SR20 Swap help

SR20DE or DET is a toss-in, or nearly so. Plenty of room for it. From what we know, the mounting is the same. SO no not really any welding. But you better run an aftermarket engine management system or the SR20DET ECU and electronics. And know how to do wiring work.

you need to make a trans crossmember to put the sr motor and trans in the s12. the ca20 trans mount is about an 1.5" off.

you need to make a trans crossmember to put the sr motor and trans in the s12. the ca20 trans mount is about an 1.5" off.

Very simple to modify the existing cross member.

ah ha, i see, so basically just a few mods here and there, and the sr20det SHOULD fit in decently. now what about shortening the drive shaft, i saw from craig that it had to be shortened...is that just a little shaving, or is there welding in that? now, considering that my engine is beat up, would it be better to rebuild it, and beef up the internals, then have a turbo kit put on, if i custom order it? or would it be better to throw in the already turboed sr20? as far as a complete engine swap, whats the approx. time frame of that project?

how long have you been on the project? neb, how long was yours?
Took me about a year on and off, i certainly didn't work on it solidly. Welding skill isn't nessessary, any tailshaft shortening will have to be done by a shop since you want it done properly and balanced etc. The trans mount in my car was scratch built but i'm sure you could adapt somthing without welding etc. IC piping could be made out of bends and straights and hose and clamps easily so no welding there if you don't want to. Wiring isn't as hard as you might think, i did it in about a week. Be carefull tho sheppo did his own but didn't check it all out well enough and managed to feed power where it wasn't supposed to go and BOOM!!! He was in a hurry tho, do it and check it twice before applying power.

thanks man, i really appreciate the info. see, i work 3 days a week, so im going to be devoting at least 4 days at 10 hours a piece, and the other 3 at about 4 each, so hopefully ill get it done within a couple months, maybe less cuz my dad is VERY mechanically inclined, used to be a mechanic, and my cuzin and uncle are the same way...very familiar with swappin, just not these 2 particular engines. so you said to send the shafts out to be balanced, thats no problem, and to bend the piping so no welding is needed, and that is a huge factor thats been solved. thanks again guys, as soon as i start, ill begin to load pics and ill come to you guys with any problems. :headbang:
hopefully itll be sweet, and ill have a beastly car when its all overwith, maybe even race worthy :werd:

ah ha, i see, so basically just a few mods here and there, and the sr20det SHOULD fit in decently. now what about shortening the drive shaft, i saw from craig that it had to be shortened...is that just a little shaving, or is there welding in that? now, considering that my engine is beat up, would it be better to rebuild it, and beef up the internals, then have a turbo kit put on, if i custom order it? or would it be better to throw in the already turboed sr20? as far as a complete engine swap, whats the approx. time frame of that project?

You will for sure have to shorten your driveshaft how much depends on what you do for engine mounts i would suggest using KA mounts (240sx mounts) as it will save alot of hassle. The drive shaft is an easy task, take it to a shop. The swap isnt over difficult but i planned to do it in a month and it took me 2, and i worked my ass off, all summer long. I am no sick of working on cars lol. The little things take the longest for sure. As for wiring im lazy and had it done for me cause there is a pro in town. If you have questions PM me i have lots of pics and stuff im sure i can give you a hand. Theres a couple guys on here who really know there shit, it shouldnt be to difficult!!

Have fun hopefully not to many headaches!

Craig

PS: Dont forget you will most likly have to cut out your floor a bit to make room for the shifter, thats easy though!

i don't quite understand, you guys says the engine drops right on KA FRAME MOUNTS with the SR mounts on the engine, and the crossmember and driveshaft needs a little touch and it take you 2 month?
you really didn't work much on the car each day or is there some other's "headaches" we don't know about ?
wiring the ecu can be found here : http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/march04/240sr/ and doens't look THAT long to me

anyway please drop me some more information craig, cause im looking forward to this swap when i spot an s12 (just missed one with really clean body and blown engine for 500cdn$ :cry: )

thats to wire it in a 240sx. s12 is alot different. its easyer to wire every thing on switches than to try to connect s12 to sr. and their are little things that come up along the way if you havent done this swap befor. like geting the old mounts off the crossmember, heater hoses , trans crossmember, and other little stuff . all that time adds up. wireing up the factory gauges to all still work and knowing what sending units to use is a pain to. alot different than swaping into a 240 sx that only takes like 2 days.

Rule of engine swaps (read: working on cars in general):
Estimate time to finish job x 10 = true time taken to finish job

There will be small things, things you have to buy parts for that you will have to wait a few days for, days when you don't feel like it, days when you gf won't let you work on it etc etc.
2 months is good, i got lazy and it took me a year (including fixing accident damage and prepping the whole car for paint, removing the sunroof cos it leaked etc etc), i didn't work on it solidly either. One word of advice, get it on the road as fast as possible, then you will be more motivated since it'll be alive and kicking than you will be if you 'just want to do a few more things before i finish it off'...

i don't quite understand, you guys says the engine drops right on KA FRAME MOUNTS with the SR mounts on the engine, and the crossmember and driveshaft needs a little touch and it take you 2 month?
you really didn't work much on the car each day or is there some other's "headaches" we don't know about ?
wiring the ecu can be found here : http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/march04/240sr/ and doens't look THAT long to me

anyway please drop me some more information craig, cause im looking forward to this swap when i spot an s12 (just missed one with really clean body and blown engine for 500cdn$ :cry: )

I didnt use the KA mounts and i have no idea how much work swapping those in is, i used the CA mounts and made custom brackets. Making the custom brackets took time. As far as other head aches its small things, the lines for the heater core have to be redirected because are cars are left hand drive so they have to be routed to the opposite side of the engine. Getting your speedo and tach working ect. Its not that bad just jump into it and see. I dont think 2 months was bad at all seeing how i had half the advice that is out there today on doing it. Im thinking of switching to KA mounts this summer im not sure we will see, im almost sick of pulling engines.

Craig

hey guys, thank you all for the help. ill be coming back periodically in here to see whats up, and if i run into problems, itll be like 2 or 3 months before i get the motor, which sucks cuz my job pays like shit. thats ok because itll be long worth the wait and since i have a TON of mechanics in my family, it should only take us about 2 months, and i know my cuz/uncle know how to custom fab things where needed....hence throwing a 350 small block v8 into an 87 rx7...so they know a thing or 2 about pulling engines among other things. thats not the only pull theyve done, so it should go somewhat smoothly. and as far as sending out the drive shaft, where could i look online to find where someone is who can do that in the new jersey/philly area? you guys friggin rule :banger:

Any drive line shop can do it. Tell them you need to shorten your drive shaft and balance it. A good shop will resize it and not even have to add weights to balance it. Good luck

Craig

anyway il see if it's that much work when il do it.
i have huge project for the s12 im gonna buy, stand-alone on a s13 sr20det with a stripped roll-caged s12 should give some pep to this old-school beast :burnout:

ok heres a question, with the sr20det, can i use the same ecu thats in the car? or do i need an after market one? also, if i need a completely new one, is it hard to hook up at all? because if not? ill go all out with the stand alone and the whole 9 yards throughout my whole car.

ok quick question, on the S13, is the header lay out the same as the s12? or is it a new layout, because i want to get headers for my ca20e. i havent decided on the sr20 because its sooooo damn expensive for my budget and too time consuming, i might tackle it over the summer though.. but i found headers for the s13 and i need to know if they are the same as the s12...so i can get them. i tried searching, but i couldnt find anything about that, so maybe i looked inthe wrong part on this site, or maybe im blind...no idea..

No, the S13 has a KA24DE, they're not the same as the CA20. Pacesetter used to make a header for the CA20, and there's still a few floating around here and there, but the CA20 manifold actually is a well thought out, well designed piece, and I would be surprised if the Pacesetter actually picked up any horsepower...

No, the S13 has a KA24DE, they're not the same as the CA20. Pacesetter used to make a header for the CA20, and there's still a few floating around here and there, but the CA20 manifold actually is a well thought out, well designed piece, and I would be surprised if the Pacesetter actually picked up any horsepower...

Pacesetter is crap very poorly fabricated im with you on saying the stock mani. is better.