S13DET

OK, well last saturday I bought a 1990 240sx for 750 bucks. The only thing wrong with it was no radiator and spark plug wires...well we put new plug wires one new spark plugs and a few otehr things. I dont have a radiator yet, but we tried to start it just to see if the engine would start.....it did. But soon after we noticed a puddle of coolant and oil mixture coming out of the radiator tube that leads to the thermostat/temp(forgot auctual name) can anyone tell me whats going on? Im a newb but im trying to learn...so is my engine fubar or is there anything I can do? Please help! Thanks!

re037

head gasket. fun times ahead my friend...

dak2007

at least the radiator is already out.

S13DET

Well thanks guys! A couple others said the same thing...well now I gotta learn how to do so I can do it. Any tips? Like I said im a newb but i wanna learn...Thanks!

joh

If it was me, I would pull the engine and tear it down to the block and check piston rings and what-not, also this would be a good time to get your heads port/polished, also look into gettin your TB bored out some, before you throw everything back in check all of your lines and wires, replace any damaged. Also throw some underdrive pulleys on there, and wrap your headers while you have the space. This might not be the extact route you want, but its what i would do.

S13DET

I would love to do that but unfortunatly im very short on funds. Just getting a radiator and headgasket and the things nesscecary to to fix that stuff is going to take a bit for me to get the money. But I may end up doing that if the rents wanna fork up some dough! :/

re037

dl the fsm. its free.

joh

try www.importperformanceparts.net

i'm going to try to get the head work and stroker kit soon, i'm not crazy about sc/turbo/nos, its sad, i've got a mr2 sc that i almost can't give away, oh well, i guess no one likes a 5sp ttop

Bryan

hey S13DET I may be able to get you the hookup on some stock parts for the engine, pm me if you need anything since your fairly close

S13DET

OK, some sorta delvelpoing news. My brother and his wife decided they were going to help me with my car expenses. He brought up the idea of turboing the ka24e. But ive been searching and I cant find any ka24e rebuild kits..do they exist? And are there any turbo kits for a 24e? once again searched but couldnt find any thing. And one final question, would it just be cheaper to buy a SR or rebuild and turbo the KA. Mind im 17 and dont make a tremendous amount of money and my bro doesnt have alot of extra money, so im trying to go the most cost efficient way...so please some input!

joh

yes, check the website in my last post

Joel SX

Here's my opinion:
Yes, Full gasket kits are cheap at Ebay and they are good Gaskets, not some "gift wrap" paper quality gaskets, they'll get the job done for stock and some improvements, as well as they carry ALL the gasket in the friking engine.
You can take out the head of the engine without taking the engine out.... but believe me: It'll be a $%@*"~#@$ to work it out. Its better to take the engine out. Aslo, you might want to change all the gaskets that will leak soon since its a old engine such as:Crankshaft seal, flywheel seal, valve seals, etc. So taking the engine out for these is a must.

You can buy the engine lift for 100$ (I rented mine for 25$ a day), and the torque wrench at Ebay for 20$, Craftman brand (good) and if you have a good tool set (150 pieces + some pliers, cutters, and misc tools) you can do it yourself. Or you can pay a mechanic about 500 to 600 + the gaskets you buy to change them all. I beleive if you are not engine wise, you leave it to him. Besides, he'll do it faster, and more hasle free, and the right way, and you can claim him if a gasket fails or anything. And there's so much more to it than some bolts here and there. I learned this 1st hand, dismanteling a KA24DE its no joke, and the timing chain... another story

Right now, get a radiator (I bought mine in Ebay for 65$) and try to run it. If it runs good, and smokes a white soke, then the gasket is leaking (obvius) and you need to change it Asap. I don't recomend runing it like this, but at least you can drive it to the mechanic, or to work if its close to get $$ for parts.

If you can get a KA24DE for less than that, and have it installed do so, since I'll be more powerfull and more parts.

There are Turbo kits for KA24E, very rare, got to search ur *** off.

I've done it in my car b/c I've been working in engines since I was 9yr old, started with lawnmowers and moved up, so now, I dismantle and put back a whole engine and change all the gaskets in 1.5 days. If you're a neewb to engines... leave it the mechanic and pay ur bill. Don't feel intimidated and think your engine is F**ed b/c the head gasket fails, its just a gasket!

I hope this helps, ask any questions I'll explain, I hope someone would have explained me all this. Happy drifitng!!!

A few nonos...:
Never buy coil overs at ebay, or oil catch pans, or "intake chip" for 20$, or electric blowers Superchargers, or anything that says" Pure all 100% JDM b/c its prolly made in india, then a 1.2 cent sticker that says "made in japan" is put.

Good luck!!!

S13DET

Hah, Thanks for the info Joel. Its nice to see someone who is willing to write all of that, My brother and I are going to take it over to my cousins garage, and do all the gasket swapping there. He is a mechanic and is going to go through all of it with me as he does it. Because like I said I know the basics about engines. So this is a great opportunity for me to learn. But were just going to try to get the KA running and in a year my brother said he is going to buy me a blacktop and pay for it to be professionally installed. Im so happy. But im going to take everybit of info I can and try and learn as much when my cousin is taking me through the process!

rocky2843

wow i wish my brother was this generous...then again he's only 17...if u want more info on boosting i suggest you talk to jordan gladman on www.ka-t.org, (if he is still there)...he boosted his kaE and got great results. Another thing, RESEARCH you *** off. Try to learn as much as you can about turbo before you go and do it. You'll wanna know how everything works under your hood before you have it in and dont know whats going on. I originally wanted to boost, and i have the money for a great setup, but being in the learning process for about a year str8 now of learning about boost is making my decision to just stick with saving alot of my money and keep it N/A...not the same results as boost but it keeps me knowing that my pockets will be full and my engine reliable.