SR20DET swap reliability and emmisions!!!

[dank311]

i was planning on doing a SR20DET swap on a S14 240SX...what are some things i should look out for when doing this swap..will it pass emmissions, state laws, etc...are they reliable engines? how hard is it to do the swap...would it matter if they have don it before? also if i have problems with my engine, how will i fix it if i cant take it to the dealer?would i go to the same person who put it in for me? i live in memphis, TN so not alot of people around here know alot about these engines but a few people..give me your opinions/advice on the emmissions/ instal/problems/reliability...etc
thanx
Jon

[DuffMan]

Well the engine isn't very complicated or unusual in its design so pretty much any mechanic could work on it. Most parts are can be found from other US cars, and those that cant, can be ordered.

With an S14 you might have issues with OBD if durring a smog test they check it. I'm not sure if your state even has smog checks or whether they check OBD. The engine will run clean enough to not fail the emissions test, but the swap is technically illegal.

[srJOEYdet]

AS far as I know there is absolutely no realistic way to make the engine legal in the states in an american 240. the deartment of transportation (DOT) never certified the engine, because there are not widely imported nissans with that engine in them. And when you import a new engine (one never before tested), DOT has to rune 50 grand in tests on it. That is the only way to make if comepletely legal. The engine will pass oregons smog test though. They have pretty strict regulations in japan where the SR's come from. You can still get tags ans a plate sometimes though. You just have to lucky and have the visual inspection overlooked. (it happened once before when i ahd a suzuki samurai) THe other way to get it overlooked is to pay to have it done. (This is different than a bribe, wink wink)
     The reason why RB26DETT's get legalized is because they are in the original chassis the egine was put in. But ours come out and into another chassis. Still, legalizing a Skyline is prety damn expensive, aspecially a new one.
     As far as i know, the engineis very reliable. As soon as the guys at SCC got their's running, they set out for a 400 mile road trip. And their chassis had 270,000 miles on it! So I Would say go for it. Getting it "illegally" legalized shouldn't be that hard. Thats how everyone I know of does it in california... Someone let me know if any my info is off.

Joey
(this is the same post I put on your identical topic in the chat board... why 2 topics on the same forum?)

[HippoSleek]

Agreed basic reliability should be no worse than any other factory turbo motor (which depends HEAVILY on your treatment of it).  It is a fact of life that turbo cars are more expensive to maintain than N/A cars (which is why they sell so poorly here, since manu's can make up for boost w/ displacement).  There is nothing inherently suspect about the SR and Nissan has a rep for building bullet proof motors.

As for emissions, the SR is not legal to run on any public road in the US.  It lacks certain mandated emissions controls and it spews out slightly more noxious gasses than is allowable.  It can pass a sniffer w/ timing adjustments and a good cat.  It will not pass visual w/o $ on the side.