Need engine swap help
 

I was doing some routine mainenance on my 95 s14. i was chaning my hoses and...DAMN so much ***en rust every. i just bought the car a few months ago and i was goin to turbo charge the KADE but most likely not goin to anymore since i know how badly the engine was treated

so i'm new with turbos and goin for the same DOHC Ka w/either a z31 turbo or t25. i need almost new engine for this project cuz seenin my car with that much rust (even rust build up in all the hoeses connected to the radiator) i want a decent KA. any ideas where i can get one for a moderate price and how to test if the engine is good. would i be better off with a SR

if you're gonna buy a new engine and stuff, why not go sr or rb? Its kinda weird that you just figured out had dirty the egine was, but ok.... you could always just clean it up. IMO if you want to get a new engine... leave the one thats in there, there. and build the other block while it is out of the car, it;ll take some time, but will make for a sweet ka-t

the reason i wanted to go with another KA is b/c i'm new with turbos and if my KA blows then it'd only be a about 500 bucks or less to replace compared to the SR i'd be working on that would cost a couple thousand to replace. plus i already have the turbo and SMIC. the engine was sitting before i bought the car and the car i got for dirt cheap anwho, hence the word project. i would keep the engine i have now an turbo charge it but it might not be able to handle the pressure.

i already have an engine stand and my neighbor has a engine hoist that they agreed to let me use when the time comes.

the thing i'm concerned about is the money. getting a complete SR is almost the same amount as buying a new KA and putting in money to have a turbo setuo installed. Hmmmm.

these cars are 10 to 11 years old... and there will be rust build up in the coolant system unless the owners did a radiator flush every year... most of us dont do that... so it will develope... same with sludge in your motor... it is going to happen... it is the facts of life in a motor...

a cheaper method of getting to your goal would be to pull the motor out and do a rebuild on it... a re ring kit comes with all the gaskets for the motor rings and bearings... this to me is almost a have too if you are planning on going turbo... at least in my book... you are raising pressure inside of the motor and if you have compression loss due to worn rings then you are going to end up doing serious damage to your motor...

rebuilding the bottem end would cost like 300 bucks plus a weekend of time and a few days in the machine shop for your block... then you would know what you have...

say you buy a different motor and it has the same problems or more than your currrent motor... you could have paid 500 bucks and still need to do a bottem end rebuild on it... now you are out 800 bucks...

cheaper to do the rebuild and then go turbo...

the whole plan wasn't to go cheaper. the main project was getting the best bang for the buck. a motor rebuild and turbo add on is almost the same amount as an SR which makes me think why i'd wanna go with a KA-T in the first place.

the reason i wanted to go with a KA-T is b/c i already have a z31 turbo and SMIC but since the engine is in such bad condition, it'd probably be best to SR or RB my s14.

thanks for the info wikd

any suggestions on how to look for a goo SR or RB?

Fro what I've read so far, seems like you'd be better off with a KA-T.

Oh, and "bang for the buck" is directly related to "going cheaper". Think about it.

Im going KA-T also not because its cheaper i like the KA better it is all prefference but i just like the torque it makes compared to the SR. I upgraded to the DOHC out of a 95 and am setting it up for a turbo right now. There is always going to be some form of runs on a older engine unless its rusting through i would just sand it off and put a coat of that Rust prevention paint on it so it doesn't come back. Go to www.ka-t.org and there is some Turbo'd KA's there and you could just peak at what they have done with there ka's.

Why not just compression test it and see how the rings are holding up??

im goin to replace the rings pretty soon when i rebuild the engine. i'm not goin to SR or RB the car quite yet. i still wanna KA-T my S14 so i need to rebuild the engine or just buy a new one and rebuild that one.

any suggestions on a rebuild kit and what is necessary for preping a KA b4 have turbo work done (other than the basic turbo proceedures.)?