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Reliability of KA24de-T

2.5K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Boostedh23a1  
#1 ·
I was wondering about the reliability of a KA24de-t. I have 130k on my engine and so I was thinking I would rebuild it b4 I turboed it?


What needs to be rebuilt exactly and what would be the cost of one ? If possible how much would a rebuild with turbo parts/or stronger internals than a regular rebuilt one be? (parts and labor price)


Or would it be more practical to get a SR20det swap, as far as reliability and it lasting longer being cheaper etc... ?
 
#2 ·
personally, I would bore the engine out a little, get some low compression forged pistons with new rings and then just look through the rest of the engine to see what is tirede and needs replacing. After that I would replace all my regular maitenence items (fuel filter, plugs, etc....)

From there your engine should be ready for a good bit of boost........Nissan motors are very overbuilt, so unless your going for huge power I would just leave the regular rods in there.

I dont know what this would cost, but my guess is just to get the motor fresh for you're turbo around $2,000 for everything. Then all thats left is fuel and your turbo to deal with. Which should only cost another three grand if your thrifty.
 
#3 ·
I wouldn't mess with rebuilding it, if I were you. Just get a turbo kit with the right fuel system for the power level you are looking for (or can afford). Have some spare cash in case you blow your old, tired motor...and just buy a low-mileage S14 motor from a junkyard to replace it. You probably won't blow your motor, unless something catastrophic happens. If that something does happen...it'll be enough to blow a built motor as well...and then you'll be out even more money.

Besides, stock compression is nice, especially with a turbo.

Stock motors have proven to be reliable at over 300rwhp.

Dennis
 
#8 ·
d240t2 said:
Yup, I sure do. Some info (although not as detailed as I would like), is available under projects at www.unstable-hybrids.com

Oh...and actually, I have owned 2 KA+T cars. 92 black hatch, 5psi, ~200rwhp. 92 white hatch (current car), 15psi, 350rwhp.

Dennis
Dennis is that 350whp with stock internals?
 
#10 ·
Stock internals. Only thing below the valve cover changed is the cams (and the spark plugs and distributor, if you want to get picky). Cams are 2X91 exhaust cams. Head has never been separated from the block since it left Nissan.

Dennis
 
#11 ·
personally, id pick up a spare KA block for cheap... and build the bottom end. slap a turbo kit on that baby and then drop it in whenever you have time. ps- reliability more or less comes down to the majority of the fuel tuning. 130K is pretty high to start slapping on boost. so if i were you, id get a 50K block, and just do pistons/rods, and make sure your fuel is on the right track, and youre good to go.
 
#12 ·
id get a 50K block, and just do pistons/rods
Why mess with tearing apart a 50K mile motor? On a 50K mile motor or less, I'd be totally comfortable running 10-12psi and making 300rwhp. That'd last a long time if the kit is done right and the fuel is done right. Any sorts of problems...would blow your motor whether you were running 7psi or 12psi.

If you are going to rebuild a motor...get the cheapest blown up motor you can find. If you get a 50k mile motor, use that.

Dennis