Nissan 240SX Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

S13 KA24DET Build - The PussyKAT -

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 435 Posts

s13Vanessa

· Registered
Joined
·
202 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
So this is no where near the start of all the work I have put into my S13, but I decided to start posting in the hope that I might help some people in the same situation as me. I know that I could have used some help when I started out... So this is where she stood at the start of the new year:
Image

Image

Image

Image



I had just recently turboed the motor and was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. So here are some of the specs before I move on:

Stock KA24DE Block
T25 turbo
HKS Adjustable Actuator
Jim Wolf ECU
Sr 370cc injectors
ACT Clutch
Magnaflow Exhaust
CX Racing Dump pipe
CX Racing Turbo Manifold
Mushimoto Intercooler

S15 Helical LSD
Megan Racing Street Series Coilovers
Adjustable RUCA's
Wicked Tie Rods
XXR 502 18 Rims 7.5 in front 8.5 in rear
Toyo Proxes 225/40 front 245/40 rear
ProSport Electrical Boost and Oil Pressure Gauges

There are some small visual things here and there such as the taillights, but nothing too extreme... I like a clean looking car...

So I was perfectly happy with 9psi, and having the time of my life when I hit a deer going about 65 mph.
Image


In all honesty, the whole experience could have been a lot worse but I managed to swerve just enough so the huge f**er sort of slid off...
Luckily enough it was only body damage, so I drove the car home were it promptly went into the body shop. While it was there, I pulled the engine out and decided that I was gonna replace the clutch, do the front and rear main, and some assorted clean up. Emmissions removal, engine bay cleanup, etc... When I got the car out of the shop I was excited, and thought I was gonna have by car back...

But of course, as it always goes when you work on cars, things went horribly wrong...

It turns out that when the intake was off, something had gotten inside the head and pretty much destroyed not only the pistons and head, but the compression as well...

So the engine came out. I told myself that this time I was gonna do it all right. No more messing around... So as it stands now, I have ordered all new forged internals, and am planning a full rebuild of a built KAT. Pistons should be arriving soon and then I will post pics up of the parts I have ready to go in as soon as the engine comes out of the machine shop.
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
So here is the before engine bay pic: Dirty, cluttered, and just plain ugly. Hoping to do quite a bit of cleaning up...
Image


So here is a list of what I have at the moment...

Eagle Rods
CP Pistons 9.1 Ratio
Full Engine Gasket Set
ARP Main/Head Studs
Cometic Metal Head Gasket
Copper Exhaust Manifold Gasket
Heat Shielding Intake Manifold Gasket
New Timing Set
Used SR20 T25 Turbo
Jim Wolf T25 Gasket Set
HKS SSQV w/recirculation fitting
Royal Purple Break in oil
Clevite Bearing set

Dont have the pistons or BOV yet, but they are on the way...

Image


So before you start wondering why Im building a KAT and using a T25, just understand that this is a build in progress, and eventually I will be upgrading.
For the time though, I am limited by the 370cc injectors, stock KA MAF, and the ecu would also need a re-tune. And the clutch is only rated to 267 lbs/ft... :lamende:
Honestly though, I'm shooting for 250whp, which for me is more than enough... I like having a turbo that spools fast, and plus it was cheap.:giggle:
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
So this was the original t25 I had...
When I put it on, it had no shaft play, but whatever got inside the motor came out through the turbo and pretty much destroyed it... Certainly not worth using anymore even though it still worked. Probably would have blown up very soon anyway.:eek:mg:

Image


Just talked to a guy today that said he was looking to sell his nismo fuel rail and a Greddy Spec 2 Digital boost controller... The price was right, so hopefully ill be picking those up soon.

Also, I went to the machine shop and talked to the people working on my head... Turns out that all 8 of the intake valves are destroyed... There was little pits everywhere on them, so they were pretty much unsalvageable. The head had some pretty bad pits in it too, but they are not so bad that Im going to need a head. Thank God! Soon as the pistons show up (tomorrow hopefully) all the rotating assembly is going to be sent off for a balance. That includes pistons, rods, crank pulley, crankshaft, flywheel, and flywheel bolts. When that is done after a week or so, then the shop is going to put the pistons, rods and bearings in the block. Then its back to me for re-assembly...!
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
So I just got my pistons today! Pretty excited cause all the rotating mass is finally in the machine shop and ready to be balanced.

Should take about a week...

Image
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
YA knotchbacksrule, i almost did go with an SR because I was so frustrated, but in the end I decided to stick with what I knew... I was really close to getting a notch top but I bailed out at the last moment. Im not interested in the SR vs KA arguments, because there are definitely some serious advantages to both motors... But I had already invested a lot of time in money in this motor and I was going to have to take some serious losses (ex. ECU, Clutch) if I got rid of it. But the deciding point was actually the fact that the SR has no cruise control. F*** that! I need my cruise control, especially cause I like to take long trips. And A/C is nice too...

Anyway, got my HKS SSQV in the mail today... Went with the black limited edition one because it was cheaper... Don't really care if it is shiny or not, as long as it works.

Image
 
#9 ·
very nice!

im building my ka to and going with a gt28 turbo

good luck with the build :thumbsup
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Ya drifter240sx, I would love to have a disco potato too... But that's another 1000 bucks, so for now ill just keep dreaming.

So i took some pictures of the stock pistons when they were pulled out of the car. The strange thing is that all for pistons looked identical in that the scarring only happened on the opposite sides of the head. Im still completely stumped as to what it could be.
Image

Image


When the car first started running badly about a month ago, I thought it might be a good idea to do a compression test.
So I went to pull out all the plugs and here is what I found in cylinder #1:
Image

The plug was completely smashed!! None of the other plugs looked the same way so I assumed what ever got inside the engine was only in cylinder #1. But, judging by the pistons, it was in all four cylinders...
When I did a compression test: #1 - 110
#2 - 130
#3 - 125
#4 - 135
So obviously it was way low, and I was going to do a rebuild.
After that i put some oil in the cylinders and ran the test again.
These were the numbers after
#1 - 120 (up 10)
#2 - 170 (up 40)
#3 - 180 (up 65)
#4 - 190 (up 65)
Definitely valve problems in #1 and piston rings needed replacing in the others.

If anyone else has had similar problems, let me know, because I'm really curious about what happened...
 
#11 ·
i actually traded my top mount t4 to a buddy with an s14 ka-t and he gave me the gt28 turbo, bottom mount mani, and dump pipe the t4 need a rebuild too...
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Alright so I had some time and thought I would paint some parts. Nothing too fancy just some silver and black ceramic coating for the turbo manifold...
Image

Image
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
I've been mulling over how I want to break in the motor for the last couple days. I know there is a couple methods, but Im caught in the middle...

So I called up Brandjay Fabrication in Maryland, they are pretty much the best. They have helped me with all my problems and ive never even given them a penny. They are certainly a rarity in the commercial automotive industry. Nice people who work on cars. And yes, this is my sales pitch for them lol.

Anyway, im leaning towards the Mototune method. I called CP Pistons today, and thats what the guys there said they recommend to everyone.
The crappy part is that i have a clutch with 20 miles on it and if i do the Mototune method im going to destroy it... or 380 bucks out the window...

So what I think i might have to do is buy a cheap clutch disc from RockAuto and just use it for the break-in, and then put the ACT in afterwards... Not looking forward to that, but it could be worse i guess.

Ordered a couple other little things today... Fuel pump o-ring, Turbo blanket, stock sr intake tube... Little by little it comes together.
 
1 - 20 of 435 Posts
About this Discussion
434 Replies
46 Participants
Last post:
s13Vanessa
Nissan 240SX Forums
posts
1.6M
members
94K
Since
2002
A forum community dedicated to Nissan 240SX owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, builds, engine swaps, turbos, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
S13 240SX (89-94) New Member Introductions General Tech S14 240SX (95-98) KA24DE & KA24E