Nissan 240SX SR20DET Engine Swap Guide Part 3

October 22, 2011 | DIY Tech | Tune2Win | Comments (15)

PART 3

SR20DET INSTALLATION

For part 2 refer to: KA Removal and Prep

Before you can can install your new to you SR20, you'll have to move the KA lower harness onto the SR20. Start by removing it off the KA and its transmission.

The Positive power wire will hook up to the starter and alternator without any issue.

For the transmission, you'll have to splice some connectors like the reverse light switch, and starter trigger switch to make it work with the lower KA harness. Most of it is direct plug in, like the Speed sensor.

Since we wanted to keep A/C operational, we purchased a set of mounting brackets from CodyAce on http://www.zilvia.net. We're not sure if he still sells them but his brackets allow you to use the KA A/C compressor on the SR.

Much like the KA, the SR20 was hung in the same fashion onto the engine hoist.

Lower it in carefully, being sure to watch the back of the trans and be prepared to tilt it as the engine is dropped into the bay.

It’ll take some wiggling, some pushing and moving but eventually the engine mounts will slip into place and you can bolt them down.

Just like the KA the SR mounts are secured with one nut.

You’ll want to reinstall the shifter assembly at this point, since you’ll have easy access to the bolts.

Reinstall the transmission cross member and secure it to the trans mount.

You can now slide the driveshaft back in.

Attach the driveshaft to the rear diff and tighten the bolts using the same method as when you removed them.

The KA clutch slave cylinder bolts right up to the SR transmission so thankfully there's no modifications needed here.

Most of you will omit this step since you wont be installing the A/C compressor. However, if you are using A/C then install it now.

The heater hoses from the KA are a tad long to fit onto the SR so you’ll have to trim them a bit.

And just like that the hoses get cut and fit like a glove onto the SR’s heater lines.

Hook up the fuel lines as shown in the image. The feed line is on the inside and the return line is furthest from the engine.

Now is a good time to mate the lower harness back into the fuse box and plug everything in.

You’ll quickly notice that the SR’s engine harness doesn’t fit very well onto the engine. That’s because it was meant for a RHD vehicle and would normally run into the engine bay from the left hand side. To fix this, you’ll have to strip some of the plastic tubing covering the wires and re-tape it. There will be some excess wires so just fold them over and wrap tape them into the harness.

The wiring to the MAF is too short, so it will have to be extended. Use some good quality wire for this job and make sure you do a good job soldering the joints because poor electrical connections here can throw off the MAF signal.

Plug all the connectors into their associated plugs. Most are color-coded. Tuck the harness close to the firewall and zip-tie it in place if need be.

The power steering line is plug-and-play with the SR pump. If your 240SX is an '89 or '90 model year then you'll need to source '91-'98 DOHC power steering lines to bolt onto the SR pump.

The throttle cable fits onto the SR throttle body just fine but the SR’s mounting bracket is too big and the cable hangs loose.

Using a grinder, we cut one side of a washer open and used the two washers to hold the throttle cable on the mounting bracket.

We used the stock side mount setup from the SR (we’ll go to a front mount later) and it bolts onto the chassis without any custom modifications.

Here is the SMIC mounted up.

It’s a wise decision to run the intercooler shroud so it will force air through the IC. We had to trim it a bit so it would fit the Kouki bumper since it came off a Zenki.

The hot side intercooler pipe fit just like it did on a JDM Silvia chassis.

Miraculously, the BOV and piping fit behind the bulky full size battery and there were provisions on the chassis for the bolts to secure it down!

It’s up to you whether you want to run the charcoal canister or not but we installed in order to keep the car 100% street-legal.

There are several radiator options for this swap. Buy an aftermarket unit like a Koyo or Mishimoto aluminum rad, use the KA rad (minus the fan shroud and plus custom rad hoses since the upper outlet is on the opposite side), or do what we did and use the OEM SR rad and shroud. The OEM mechanical fan and shroud have been proven to work extremely well under both track and street conditions so unless you really hate the look there's no need to get rid of it.

Hook the rad hoses up.

With the rad in, the cold side intercooler piping can be installed now since it runs over the rad.

Ensure that the BOV piping is hooked up to the recirc tube and intercooler piping. Also, hook up the breather hose going to the IC pipe.

Slide the intake piping onto the turbo and tighten it up. Now you can install the MAF and an air filter of choice. We had a Power Enterprise filter laying around so we threw it on.

The wipers won’t work with the SR wiper relay box so you’ll need to use the KA one. The easiest thing to do is just re-pin the SR plug so that it corresponds with the USDM wiper relay. Luckily the wire colors are all the same. As the image shows, look at the USDM plug and move the colored wires around on the SR plug so they correspond to the same pin-out.

Next there’s the matter of the lines running off the turbo and IC piping. The OE boost control solenoid won’t work without a bunch of wiring and most of us won’t use it anyway. A manual boost controller can work just fine or in our case we installed a electronic boost controller and hooked up this solenoid that will control boost.

It’s Oil time! We poured Redline 5W30 oil in the engine and Royal Purple SynchroMax in the transmission.

Don’t forget about the oil filter! It’s always a good idea to prime (or fill) the filter with oil before you install it. This way there’s less time running without oil pressure the first time you fire the engine up.

We decided to try Royal Purple Max EZ synthetic power steering fluid since it’s supposed to foam less and last much longer than the conventional OE fluid. We’ll be abusing this car regularly at the race track, so the RP fluid should handle the heat better too.

There’s just one last item that needs to be installed. We picked up a Megan Racing downpipe because it has a flex section in it and it’s 3-inches in diameter so it'll flow more than enough for our needs.

As you can see the flex section is a tight fit to the floorboard so we had to bang it up a bit to ensure it won’t rub or rattle.

High five your buddy or yourself if you've been working alone because the swap is complete. Of course there’s the issue of it actually starting. Do a quick once over of everything and then try to start it. If everything is hooked up properly it should fire right up. If it does, jump back underneath and quickly look for leaks. It’s also a good idea to let the engine idle until the rad fan switches on with the rad cap off. Ensure to have a catch pan below and allow the coolant system to purge all air from the system. Continue to add coolant as necessary. Once the air has worked its way out of the system shut the car down and top up the fluid. This way you know you’ve got a functioning fan and thermostat and a properly purged coolant system. If all seems good at this point, then it’s time to take the car off the jack stands and take your SR-powered 240 for its maiden voyage.

FINAL NOTE – Although we did our absolute best to snap photos and be as thorough with every relevant step during this swap it by no means that there aren't different methods to perform this swap. If you have issues with the way we've done things by all means email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) but we think you'll be too busy enjoying your SR Swapped 240SX.

For almost every Nissan 240SX factory manual go here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/

October 22, 2011 | DIY Tech | Tune2Win | Comments (15)