Engine Rebuilder

[los]

I've currently got about 187K miles on my car right now, so I am going to need a rebuild very soon. Does anyone know of a shop in or close to Orange County Cali that does rebuilds? I would prefer that they be 240 experts, but at this point as long as they have experience I'll be happy.

I know there are a ton that do SR20 rebuilds and swaps, but I want to stick with the KA.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

[AAA240SX]

when u say "rebuild" what actually do you mean? overhauling the complete motor with new parts...?most shops have the experience to do that. with consideration that the KA series has been in every imaginable nissan in the 1990's - knowledge about them is not too far-fetched.

[los]

Complete overhaul, maybe prepping for a turbo. The problem is, I've been driving brand new cars for the last 5 years, and before that a friend of mine helped me do most of the work on my car (200sx). I don't even have the slightest clue where to take it.

[Wei240]

I've currently got about 187K miles on my car right now, so I am going to need a rebuild very soon.
why do you need a rebuild again? because it has 187k? alot of ppl here including myself have at least that mileage and some are way past 200k w/o any probs...

Complete overhaul, maybe prepping for a turbo.
go do a compression/leakdown test first, most shops can do this, post your numbers and ppl here can tell you wheter or not you need a rebuild, unless you're absolutely getting horrible problems with the engine...

[AAA240SX]

agreed. mileage is not relevant. compression of the cylinders will determine if the motor is turbo worthy. if not it'd be a better idea just to cop a used motor from some1 here on the forums.

[Wei240]

but to answer your question (or not), try calling hiro's down in costa mesa (never been there, but heard they do good work in terms of maintenance, dunno if they do rebuilds, but they should, also should know nissans well)

[orion::S14]

Before I spent +$800 on a rebuild, I'd buy a low mileage KA from a '97-98 for $600-750 and swap it in your car...cheaper, easier, less downtime, etc...

- Brian

[los]

I want to do a rebuild mostly because I've only put on 2k of the 187k.

Orion, if I put in an engine from a 97-98 then I'll have to deal with ODBII. I'd rather not do that. But I have thought about dropping in a lower milage engine. I just can't find one that's close.

[orion::S14]

^^^ Nope...

As long as your car is a '91-94, all you have to do is swap in a '97-98 head and block.

Keep your intake manifold, accessories, distributor, wiring, MAF, A/C, etc...all of it. It all bolts right onto the newer block.

Only OBD differences are in the wiring and engine sensors, and then there are slight changes in the '97-98 intake manifold to acomodate those sensors...but you wouldn't be using ANY of that stuff.

- Brian

[Brian W.]

why put another 100,000+ mile junkyard motor in your car when you can put a fresh one with 0 history in and KNOW it will last for years to come. I think your on the right track rebuilding a motor, especially if your using forged goods in it. =)

[orion::S14]

^^^ I mean find a 30-40,000 mile motor out of a '97-98..there seems to be plenty of 'em in the junkyards down here in FL.

[ghostuss]

Since you going to pull ur motor out anyways. Get some internals done. Like the Headgasket or if you got some more money, go for forged stuff. (warning, forged stuff is not cheap, prepare to pay 3-4g just for the parts) That will make ur engine bullet proof thou... then anytime in the future when you have even more money, just turbo it. With a good rebuild it can handle 400hp easily. Oh it's also a good idea to get another ka24de for 200-300 and just rebuild that and once u done, just swap the rebuilt engine in. You can either keep ur old KA for spare parts or sell it. You won't have to lose ur car for that long, etc...

PS: if you have ur engine out, it's wise to change clutch, etc at the same time. Those costs a lot in labor to do.

[ramses]

Complete overhaul, maybe prepping for a turbo. The problem is, I've been driving brand new cars for the last 5 years, and before that a friend of mine helped me do most of the work on my car (200sx). I don't even have the slightest clue where to take it.

If you decide on completely building the KA. I have arp studs for sale. you will want them if adding ant force induction. I have a built KA and it is strong. I'm also running on stock ecu. so with some tuning with the greddy emanage or AEM ems unit when it comes, I should see some nice numbers. Any reputable place that does sr's or any rebuild of motors will be fine. there are far more places out in cali then where I'm at. I might be able to find a couple places where I know some guys out in cali have done there rebuilds at. you might have to drive a couple hours but worth it.