swapping a 95 ka into an s13...problems..

[wizdom98117]

I always thought this swap would be real easy, w/no problems. I'm in the middle of swapping the s14 ka into an s13 and ran into a couple of problems.

i) my main concern is that the harness from the s13 has two female connectors that are supposed to connect to the back of the motor near the firewall. The s14 ka does not have any male connectors to match that.

ii) the carbon canister from the s13 has two purge outlets that lead to the intake manifold. The s14 ka only has one inlet available.

iii) the headers from the s14 ka don't match the flanges connecting to the precat. To solve this I had to swap the s14 headers with the s13 ones...but, this lead to a problem with an extra pipe(sorry, don't know the name for it...goes from the headers to the intake side of motor by the firewall) that won't line up to the s13 headers.

iv) in general, a few of the connectors from the s13 harness do not match the connectors on the s14 ka

....i've just started the project, I may have additional problems i haven't run into.

Sorry so long, but if anyone has answers or suggestions I'd appreciate it. Thank you in advance

[kalieaire]

the block and the head are almost 100% identical, keep your smog equipment and other items from the s14 ka24de.

and just swap over the block and the head.

[wizdom98117]

i wouldn't want to swap the block/head in. I've already got the s14 ka mounted and bolted in. My concern is all the emissions devices that aren't interlinking together.

Does anyone know what emissions devices i can disconnect that my motor would not depend on?

i know the carbon canister is not necessary. I'm going to ommit that and try to find a way to plug those lines.



Thank you.

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by wizdom98117
I always thought this swap would be real easy, w/no problems. I'm in the middle of swapping the s14 ka into an s13 and ran into a couple of problems.

The swap would've been easier if you had swapped the intake manifold and exhaust manifolds from the S13 engine to the S14 engine. Assuming your S13 KA was also DOHC. That way all your sensors and everything are still S13 (OBD I instead of early OBD II)


i) my main concern is that the harness from the s13 has two female connectors that are supposed to connect to the back of the motor near the firewall. The s14 ka does not have any male connectors to match that.
IIRC those are EGR solenoids?? There's a plate on the back of the S13 head with solenoids that control a bunch of vacuum hoses that I think go to either EGR or EVAP. You might be able to get away without them, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm not even like 50% sure. Like I said before. Best bet is to swap the intake manifold and it's associated vacuum lines onto the S14 engine.


ii) the carbon canister from the s13 has two purge outlets that lead to the intake manifold. The s14 ka only has one inlet available. you must be going to a 96 or 97 - 98 intake plenum, so you're really deep into the OBD I vs OBD II stuff. IIRC one of those lines leads to the EGR.... but since the charcoal canister is on the intake plenum of the '97 it obviously doesn't need that extra line. I can TRY to check my '95 plenum (early OBD II that shares a lot with OBD I) and compare to the '97 plenum I have lying around.... if I have time today I'll check it out.


iii) the headers from the s14 ka don't match the flanges connecting to the precat. To solve this I had to swap the s14 headers with the s13 ones...but, this lead to a problem with an extra pipe(sorry, don't know the name for it...goes from the headers to the intake side of motor by the firewall) that won't line up to the s13 headers.
The tube is your EGR pipe. You can plug it, but really you should just swap the pipe from the S13 motor to the S14 motor. I'm pretty sure the EGR flanges are the same for both motors.

iv) in general, a few of the connectors from the s13 harness do not match the connectors on the s14 ka like, TPS?? Coolant temp sensor? Those didn't match on my engine either going from OBD II to OBD I. I had to swap intake plenums, and the coolant temp sensor on the runners.


....i've just started the project, I may have additional problems i haven't run into.

Sorry so long, but if anyone has answers or suggestions I'd appreciate it. Thank you in advance
Biggest suggestion: swap the intake manifolds. It'll prevent any further harness or hookup problems.

[wizdom98117]

thanks man....i was considering swapping that whole intake manifold, but at first I didn't think it would make sense since the s13 ka is blown.

Hopefully I can disassemble the intake manifold while it's in the motor.

Another question, the alternator from the s14 ka doesn't match the connectors from the s13 harness. Should I swap out the alternators as well, would it bolt up?

Let me know what other suggestions you may have

Thanks a lot for your help.

ps. I've seen your project s14 turbo on the forum, how's that coming along?

[email protected]

[DarkRaptor42]

the alternator has to be switched too, it will plug in but it wont work and youll be getting a new battery. If your s13 KA was a DOHC then do what ace said. If it was the SOHC your in alot more trouble than you think. What year was your car?

[wizdom98117]

it's weird, I thought they'd be %100 identical, but i guess nissan had to make minor changes to Fuk us up.

so, the alternator would plug up but wouldn't work?? even if they're both from a dohc motor??

I'll get to work on swapping in the intake manifolds.

I still have the s14 ecu, so would it make sense for me to swap in the s14 ecu as well???

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by wizdom98117
it's weird, I thought they'd be %100 identical, but i guess nissan had to make minor changes to Fuk us up.
either that or they improve things as they go on. you know... that whole evolution thing, just with cars.

[DarkRaptor42]

The cooling lines change and what not. Dont change the ECU if your switching manifolds cause then it wont work. Also the s14 KAs have different pistons in them that are "Supposedly" stronger for turboing hypernetic I think they are called.

[AceInHole]

Originally posted by DarkRaptor42
The cooling lines change and what not. Dont change the ECU if your switching manifolds cause then it wont work. Also the s14 KAs have different pistons in them that are "Supposedly" stronger for turboing hypernetic I think they are called.

yup. heater hose lines are another reason to keep the S13 manifold.

the S14 pistons are supposed to be hyper-eutetic (sp?). although, it hasn't exactly been proven the S13 pistons are not.