craigslist ka motor

[510venture]

Just picked this up. http://buffalo.craigslist.org/pts/4518596650.html I think the ad is still up as of this posting. From what I can figure its a ka24de. Its missing an exhaust manifold and ecu and wiring harness and I'm sure a couple other things. The seller told me he needed cash and to just throw out a crazy low ball number and so I did and less than half the asking price later it was mine. So my questions then, does this appear to be a ka24de as I am pretty positive that it is? Can I source an ecu from a different vehicle that used this same engine? Am i further proving my ignorance by assuming a manual ka transmission will bolt up to this? At 300 does this seem worth it? No paper work on the rebuild but the engine is super clean and spins by hand and everything looks strait. I'm picking it up later, anything I should check for before I ride away with it? Thanks for any info/advice/opinions. I appreciate it.

[ggzilla]

DE has visible spark plug wires on top. E does not.

 

DE is DOHC. E is single overhead cam

[MicroMachinery]

That is a DE. You should be able to source an exhaust manifold, wiring harness, and ECU fairly easily, as this was an engine sold in the US. Import engines not offered here are where it gets tricky..

[ggzilla]

Seller says its "out of a 240 s", probably meaning 240SX, which is a North American model.

 

Also says its rebuilt, but may have been rebuilt years ago and needs another rebuild. The flywheel is rusty so its been sitting for years probably.

[datzenmike]

... gee another rebuilt engine that can't be proven. Yeah $300 is about right. Worth it in parts. If it can't be started and run it is basically scrap weight. You may luck out.

[510venture]

Thank you everyone for the furiously fast responses. A little internet research let me to believe the guy meant 240sx. I know its a risk but I figured 3 bills made it not too much of a potentially catastrophic one. I am typically not a gambling man but I figured what the hell. The rusty flywheel is not reassuring by any stretch of the imagination. I feel considerably less than great about it. It was advantageous when I pointed it out to him as another reason that 800 was too far out there but beyond that its mostly unsettling.

[ggzilla]

Bring a starter, transmission and jumper cables with you and give it a compression check. If the wet & dry readings match, its likely a good engine.

 

Otherwise plan on a rebuild.

[510venture]

There are fates worse than rebuild. I figure I could always get lucky...but I'm not counting on it.

[datzenmike]

 

This is definitely a car KA24DE engine. Storage over the winter will do that and it can be polished off easy enough.

[thisismatt]

Looks clean enough.  I've seen people clean/paint parts to make them look good for selling, but not usually a whole motor.  You might luck out.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but you'll probably want to use an ECU from an automatic, regardless of if you're putting in a manual.  Manual ECU will want a VSS signal...

[510venture]

Yes, winter storage rust, polish right up. Let's go with that, I like that! Well, I'm pretty hopful but I certainly won't be blown away if I've got to put work into it. When I first contacted the seller I asked, "This looks like a ka, correct?", and "Are there any other parts, ecu, wire harness, etc?" And "who rebuilt it?" On all accounts it was, "I don't know." It was perplexing, how do you know it was rebuilt, then? How do you not know if there's an ecu or not? Seemed odd to me. After meeting the seller he explained to me that a buddy of his was cleaning out his garage and the motor had been left by his nefew who had it rebuilt and he just wanted it gone so he gave it to the seller. Seemed like a thing that could happen. There's a couple big question marks but at the price I'll roll the dice. Is thisismatt correct? I found an ecu on eBay for 10 bucks and 15 shipping but its a manual. For the summer I'm just going to rock the l16 and enjoy the car. As beat up as it is, and it damn sure is, its a head turner. Everyone is my friend when I drive it. Everyone wants to talk to me about it. I'm only too happy to be able to. Come winter though I'm going to take it off the road and start taking it apart and fixing it up so I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions I should probably already know the answer to. I appreciate everyone being here, taking the time out to help me better understand what I'm doing. Thanks all.

[thisismatt]

Come winter though I'm going to take it off the road and start taking it apart and fixing it up so I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions I should probably already know the answer to. I appreciate everyone being here, taking the time out to help me better understand what I'm doing. Thanks all.

Don't "take it apart", just do incremental repairs, upgrades, modifications - compartmentalize your work so that you can keep it drivable.  Motivation to work on a project that can't be driven will dwindle quickly.

[510venture]

You are right about that. I have seen a car or two end up in miscellaneous brown cardboad boxes stacked around/on top of/inside of a husk of a shell that used to be the car. I plan on doing what I can incrementally but the whole car needs paint and has some typical rust spots both of which I will have to turn to a professional for. Figure if I can get the body to a shop over the winter when its "off the road" that might be my best bet. This car will never see a snow flake again so living in buffalo, that should leave a few weeks each year in which to drive it.

[pondking]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/pts/4519288632.html

 

 

sold!!!!!!!!!!