parts and step by step build

Ok i am going to give you a step by step list of what you need to do this. I assume you are going to be running a ka24DE. So heres what you do, go to sears first off and get a set of craftsman tools for like 120 bucks it will have 95% of what you need in there and whatever you dont you can get at like harbor freight or pepboys and stuff. As for buying a rebuild kit, yes ams makes a good kit but if it was me i would peice it together. Not for the fact that it would be cheaper but because maybe some stuff in the kit i dont like. Like calico coated bearings i am not a fan of more money for no gain. Just get the clevite bearings. They will do the job and last for a long long time.

Anyways heres a list of what my build is going to be, now keep in mind some of my stuff i am going to custom fabricate and also i used to work building race motors for midget dirt track cars so i have been through this multiple times and have experience fabricating stuff. Anything you can fabricate i would suggest doing it yourself.

KA-T Build Sheet

1. Cleveite Main & Rod Bearings- $75 (turbo240.com)

2. AMS Sportsman Series Rods- $395 (turbo240.com)

3. Arias 8.8:1 .020 over Piston Set- $449 (turbo240.com)

4. ARP Main Studs- $109 (turbo240.com)

5. ARP 11mm Head Studs- $111 (turbo240.com)

6. S14 Fel-Pro Gasket Kit - $125 (turbo240.com)

7. Crower Stage3 Cams- $350 (turbo240.com)

8. Supertech Dual Springs & Retainers- $375 (turbo240.com)

9. Supertech .7mm Oversize Inconel Exhaust Valves- $26 (turbo240.com)

10. Supertech .5mm Oversize Intake Valves- $19 (turbo240.com)

11. AMS Fuel System Kit w/ walbro fuel pump, liquid filled fp gauge, -6 SS line- $760 (turbo240.com)

12. Defi D-Series Temp Gauge- $140 (turbo240.com)

13. Defi D-Series Oil Pressure Gauge- $200 (turbo240.com)

14. Defi D-Series EGT Gauge- $200 (turbo240.com)

15. Defi D-Series A/F Gauge- $125 (turbo240.com)

16. Defi Blue Racer Boost Gauge- $200 (turbo240.com)

17. MSD SCI-L Ignition System- $250 (turbo240.com)

18. MSD Blaster Coil- $46 (turbo240.com)

19. NGK BKR7E Plugs- $12 (turbo240.com)

20. Plug Wires- $70 (turbo240.com)

21. Precision Turbo Intercooler- $450 (turbo240.com)

22. Tial 50.4mm Race BOV- $240 (turbo240.com)

23. Tial 38mm Wastegate- $259

24. AMS GT32/33 w/ external wastegate- $900 (turbo240.com)

25. O&J Performance Turbo Manifold- $600 (o&jperformance.com)

26. Calum Realtime ECU for S14- $375 (ka-t.org)

27. TunerProRT- $30 (google)

28. Nissan Data scan- $30 (google)

29. Calumsult- $free?

30. Competition Clutch Stage4- $395 (turbo240.com) or ACT 250mm clutch kit- $525 with Exedy 250mm chromoly flywheel- $495 (turbo240.com)

Make sure you send the pistons rods and crank out for a complete rotating assembly balancing should only run you between 80 and 150 bucks depending on the shop.



Now keep in mind not all of that stuff i listed is neccasary to have your motor boosted. But it is what i would recomend. Do it right the first time that way you dont have to pull the motor and build the bottom end when you feel that you need more power. Also with the rods you can get better ones but those ones will be more than enough for what would be a good power goal for you. The setup i have listed is capable of 400whp+ i would suggest getting a smaller turbo than the one listed such as a t28bb turbo off of an sr to start with unless you just want to go all out.

Keep in mind when your building the block this is what you need to do if you want it to come out the best it possibly can.

1. Tear the block down to a bare block

2. Send the block and head out to be machined (block will need to be bored .020 over and head should get port polish and port match, i would also send the intake with the head to get port matched to it. I would reccomend an aftermarket one as well)

3. When you get the block back inspect it and make sure that there are no sharp edges or burrs on the cylinders at the top (where the head sits) as it will cut the shit out of your hands when you try to put the pistons and rings in. If there are burrs get some 1000 grit or 800 grit WET SANDING PAPER and dunk it in wd40 and GENTLY take the burrs off. DO NOT HIT THE CYLINDER WALLS.

4. Thoroughly clean the cylinders with carb clean to get any chips or grime off of them and then spray them down with wd40 and wipe off the excess to keep them from rusting.

5. Take your arp main studs and install them I would put just a dab (about the size of a pencil erasor) on the threads inside the block that way when your running the studs through the torque cycles to stretch them they dont come out.

6. Torque cycle the studs. Do it in steps (the crank should not be in the block and neither should the bearings) Put the main caps on, put some arp moly lube on the nuts and studs and finger tighten all the nuts down. Torque all nuts to 30ft/lbs making sure to do it in one stroke with the torque wrench if you are using a wratcheting type as this will ensure accurate torque settings. Then torque them all to 60ft/lbs, then 75ft/lbs, then torque up to arp's recomended torque settings on the studs which if i remember correctly is like 85ft/lbs for the ka. Now loosen all the nuts and relube them. Now repeat the above process twice lubing the nuts both times. Now your studs have been torque cycled and stretched so that they will hold an accurate torque setting.

7. Now install your main bearings, lube them with some spray lube or the lube that comes with them, Torque all the caps up in steps to final torque setting that arp reccomends, get a micrometer and measure the diameter of the crank journals. Then use the micrometer to set a boregauge to the proper setting (i can go into that more with you later via email or pm) and check the clearances. I would ask ams what clearances they like to run on the crank. (it is possible you will need to get the block align honed but i am going off the assumption that everything is perfect for ease of explanation right now) Now install the crank and once again making sure you lube the nuts on the main studs torque them up in steps to final torque setting, make sure the crank spins freely but not too freely. Check for side to side and front to back play there should be just a skosh of play very little if any at all.

**NOTE: If you do not have a bore gauge go to your auto parts store and get some plastigauge with the right clearances to check these clearances (same thing for rods too)

8. Now for rods and rod bearings, (at this point you have also measure the journals that the rods go on as well with the micrometer and wrote the numbers down.) Set the bore gauge up to the numbers for each rod for each cylinder (it is going to change from rod to rod slightly) check the clearances and make sure the rods are in round (ams should have done this already with the rods that you order but just double check. Measure 4 times build once i always say)

9. Now start gapping your rings, on the ams website it tells you the clearances they like to run on the rings that come with the pistons you order.

10. Once your rings are gapped Install them on the piston with the correct spacing between the gaps.

11. Put the pistons on the rods.

12. Now get your ring compressor and slide the pistons down into the cylinders, put the bearings on and the rod caps and torque them to the provided specs.

13. Now moving on to the head, install your cams and torque the cam caps to FSM settings (Personally i would have the guy that ports and polishes the head install all teh springs retainers and lifters for you as it can get complicated)

14. Now put your head studs in with the dab of silicone again, and then drop the head on. Make sure you put the head gasket on first lol dont want to forget that. Then torque cycle the head studs the same way you did the main studs, making sure to use lube.

15. now slap the valve cover and oil pan on and your good to go just add fluids. Remember always double and triple check all your torque settings before you button the motor up.

Here is another link to a thread on ka-t.org that goes into more detail in some areas where i didn't. It took a long time to type this so I layed out a fairly detailed step by step process, anything that i didnt cover in much detail you will be able to get the info from this thread. If you have any questions at all feel free to pm me and i will try and answer them for you. But be specific as i dont want to type all this over again

Heres the link for the ka-t thread: http://www.ka-t.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4156

Enjoy and let me know if you need more info on anything

 

2. Send the block and head out to be machined (block will need to be bored .020 over and head should get port polish and port match, i would also send the intake with the head to get port matched to it. I would reccomend an aftermarket one as well)

please forgive me for asking, it's a newb question,

But what exactly does it mean when you say that? i understand port polish....what's port match and boring? And also what is honed...I read it on the ka-t post

 

Engine Blueprinting

ENGINE BLUEPRINTING

Engine blueprinting has become standard procedure in many performance engine shops. Blueprinting is an absolute necessity to obtain maximum power and to insure the longest possible engine life and reliability.

Blueprinting an engine means hand building an engine with perfectly fit components using maximum recommended clearances, and minimum recommended volumes. These specifications should be determined using the engine manufacturer's tolerances for the engine being built.

All parts must be one hundred percent clean. The block should be boiled out making certain water jackets are perfectly clean. All bolt holes should be re-tapped, cleaned and oiled, as well as their mating bolts. Any surfaces being refinished should have all holes chamfered, and any casting burrs or irregularities should be ground away.

The V type block should be align bored exercising extreme care to maintain perfectly equal deck heights and keeping the crankshaft parallel to the decks. Any variation in these areas will result in irregularities in combustion chamber volume.

After align boring, the cylinders should be bored with the main bearing caps still torqued in place. The cylinders should be finish honed to their proper size using a 220-280 grit stone and taking care to obtain a good cross hatch pattern. After honing the block should be thoroughly cleaned, taking care to remove all honing grit from the bores and also from the lower end of the block. Be sure to oil cylinders after cleaning.

Some engine builders paint the inside crankcase area of the block. This is recommended as a detergent to carbon or sludge buildup, and also seals the pores of the iron preventing oil from washing deposits, left in the pores after cleaning, into the oil. Painting will help insure the absolute cleanliness necessary for top quality performance and engine life.

p23.gif (95060 bytes)The crankshaft must have correct angularity of the rod throws as well as be perfectly straight. It should be 100% inspected for cracks and have the journals ground to perfect angular index. Fillet radii should be held to recommended arc as well as having oil holes chamfered and bearing surfaces polished. The oil passages should be cleaned thoroughly with a good brush. Some builders use fully grooved main bearings or groove or cross drill the crankshaft main bearing journals. These procedures are also helpful in insuring longer engine life.

The connecting rods should be carefully checked for imperfections and Magnafluxed. All rods should be reworked so they are EXACTLY the same length from crankshaft centerline to wrist pin centerline. Performance builders recommend allowing from .002-.003 for rod stretch at high speeds. Generally the length of the rods will be controlled by working to the minimum manufacturer's clearance for piston to deck. Any burrs and irregularities should be removed from the rods, and always use new rod bolts and nuts. The rod alignment and side clearance are also critical.

The pistons should be individually and carefully fit to the respective pins. Chamfering any sharp edges on the piston reduces possibility of localized hot spots which cause pre-ignition and/or detonation. Each piston should be carefully matched for clearance with each bore. Too little clearance will result in scuffing and too much clearance reduces the effectiveness of the rings.

The compression rings should each be placed in the bore and straightened with the top of a piston to square the ring in the bore. Gaps can then be checked, with .0035 per inch of bore the minimum allowable gap. Staying as close to minimum as possible is recommended. Also be sure to check ring side clearance in piston groove. The maximum is .006 but .003-.004 is most desirable.

Now that the main reciprocating components are selected and fit, the engine should be balanced. It is recommended the balancing be done with all ring's, pistons, rods, bearings, crankshaft and also flywheel and crankshaft dampner and pulley. Some engines

(Ford 427 for example) recommend an allowance for oil weight in the crankshaft when balancing. These specs are available from A.E.R.A. or from the manufacturers of balancing equipment. Additional weight is added to the bob weights in these cases to compensate for oil weight.

Balancing will provide insurance for engine durability, and will also help obtain maximum horse-power.

The cylinder head should be disassembled, cleaned and carefully inspected for cracks. If the surface is in questionable condition or the head is warped, it should be resurfaced. If resurfaced all holes and sharp edges should be carefully chamferred and deburred. Bolt and spark plug holes should be retapped and cleaned. The valve guides should then be checked and replaced or repaired as necessary. Remember to also check valve stems and replace those valves not acceptable. This is also the time to machine the valve guides if necessary for the installation of Hastings P.S. seals. The valve job should be done according to recommendations for the engine. Make sure valves and seats are not worn so as to sink the valves too far into head. A valve stem height gauge should be used to keep all valve stem ends the same height above the spring seat. All burrs and irregularities should be polished out of the combustion chamber. After this the chambers should be checked for volume in cubic centimeters. The chambers should be enlarged to the volume of the largest chamber. When all chambers are equalized the desired minimum CC's can then be reached by milling the heads carefully until the correct volume is reached.

In order to check the CC volume of the chamber a Plexiglas plate, light oil, and a chemical burette are needed. With the spark plug and valves installed the plate is placed over the combustion chamber and sealed with a light coat of lubricant. Using the burette it is then a simple matter to measure the amount of liquid needed to fill the combustion chamber.

Valve springs should be checked for tension and installed height, and replaced or shimmed as needed. If the head has individual rocker arms on studs the stud should be threaded or pinned in its boss.

In engine assembly be very sure to follow recommended procedures for bearing and ring installation. Torque main bearing and rod bolts slowly and in progressive steps to the proper tension. Use protectors on the rod bolts to prevent crankshaft scars, and keep rotating the engine as each step in the installation of the crankshaft and pistons is taken. This will enable spotting the exact location of any misfit or mismatched parts. The use of Plastigage here will serve as a double check on clearances(see previous post on how to use the better bore gauge method here, if it is not completely covered let me know and i will edit it to cover everything) .

Many performance engine builders are using support "girdles" for the lower end of the block. These girdles are readily available for most popular engines and are a very important aid in strengthening the engines lower end. The girdle supports the center mains and also serves to stiffen the engine block.

When installing the timing gears and chain the use of a camshaft degree wheel will insure perfect crankshaft to camshaft timing.

Offset keys or cam gear bushings are available to allow accurate adjustment of possible timing discrepancies.

After installing the heads, making sure they are torqued to the proper specifications, the valve train should be completed and checked. In cases where higher lift camshafts have been installed it is possible to have the valve spring bottom out, or the canoe type rocker be interfered with by its mounting stud. Where this happens the spring must be changed, and the rocker arm relieved to provide the necessary clearance.

The complete engine build must be performed as painstakingly and accurately as possible. Always keep in mind that dirt is the greatest enemy of engine life. Perform your engine build under the most antiseptic conditions possible. The blueprinted engine is the utmost in performance and durability possible, and its success is a real testimony to the expertise of the engine builder.

 

YAY! you did it! wow.. now let me read it. :thumbsup

Taken off ka-t.org
http://www.ka-t.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4156

 

thanks guys although i did state that i took that link from ka-t and i also posted it already its the same one i have up there

Now all we need is mods to stickie

 

Nicely done. This is a good indication of what's really required to build reliable HP. Thanks for the effort you put into this.

 

i shitzors.. my bad i didnt see that... :12dunno

 

lol its cool man

 

nice job STICKY

 

=] thanks man

 

Yeh AMS and Turbo240 havet he sickest ka24de-t, ivans 240 is a beast!!!!!!

 

very nice post

i agree this should be a sticky

 

thanks guys i really appreciate all the compliments

 

the KA has a Gurdle not main caps. Don't forget to thrust align the thrust bearing faces either.

 

makes me want to build a engine myself...

very nice post shagg.... well worth some rep.

maybe i should build a all motor F20C........... nah fuck cars.

 

that's a good representation of a full-out built motor. not what most people on here would have, but, good job nonetheless. i just skimmed it. that's a little in depth for my level of comprehension at 3am.

 

nice thread this needs to be stickied!! but i want to say one thing about the ka24de that im not sure if people are over looking. but i have currently helped with the building of 3 ka's: 1 high comp build, and 2 stock compression performance (lowbudget) rebuilds.

During this we noticed that all 3 heads were a touch warped when it comes to the cam journals. by this i mean that when u put the cams in the head the middle 2 cam journals were off center (causing the cam not to spin freely.) I'm not sure if this is very common but we have noticed this on the 3 ka's that i have helped build in my garage. i highly recommend checking this and figuring out a way to line-bore the cam journals.

My dad and I made a tool to do this with. It consisted of a strait peice of pipe. some micro finish emery cloth. (idk where to buy this. cause we found it on the side of the road... *wink) and basically made our own line honing tool. now all 3 heads are finished and the cams spin freely.

I would like to know if anybody has noticed this with their ka?

 

they make a tool for it sunnen makes one to use on an align bore bar. Also i know the ka doesnt have a girdle but theres no difference in the way you would assemble

 

drift4life, while I have not built multiple KA's I have disassembled multiple ones and have not noticed this. Any undue excessive heat would cause that although I find it odd it was only the middle two; with warping an object normally doesn't have pieces "float" like that.

 

next time somebody rebuilds a ka. check ur head for this. cause im kinda curious if its very common or not. cause i couldnt turn my cams by hand what so ever. and it seems like it would be easy to break a cam when it is in a bind like that.

 

I'll sticky the thread, as I think its a good post. It can help people get an idea of what to look for (or look at) in regards to a KA rebuild.

 

OMG you popped my stickey cherry :fruitbask

 

about the KA cams, the head and the cams were paired and specifically machined for each other. so if you swap cams, check the clearances first. and dont rearrange or flip around the caps ever, this will cause a problem also. if you swap cams have the head machined to fit them nicely.

 

^^ always want to align hone the cam towers when you swap cams out =]. Flipping caps on anything is always a big no no when your building a motor. Same caps with same tower and facing the same direction they came off, always.

 

yea but i have noticed this in 3 ka's all with stock cams. and if u notice the cam caps are numbered with arrows so u cant really mix them up. it seems to me the cam problem im talking about must be common. i mean 3 out of 3 were that way.

 

seems pretty uncommon to me... you sure your not just crazy?

 

we when u put the cams in the head with no valves or anything, and torqued them down to spec the cams will not spin freely. they wouldnt in any of the 3 ka's i have helped with. now after align honing the cam journals and shaving the caps back down to the manufacture's tolerances, the cams spin freely.

 

hrmm interesting, you sure your cams werent bent? that can happen you know