SR20 Install: Days 3, 4 and 5 - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

sciamop · 08-25-2004, 08:36 AM

To Recap: I bought a redtop 180sx clip from Jarco for $2600 + $800 shipping. I have a clean 93 Coupe that I got for $200 (blown motor)...

Day 3: Monkey around with the brake pedal in the automatic donor car for like 2 hours. Read zilvia.net. Use grinder to cut pedal in half. I then spent another hour or so removing the clutch pedal/master cylinder from the clip. I thought I could get away with a ghetto approach on drilling the master cylinder hole in the donor car. Wrong. Ran out to get 1 3/8" hole saw. I used a 3/8" bit to drill the bolt holes for the MC.

I also removed the intercooler -- again, fairly straightforward. 4 or 5 12mm bolts and it's out. Remember to use all the brackets from the clip... I lodged more non-safety glass into my skin (elbow).

Day 4: Install intercooler into donor car. Disconnected all hoses/all wires/hard-line/etc from the clip. Also, pulled the mangled radiator out of the clip. Ready to remove the engine...

Day 5: Remove/Install engine day.

The RH motor mount was broken from the accident and the LH nut was stripped so I removed the mount from the top. I was feeling lazy, so I decided to leave the downpipe on the engine -- this proved to be a big PITA. When I was installing the engine, I finally took it off. So, remember to remove the downpipe before pulling the engine.

The pull took a little longer than usual because the clip was so bent. The x-member was bent a little bit so the trans got hung up on it a few times.

While I had the engine out, I re-arranged the heater hoses, removed the AIV shite and the lower turbo heat shield. The AIV hard line was pretty rusted on. Solution: lots of PB blaster and some heat. I also removed the oil pan and banged it out, installed the oil filter and dumped 3.5 qts of oil in.

All the guides on SR20 install say that the motor mounts are compatible between JDM and US cars -- the JDM LH motor mount's bolt and 'bump' where in a slightly different position than the US one... I used both the US ones.

Anyhow, I ('we' actually, I had a friend help me with pull and install -- very important) installed the engine pretty quickly. The AC line on the firewall was interfering with the back of the engine so we yanked it. I also removed the AC pump and the AC radiator. After we tossed that stuff, the motor/trans slid right in.

I'm currently experiencing a small problem: the trans mount is very hard to line up with the body mount points. I'm afraid that the US motor mounts are pushing the drivetrain at a weird angle or the trans mount is bent from the accident... I'll be working on this today with hopes of getting the car running!

Things I learned:

-- When you are pulling the engine, there are 2 mount points on the firewall side of the lower intake.

-- Remove the DP before removing the engine.

-- Drain the gear oil out of the transmission beforehand. It makes a giant mess. However, it does make a great hair gel! Especially when it has dirt and grease from the garage floor in it...

-- The front clip weighs less than the engine/transmission. It likes to fall off the jackstands when you are removing these components!

Todd

timmybgood · 08-25-2004, 10:12 AM

i got lots of free "hair gel" last time i yanked my tranny too.

good luck with the install, i'll be tacklin this myself here in a few weeks

Mr. Badlose · 08-25-2004, 10:47 AM

Get another guy to help you with that tranny mount...use a jack under the tranny to get it into position, attach mount to tranny, put a screwdriver through one of the holes of the mount and into one of the screw holes on the chassis, use screwdriver to pry so that the holes line up, bolt in where you can. Do you understand?

sciamop · 08-25-2004, 12:04 PM

Understood. This is what I ended up doing!

Unfortunately I fucked around with it last night and stripped out one of the body mounts

Todd

Mr. Badlose · 08-25-2004, 12:16 PM

Doh!

If it were me I'd just strip a bolt right into it, but then again, I do stupid shit. ^_^

Id- · 08-25-2004, 10:46 PM

aaaahhh a jarco clip; even in an accident; its still in good quality

so its true? the clips come with the whole rear subframe and vlsd, etc?

was it just the subframe so you could drop the old one and bolt in the jdm one? got any pics of the subframe? thx

this is what makes me want a jarco clip more than any other; its better quality than anyone else and you get a diff assembly and fuel pump along with it... i live in alabama so i could drive to jarco in georgia and pick it up on a friend's trailer

RedSuns · 08-25-2004, 10:59 PM

that long to get the Sr out of the clip....wow

i can get ans Sr out of its clip(SMIC and all) in 2hours..by myself

anyway...good luck on everything and make sure to take lots of pics when it is done

Andrew Bohan · 08-26-2004, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sciamop

-- Remove the DP before removing the engine.

pfft

we even got the cat!!!

heated heavy · 08-26-2004, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedSuns

that long to get the Sr out of the clip....wow

i can get ans Sr out of its clip(SMIC and all) in 2hours..by myself

anyway...good luck on everything and make sure to take lots of pics when it is done

you want a cookie? its better to actually take your time and do a nice clean swap.

sciamop · 08-26-2004, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedSuns

that long to get the Sr out of the clip....wow

i can get ans Sr out of its clip(SMIC and all) in 2hours..by myself

anyway...good luck on everything and make sure to take lots of pics when it is done

Yeah. If I did it again I'd be able to pull the SR out in a couple of hours.

Days 1 and 2 were spent installing VLSD and other prepwork on the donor car. I didn't really touch the clip until day 3.

I'd estimate that I've spent about 50 hours mucking around at this point (includes KA pull)... I'd also estimate that I am almost 3/4 of the way done

sciamop · 08-26-2004, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Id-

aaaahhh a jarco clip; even in an accident; its still in good quality

so its true? the clips come with the whole rear subframe and vlsd, etc?

was it just the subframe so you could drop the old one and bolt in the jdm one? got any pics of the subframe? thx

this is what makes me want a jarco clip more than any other; its better quality than anyone else and you get a diff assembly and fuel pump along with it... i live in alabama so i could drive to jarco in georgia and pick it up on a friend's trailer

I won't know about this unit until it starts up. There was no key included so I haven't heard it run yet. Also, the much-touted 'video of the car running' was not supplied to me.

The VLSD came as a complete subframe. Plug and play. They also included the correct driveshaft and a fuel pump. I did the math and it didn't make any sense to try to piece together a swap from a bunch of fly-by-night suppliers. I might have saved $300-600 but it would have been a guaranteed PITA. If you pick up the clip yourself from Jarco, it's definitely a GREAT deal.

Jarco seems pretty cool. From my experience, what makes a good 'JDM' supplier is customer service and willingness to stand behind what they sell. The product itself can be a bit of a crap shoot -- a good supplier will insulate you from this.

They didn't tell me that the CAS case was broken on my clip so if it doesn't run because of this, I'll be testing their customer service AND I'll be SURE to report back...

Todd

RedSuns · 08-29-2004, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heated heavy

you want a cookie? its better to actually take your time and do a nice clean swap.

make it chocolate chip....i have 3 customers that are on this forum...they can vouch for my work...

RedSuns · 08-29-2004, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sciamop

Yeah. If I did it again I'd be able to pull the SR out in a couple of hours.

Days 1 and 2 were spent installing VLSD and other prepwork on the donor car. I didn't really touch the clip until day 3.

I'd estimate that I've spent about 50 hours mucking around at this point (includes KA pull)... I'd also estimate that I am almost 3/4 of the way done

is this your 1st attempt at an SR swap?

TurboB15sentra · 08-30-2004, 01:40 AM

Every single SR swap I've done... the trans mount never wants to line up! It's always 1/4-1/2" back from the mounting holes. I usually get a pry-bar under the car, and pry on the bracket.. wedging the bar in the tranny tunnel and doing one side at a time.. this keeps you from having to worry about messing up the threads in the hole by using a screw driver. I don't know why the tranny mount won't line up.. I've never tried to use the JDM SR mounts.. maybe that's it.

Travis

08-25-2004, 08:36 AM	#1
sciamop Zilvia Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: NY Posts: 217 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	SR20 Install: Days 3, 4 and 5 To Recap: I bought a redtop 180sx clip from Jarco for $2600 + $800 shipping. I have a clean 93 Coupe that I got for $200 (blown motor)... Day 3: Monkey around with the brake pedal in the automatic donor car for like 2 hours. Read zilvia.net. Use grinder to cut pedal in half. I then spent another hour or so removing the clutch pedal/master cylinder from the clip. I thought I could get away with a ghetto approach on drilling the master cylinder hole in the donor car. Wrong. Ran out to get 1 3/8" hole saw. I used a 3/8" bit to drill the bolt holes for the MC. I also removed the intercooler -- again, fairly straightforward. 4 or 5 12mm bolts and it's out. Remember to use all the brackets from the clip... I lodged more non-safety glass into my skin (elbow). Day 4: Install intercooler into donor car. Disconnected all hoses/all wires/hard-line/etc from the clip. Also, pulled the mangled radiator out of the clip. Ready to remove the engine... Day 5: Remove/Install engine day. The RH motor mount was broken from the accident and the LH nut was stripped so I removed the mount from the top. I was feeling lazy, so I decided to leave the downpipe on the engine -- this proved to be a big PITA. When I was installing the engine, I finally took it off. So, remember to remove the downpipe before pulling the engine. The pull took a little longer than usual because the clip was so bent. The x-member was bent a little bit so the trans got hung up on it a few times. While I had the engine out, I re-arranged the heater hoses, removed the AIV shite and the lower turbo heat shield. The AIV hard line was pretty rusted on. Solution: lots of PB blaster and some heat. I also removed the oil pan and banged it out, installed the oil filter and dumped 3.5 qts of oil in. All the guides on SR20 install say that the motor mounts are compatible between JDM and US cars -- the JDM LH motor mount's bolt and 'bump' where in a slightly different position than the US one... I used both the US ones. Anyhow, I ('we' actually, I had a friend help me with pull and install -- very important) installed the engine pretty quickly. The AC line on the firewall was interfering with the back of the engine so we yanked it. I also removed the AC pump and the AC radiator. After we tossed that stuff, the motor/trans slid right in. I'm currently experiencing a small problem: the trans mount is very hard to line up with the body mount points. I'm afraid that the US motor mounts are pushing the drivetrain at a weird angle or the trans mount is bent from the accident... I'll be working on this today with hopes of getting the car running! Things I learned: -- When you are pulling the engine, there are 2 mount points on the firewall side of the lower intake. -- Remove the DP before removing the engine. -- Drain the gear oil out of the transmission beforehand. It makes a giant mess. However, it does make a great hair gel! Especially when it has dirt and grease from the garage floor in it... -- The front clip weighs less than the engine/transmission. It likes to fall off the jackstands when you are removing these components! Todd

08-25-2004, 10:12 AM	#2
timmybgood Zilvia Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: central ohio Age: 41 Posts: 229 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	i got lots of free "hair gel" last time i yanked my tranny too. good luck with the install, i'll be tacklin this myself here in a few weeks __________________ 1995 SE

08-25-2004, 10:46 PM	#6
Id- Zilvia Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Hell on Earth Age: 44 Posts: 220 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	aaaahhh a jarco clip; even in an accident; its still in good quality so its true? the clips come with the whole rear subframe and vlsd, etc? was it just the subframe so you could drop the old one and bolt in the jdm one? got any pics of the subframe? thx this is what makes me want a jarco clip more than any other; its better quality than anyone else and you get a diff assembly and fuel pump along with it... i live in alabama so i could drive to jarco in georgia and pick it up on a friend's trailer __________________ 95 Lexus SC300 5-speed -DD pimp car 92 Nissan 240sx base coupe -clean KA24DE swapped in -GTIR T28 -Big FMIC -565cc STi Injectors w/ Z32 MAF -J30 VLSD w/ subframe spacers -RPS Max clutch -3" turboback -PLMS Daughterboard on modded ECU

08-25-2004, 10:59 PM	#7
RedSuns Nissanaholic! Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Northern VA Age: 43 Posts: 1,865 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	that long to get the Sr out of the clip....wow i can get ans Sr out of its clip(SMIC and all) in 2hours..by myself anyway...good luck on everything and make sure to take lots of pics when it is done __________________ Johnathan 2005 Titan 1996 240SX 1991 240SX 1974 260Z 1996 Honda CBR 600 F3

08-30-2004, 01:40 AM	#14
TurboB15sentra Zilvia Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: New Orleans, LA Age: 44 Posts: 258 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Every single SR swap I've done... the trans mount never wants to line up! It's always 1/4-1/2" back from the mounting holes. I usually get a pry-bar under the car, and pry on the bracket.. wedging the bar in the tranny tunnel and doing one side at a time.. this keeps you from having to worry about messing up the threads in the hole by using a screw driver. I don't know why the tranny mount won't line up.. I've never tried to use the JDM SR mounts.. maybe that's it. Travis __________________ www.fi-r.net Nissan Performance

08-25-2004, 10:47 AM	#3
Mr. Badlose Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: CA Posts: 327 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Get another guy to help you with that tranny mount...use a jack under the tranny to get it into position, attach mount to tranny, put a screwdriver through one of the holes of the mount and into one of the screw holes on the chassis, use screwdriver to pry so that the holes line up, bolt in where you can. Do you understand?

08-25-2004, 12:04 PM	#4
sciamop Zilvia Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: NY Posts: 217 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Understood. This is what I ended up doing! Unfortunately I fucked around with it last night and stripped out one of the body mounts Todd

08-25-2004, 12:16 PM	#5
Mr. Badlose Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: CA Posts: 327 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Doh! If it were me I'd just strip a bolt right into it, but then again, I do stupid shit. ^_^