How reliable is an sr20?

[keepitmovin]

How reliable is an sr20? I am saving for either a sr20 in my s13 right now or I will just buy an s14. A major concern is how reliable the engine is. I will be living in san degio and making trips back home in la holidays and once every 1 1/2 months. The reason I ask is that i cant afford to be paying for repairs and such often, at least not anytime soon. So i wanna either get rid ok my old ka get a "newer" ka (buying s14 with less miles) or just swap in the sr20.

[Red Comet X]

remember that SR20 is a regular engine, placed in regular japanese cars. Its nissan so it should last as long as the KA block with regular care.

[Jim96SC2]

Reminder: "with regular care" does NOT mean boosting to 20PSI and leaving rubber at every stop sign.

[uiuc240]

I've had my SR since January and part of that was a very cold winter.  I've put about 6000 miles on it since then and everything is cool.  Only full-stop issue was when the sketchy coolant froze and I had to have it towed to a shop to thaw and get refilled.  Other stuff I've been fiddling with since I got it, but it never ceases to get me where I need to go.  And that's including multiple trips to Chicago (250 miles round trip) and the virgin voyage from Kansas City to Champaign (400+ miles).  Basically it's a solid, reliable motor...and I do have a habit of boosting often.  I'm not easy on it, but I also am not running 15+ psi (just 7)...that could change things quickly.

Eric

[kanekz]

In Japan, its acutally considered one of the more Reliable stock turbo'd engine.  But wut the others said, depends on what kinda punishment you put it through.

[Chew Slice]

Thats pretty re-assuring that theyre really reliable, but the thing im sketchy about is buying an sr from japan thats been driven to shit. &nbsp;it would suck spending a few G's on an sr and then having to drop even more bills into it to replace worn out parts. &nbsp;Just thought I'd give my two cents <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':blush:'>

[RedStage]

That's the main concern. &nbsp;Engines being shipped to the states come out of Junkyards.....

They are good engines to begin with, if you service them and don't unduly punish them they will last as anything else will. &nbsp;Problem is that most Japanese don't service their cars all that well. &nbsp;If they bought it new they usually get 3-5 years of service free from Nissan. &nbsp;After that....you never know if the oil or anything else has been changed.

Buddy of mine got a Blacktop SR20DET out of a 180SX, and he drove it all of a day before the engine seized. &nbsp;

When buying one of these engines that are shipped into the US, you will NEVER know what you are getting.

[nismo_sr20_wut]

Hey keepitmovin, my friend has a 94.5 silvia imported from japan, the first s14 style, we drive to l.a. almost every weekend and he drives up to murrieta area everyday for work and has over 200k on his motor and his car still pulls like it is brand new and never had a problem, except right now the heat shield is rattling, small minor inconvenience all you have to do is play with it to fix it

[RedStage]

I need to know something...did your buddy import the whole car? &nbsp;If so please shoot me an e-mail with any details....

If I got to return to the US I want to bring my 180 with me....whole if at all possible. &nbsp;Otherwise I will cadaver it out....

[xLSTONEx]

Another thing to consider is most of the sr20 engines are taken out of totalled Silvia's, so they probably get pushed pretty hard, but there are still good engine. So the thing to do is take it to get checked by a mechanic before you buy it or install it. But the Sr20s are stronger than the KA's, so thats why I am getting a SR and not going KA-T.

[keepitmovin]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm really considering getting an sr now i just hope i dont get a lemon.

But if I do run into problems my mechanic could handle it? well the computers would be different so he couldnt run a diagnostic?

btw Redstage i love your car...
<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/inlove.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':love:'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':thumbsup:'>

[drift freaq]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Another thing to consider is most of the sr20 engines are taken out of totalled Silvia's, so they probably get pushed pretty hard, but there are still good engine. So the thing to do is take it to get checked by a mechanic before you buy it or install it. But the Sr20s are stronger than the KA's, so thats why I am getting a SR and not going KA-T.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

ok this is a blind statement. KAde's are just as reliable as Sr's. You take a stock low mileage KA and turbo it and only boost 7lbs and no more with an upgraded fuel system and intercooler it will last just as long as a SR. People have proved this over and over. Ask T.Y., Ask Robthechef, Ask Nsport or Fmax,
The problem lies in the fact that most people get boost happy. If their motor is not set up properly and they push over 10lbs on it it will go boom. Do not even bring up Chris May, because he put together several improperly setup turbo setups on his KA. Before he got the whole thing right. Hence he blew three motors.
Ok now on to the SR .Yes its a gamble getting an SR. A couple of rules to go by on buying your SR will keep you safe.
First off get a compression check done. YOu ideally want 180 lbs all the way across but 170 all the way across is good to . Below that the motor is getting old. IMHO
next thing you want to shoot for is a low mileage engine.
I say 55 thousand and under is what you want to shoot for and if its 55 thousand make sure its got good compression. Ideally you want a 35 thousand or less motor.
Next off is make sure you are buying from a shop that backs their engines up one way or another . some of them give 6 month to a year warrantys . I believe Nieshlin Motors does this.
Others gurantee it will run and boost well when properly installed and they will do a compression check. If you have a problem immediately after fireup they will replace or fix what you need to even if its the whole motor.
The reason some of the shops do not warranty beyond a startup gurantee is the fact that this is a turbo motor we are talking about and some people get boost happy immediately and overboost the engine i.e. it goes boom! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cry.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':cry:'>
Remember folks Nissan designed the engine in the parameters of 7Lbs of boost with a little leeway for reliability . that means do not boost more than 10 lbs on a regular basis unless you start upgrading the fuel system , down pipe ,FMIC ,Turbo,maf and computer. again this is my opinion and guidelines to keep a SR running for a good long reliable time.