Whats the real scoop on the Altima KA' ?
 

Ok guys.... I have done alot of searching on using an Altima Ka24De in my 240. I am not a stranger to motor swaps (see sig),so im not afraid to swap accesories/etc out. I have searched and searched the web, and this forum, and have not gotten any concrete answers. I dont want a turbo motor, i dont drift, i just want the car to run, and i cannot fine a good price for an ka24de.

I find lots of threads saying the motor wont work, but darnit why not? Whats different?

Please help!!!!!

Altima KA is FWD, 240SX is RWD...it really just plain wont work.

You can get the motor from the hardbody Nissan truck though, that is RWD

Thank you captian obvious!!! Thats not good enough of a reason for me. There are alot of engines out there used in FWD and RWD applications. Take the buick/pontiac 3800. It has been in production since the 70's in both applications. The Caddy Northstar. The Chevy 2.8..... im sure that there are alot of imports hat are the same way.


I dont want a "it wont work" from anybody else. I want reasons/ examples.

Thanks.

Buy an engine from a altima
Buy a trans for a 240
Try bolting them together, if it doesn''t work then try making a adapter.

The rest should be easy for you.

Is it that hard to find a KA?:dunno:

ok an altima has a different bottom end... period. you can only use the top of an alty KA... period... now quit asking and find a 240 KA

Actually the Altima head probably won't work either, because the distributor sticks out of the end of the head, and not the side like on the RWD KA. The firewall will be in the way if your try to put it in there.

OK, thanks. Thats exactly what i was looking for. I wonder why they would name the engine the same thing even though it is different......:dunno:

I wonder why anyone would want the headache of trying to make that version of the engine work when there are many other engines with the same call sign that WOULD work?????

Same engine family, displacement, and valvetrain. Technically it's the same engine. There are simply FWD and RWD versions of it.

It's not just Nissan as well...Toyota's 4AGE (I-4 DOHC) that they've been using since at least 1985 has MR/FF and RWD versions.

Because i have had a hard time finding one for the money that i am willing to pay.

And you think that the adaptation necessary to make it work will be worth it?

Seriously, I dont want to sound like an ass, but did you think this through? making custom mounts, custom intake..not just piping, but intake manifold also as the Altima throttle body points to the transmission, rewiring the ECU to work with the 240SX....its NOT going to be cheaper.

well over in the altima forums if you ask about a motor swap from 240 you basically get called a moron. I believe that even though the engines have the same designation there are more differences than similarities. And of course you can't interchange any parts because of the way the engine is mounted.

At the time that i asked the question, i had no idea that the tranny bolt pattern was different, and that the motor mount points were different. :confused: i figured that it just used different brackets, and that the third mount was on the tranny side. I hoped that somebody would pop on and tell me that the accesories just bolted on differently, and that i would have to swap a few parts off of the old motor to make the new one work. :dunno: My idea was proven wrong, and i appreciate the input. ;)

However, i found two motors locally (after the same yard said that they had none) for $500 each. I should be picking one up tomorrow. :bigok:

I started getting the car torn down tonight to get ready to pull the motor, and this thing is gonna be a sinch to pull!!! These things are great!! Do you guys think that i should pull the motor without the tranny, or pull it all together. I know in my RX-7, it is easier to pull it all at the same time, but i have never pulled one of these. It appears that i have alot of room to get things apart around the bell housing/firewall area.

Once again guys, i really appreciate the input!! :bigok:

pull it out as one it will make things easier and when you swap the tranny over you can check out the clutch and see if it needs replacing

The clutch is getting replaced anyway. I will be going in with a centerforce or some other aftermarket unit. I wont be racing the car, but i do tend to drive "spirited" every now and then, and i cannot stand the slipping that stock replacements or rebuilt units provide.