Hey, this is my first post here. Iv been into the SC scene for about 5 years now but got out of it a year ago with the way its been going. Well Im backin it again and going with a Nissan instead of the overplayed cavalier I was working on. I decided to do a project side car with a sr20det swap into a 91 240 hatchback. Heres a link to my old project http://www.j-body.org/members/xtremsport/cars/1/
I picked up the car already and have a motor ordered from totalJDM out of Canada. Now before I swap this in is there anything else I should replace or upgrade during the swap. I already have a Walbro pump and ordered a Koyo radiator, any ideas before I drop it in?
Now heres a few more questions. I was throwing the idea around of rebuilding it before I installed it but I am only shooting for around 400hp/tq. Im not an expert on this motor so is it worth rebuilding the bottom end or will it hold to 400 with proper tuning. There is a dealer in my area that has HKS cams, springs, stoppers, and gears in stock so if the bottom end can handle it I would just upgrade the valvetrain. But like I said what have you found out to be the weak spot in the motor.

 

Replace the rod bearings and it will hold the 400HP, but that's about the limit of the stock engine realiably.

 

Rkcarguy, Iv heard the biggest problem with them spinning the rod bearings is due to the lack of oil if the pan gets dented. Is that the main reason you are talking about or do they have a bearing problem. If I was to replace the bearings i would just replace the rods and pistons while I have it apart. Are the bearings from the SE-r sentra the same, I would prefer to stick to nissan bearings but where can I find them?

 

They generally are just prone to wear and should be replaced running that kind of power. It's not absolutely necessary but for peace of mind should be done. I've seen a few SR20DET's that have been ran hard that had worn through into the copper layer of the bearing and were close to the steel, not good. Most people just use stock replacement sizes, the SE-R ones work, I think, double check the part #'s theres lots of that info in the net. Also how many km's did your swap have on it?

 

RK, I am on TotalJDMs list for the next set of engines coming in. I just would like to build it before it goes in. As for the bearings I would like to look for a dealer of them instead of relying on information that just anyone could of posted on the net.
Where can I also find torque specs, bearing clearences, or basicly a service manual in english?