Engine swap?

macfly · Post by **macfly** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:16 pm

Im looking to swap my ca18 to a sr20 or rb26. what are the pros and cons. Dose this mean the gearbox and diff will have to change? What other changes will have to be made if i swop the motor? Breaks are taken care of!

poizen · Post by **poizen** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:15 pm

pros are more power
cons cost time and probems which you bound to com into

youll need a motor ,gearbox, engin mounts, wiring loom and std ecu for the specific motor or stand alone ecu and that bout it mayb someone else has more to add

rat · Post by **rat** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:58 pm

depends how much money and time you have got and your power goals.

SR20 is a easy swap as it bolts onto your crossmember and mounts. SR20 bellhousing or a sr20 gearbox. Then just your wiring and management.

RB26... new crossmember, mounts, RB25 gearbox, prop, and modding the sump. Then fans and radiator as the ca one wont cope. and all the extras you need eg hoses and and and all cost big money on any RB series engine.

POWDER · Post by **POWDER** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:40 pm

Just remember to keep your CA18 thrust bearing and stuff like that from the gearbox, coz most of the time, "Lets rather say like 98%" you will not get it with the gearbox (Well keep it if you going SR20 upgrade). Wont fit the RB series.

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:39 pm

I cant speak for the RB swap however Im running the SR20 in my S13.

A few things from the word go....do it right the first time!

If you do not know in what condition the motor was or you didnt hear it running....open it up and check!

If the you heard the motor running and then bought it, drop the sump and replace the bearings with ACL. Rip off the head and get a cometic headgasket and APR headbolts. Make sure the oil pump and water pump is 100% including your thermostat. These are all safety measures you can take and trust me you will sleep allot safer at night!

Also take tappet cover off and inspect the rockers, cams, chain......make sure all of these are in a very good condition. Rebuilding a head will cost you more than a import motor! Trust me, ive got the bills!

COOLING!!! A massive problem when doing a swop is cooling. Get yourself a quiality thick core radiator and decent 12" elec fans to go with that. Replace your old crappy hoses with quiality new ones. I went and bought the stock sr20det radiator pips from nissan and fitted it to my motor and radiator, seeing that the radiator's inlet was on the otherside from the stock radiator of the CA18DET.
Ive also kept my fan cowling on. Some peole remove it, but Ive also heard from allot of people that this helps with the cooling.

Engine mounts are the same, but if they look slightly worn, rather replace them, it will safe you heaps of headache at a later stage.

Invest in a proper sump, the SR20DET motors loves running bearings, they do not keep loads of oil in the sump so heavy cornering and drifting can cause you to run bearings.

Clutch, dont even attempt using the stock clutch. You will end up replacing it. The CA18DET and SR20DET clutches are barely good enough for stock motors! Go and spend R4000-R4500 on a proper imported clutch and it will safe you money in the long run.

FMIC - Always a very good idea.....Decent one will set you back about R5000-00, thats for the intercooler and all pipping and fitting, clamps..... A must if you want proper performance from your motor.

Management Systems: Im running Dicktator wasted spark. Its a good system and you dont need more....however there is better on the market. Im currently saving up for something else.

Rather try and fit the stock ecu and later run Apexi FC, quick way of spending R12 000 but worth every cent! Driveability and consumpsition on these systems are amazing towards Dicktator or other local brands....

So in a nutshell....dont go cheap. Do it right the first time.

Good person to speak to is Riekert, he has done his swop himself and has done a amazing job! And also on a tight budget! He will be able to give you some great pointers!

Riekert · Post by **Riekert** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:43 pm

Thanx dude

What Mario said is very true. If you do go for the SR, rather spend a bit more time and money and do it right.

Now from my point of view... I did the complete swop myself(with help of the forum and internetz). The car is running with no know issues. Everything is still stock except the Turbo. and IC. The swap to date is at around R20k which is a tight budget, and you'll be lucky if you pay that just for the conversions labour if you don't do it yourself... not to mention the motor, parts etc...

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:40 am

No problem Riekert.....

Yip, money is always the problem....I got most the work done on my motor and I bought my motor for a very very good price and Im sitting at R50 000 for my conversion. However its going strong and making good power on a T28 turbo!

RB25SX · Post by **RB25SX** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:35 am

The bast way is RB26. Engine & box cost about R25K. Upgrade intercooler + radiator, max R10K. Std RB26 makes a very reliable 260kw @ 0.8 bar with very wide powerband. No engine upgrades nessesary.
If i knew this a couple of months ago, I would have left my RB26 sock std and just enjoyed the car !!!!!!!

Pinkfluffybunnys · Post by **Pinkfluffybunnys** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:00 am

cant speak for the RB swap however Im running the SR20 in my S13.

A few things from the word go....do it right the first time!

If you do not know in what condition the motor was or you didnt hear it running....open it up and check!

If the you heard the motor running and then bought it, drop the sump and replace the bearings with ACL. Rip off the head and get a cometic headgasket and APR headbolts. Make sure the oil pump and water pump is 100% including your thermostat. These are all safety measures you can take and trust me you will sleep allot safer at night!

Also take tappet cover off and inspect the rockers, cams, chain......make sure all of these are in a very good condition. Rebuilding a head will cost you more than a import motor! Trust me, ive got the bills!

COOLING!!! A massive problem when doing a swop is cooling. Get yourself a quiality thick core radiator and decent 12" elec fans to go with that. Replace your old crappy hoses with quiality new ones. I went and bought the stock sr20det radiator pips from nissan and fitted it to my motor and radiator, seeing that the radiator's inlet was on the otherside from the stock radiator of the CA18DET.
Ive also kept my fan cowling on. Some peole remove it, but Ive also heard from allot of people that this helps with the cooling.

Engine mounts are the same, but if they look slightly worn, rather replace them, it will safe you heaps of headache at a later stage.

Invest in a proper sump, the SR20DET motors loves running bearings, they do not keep loads of oil in the sump so heavy cornering and drifting can cause you to run bearings.

Clutch, dont even attempt using the stock clutch. You will end up replacing it. The CA18DET and SR20DET clutches are barely good enough for stock motors! Go and spend R4000-R4500 on a proper imported clutch and it will safe you money in the long run.

FMIC - Always a very good idea.....Decent one will set you back about R5000-00, thats for the intercooler and all pipping and fitting, clamps..... A must if you want proper performance from your motor.

Management Systems: Im running Dicktator wasted spark. Its a good system and you dont need more....however there is better on the market. Im currently saving up for something else.

Rather try and fit the stock ecu and later run Apexi FC, quick way of spending R12 000 but worth every cent! Driveability and consumpsition on these systems are amazing towards Dicktator or other local brands....

So in a nutshell....dont go cheap. Do it right the first time.

Good person to speak to is Riekert, he has done his swop himself and has done a amazing job! And also on a tight budget! He will be able to give you some great pointers!

Good post mario_200sx , honest and too the point

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:39 am

Pinkfluffybunnys wrote:
cant speak for the RB swap however Im running the SR20 in my S13.

A few things from the word go....do it right the first time!

If you do not know in what condition the motor was or you didnt hear it running....open it up and check!

If the you heard the motor running and then bought it, drop the sump and replace the bearings with ACL. Rip off the head and get a cometic headgasket and APR headbolts. Make sure the oil pump and water pump is 100% including your thermostat. These are all safety measures you can take and trust me you will sleep allot safer at night!

Also take tappet cover off and inspect the rockers, cams, chain......make sure all of these are in a very good condition. Rebuilding a head will cost you more than a import motor! Trust me, ive got the bills!

COOLING!!! A massive problem when doing a swop is cooling. Get yourself a quiality thick core radiator and decent 12" elec fans to go with that. Replace your old crappy hoses with quiality new ones. I went and bought the stock sr20det radiator pips from nissan and fitted it to my motor and radiator, seeing that the radiator's inlet was on the otherside from the stock radiator of the CA18DET.
Ive also kept my fan cowling on. Some peole remove it, but Ive also heard from allot of people that this helps with the cooling.

Engine mounts are the same, but if they look slightly worn, rather replace them, it will safe you heaps of headache at a later stage.

Invest in a proper sump, the SR20DET motors loves running bearings, they do not keep loads of oil in the sump so heavy cornering and drifting can cause you to run bearings.

Clutch, dont even attempt using the stock clutch. You will end up replacing it. The CA18DET and SR20DET clutches are barely good enough for stock motors! Go and spend R4000-R4500 on a proper imported clutch and it will safe you money in the long run.

FMIC - Always a very good idea.....Decent one will set you back about R5000-00, thats for the intercooler and all pipping and fitting, clamps..... A must if you want proper performance from your motor.

Management Systems: Im running Dicktator wasted spark. Its a good system and you dont need more....however there is better on the market. Im currently saving up for something else.

Rather try and fit the stock ecu and later run Apexi FC, quick way of spending R12 000 but worth every cent! Driveability and consumpsition on these systems are amazing towards Dicktator or other local brands....

So in a nutshell....dont go cheap. Do it right the first time.

Good person to speak to is Riekert, he has done his swop himself and has done a amazing job! And also on a tight budget! He will be able to give you some great pointers!
Good post mario_200sx , honest and too the point

Thanks man. Some people might tjink that I made the wrong choice...But Im very happy with the car! Its not a daily drive anymore, but now it will become my track slut.....

Worth every penny! SR20DET made a hige difference to the car! I also wanted to go CA18DET with full mods....but Im glad I went SR.

After a few years I will do the RB25 and make it a monster!

POWDER · Post by **POWDER** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:55 pm

Gents, I am about to attempt to change the Independent coil packs and the crank angle sensor out for the distributor from a SR20-DE, Reason for this is to lower the Dictator costs so I wouldn't need a wasted spark system with ignition & crank sensor modules. This should bring me down to R2500 for the dictator system.

Do you guys see any potential problems ?