Darky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 29 Palms, CA
I have an 85 Nissan pickup. The engine needs work. I mean, it drives fine, I filled the bed with lumber and it hauled that just fine, but it had a blown head gasket a few yrs back that was never taken care of. A new gasket was put in but the head/block weren't machined to ensure a smooth flat surface. Since I got it, it's had a major tuneup - plugs (8 of em, crazy dual plugged 4-banger!), cap and rotor, plug wires, valve stem seals, new cat, etc - and during the tuneup we discovered that two of the cylinders bleed compression back and forth when pressurized to retain the valves during the seal change. So, I know that need to be fixed, either by getting it machined flat again or replacing the engine altogether.
It has 250k on it but like I said, runs strong. If I can rebuild it, it'll be by far the easiest method. However, it'd still be hampered by a computer controlled carb, and still be a 25 yr old design making the power that a carb'd 2.4 4 cyl made 25 yrs ago. I was looking at a rebuild kit that supplies all new gaskets and piston rings on eBay for about $180. Unless there's something I'm not thinking of that would also be needed, that would probably be the way I'd go if the head gasket failure can be salvaged.
If I swap, it'd be a KA24E from a 90's Nissan truck, using the harness and manifolds from an 89-90 240SX. This option would be considerably more powerful, and likely get better mileage thanks to EFI. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, the 240SX came with the option of turbos, or at least turbo kits have been made for that engine.
Turbos would be down the road as I want to get this truck back on the road quickly and able to handle driving longer distances. IE, I would like to be able to drive down to San Diego (bout 300 miles round trip) to pick up a part or whatever.
So, if anyone has ideas, or thoughts, post up.
Rebuild: Pros- Easiest, cheapest, fastest
Cons- Less power, might not be able to fix head gasket problem, still carb'd
Swap:KA24E Pros- More power, EFI, possible turbo in future, only have to buy 4 plugs instead of 8, more aftermarket/OEM support, stronger tranny could come with it.
Cons- More difficult, could sideline truck for longer, more expensive, have to mess with engine harness, new mounts, possibly new crossmember
It has 250k on it but like I said, runs strong. If I can rebuild it, it'll be by far the easiest method. However, it'd still be hampered by a computer controlled carb, and still be a 25 yr old design making the power that a carb'd 2.4 4 cyl made 25 yrs ago. I was looking at a rebuild kit that supplies all new gaskets and piston rings on eBay for about $180. Unless there's something I'm not thinking of that would also be needed, that would probably be the way I'd go if the head gasket failure can be salvaged.
If I swap, it'd be a KA24E from a 90's Nissan truck, using the harness and manifolds from an 89-90 240SX. This option would be considerably more powerful, and likely get better mileage thanks to EFI. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, the 240SX came with the option of turbos, or at least turbo kits have been made for that engine.
Turbos would be down the road as I want to get this truck back on the road quickly and able to handle driving longer distances. IE, I would like to be able to drive down to San Diego (bout 300 miles round trip) to pick up a part or whatever.So, if anyone has ideas, or thoughts, post up.
Rebuild: Pros- Easiest, cheapest, fastest
Cons- Less power, might not be able to fix head gasket problem, still carb'd
Swap:KA24E Pros- More power, EFI, possible turbo in future, only have to buy 4 plugs instead of 8, more aftermarket/OEM support, stronger tranny could come with it.
Cons- More difficult, could sideline truck for longer, more expensive, have to mess with engine harness, new mounts, possibly new crossmember
