swap issues.. What were yours?

[TOMY]

I'm getting ready for a swap and i've been researching this project for about 3 years (boughts a s13 hatch, sold it, bought a s14, sold it, bought a s13 again) and i know that doing the actual swap is much different then reading about it. But i would like to know what problems you guys encountered on an individual basis. Like, did you forget plug a harness somewhere, parts you never knew you needed, parts that went bad.. etc. Any info you can provided would be appreciated.

BTW: I have searched this subject, but i don't think anyone could have too much input from this topic.

thanks

[fliprayzin240sx]

if you would ask a question this generalized...you havent researched enough in 3 years!!! Seems like theres 8452749871 threads in Technical bout people having different issues with their swaps.

[S14DB]

Usally it's the other husband getting jealous.

[420sx]

i think ur scared of search button..........

http://nicholasparedes.typepad.com/nicholasparedes/images/bush_pussy.jpg

[2JZGTE]

LOL, well I'll add something useful here.

I only had 1 glitch during my SR20det swap. The ecu that osaka motorsports sent me was completely burnt up inside. After I ordered a new ECU (osaka wouldn't replace it) the car fired right up.

Just run over everything twice, and make sure to prime the system before starting. It wasn't very hard for me, and I did the entire engine swap from beginning to end all by myself because all my friends around here are pansies.

By far the hardest part for me was dropping the SR in. I had a tough time getting it seated on my nismo mounts, but all is good.

Good luck!

billy

[2JZGTE]

i know that doing the actual swap is much different then reading about it.

You're right. It is different than reading about it. You just have to dive into it and you'll learn a few things along the way. I'm sure you can get it done if you have some common sense and mechanical ability. It's actually having all the parts you need in your garage that really speeds up the process. I had to wait on various pieces, so it extended my swap time. Also, be ready to make a few trips to the parts store for little things.

[driftracer]

I agree. It is a lot different doing the work versus reading about it. As 2JZGTE was saying, be ready to learn things along the way and making frequent trips to the local autozone or pepboys. Also realize that it could take you as little as one day to do the complete swap, but don't expect it to run perfectly in one day. If you have patience, everything should go smoothly. As far as major problems encountered, I received the wrong ECU and locating a new one took 3 weeks. If everything is in order though, things should go much quicker.

[240trainee]

Grounds are very important. lol. veeeeeeery important.

[420sx]

^^ yes.

so is wiring. and temp sensor. and new thermostat haha

[MakotoS13]

patience is the number one ALWAYS. stuff can and wil go wrong even if your patient so rushing through will only exponentially cause you problems.

[91CRXsiR]

getting my lazy brother to get off his ass to work on the car i'd say was the number 1 prob everything else seems pretty straight forward

[ohnobigtdawg]

aligning the transmission crossmember and the motor mounts was fun.. :down:

[sciamop]

-- Aligning the trans mount was a PITA; I actually stripped one of the body mount points attempting this.
-- Mixed up one of the ECU area connectors. There are 2 that can plug into ECU (IIRC it was the brown one in the upper right that was correct).
-- Wasted time trying to remove brake pedal for auto > 5spd swap. Solution grind it in half.
-- AC lines were interfering with engine near firewall. Solution: bye-bye AC.
-- Front clip was in an accident. Torn IC > throttle pipe, etc.
-- Ditched the AIV; removing from turbo elbow was a PITA. Ended up using a Megan Racing elbow with no opening for AIV.

The SR20 install isn't easy, but it's not hard either. Good luck, we'll be here if you need any help. ;)

Todd
93 Coupe
91 SE-R

[s14 blacktop]

dropping the engine in was a pain because youd get one motor mount in and then the other wouldnt line up so you would have to raise the engine halfway off the other mount and try to pry the other mount on...........Pain in the @$$.... besides that it was mainly trying to figure out the wiring with the factory usdm and jdm fsm's...

[TOMY]

for those that helped, thanks for the info, keep them coming...

and for those that had other things to say... i appreciate you ignorance :cj: :fawk2: :fawkd: :blah:

[Flybert]

Swap issues are dependant on the motor you are throwing in there. Are you swapping to another KA, SR, RB, JZ, VQ, V8?

[90sr]

hey man just print out step by step directions from heavy throttle, they help a decent amount, dont forget the black wire with yellow stripe behind the battery that has to be stripped and wired together to get the starter to work, um send your harness out to get resoldiered and set for usdm engine bay, and just go plug by plug and your golden, good luck with everything and take your time cant stress that enough just take your time man have fun.

chris

[TOMY]

SR along with a manual swap

[91CRXsiR]

you should if you haven't already get a list of all parts you need and pricing for them and where to buy them if you haevnt already .. i made a list of excel it helped quite a bit also have all the wiring diagrams ready for when you need it you can check the FAQ section its there i believe. having all the parts ready really helps move things along.. also check all the stuff on the car to see if they are working or not i had to stop because we found the oil line was stripped and had to be rethreaded.. this delayed us for 1 month..[we only work 1 or 2 times per month anyways]