How To Build Ka24de - Page 2 - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

GUZZLE7 · 11-30-2014, 02:22 AM

Hows it going guys. Just recently built my Ka24de and i was pretty frustrated with how hard i had to dig for research. So i decided to help every one out and put it all in one place. Here i will explain start to finish Ka24de build from bare block up. In addition i will add the 248 hot cam install.
If you have any additional information or corrections please feel free.

If you've seen my build then you know i already had the engine in and running, but just my luck i find that my oil was milky... my head had a slight chip in the deck surface causing my headgasket to leak. Considering my motor had 200,xxx miles on it i decided this was a good time for a rebuild.

I committed the ultimate taboo and bought the $400 ebay rebuild kit. I mainly only wanted the pistons and front cover/oil pump out of the kit. I didnt trust all the other off brand/Chinese products in the kit so i bought ACL bearings, Fel Pro Gasket kit, OEM timing chain kit, ARP Studs. Total parts cost around $800 which is cheap for an entire rebuild kit.

Sent my motor to the best machine shop in Sacramento. A good machine shop will measure and check every piece of the motor for you then tell you what you need machined. They should first hot tank clean it and crack test it as well. Magnaflux for cast iron and dye penetrant or pressure test for aluminum.

I bought oversized pistons, .50mm or .020" which is one size over. Stock bore is 89.00mm and compression is 9.5:1, make sure you buy the right compression pistons they sell lower compression for turbo application. They were able to polish my crank. If your crank has too much wear they have to turn it to one size smaller and then you will have to buy oversize bearings, but wait for them to measure it first before you buy your bearings it is much cheaper for them to polish it if you can go that route. They sell oversize bearings in .25mm or .010" and so on. Then i had my head and block surfaced. The maximum you can surface your deck and head combined is .008". Any more and your primary timing chain will start getting too loose because its split between your head and block. If you go over .008" you will have to buy a thicker head gasket to compensate. Let them do your whole head for you and install all your springs and valves, they should check all your valve guides, spring tension, valve chamfer and margin, and they should do atleast a three angle valve seat grind. Other things i had done are an align bore on the mains and refinish my stock rods because when u install ARP studs it changes the clearances. Another smart thing to do is have your whole rotating assembly balanced. Total Machine work cost $900.

So this is what they will give back to you:

Other goodies: Port and Polish head, intake manifold and exhaust manfold

A port and polish will cost you around $200-400. If you can manage to match port and polish your head to your manifolds by yourself that will go a long ways. you can buy a cheap kit from harbor freight for $30. But having a professional with a flow bench do a good job on your head is leaps and bounds for power gains... maybe not so much for NA stock KA application but i wanted to do it anyways.

So lets get started. Recomendations: Get really good brawny towels that dont flake apart or leave any traces behind. Your going to want to clean the shit out of everything. And get a good assembly lube, the more lube the better. i used Lucas Assembly Lube. Also DOUBLE CHECK MEASURE EVERYTHING YOURSELF. Dont trust the machinest to have everything perfect no matter how good he is.

Slap that bitch up on your engine stand and get a clean working area

This would be a good time to paint your block while nothing is on it. Your block is cast iron it will rust if you dont paint it. Do a really good job of taping off all your surfaces where gaskets are going to be. when your done make sure you lather all the bear surfaces with WD-40. this will prevent anyhting from rusting. Lather up your crank and rods and everything else that is bare metal, Especially your cylinders.

During the cleaning process the machinest had to remove some pretty crucial things, so your going to begin by installing those. (Another thing is freeze plugs. make sure you have them install new ones during the machining)

First your cylinder oil squirters. Do not eliminate these. These are very crucial for lubricating and cooling the cylinders. Clean them out with brake clean before installing. For some reason Nissan doesnt have a factory spec for these but everyone torques them between 20-25 ft lbs. I went 22 ft lbs

They line up with a dowel so you cant mess up

Now there is the oil filter bypass valve. This is a very weird thing because most oil filters already have a bypass in them. the bypass is in case the oil filter clogs oil will still bypass it and go through the engine. Nissan felt they needed one built in the block. Some people eliminate this by tapping the hole and threading in a plug. Most people hate the valve because it breaks and the ball falls down into your oil system. Nissan actually has a service interval to check this for replacement (who the f*ck has ever really checked this thing). You can plug it or buy a new one that is up to you to decide whether you think Nissan was right in puting it there. I said fudge it and ordered one up from Nissan for $7.00

You install it by gently tapping it in, but it goes in rough like anal with no lube, so i put a 10mm socket over it and tapped hard with a metal hammer. It dents real easy so try to be as careful as you can with this stupid thing

Now lets begin with the real stuff. Your going to start with installing your crank. dont ever re-use crank bolts, rod bolts, or head bolts. These are all stretch bolts and are mostly one time uses. You can buy new OEM bolts or go the high route and get ARP studs. Studs are better than bolts. Most importantly ALWAYS double check your bearing clearances. Easiest way is Plasti Gauge. You can buy it for $5.00 at any parts store. Or you can be a Nerd and measure everything with a micrometer, but nobody got time for that.

So mains are usually rated by how many bolts they have per cap, example: 2 bolt main , 4 bolt main. Obviously 4 bolt main being stronger. The Ka is only a 2 bolt main but Nissan made it a main gurdle style which is absolutely awesome. A main gurdle is where all your caps are connected together with a "gurdle", this reinforces your whole bottom end and makes it stronger. and it makes it easier to install. Definitely a plus.

Now lets put all your bearings in. They just pop right in and they have lips that slide into indents on one side. The big bearing in your kit goes on the center cap. BE SURE to clean the crap out of the back of them. NO oil on the backs, bare metal to metal against the block. if there is any oil on the back it could cause you to spin a bearing. I use brake clean.

Now your going to install the crank and place your PLasti Gauge on each journal of the crank. Dont use assembly lube yet and DONT rotate your crank. You can use a small dab of oil on the bottom so nothing scratches.

The ARP main stud torque is three steps to 60 ft lbs using their bolt lube, So start with 20 - 40 - then 60 ft lbs. ALWAYS torque everything inside to outside in order to evenly distribute the pressure. start with the center cap and work your way out back and forth

Now pull your caps off and check your clearance by matching up the plasti gauge with its size. Factory spec is .002", Race motors run closer to .0015". I was at around .0017"

If all is good then clean off the plasti gauge really good with brake clean and then lube the crap out of your crank and torque it back down (20 - 40 - 60 ft lbs inside out). At this point you should be able to spin your crank by hand. If not the your clearances are messed up or your main bore is crooked.

Now its time to do your ring gaps before installing you pistons. Ring gaps are crucial because of heat expansion if your ring gaps butt together they will put an excessive amount of pressure on your cylinder and destroy it. But too much ring gap and you will lose compression past your rings. The Ka has 3 rings just like most motors. First compression ring, second compression ring, and your oil expansion ring. your first ring gap needs to be larger at .019" because its going to see far more heat and its going to expand more, your second ring gap is righter around .017". first lube up your cylinders with WD-40. Then your going to squeeze your ring in and use your piston to slide it down evenly about and inch and a half down the cylinder and check your gap with a feeler gauge. if its too small you have to file the ring gap down. Word of advice, buy a good file and take your time. If you go to big your screwed. Squeeze both sides of the ring even on the file so it wears both sides even. Do a little at a time and test it.

Once you get all your gaps done line up your pistons and put your rings on. The oil expansion ring sucks ass. its three pieces and it looks way to big to fit in the cylinder, but trust me it fits. just be very careful the three rings arent over lapping and even all the way around. that way when your compress them in the cylinder they dont snap off or slide in the cylinder all messed up.

Now we shall install your pistons. They are numbered 1-4 on the side of the rods. the dot on the piston aims forward. Go out and buy a good ring compressor, not the crappy one from kregans that i have in the picture, and remember be very careful with the oild ring. Make sure it compresses evenly. Then line up your piston in the cylinder dot facing forward. Tap the piston down with a rubber handle. hold your hand under the engine and guide the rod on the crank so it doesnt scratch the crank. I have T-Rex arms with massive biceps and im able to tap the piston with one hand and hold he rod underneath with my other hand, so if i can then you can too. (cylinders 1 and 4 are paired meaning they are at the top of their stroke at the same time so you can insatall both of these pistons before flipping your motor over and installing the caps, then same goes with 2 and 3)

So now that you slid your pistons down we are going to flip that motor over and check your bearing clearances again with the plasti gauge. Again .002" clearance for factory and .0015" for race motors. ARP rod studs are torqued to 45 ft lbs with lube. I did it in two steps so i went 20 then 45. pull your caps off and check the plasti gauge then clean it off real good and apply assembly lube. Repeat steps for cylinders 2 and 3.

so at this point you have your whole bottom end rotating assembly installed. you should almost be able to turn your crank by hand and easily turn it with a wrench.

Now put your motor to TDC and lets move on to your head

Ok its Hot Cam time. Here is a List of all the Nissan cams you can use:

1) ’91-’93 240SX (S13) - Note: '94 exh specs are slightly different
intake cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 61 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 248 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6931” lobe height
(exhaust opens 64 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
2) '94 240SX (S13)
intake cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 61 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 248 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6931” lobe height
(exhaust opens 60 deg before BDC & closes 8 deg after TDC)
3) ’95-’98 240SX (S14)
intake cam = 232 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 53 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 232 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(exhaust opens 48 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
4) ’93-’95 Altima
intake cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 61 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 248 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6931” lobe height
(exhaust opens 60 deg before BDC & closes 8 deg after TDC)
5) ’96 Altima
intake cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 61 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 248 deg duration with a 1.6856”-1.6931” lobe height
(exhaust opens 64 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
(Note: Ca exh cam has 232 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height)
(Note: Ca exhaust opens 48 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
6) ’97 Altima
intake cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 61 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 232 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6774” lobe height
(exhaust opens 48 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
7) ’98–’99 Altima
intake cam = 232 deg duration with a 1.6734”-1.6809” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 53 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 216 deg duration with a 1.6104”-1.6179” lobe height
(exhaust opens 32 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
8) ’00-’01 Altima
intake cam = 224 deg duration with a 1.6551”-1.6626” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 45 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6551”-1.6626” lobe height
(exhaust opens 53 deg before BDC & closes 7 deg after TDC)
9) ’98-’00 Frontier
intake cam = 232 deg duration with a 1.673”-1.681” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 53 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 216 deg duration with a 1.610”-1.618” lobe height
(exhaust opens 32 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)
10) ’01-’04 Frontier
intake cam = 224 deg duration with a 1.644”-1.651” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 45 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 224 deg duration with a 1.646”-1.654” lobe height
(exhaust opens 37 deg before BDC & closes 7 deg after TDC)

So the whole idea here is to take the 248 duration exhaust cam and throw it on the intake side. its argued what people like better running the 248/232 or the 248/248. but from what ive gathered you get more mid range power with the 248/232 and more top end power with the 248/248. as you can see by my list that the s13 dual cams and the altimas came with the 248 exhaust cam. YES YOU CAN USE AN ALTIMA CAM (with minor modification). The s13 cam is more aggressive but if you are able to get a 96 altima cam outside of california it is the same specification as the s13 cam. The fact of the matter is there is wayyyy more altimas at pick n pull then there is 240sx. The cam will run you about $25 from a junk yard.

In order to run the Altima cam you have to cut 5/8" of the back of the cam off. On the Altima the distributor is mounted on the back of the exhaust cam so there is a notch that wont clear the 240sx KA head. Its simple i used a cutting wheel. Be sure to not score the back cam journal or you mise well throw the cam out.

Now you have to run the cam 2.5 degrees retarded(or 3.5 teeth) because its not meant to be on the intake side. some people spend the $150 on jim wolf cam gears, others run it 4 teeth which isnt correct, but you can easily drill the cam gear and save yourself all the hassle.

Now with a pen (any color of your choice) mark the gear 3 and a half teeth reterded. Then using a 1/4" drill bit and perferably a drill press make your hole as close to the inside lip as possible. if you dont have a press you can try a regular drill but be sure to punch an indent in first to help guide the drill bit. (Dont mind the random hole in the one gear it was a practice gear.)

and it should look like this when your done

Now that your 248 hot cam is ready you have to measure your valve lash and install the correct shims. this part blows butt hole because these shims are hard to get. Shimming to achieve the correct valve lash is very important. Your basically trying to correct the difference between the lifter bucket and the bottom of the cam lobe, The part of no lift when the cam isnt touching the lifter bucket. Too much clearance and your valve train will rattle like gang busters, but too little and your valves might not be able to close all the way during heat expansion. It is necessary to check your valve lash any time you change cams or have a valve job done. the valve job is going to make your valves recessed more into the head therefore making it closer to the cam.

Fatory spec is .012"-.015" for the intake cam and .013"-.016" for the exhaust cam. Some aftermarket cams request a different valve lash. I believe Jim Wolf cams ask for .010"-.012". Here is the Jim Wolf write up they go into further detail:

http://jimwolftechnology.com/wolfpdf...R%20KA24DE.PDF

This procedure is much easier to do off the motor on the bench. I put wooden block on each side of the head to lift it off the bench because the valves will smack the bench when they open. You dont want your deck surface to lay flat on anything anyways it could damage it. So when your doing this your going to be sure to keep all your lifter buckets and shims in order. The cam caps are marked "E" and "I" with a number so you cant mix those up. Your going to need a little bit of lube for this one because your going to be rotating your cam to measure each lobe.

Install your lifter buckets and cams with a tiny bit of oil. torque your cam caps inside to outside 4 ft lbs then final torque of 8 ft lbs. spin the cam until the lobes are facing straight in the air and measure with a feeler gauge. write your readings on a piece of paper in order. do this with all the lobes for intake and exhaust. now pull it apart and take out all your buckets that werent in spec, keep them in order. you can use a magnet to pull them out easily. then to remove the shim you use a pick tool and and pry on the notch on the side of the bucket. takes a little bit of effort.

now measure your shims with a digital caliper or micrometer. Theres only two places to get shims. The dealership or a junkyard. The dealership makes 36 diffferent sizes but they want $11.00 a piece which is ridiculous if you need 15 of them like i did... thay $165.00 (they are almost guaranteed to not be in stock too). You can go to the junkyard and take them out of Altimas which has slightly smaller sizes which is what you will need if you got a valve job. I hear VW rabbits use the same shims and they are slightly thicker if you need to go a size up. your only other alternative is paying the machine shop to do it all. and they just grind down the top of the valve stems to correct the clearance. I got lucky and found all 15 that i needed at a junk yard. paid $7.00 for all of them, but if your a rebel you can just put them in your pocket.

Now that you have your valve lash correct, clean off both your deck surfaces very good and install your head gasket. there is two dowel pins on the right side to help you line it up. Take your cams out and place your head on.

Now place your bolt washers down in the head and slide your bolts in. If you have OEM bolts your going to stretch them first by torquing inside out in 3 steps 15 - 40 - and 50 ft lbs and then back all the bolts off. Repeat the procedure 15 - 45 - and 65 ft lbs. If you have ARP head studs you are going to use the bolt lube and torque in 3 steps to 70 ft lbs (25 - 50 - 70).

Now its timing chain time. Ka's use a dual timing chain dual tensioner with an idler sprocket gear(the big center gear that transfers rotation between the primary and secondary chain). This procedure your going to need your engine on top dead center. you can put a screw driver in the spark plug hole of cylinder #1 and spin the crank until it is at the top of its stroke. The dot crank sprocket should be at around 5 o'clock.

Obviously start with the primary chain. Pull your idler spocket off. make sure the dowel is in the head good. Lube up the bearing inside the idler sprocket. Line up your colored chain link on the dot at 5 o'clock on the crank sprocket, then place the chain on the idler sprocket at 2 o'clock and slide the idler sprocket on the dowel with the bolt. Tighten your idler sprocket bolt to 60 ft lbs. while making sure your chain stays on the correct marks you can bolt your two guides and the tensioner on. the straight guide on the right requires new bolts. Nissan tells you to not re use these bolts. I believe there is a certain torque for all these bolts but i just say YOLO and tighten them as far as i can without stripping them. Now you can release the tensioner.

Now for the secondary chain. Bolt your cams back on if you havent already(cam caps torque 4 ft lbs and then 8 ft lbs) Lube everything in your valve train to hell. When you bolt them on make sure the front cam lobes are facing outward. Leave one cam gear off. place your chain on the idler sprocket mark, it should be at 5 o'clock. Now your Intake cam should be at 11:30 (AM or PM its up to you) and your exhaust cam should be around 2:30. line these up and slide the cam gear of choice back on the cam and torque the bolts down... The cam torque spec is 110-120 ft lbs which blows my frigan mind. i got them to 90 ft lbs and felt like my cam was going to snap. So i left my cams at 90 ft lbs. Thats up to you. now you can place your guide and tensioner on and relese your tensioner. DO NOT install the top guide. Its known for breaking off and ruining your life. If your drilled your cam correctly and lined your timing chain up right, your apposing cam lobes for cylinder 1 should be directly facing away from eachother.

Your front timing cover/oil pump has a lot of important things on it. Not only does it contain your oil pump but it also houses your water pump, thermostat housing, pcv valve, and oil pickup tube.

If you got a new cover like me then your are going to need to install all these things

your pcv valve is too pieces that uses RTV for a gasket. this valve is important if you dont want excess crank case pressure and oil squirting out of places you dont want. so take this piece apart and clean it out very good because they get clogged up. there is a tricky screw in the back you have to take off to get it apart.

go ahead and install your thermostat and radiator port. the weep hole on the thermostat faces up. be careful not to strip these bolts. the brass 90 fitting is for your heater core lines and it runs to the back of your motor into your fire wall for your heater

Now you can install your oil pickup tube. If you are re using your old one make sure you clean it out very good. mine had all kind of gasket material stuck in the mesh. Make sure you put a new gasket on this. (Note: you can NOT pull your front cover off with your oil pan on. you will rip your pickup tube off and ruin your life)

Now time to bolt your covers on. Both use RTV for a gasket. You need to line up the oil pump gear on the crank. It has a flat spot and you can spin the gear very easily in the cover. Might have to use a rubber mallet to tap the cover over the dowel pins

Dont forget this bolt on the back side

Now flip your motor over and install your rear main seal and oil pan. Rear main seal is easier to tap into its housing on the bench. Lube it so it slides on the crank easy. Use RTV for a gasket. Once your finished clean out your oil pan and bolt it on.

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