Schmauster920 : Building a Harder Hardbody

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schmauster920
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Schmauster920 : Building a Harder Hardbody

Post by schmauster920 »

I should update on what has been going on.

Vehicle is a 95 nissan truck with a ka24de swap. Already turbo. I put a lot of the initial KA24E to DE swap info online for the nissan truck community via my orig build thread, which is a mess of lost picture links and trying to figure things out.

I melted a piston a long time ago, didnt have the $$ or time to get another block and had all the parts, so i just honed it and rocked it. The piston ring broke and left a few deep scrapes going down the wall. These scrapes were filled in with aluminum (thanks piston) so everything ran pretty well for a while..

I went to the track running 18psi and e85 on my t3. Everything went great, but a few days later i noticed a small uneveness in the motor when it would start, like not all cyls would fire immediately. This slowly developed over months into a slight miss at cruising.. then into an all out missfire at below 2k and smoke. So needless to say i havent been driving it. Im guessing my aluminum piston welding finally failed. Not to mention some cool ringing of the turbo... damn. (edit shattered a piston)

Ive been slowly collecting parts when i find good deals. All i have to do now is buy pistons, timing chain and machine work. Money is slow, so it will take a while. Ill snap some pics of the truck in its current state and update.

Parts pics
MS2 pcb 3.0 and Walter who wanted to be in the pic

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LS2 Yukon D585 coils, brackets are being painted since they were rusty

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Brand new mitsubishi heavy industries Twin Scroll .50/.? It will be great to not have any leaks

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ARP main studs with the 3 longer ones. Ive got headstuds already


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ACL Duraglides .50mm and an ebay super strong magnetic drain plug

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Brian Crower Sportsman Rods, Forged billet steel good for 800hp. ARP fasteners

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Circuit sports thermal intake gasket. I like reusable stuff

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Vband for turbo, ive got another to make my exhaust 2 pieces and so i can run open downpipe at the track. These are from racepartsolutions.com and are machined to use a viton Oring. The orings are a dollar each, i havent needed a replacement and my vband is ON my t3. They are pretty durable. I bet the orings would fit other vbands as well.

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Nice thick T4 flange, im going to try to make an adapter to have my turbo bottom mount... we will see

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Last edited by schmauster920 on Sun May 26, 2013 8:41 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Post by street_240sx »

looks like itll be a ton of fun !!!
03 evo8 gsr: stroker 2.3 ;)

04 evo8 gsr: totalled

96 integra gsr: sold

89 s13 coupe: stock dohc, gt3076, megasquirt

started 3/15/08, running 1/18/09, finally turbo 2/9/14 lmfao
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Post by shift_down »

This will be sick.
Come at me bro

Fast
Reliable
Cheap;
You can only pick two, so choose wisely!

My build thread: viewtopic.php?t=57539
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Post by schmauster920 »

I dont know what to expect from the turbo except more lag.. The compressor wheel is the same size as my t3 and seems a little small, and the turbine looks big.. should work well at high boost levels i hope.

I got it for 300 brand new so i couldnt complain. Im also going from a log manifold.
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Post by 500hpKA240sx »

NICE! I love new parts it like christmas every time I get a package in the mail.
viewtopic.php?t=53160&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

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Post by slownissan »

So that's what u been up to while hiding from me lol lol :lol:
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schmauster920
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Christmas

Post by schmauster920 »

Finally got paid and got my pistons from the hell forge and OEM S14 timing cover. The timing cover isnt exciting


Progress will quickly speed up when i get everything back from the machine shop


The truck
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Always rockin the toolbox unless i need to remove it for space
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Tool steel beefy upgraded wrist pins (giggity)
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A little foam on the pistons
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Last edited by schmauster920 on Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:37 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by shift_down »

I love the way new pistons look! Awesomeness
Come at me bro

Fast
Reliable
Cheap;
You can only pick two, so choose wisely!

My build thread: viewtopic.php?t=57539
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Post by sdaigle240 »

i like alll of this.
airman wrote:I'm all about spreadsheets. Bitches love spreadsheets.
schmauster920 wrote:I shall cast my own pistons in the sands of time, then forge them in the depths of hell.. as funds allow
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hy35 18psi Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=38784
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Post by supakat »

Awesome...
12.96 @ 116.36 - 2.1 60ft - 11/2011
13.1 @ 114 - 2.3 60ft - 8/2012
KA24DE-T
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Post by drunknmunky »

does that intake manifold gasket actually lower IAT?
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Post by sdaigle240 »

yes it lessens conduction. alu to alu transfers a lot better than a hunk of plastic between the two. never seen back to back IATs though.
airman wrote:I'm all about spreadsheets. Bitches love spreadsheets.
schmauster920 wrote:I shall cast my own pistons in the sands of time, then forge them in the depths of hell.. as funds allow
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hy35 18psi Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=38784
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Post by schmauster920 »

Thanks guys

I could see the intake gasket going both ways.... it will cool the whole manifold down but there will be a larger temperature difference in #1 due to that stupid cooling passage\ radiator outlet on the runner. KAs tend to detonate on 3 and 4, so im not too worried about it. If i had an IACV im sure it would mess with the cold start function since its based on intake manifold temp in the rear.


Im going to arc weld my own twin scroll manifold out of an altima manifold, so it should get interesting for better or worse.

I need to post the ebay manifold up for what i paid (70 shipped) its still new, it should be a solid piece but the exhaust ports are undersized. There is a thread around here about it.
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Post by drunknmunky »

y did you opt for the beefy-er dowel pins for the pistons?

Benefits vs. weight?
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Post by schmauster920 »

drunknmunky wrote:y did you opt for the beefy-er dowel pins for the pistons?

Benefits vs. weight?

Detonation can snap or bend wrist pins which leads to lots of delightful issues, supertechs are notorious for this. I only plan on about 500hp tops, i would like the motor to live for a long time even if i get a tad of detonation, or at least it will help. The pins were an extra 80 so it wasnt that bad.
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Post by Kamilitaryman »

schmauster920 wrote:
drunknmunky wrote:y did you opt for the beefy-er dowel pins for the pistons?

Benefits vs. weight?

Detonation can snap or bend wrist pins which leads to lots of delightful issues, supertechs are notorious for this. I only plan on about 500hp tops, i would like the motor to live for a long time even if i get a tad of detonation, or at least it will help. The pins were an extra 80 so it wasnt that bad.
I'd spend an extra $80 for a peace of mind as well. Looks lie you have this one planned out nicely. Looking forwards to your updates!
PM me if you're interested in getting something powder coated!
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Post by drunknmunky »

Wait...

CP Carllo= supertech???

or, you're just giving yourself an insurance policy?

I have the same pistons so I'm wondering about putting the extra weight on.

extra piston weight = extra torsional stress on the crank
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Post by schmauster920 »

I was just using supertech as an example, they likely have one of the softer wrist pins.

A little extra weight doesnt bother me. Due to the KAs long stroke, it has high piston speeds which puts a lot of extra load on the wrist pins. The wrist pins may have been a weak point.. not anymore.


There are quite a few companies offering upgraded wrist pins. I cant say everyone (or i) will make use of them, but like Kamilitaryman said, its an insurance policy for not having to crack the motor open. With my large T4 ill take it.

I am aiming for efficiency on this build wherever i can get it for cheap/free so i will be doing some porting, port matching and getting everything balanced as well.

The pistons were 660 shipped with the upgraded wrist pins from OandJperformance.com, it was about the same price as the other guys with regular wrist pins and they didnt even have the option.

Ive also had a really good experience with FRSport.com with everything ive been ordering

I like input and dont mind questions at all.
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Post by schmauster920 »

Motor out.. disassembling tomorrow and goes to the machine shop the day after. Things should start happening finally.

Making my own manifold will have to wait. The altima manifold is just not compact enough and the turbo would be out the hood or in the motor mount. Ill be porting and rocking the emusa for a while till i get a good opportunity to upgrade.

The wiring harness will be thrown in the trash and i will make a new one (much more visually appealing) with the supplied and labeled 12' harness. The MS2 install will be a few months after the motor is broken in since i have a good solid tune.


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Say tuned for cleaning and machining
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Post by schmauster920 »

Shattered ring lands on #4 like a boss, looks like the piston ring jammed and stacked on itself, never seen that before lol

looks like ive got some tuning to do


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Post by schmauster920 »

Engine bay is cleaned up..
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Just talked to the machine shop, the block is ready and the head was already done 10,000 miles ago, they are just checking it now.

All i have to do is get it balanced, then assemble and realize my ACL's thrust bearings are too tight and have the machine shop knock the thrust bearings down.

I bought a stand and a dial indicator so i can properly measure the crank endplay.. but i can do runout and other measurements with it too.

Need to get this done so i can break it in around town before my camping trip to the sierras in the middle of next month.
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Post by Kamilitaryman »

schmauster920 wrote:
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And here folks, you can see the KA24DE in it's natural habitat, on the ground, covered in oil...

teehee :lol:
PM me if you're interested in getting something powder coated!
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Post by cleantune »

lol... natural habitat.

The project seems to be coming along; I've been a fan of the hardbody trucks ever since I discovered some of the builds on here. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the twin scroll adapter. Are you planning on eventually getting a twin scroll manifold or dividing the one that is on there?

It's always to good to have a deadline to meet too, it helps boost motivation to get stuff done whenever there is time... speaking of which I have to go change the rear main....ugh
.
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Post by schmauster920 »

Cleantune : Sorry to hear that, rear mains are a PITA when thats all you have to do. At least you can inspect your clutch.

While i completely agree the KA looks at home in the dirt but I will be investing in a harbor freight engine stand, its a pita without one lol

My welding buddy is going to come over whenever the motor is balanced and ready to assemble, im going to teach him how to build a short block and he is going to weld up a new extended capacity rear sump oil pan for me and mate the new turbo to the exhaust.

The manifold is just going to be a cheapo EMUSA cast single scroll. I had high hopes with the altima manifold but its just shaped wrong, the turbo would be in the motor mount if i kept the angles to flow well. I will order some weld els and maybe a twin scroll collector and make my own but that will be a ways off.

I still want to go bottom mount but it has to be a custom manifold with that huge snail.
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Post by cleantune »

nah I had the trans, clutch and oil pan out already, just too lazy to do it lol

Manifold is something that can always be done later, no worries. Its more important to get it all running solid again and work out all the little kinks.

The oil pan mod sounds pretty cool. There was a guy on zilvia that modded the front portion of his ka-t oil pan. He just cut into the sides of the front of the pan and extended them out by welding together steel boxes on either end. He may have done the "swing-arm" type baffling like the aftermarket greddy pan has too.
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Post by schmauster920 »

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Larger oil line for the larger turbo
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KA for my buddy who will be building a 510
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Dual drain plugs bitches

Post by schmauster920 »

Heres what ive got going on, not too much of a brain buster but i thought i'd share anyways

The 240sx ka24de has a front sumped oil pan, the trucks have a rear sump oil pan, so it needs to be converted and the proper pickup tube made.

My oil pan has always been the bane of my ka-t existence because i had it welded by a crappy shop and it has always leaked out of the welds despite me covering it with 4lbs of jb weld. I have a new turbo since my old one leaked since day one, and now i want to have zero leaks.
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You can see the kickout that i stole off my old pan, im going to get that welded on as well since i should have room. Bitches love dual drain plugs

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After about an hour of grinding, beating, drinking, swearing etc. at about 60-70%. Still have to get the general shape in that one corner then smooth and grind it down so my welding buddy doesnt have huge gaps to fill

Also dropped my buddys KA in so i could mock the exhaust and pan up. It will be nice having a KA in the car and on the stand for the oil pan fitment.
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I also noticed that what i painted the motor with doesnt seem to be engine enamel, just paint. Oh well I guess ill be going over it again since i like pressure washers.
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Post by Marcus »

Looking good!

Bitches do love dual drain plugs.

Oddly enough I have to do a DE in a five dime here in the next year.

Oil pan looks good so far.
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Post by flip240 »

Looking good!

Is it worth it having that extra kickout? That's like 1/2 a quart?
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Post by schmauster920 »

My buddy isnt sure what he is going to build since he is still looking.. but its going to be KA powered.

The kickout was an idea if it would fit and we were welding all over the oil pan so why not? Ill take the extra half quart. The extra sump didnt pan out since it was right in the way of my clutch slave.


Finally making progress.

Exhaust... done
Oil pan is close

Need to modify my hot pipe and then start assembling my motor. At least im not waiting on anything except myself now. finally

New pintle caps, orings and insulators. woo
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