start.avi)

roared a bit much because i had forgot to connect the line going into the intake runners on the bottom. man, that was a pain to connect with the runners still on :mad:

So, after that, a really loud rattling came from my engine, like a chain being dragged across the floor. Luckily, I was able to get the car up on ramps, and sourced the sound to the tranny. After a long while of fear and dismay, I found out it was just the crank position sensor on the top of the tranny behind the engine. Unfortunately, we cracked it while installing the engine (should've taken it out while mating the engine to the tranny) and it was scraping the flywheel.
Here's the cracked sensor:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VI/broken_CPS.jpg

When I straightened the sensor out it was a bit longer than it was previously, and instead made a buzzing sound, so I'll have to make a spacer for it (if it still even works) tomorrow.

Otherwise, engine is in, car runs fine. Did near 180# across with a crappy compression tester (i think i lost some test compression from using a crappy tester). I'll take it out on the road tomorrow!

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VI/installed_engine.jpg

[Keisuke]

your my hero of the month PJ!:rolleyes: just kidding dude, your the man! i cant wait to eat your dust:eek:

[96SEChick]

Way to go!!! She breathes!!!

[SR20DEe]

great job.... now get your ass over here and help me with my header ;)

[uiuc240]

Ace,

Don't bother with a fan. It will just impede airflow, and once you're past about 30mph, it's not going to help you anyway. Just rock it the way it is...and take out your fender lining if you haven't already.

Eric

p.s. looks good!

[Jim96SC2]

Ace man, good job. I take it you have a digi cam? I need one of them!

Are you in Conn.? If so you should drop down to LI some time this summer (the rest of you Conn. people too) and chill out around here. I'd love to compare S14KAT against S13 SR20DET.

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by Jim96SC2
Ace man, good job. I take it you have a digi cam? I need one of them!

Are you in Conn.? If so you should drop down to LI some time this summer (the rest of you Conn. people too) and chill out around here. I'd love to compare S14KAT against S13 SR20DET.

Thanx for the compliments. I've got a digi cam, Cannon A40. It's really good for a cheap compact 2mp. Yeah, I'm in CT. A friend of mine (Micah) goes to LI meets a lot and keeps asking me to go. I've always ended up busy or something though. Maybe one of these times I'll go.

Anyways, on to
Part VII:
Today I wanted to get everything in working order so that I wouldn't have to worry about mashing down on the gas. So, I changed oil after driving the car around all morning picking up parts, and got ready to dig into the engine again. (yup, changed oil after less than 1 day of use).

I bought 2x 2" ID radiator hose 90deg bends, and used them (with a 2" to 2.5" muffler adapter as a hose adapter) to connect the IC. I'm hoping the "hotpipe" wont melt... but since it's radiator hose it should be able to withstand a bit of heat (at least over 200deg I hope).
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VII/ic_connect.jpg

With the bends in place, I really couldn't fit the coolant resevoir, so I ended up moving it to the other side of the engine bay where there was some empty space, in front of the windsheild wiper motor where the ABS would go. With everything in place, it ends up looking like this:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VII/iced_engine.jpg

With a little bit of cleaning, painting, and polishing I should have a really nice looking engine bay!!

So, last thing to do was to visit my friend Carl's shop, Soundworks, where his "new" KAt was sitting in the parking lot:
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VII/2x_kats.jpg

I'm tryin' to get hooked up with a FMIC through the shop, so we'll see how things go. I still need an oil pressure gauge and I'm going to redo the MAF with mild steel piping instead of the PVC. So, the engine swap is now officially done with, and it's on to bigger and better things!

[cdigity]

nice pic!
did you take more?
call me at the shop tomorrow, i think ive got
an oil pressure guage there(i'll check in the morning)
did that filter work out?

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by cdigity
nice pic!
did you take more?
call me at the shop tomorrow, i think ive got
an oil pressure guage there(i'll check in the morning)
did that filter work out?

i took a bunch of pics, but most are similar. this is the only other real different one worth posting: your engine bay :D
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VII/carls_engine.jpg

I wanna stick with Autometer gauges since all my gauges are Autometer... even though I'll most likely going to a smaller boost gauge anyways and taking the fuel pressure gauge out since it's not even hooked up :p

I'll hook the filter up when I get some 3" piping. They didn't have any at Monroe, so I've gotta call around places tomorrow.

[AceInHole]

and... the engine is done for a little bit at least :D
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~corrales/240/engine_swap/part_VIII/new_bay.jpg

[96SEChick]

Looks great! Awesome job Ace!!!! :D

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by 96SEChick
Looks great! Awesome job Ace!!!! :D

would've been better if i didn't mess the MAF up :mad:

might've just gone into failsafe mode though

[timmybgood]

look good