Ka24de, Leave Alone ,rebuild, Or Build Up ?

well, i picked up my $100 S14 KA24DE from a friend on CN. Im pondering on whats the best way to deal with it, should i leave it alone and stick it in? should i do a stock rebuild, or should i build it right with forged everything?
no before anyone goes off and saying "oh high mileage KAs are tough" then you probably need to ask yourself, why was it so cheap?

BLOWN HEADGASKET!!! or so he says...
there was form-a-gasket all over the valve cover and front chain cover and on the exhaust manifold, i dunno what else is up but there is most defiantly a milkshake in the oil pan lol.

to be honest i've never dealt with a blown head gasket, but i've been told that if its run too long with the contaminated oil, it would wash off the lubrication and ruin the engine. Unfortuantly I have no way to tell how many miles were on it when it blew or how long its been run like that. however I've spoken with a few and they say it'll be ok, just stick a head gasket on and go...

I dont need tons of power(right now anyway) but i do want to do a JY/budget turbo kit later on, so my second thought was to go all out, save, for a long time, and buy the "performance rebuild" from turbo240($1700) comes with forged everything, ARP Studs, Cometic HG, blah blah blah...

then i think that may be overkill, i don't know that'll ill ever need more than a bout 300hp, so a much cheaper stock rebuild($600ish) may be a better idea...

The sooner it runs, the better but I don't want to stick it in there to possaibly have to pull it right out for a needed rebuild or to build it up later,

I know you guys cant tell me what to do, but it may be nice to have another point of view or even some better ideas to get the best out of this

also, to the few who are running KAs, how do you like it in the S12?

Decide whether or not you're going to turbo it, then decide how much power you might want, then you'll have your answer. These are all preferential things, not to mention the money you use comes from your pocket.

Yank it apart and evaluate it. That'll help you decide.

If you have extra cash lying around then it wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and do the full turbo build up that you want right away. Will save time and money in the long run.

This post has been edited by IggyEGuana: Apr 7 2008, 05:13 AM

s14 long block?

pop in some s13 cams, and get rid of the emissions crap.

what are you planning on running it on, stock ecu? s13, 14?

so many variables.

yeah, too many if ya ask me... being that this will be my first swap, i wana do it right and rebuild it but I B Broke...

the biggest thing is is that i don't want to put it in now, spend the money to swap everything to S13 electronics, put a flywheel and clutch on it(auto) and go through the effort to put it in just to find it has knocking rods or a spun bearing... on the other hand i don't really have the money to be tossing around for a rebuild if it doesn't need it OR if I'm planning to go back and build it up anyways...

simplest thing would I guess be to find another blown KA24DE and build that later... but the question remains to ether rebuild this one or at least the lower end, or just take a 50/50 chance and throw it in with a new gasket and seals kit...

I'm a Mazda Rotard so you'll have to forgive me, I'm still new to piston engines. generally 13bs are pretty easy to diagnose. there isn't a way to tell the condition of the lower end without ether starting it or riping it apart right?

pull the pan off.

check for any obvious damage.

play in the rods, shine a flash light up into the cylinder bores and get a little looksy, look for any bearing material, etc. while you have the head off check the deck and head surface for flatness with a straight edge and feeler gauges, check the chain and pulleys, check cylinder walls from up top, check to see if the pistons knock around in the bore, etc.

its all just common sense, with a small bit of luck.

This post has been edited by brewster240: Apr 7 2008, 01:27 PM

I've been driving my KADE swap around for about 6 months. I think you'll be pretty happy with a stock one thats running well.

As for your motor in particular. . . pull the head, get your surfaces nice and clean and replace the gasket. Then I'd pull the pan, clean any and everything that has milkshake still on it and then replace all the rod bearings just for peace of mind and they're not expensive. You should be able to do it with the rods/psitons still in the block. Then once you get it up and running I'd make sure you give it a couple oil changes with cheap oil to get any remaining moisture/milkshake out of oil passages, etc.

tear it down for inspection and replace any expendable items, such as pumps, belts, and gaskets. basic tune up in other words. if anything, the piece of mind that comes from knowing how the engine is internally is enough to justify the tear down.

i couldnt just drop my ca18 into my s12, as i wasnt sure how it was inside the block, so i chose to tear it down and replace anything that needed it.

whats better, dropping it into the car, driving it a couple weeks only to blow something then have to pull it again to do a rebuild, or just going over it now while its out of the car? the choice is obvious

Well, I tore it down tonight... The crank isn't turning freely, seems rusty, and wont turn past a certain point. Not 100% sure on the rod bearings, YET, but i've gotta finish striping the block first...

took off the cylinder head and the bores were a little rusty but not too bad... I still have not found the cause of the contaminated oil, I was told it was a head gasket by someone who supposedly has never started the engine, never cracked the engine open or anything... I didn't see any real evidence of a blown HG but it could be warped enough to cause it... and this is my first time pulling a Piston engine apart(Mazda Rotary FTW!!!)

Ive decided that since i'm here, I might as well go ahead and rebuild it... Well the lower end mostly, ill probabyl let the machine shop have the head and do a basic valve job. I'm going to try and build it up as I go. I really don't need it tomorrow anyways. I don't think that it'll be a problem if i save up and buy it part by part and wait till I have it all together... that way, if I find something better and bail, i should be able to sell the parts back for all/most of the money spent. still gathering ideas on how i want to do it, but heres what i got so far

-TIMING CHAIN KIT(AMS)$330.00
-Beck Arnley Camshaft Gear(autopartswarehouse)36.82x2
-Eagle HBeam Rods w/ARP rod bolts(Looseboltsmotorsports/eBay)$299.95+15shipping
-Cometic HP Headgasket(AMS)85.00
-ARP 10mm head studs(AMS)$110.42
-Nissan Crankshaft Kit(RPM - RON'S PRECISION MACHINE, INC.) $309.14
crankshaft with matching main and rod bearings and thrust washers (if applicable)
-ARP main studs(AMS) $108.66
-Clevite Main and Rod Bearings(AMS)$75.00
-Pistons ???
-???
If anyone knows where to get it cheaper or if i forgot somthing, lmk. This is just ideas so far,

In the mean time, if anyone has a KA24DE block and heads that they KNOW is good and want to sell it to me, LMK (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ill probably start scratching now and buy the Head bolts and smaller stuff now, and get the machine work done.
Whew...

So is this a NA build or a turbo build?
If its turbo check out ka-t.org for pistons.

Cams?