Engine swaps with <100k miles on them? Come on...

[89hatchman]

It seems that everyone on craigslist and the local forums where I am claim to have KA24DE swaps that they've just pulled that has less than 100k miles on them. Really now. How is it that a majority of the engines pulled out of cars that are nearing 20 years old have less than 100k on them? Hell. My car has 160k honest miles and I think that is about the lowest you can find.

Do you believe it when people say they have low milage engines or do you just roll your eyes and say whatever and just look at it yourself to determine if the engine is good or not?

[Drift_FX]

pull the valve cover, pull the oil pan, that will give you all the info you need.... if your buying a 20yr old motor, its a good idea to overhaul it regardless of how may miles the owner claims......

[89hatchman]

pull the valve cover, pull the oil pan, that will give you all the info you need.... if your buying a 20yr old motor, its a good idea to overhaul it regardless of how may miles the owner claims......

Is it possible to successfully rehone a cylinder in a 20 year old engine and get good compression out of it? I ran a bottle hone through my KADE and reringed it, correct gaps and ring spacing and everything and I'm getting 150 psi across the board. I know thats within the specs but just by barely.

[Sileighty_85]

depends on the owner, my 1990 R32 has 80K miles

[Tempo]

picked up my ka24de from the junkyard with 29k miles(so they say) buuut everything under the head was clean enough to eat off of compared to the engine i had in the car. oil change every 2k baby it on a daily then beat on it when I have to :bigok:

compression test, inspection of the head and oil pan if you can just like drift_fx said

[living4surf]

My single cam had 82k and the twin cam I put in it had 90k it's possible but I don't believe most people when they claim less than 100k

[s0fa king]

depends on the owner, my 1990 R32 has 80K miles

Japan is also the size of Montana.

[TerribleTopher]

Japan is also the size of Montana.

haha

Like drift_fx and tempo said do a compression test and inspect the head and oil pan. I don't think a rehone tool alone will get your compression up.

[jesse_s13]

Japan is also the size of Montana.

hahahahah true.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Japan is also the size of Montana.

Plus public transportation...

[blueshark123]

this is why i always take a video before pulling the motor to show the buyer.

[dudermagee]

You could always do a carfax of the VIN on the block.....

[grimm199]

Only 97-98 KAs have the VIN on them iirc

[Xplat]

Much like how every SR sold has 60k miles on it

[TerribleTopher]

It seems that everyone on craigslist and the local forums where I am claim to have KA24DE swaps that they've just pulled that has less than 100k miles on them. Really now. How is it that a majority of the engines pulled out of cars that are nearing 20 years old have less than 100k on them? Hell. My car has 160k honest miles and I think that is about the lowest you can find.

Do you believe it when people say they have low milage engines or do you just roll your eyes and say whatever and just look at it yourself to determine if the engine is good or not?
Besides your engines compression being on the lower side, is there another reason you are looking for a swap?

[collegekid]

For the two ka's that I bought from a junkyard I wanted to see the vin numbers on the door jam or something. I got a 43k mile ka (dash vin verified) and a 92 ka (still in car)

Both motors are farting around somewhere

But yeah ask them to send you a picture of the vin from the car, or look at it yourself.

Its common knowledge that importers like to underrate the mileage. Thats why you do your homework

[s13chuck]

I pulled my VH out of a car with 100k+, the cams were golden brown, but there was a valve seal leak, or injector leak, engine was running a little rough.. a few pistons were caked with oil/carbon, so after a generous scraping / degreasing / polishing of the piston domes, they looked like brand new, and had full hatch marks on all of the cylinder walls, i felt good about the condition of the lower end.

Before EWWW
http://chaluska.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/wpid-imag0801.jpg?w=510

stripped it, and did a full top end rebuild / gaskets and after a year, finally got it totally re-assembled.


here it is for the first fire up after a year of sitting (2-16-13)

Chuck's VH 240sx First Startup - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk5Tc5yUR6k)

[Chuki_KA24e]

It seems that everyone on craigslist and the local forums where I am claim to have KA24DE swaps that they've just pulled that has less than 100k miles on them. Really now. How is it that a majority of the engines pulled out of cars that are nearing 20 years old have less than 100k on them? Hell. My car has 160k honest miles and I think that is about the lowest you can find.

Do you believe it when people say they have low milage engines or do you just roll your eyes and say whatever and just look at it yourself to determine if the engine is good or not?


The ka24e that came in my car had 85,000 miles and the ka24de I just swapped it out for had 90,000 miles.

I would suggest not believing everything you think since, in your case what you "think" is clearly wrong and completely biased towards your own ignorance.
:duh:

[Taniguchi_Is_#1]

my craigslist translations:

"it has a freshly rebuilt engine" = "i blew it up 2 weeks ago and put a $20 head gasket on it yesterday."

"never abused since i've owned it" = " i dropped the clutch from redline the other day and now it makes a weird noise, but i will cover it up so you won't know until later."

"fresh JDM engine" = "got a good deal on an engine that was at the importer for 3 years. it's about to blow up soon."


pretty much, i don't "trust" the forums, but i can gauge trustworthiness easier than on craigslist. even still, pretty much everything you buy used is a crap shoot, gauge your enthusiasm around how much you pay for an item and you'll be okay.

[Sileighty_85]

Japan is also the size of Montana.

lol doesnt mean ppl dont drive alot,

My 88 Jeep had 200,000 miles on it and it never left AL.

Like Flip said, Public transportation is alot more popular.


Much like how every SR sold has 60k miles on it

You'd be suprised, Maybe not all but alot of them

[Chuki_KA24e]

The other thing to think about is the traffic factor. While it may only take somebody 20 minutes to do their commute, it may take almost if not over an hour to cover the same distance for another. What this means is yes the motor might only have 90k on it but it might have a fucking zillion idling hours...

[gabes240]

I just sold my ka' came out of my s14 with 80k' but I had the car close by for verification.

[ReEducation]

It's not so hard to believe with the amount of noobs you see blow their shit up every 2k miles and spend 6 months in down time. It's not very often (around here anyway) that you even see an s-chassis that fucking runs

[Juantwo3]

280xxx original motor still gots power. like the dude said above its all about the owner, and how they took care of the car.

[89hatchman]

Besides your engines compression being on the lower side, is there another reason you are looking for a swap?

I have a KA24DE in my S14 that I'm about to sell to fund a KA24DE-T swap for my S13 hatch. Its currently sitting with a blown SOHC.

[OutToWinPAHC]

It seems that everyone on craigslist and the local forums where I am claim to have KA24DE swaps that they've just pulled that has less than 100k miles on them. Really now. How is it that a majority of the engines pulled out of cars that are nearing 20 years old have less than 100k on them? Hell. My car has 160k honest miles and I think that is about the lowest you can find.

Do you believe it when people say they have low milage engines or do you just roll your eyes and say whatever and just look at it yourself to determine if the engine is good or not?

Well I recently parted a 1995 S14 and it only had 84K on it. But I also gota $550.00 for the engine with all accessories and no trans but the buyer saw the motor in the car before I pulled.

What gets me is the guys who say rebuilt and dont have a single receipt or look like a pug with a tilted head when you mention "blueprint?"

[89hatchman]

Well I recently parted a 1995 S14 and it only had 84K on it. But I also gota $550.00 for the engine with all accessories and no trans but the buyer saw the motor in the car before I pulled.

What gets me is the guys who say rebuilt and dont have a single receipt or look like a pug with a tilted head when you mention "blueprint?"

And how did it only have 84k on it? It couldn't have been a DD. But what else is a 240sx good for other than DD'ing or drifting? I'm sure back in the day when it was 5-7 years old it would have had a majority of its miles put on it. I mean, its fairly underpowered and probably wouldn't be much of a sports car stock.

[OutToWinPAHC]

And how did it only have 84k on it? It couldn't have been a DD. But what else is a 240sx good for other than DD'ing or drifting? I'm sure back in the day when it was 5-7 years old it would have had a majority of its miles put on it. I mean, its fairly underpowered and probably wouldn't be much of a sports car stock.

The history was a buddy bought it in 03 went into the service, and then he had it transported from one base to NC where he was stationed in 05 and the airforce lost the car. Insurance paid it out and the car and then in 2008 they called him and said hey we have your car. But at the time the title had been sent to the insurance co, he called the company but they said it was too late and didn't want it nor did they still have the title. He got it running with hopes of getting a shell and just never did then we parted it in 2012.

But on a side note my All-trac is a 1990 with 84K and I am the second owner. My R33 is 92k kilo and its a 1993. My S13 only had 112 on it, my 1993 FD had 73k.

It's about proof though, if you cant see the donor car to verify overall condition or mileage assume the worst. That KA got some gaskets and studs and a nice KA-T setup and lives in a S13 now.

[Bumpkin203]

My 92 ka has 260k on the dash and Ive more than crossed 300k on it. I beat on it pretty good but I also take good care of it and she runs like a beaut! If i end up selling it, theres no way Ill ask for more than $150 bucks for everything engine wise.

[new2240s]

My 90 hatch only had 86k on it when I bought it 3 years ago so it is definitely possible to find KAs with under 100k. I sold the SOHC for $225 wit 90k on it to get a DOHC to build for KA-T

[andyv316]

i have to say that i found a 95 zenki with only 68k on it yesterday, mine has 130k on it, and my last one i sold only had 110k so its very possible. I mean people find old chevys and fords and what not in barns with 15k on them, anything is possible

[89SwapXE]

my 89 sohc had 91k when i bought it 2yrs ago. now its at 119k.

[ZX88]

mileage doesnt mean shit if its taken care of.

same deal with SR20 imports no way they have 60k on them.