The next steps in this SR20DET swap will show you how to remove the stock KA engine and electrical harness. For the most part this is a very straightforward procedure so don’t sweat it, you’ll have that SR swapped in no time!
KA24DE Engine Removal
Before you start extracting the drivetrain, it’s a wise move to remove the hood. This will give you a lot more clearance and more light to see what you’re actually doing. Give the KA24DE a pat on its valve cover because it deserves it. At least this one does, it was abused hard on the track and kept running like a champ with the little power that it had.
Now is as good as any to raise the car and place it on jack stands. You’ll be doing a lot of crawling around underneath the automobile so make sure it’s raised up high enough where you’re comfortable sliding in and out.
Drain the coolant, engine and transmission oil.
Disconnect both battery terminals and remove the battery.
After removing the intake you can disconnect the three vacuum lines underneath the throttle body.
They lead to the charcoal canister so you might as well pull that out now. If your state or province has emission standards then hold onto this thing and reconnect it to the SR otherwise you may run into smog issues.
The header is held on by 8 nuts. However, if you have a stock header than you will have to disconnect an additional pipe that runs along the back of the header. It’s from the EGR and can be a pain in the ass to break loose if it’s rusted. Worst case just cut it since you won’t be reusing it.
Crawl underneath and loosen the two nuts and bolts that link the cat and the header.
The header should slide out with ease depending on how high you’ve raised the car, otherwise proceed to curse and swear, wiggle and tug until it is free from the car.
Heat shrink tubing and a heat-gun is optional, but gives the
modifications a professional touch and is less prone to potential
future problems. The first modification required is replacing the SR
dash connector with the stock KA dash connector. The SR dash connector
(white, as shown in Figure 1) will not mate with the KA dash harness,
so it needs to be replaced with the KA dash connector. Cut both the SR
& KA dash connectors, and wire the KA one to the SR harness using
the table & wiring color guide below.
Hi, so I just picked up a 240sx. I’m familiar with the cars but this will be my fist Sr swap. I’m all for buying the premade harness but if the engine is coming with the engine harness and ecu, is it still necessary to buy the premade harness or is the sr harness just plug and play into the car? Thanks.