self swap or pay someone else????

[heated heavy]

ive been pondering my sr swap for almost a year now and i am almost to the point where i have enough money for what i want but i just want to know: is the swap really worth the time and effort for someone who has never done any engine swaps and who has average knowledge of the sr20det? or should i just fork out the extra grand to have a pro do it for me? at first i thought it would be cool to have bragging rights for doing my own swap but my friend says its really not worth the pain and hassle.
what do you experienced people have to say about this?
thanks in advance

[misnomer]

I think we'd need to know a bit more about your mechanical adeptedness. . (if that's a word). . .

Regardless, are you confident in your ability? An SR swap is pretty easy as far as engines go, but if youc an't change the belt on your vacuum cleaner. . . you may want to shop around.

Things to consider:
-Do you have the tools?
-Are you good at figuring things out?
-Are you confident in your ability?

[andrave]

I offered to help a friend do it himself. He took it to a shop. Its been months and the guy just keeps making excuses as to why it isn't finished.
we should've done it ourselves.
besides that way when it breaks down you will understand it better and you might be able to fix it.

[240_keyy]

I did the shop myself with the help of one of my friends. There is PLENTY of info on the net (such as HT's guide) for you to do it yourself. All you really need is a place to actually do the swap, such as a driveway or garage, or even better, a shop. Then you need normal hand tools (they were all I had and I didn't have any problems) and you just need to start turning bolts.

I also HIGHLY recommend an engine hoist, because that is one heavy mofo of a motor to try to pick up and slide into the engine bay ;)

[harryhood]

I would recomend doing it yourself if you are comfortable with working on cars, have spare time, and have some patience. I had a floor jack, two jack stands, an engine hoist, and basic hand tools. Mine was my first swap, it took about 1 month from turning off car to driving it away. I learned more in that one month then I did in two years of being an internet poser.

[Flybert]

For the last month I've been doing my KA motor swap on the weekends with the help of my all-knowing dad and a few friends. I have a factory service manual and that thing is priceless.

I would have to say that it is very worth it to do it if your time is not worth that much money. Some of us have serious jobs and knowing you are going to have to work on a car all weekend is just killer, especially when you just feel like resting. In addition, if you have oil all over the bottom of your car and in the engine bay, you are going to want to clean all that shit out like I did. You are going to want to replace all the gaskets and seals as well. I have spent the majority of my time cleaning and doing prep work rather than wrenching on stuff.

It is a very time consuming process if you've never done it before and you better have good problem solving skills when it comes to making things work. Luckily my pops is a genius when it comes to this stuff. Lastly, I have been getting rides and borrowing cars for a whole month now and this has been the worst part of it all. If you decide to do it yourself, I wish you good luck.

[heated heavy]

thanks for the feedback... i have decided to do the swap myself considering it will cost less and i will have good sr knowledge for future repair and troubleshooting. if only i knew how am gonna get to work.

[Fibercus]

+ you will have all the tools / hoist / jackstands and such to keep afterwards, which you will need

[aznpoopy]

:T

save a little more and get a 1k beater. you have no idea how long its going to take to finish that swap. friends /w cars help but even they get annoyed eventually. good luck.

[curbhuggerrps13]

hey i think u should come down to my place..im doin a sr swap right now cuz i jsut go my tranny shipped in and chillin..hehe bring some burgers...

[blu808]

We can do it in a day at my house. Just buy food for a bbq and I will help you. It will be fun, and you will know alot more about your car when its done.

Give me a call if your interested.
Luke

[Var]

i say do it yourself and spend the thousand bucks on tools and/or mods. like an intercooler and a BOV is about a grand.

[phrozen]

U cna do it yourself if your mechanicaly inclined, if not pay someone or start searching and reading. Swap install is usually around 1000 bucks, and will get it done in w few days to a week if you do it yourself it will take longer and u might wanna have access to a compressor, welder, jacks, lifts, ect just in case

[gregsr20]

I have never swaped a motor until mine, and since then i have done 4, not including pulling mine out to do the tranny(it just seemed easier, since the swap was so easy), and to put it in my other 240 and put the ka24de back in the existing one. DO IT YOURSELF, it will payoff, you'll never know where the mechanic did a "mechanic-like" shortcut. Too much money involved in the swap