engine dilemma

oooook, my current CA20E is on its last legs and could die on me anytime soon. so i've hit abit of a problem and here it is:

get a CA18DET
or
get another CA20E

an SR is outta the question cause i'm on a tight budget.
shoud i get the CA18DET? i don't care about performance, as with this car, i never intended to spend money modding it. (CA18DE is only $100 cheaper so no real point).

the reason i'm thinking about a CA18DET is that their abit newer then the CA20E's and less chance of it dieing early on me.

or should i just get a CA20E and stick it in. their abit old, but can i rely on them?

what should i do? i don't mind either engine, but money is a big issue, but i don't want to just go get a CA20 and have it die 2 months later you know.

what do you guys think?

CA18DET will give you a considerable amount of power compared to the normal stock CA20E.

Any engine can die on you GBear u just gotta research on who u actually buy it off....ALWAYS have the engine checked to make sure that it is fine and won't fall apart the moment u turn it on.

This is how I look at it.

CA18DET:
Pros: High revving, gutsy engine

cons: hard to find bolt on parts

CA20E:
Pros: Bulletproof mostly (well the block anyways)
cons: again its old and difficult to find parts.

If u find one in good nick, treat it well rather than thrashing it and it should come out fine :)

I'm not sure where you are located. If in the states you could probably get a CA18DE out of a FWD car and use that. Might be a bit cheaper and should be a bolt in swap. Not real sure on this but it may be worth looking into for you.

If you are on a tight budget i would go with the CA20, the DET will cost ya more than just the engine, ECU, MAF and ignitor. When i did mine, i also needed an electric fan, guages and a larger exhaust. A couple things to keep in mind.

If you don't care about performance stick with the CA20E, the least reliable part of it seems to be the dizzy the rest seems pretty solid (just don't rev it too hard)
CA18DET:
Pros: High revving, gutsy engine

cons: hard to find bolt on parts

CA20E:
Pros: Bulletproof mostly (well the block anyways)
cons: again its old and difficult to find parts

I disagree the CA20E was in about a million different bluebirds, gazelles, pintaras etc, there is millions of spares around for next to nothing cos no one seems to like CA20Es. The CA18DET has a fairly large aftermarket support, if you can't find what you want you aren't trying hard enough hehe. Also as far as spares go the DE was in a few locally delivered cars, you can get spares new from nissan or from a wreakers if you can find a DE car around.

yeah i'm gonna go the ca20e, i talked to a mate and yeah, i think the total cost will be too much, as things will pop up and i'll probably spend like $5000 in the end which isn't what i'd like.

ahh well....turbo for the next car...180sx 8-)