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Dazed_Driver
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 12:49PM
Ok, seal of approval is pretty fucking funny.
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240tshead
Taylor Shead
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 01:31PM
Quote

OK and OK. I assume there is no way to get a cam follower flipped over or messed up in some way? It can happen with some valvetrains....

As for steel wheel, yes, they bend, but if you hit any cast/forged wheel hard enough, it'll just break. We run both with different tires. The steels will bend if you whack a rock, but we've never had one bend just from hard stage running, and that is with around 700 or more stages run by us on stock steel wheels in the 13", 14" and 15" ranges. A bent bead lip can be beat back in shape at service and you keep going. Worst case is if you hit hard enough to leak out the air, but with that hard a hit a cast/forged wheel may or may not break.

For cheap wheels for Rally TN I am looking at Circle Racing Wheels 15x7 IMCA wheels. They are a bit lighter than cast/forged rally wheels, and a lot lighter than comparable stock steel wheels. At a bit under $60 each new, it it a hard deal to beat (assuming the last OK on stage; they're probably Ok for tramac rally like Rally TN.) Dunno if any models like that will fit your bolt circle and offset.

Going to smaller wheels as you are consdiering does not make sense to me. Maybe for a low rider, but you don't need a shorter tire togive you ground clearance problems. And there seem to be many more tire choices in 15" rally tires than anything else. So I would stick with 15" and keep shopping for wheels.

And I really like the 'valve-seals' photo; that's most amusing and clever!

Mark B.

Well, the thing is with my lifters is that if I got them upside down the cams wouldn't even be able to sit in their brackets. My lifters are buckets and slide down over the springs.

As for wheels I will look into Circle Racing or Diamond Racing, which is another huge steel wheel company. The reason I am looking into smaller wheels is because my wheels are 16" and I heard that basically the only 16" rally tire is sold in Europe ans shipping alone would be more than a set of new wheels. I am looking into 15" wheels.

and thanks, photoshop is amazing!


Quote

The KA is a good reliable engine, makes good power for a beginner. He has so much more to worry about, such as cage and equipment, suspension and experience than spending money on a SR swap.

Some people need to realize that is somewhat intimidating joining a new forum, even worse getting beat about the head and shoulders needlessly....manners, what ever happened to manners??

Yes, one of my biggest obstacles here is money. That's why I don't plan to hit a stage until after the world ends, in 2013. LOL. Kidding, but I'm gonna be hard pressed to hit Rallye de Paris (which is the one I want to start with) in 2012.


Quote

As for me and the SR20 vs the KA thing, I already said to him in THAT car for a beginner fine run the damn thing.
Worry about compression, camshaft and fuel/ignition and final drive cause the gravel tires are tall and gear you up.

But above all worry about edjimacation and the future.

But for now get out the BOOK and check chain guides, skids etc.


Fortunately I have the FSM downloaded right on my computer. I'll be checking all of that stuff today as well as doing a leak down test and possibly pulling the head.
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john vanlandingham
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 01:41PM
Quote
240tshead


Fortunately I have the FSM downloaded right on my computer. I'll be checking all of that stuff today as well as doing a leak down test and possibly pulling the head.

Well some might claim that i have some clue around motors and when I'm working on sheeet I's never done or only done a few dozen times, I always carry the BOOK out and flop it right on top of things, and its alleged that i have a good memory and attention span---alleged that is.

You trust yourself to look at a confuser screen then run out to the garage and hammer on the motor then run back and read the next line?

Print out the section, stick it in a binder (with a nice bright color so you can't lose it!) and carry it to the car.


And hang on on the wheels to find some 15" alloys, steels are way disposable, especially if you get some decent suspenders and can ram into shit. You'll kill steelies in short order with a car that weighs what yours does.

Just slow down with the spending money on schtuff.
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240tshead
Taylor Shead
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 01:56PM
Well I run inside a lot my computer is like 20ft from the car in the garage. But I do print out sections on the more complicated parts.

And yeah I got plenty of time before time for getting wheels so I wont be making any rash decisions regarding wheels.
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starion887
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 03:51PM
Quote
john vanlandingham
And hang on on the wheels to find some 15" alloys, steels are way disposable, especially if you get some decent suspenders and can ram into shit. You'll kill steelies in short order with a car that weighs what yours does.

With respect, I'll disagree on killing the steel wheels. Refer to my last post on how many stages we have run with them and have lost air from just one. We bent a rim at Maine Forest on a mid sized rock, but that was only due to the fact that we were running Kuhmo tires with their rather soft sidewalls deflecting all the way into the rim. With a Michelin, we would not have had that degree of deflection and would not have bent that rim. Never have had a steel wheel bend or distort just to hard running or years of hard, teeth-jarring bumps and jumps. We did have a rim bent so badly on a paved stage 'step' with a poor sidewall tire that the rim was bent into to where it banged the outer tie rod end every rotation; kinda scary at 90 MPH! But it never lost air. This experience includes the ligher Opels and the very heavy Starion which is around 3600 lbs with both drivers and fuel. I'd spend my $$ on good tires like Michelins and such with stout sidewalls and not worry about the steel rims.

Now, John part of your experience could be valid with your beloved Saab's. The stock steel wheels on 99's were pretty much guaranteed to break out a center at least once per rally. I saw lots of 99 ralliers carry 2 spares all the time just due to this. But that was the exception, rather than the rule.

Regards, Mark B.
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starion887
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 03:58PM
Quote
240tshead
Well, the thing is with my lifters is that if I got them upside down the cams wouldn't even be able to sit in their brackets. My lifters are buckets and slide down over the springs.

Well here's just a tidbit from the lessons learned department: An old rally buddy was hopping up a Vega enigne years back which had the same type of inverted bucket followers over the springs. After one mod, the inner adjust on the lifter was stacking up a bit on the edge of the retainer instead of just on the valve stem. Eventually, it wiggled the retainer down just enough for a keepr to loosen up and when that worked out, soon thereafter, the valve dropped. The rest 'was (bad) history....' as they say.

So, with the hydraulic thingie that I read was in your lifters/followers, you could have somehow blocked out the oil flow and created super large valve gap, or gotten something askew. Just something else to keep in mind. From your symptons description, it sure does sound like you could have something amiss and have a large follower-to-valve gap on one valve. The Starquest 2.6l sounds pretty bad in that way when we flip a hydraulic lifter in the end of a rocker or one just goes bad; a large valve to lifter gap results and it will really bang away. Since you have been working in that area, I still suspect that pretty strongly.

OBTW, did you strictly keep all of the followers in exactly that same holes? If you swapped even one pair by mistake, you probably have killed a cam lobe.

Mark B.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2011 04:04PM by starion887.
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240tshead
Taylor Shead
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 02, 2011 11:41PM
Quote
starion887
Quote
240tshead
Well, the thing is with my lifters is that if I got them upside down the cams wouldn't even be able to sit in their brackets. My lifters are buckets and slide down over the springs.

Well here's just a tidbit from the lessons learned department: An old rally buddy was hopping up a Vega enigne years back which had the same type of inverted bucket followers over the springs. After one mod, the inner adjust on the lifter was stacking up a bit on the edge of the retainer instead of just on the valve stem. Eventually, it wiggled the retainer down just enough for a keepr to loosen up and when that worked out, soon thereafter, the valve dropped. The rest 'was (bad) history....' as they say.

So, with the hydraulic thingie that I read was in your lifters/followers, you could have somehow blocked out the oil flow and created super large valve gap, or gotten something askew. Just something else to keep in mind. From your symptons description, it sure does sound like you could have something amiss and have a large follower-to-valve gap on one valve. The Starquest 2.6l sounds pretty bad in that way when we flip a hydraulic lifter in the end of a rocker or one just goes bad; a large valve to lifter gap results and it will really bang away. Since you have been working in that area, I still suspect that pretty strongly.

OBTW, did you strictly keep all of the followers in exactly that same holes? If you swapped even one pair by mistake, you probably have killed a cam lobe.

Mark B.

Well the upper valve train is still 100% intact and free of wear. I think my engine design is a bit different from the Vega and Starquest, though. No way I blocked the oil and it was literally brand new oil. The lifter buckets were put EXACTLY where they were supposed to go to. When I reset everything and start her up I'll make sure it's on video so if it comes up, ya'll can hear it. I will througholy examine my buckets again tomorrow for signs of wear though. Double checking never hurt anything. I still think it's something to do with the timing because the car ran just fine for 30-40min then it made noise #1, and then felt and sounded like something slipped and the car jerked like it caught again, THEN it made horrible noise #2.
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DaveK
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 04, 2011 06:18PM
Quote
starion887
Quote
john vanlandingham
And hang on on the wheels to find some 15" alloys, steels are way disposable, especially if you get some decent suspenders and can ram into shit. You'll kill steelies in short order with a car that weighs what yours does.

With respect, I'll disagree on killing the steel wheels. Refer to my last post on how many stages we have run with them and have lost air from just one.

When I had an Impreza RS I picked up steelies from a local dealership for ~$100 a set. Bent one rim my first event. Didn't lose any air, but it was bent enough in the middle (between mounting surface & outer rim) that it gouged the brake caliper just finishing off that 1/2 mile run. Bought another one for $25 and never had problems again.

For hillclimb use I've gotten flats from hitting big rocks, but can't remember ever bending something:

323gtx I used nothing but OEM alloys - 14x6 and ~$25 each
Evo - Compomotive TH3 ~$125 each used
Evo - Team Dynamics ProRally ~$50 each used
BMW - Compomotive TH ~$50 each used

If you're not in a rush to buy parts, you may just find you can wait for good deals on alloys. I ran Diamond Racing wheels on my Miata track day car a while back and the big problem with those is that there isn't much airflow so I was overheating the brakes much faster.

Also, there may be wheels you can use from another make/model if you do some digging around. For example I know of another guy with an Evo who used Diamante wheels at $25 each from local pull'n'pay lots.

Dave
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RallyxPOS13
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 04, 2011 08:51PM
Quote
MRWmotorsports
So my advce is as folows:
Figure out what went wrong, but don't bother fixing it unless it's something really simple and cheap.
Swap in the SR if you can now... or find a good used KA24DE and swap it in.. keep the rest as spares.

-Martin.

Regardless of which side of the SR/KA battle you're on, Martin's advice is sound. The $300 or so you'd throw at a running KA24DE won't get you all that far into rebuilding your current motor. Then you can keep your old motor around for when you have a budget for a performance build, or spares if the need arises.

You haven't mentioned the milage on your motor, but from my experience, when the valve seals start leaking, the plastic timing chain guides are about ready to let loose, and could have been a contributing factor in your motor jumping timing. I wouldn't button it back up without replacing them.

-Matt
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240tshead
Taylor Shead
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 04, 2011 10:03PM
I would like the experience of doing stuff like that, though. That's why I'm sticking with this motor. I have a spare short block...and it's newly rebuilt to stock specs, that's why I want to save it to be my built motor. And thanks, I will replace the guides too.


As far as wheels go, I know that 94-04 Mustang wheels are perfect fitment for 240s. But I'm not sure if they come in 15s...I will have to look into that.
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Dazed_Driver
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 04, 2011 11:34PM
Run the new short block. Rebuild and build up the blown(ing) up engine
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240tshead
Taylor Shead
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 04, 2011 11:48PM
Well the engine isn't THAT bad. It still ran after the incident happened....just very rough. And that would actually be more expensive and take longer because I would still have to find a good head, get a head gasket, and head bolts for it and THEN exchange it. I'm not saying I don't appreciate all of your help, (because I really do!), but I'm pretty sure I got this one.
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john vanlandingham
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 05, 2011 12:11AM
Quote
RallyxPOS13
Quote
MRWmotorsports
So my advce is as folows:
Figure out what went wrong, but don't bother fixing it unless it's something really simple and cheap.
Swap in the SR if you can now... or find a good used KA24DE and swap it in.. keep the rest as spares.

-Martin.

Regardless of which side of the SR/KA battle you're on, Martin's advice is sound. The $300 or so you'd throw at a running KA24DE won't get you all that far into rebuilding your current motor. Then you can keep your old motor around for when you have a budget for a performance build, or spares if the need arises.

You haven't mentioned the milage on your motor, but from my experience, when the valve seals start leaking, the plastic timing chain guides are about ready to let loose, and could have been a contributing factor in your motor jumping timing. I wouldn't button it back up without replacing them.

-Matt

I kept saying to him on the phone that something was gnawing on the back of my brain about the plastic chain guides or skids, but I hain't a KA24DE doood so it's some vague memory..

Those things die do they?

Good to get you on here for this.
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heymagic
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 05, 2011 12:29AM
Quote
john vanlandingham
Quote
RallyxPOS13
Quote
MRWmotorsports
So my advce is as folows:
Figure out what went wrong, but don't bother fixing it unless it's something really simple and cheap.
Swap in the SR if you can now... or find a good used KA24DE and swap it in.. keep the rest as spares.

-Martin.

Regardless of which side of the SR/KA battle you're on, Martin's advice is sound. The $300 or so you'd throw at a running KA24DE won't get you all that far into rebuilding your current motor. Then you can keep your old motor around for when you have a budget for a performance build, or spares if the need arises.

You haven't mentioned the milage on your motor, but from my experience, when the valve seals start leaking, the plastic timing chain guides are about ready to let loose, and could have been a contributing factor in your motor jumping timing. I wouldn't button it back up without replacing them.

-Matt

I kept saying to him on the phone that something was gnawing on the back of my brain about the plastic chain guides or skids, but I hain't a KA24DE doood so it's some vague memory..

Those things die do they?

Good to get you on here for this.

They are worse in reputation than reality. Chains usually give issues when the motor is older than dirt and some Fast and Furious type gets their hands on it. The twin cam didn't really have the problems, the single cam was more noted for it and Nissan did an upgrade on the guides around 1995 or so. Not really a deal breaker and they normally rattle pretty good before failing.
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RallyxPOS13
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Re: s14 Mayhem
April 05, 2011 11:50AM
Gene's right, the twin cam timing chain guides are magnitudes more durable than the SOHC motors. Still, 150,000-180,000 (assumed) miles of a metal chain flailing on a piece of plastic is about due for replacement, and since you'll have the head off anyway...


For wheels, it sounds like you're 5lug, so head down to the nearest pick-n-pull and grab a set of crown vic wheels, towncar wheels, or something like that. They'll be 15", RWD offset, and if they're built to keep up with the weight of those land barges, they should take a rock hit or two.

It sounds like you're planning on removing the emissions. When yanking the EGR(and AIV) out of the exhaust manifold, don't do some ghetto repair like the nickel and JB Weld stuff I see on all the forums. Just run to your nearest Nissan parts counter and grab a(two) part # 14052 - 21R00 plug(s). They are under $10 and make it seal perfectly, and are reversible.
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