How To Remove your KA24DE

Today we’ll be looking at the process of removing the stock KA24DE motor that is found in your Nissan 240SX, and while there are a few slight differences from the SOHC version to the DOHC version, you are pretty safe with this step by step guide no matter what motor you own. Learning how to remove your KA24DE is just the first step in your journey for an engine swapped 240SX.

The vehicle in question is a 1995 Nissan 240SX equipped with the DOHC version of the KA24, and although people do turbocharge this motor to varying success most people opt to swap motors for the maximum in performance and reliability.

This writeup is for informational purposes only, and is not to be used as a step by step guide. We are not responsible for any damages to you, your car or your loved ones however indirectly affected they may be for this writeup. This article assumes you have a competent level of skill and the proper tools to take on such a job.

 

First we begin by disconnecting your battery and completely removing it from the battery tray and your working space. If you own a factory radio, now would be the time to track down your radio code and secure it for the next time your car starts.

 

With the battery removed now disconnect your mass air flow meter and pull off the entire intake snorkel to give you some more space in the engine bay.

 

Disconnect the vacuum lines that lead from the snorkel and then unclip your factory airbox,  now pull off the entire intake with the top of your air box.

Next open your radiator cap, and undo the petcock at the bottom of your radiator to allow it to drain all your coolant out. You can opt to simply disconnect the lower radiator hose if you want to speed up the process.

This vehicle is an automatic and if yours happens to be one as well you can disconnect the transmission lines heading into the radiator now and drain the transmission fluid in them.

 

While your radiator is draining, take this time now to undo the 10mm radiator stays on either side of your radiator. This will allow you to remove the entire radiator which is crucial to prevent any damage while removing the motor.

 

Now remove the entire radiator and the radiator hoses if you so choose to.

 

Next we disconnect the throttle cable that is secured by 14mm nuts on the throttle body bracket, make sure to loosen both nuts to allow for enough free play on the throttle cable

 

Now pull towards the front of the vehicle, swing the throttle cables upward and back

 

Now with the throttle cables free of the motor, let’s start unclipping all the electrical connections to your motor. Since we are in the neighborhood, take this time to unclip your water temp sender and pull the harness towards the back of the car.

 

Make sure to check all the groundstraps on this side of the vehicle as there are 2 primaries, one of which leads to the top of your fenderwell.

 

Your heater lines are next, undo these 2 lines and pull the hoses off to allow for more space when it’s time to lift and remove your motor.

 

Now it’s time for you to undo your alternator by unplugging and disconnecting the charge wire and plugs, ignore the starter for now as we’ll be removing that before the engine comes out.

 

After your heater lines have been disconnected, move onto your fuel lines and undo the feed and return lines leading to your fuel rail. You can also choose to remove the fuel filter altogether at this point as well.

 

Note the smaller white lines leading to the crucial points that you have to disconnect in order to lift the motor out and keep the harness as a whole on the engine. Disconnect these points and bolts and pull all the lines away from the motor so as to not interfere when you are removing it.

 

Disconnect this plug and pull away from the intake manifold, now with the sole exception of your alternator your passenger side of the motor should be free of wiring or connections. We’ll double check our work later, so for now move onto the driver side of the motor

 

As with the other side, you will disconnect all sensors and the distributor and pull the harness back towards the passenger side of the motor.

 

Now you should take a look at the 10mm bolts that hold your exhaust heat shield in place. Unfortunately this bulky heatshield will have to be removed in order to access the 3 bolts that connect your cat and midpipe to the headers.

 

Don’t forget the groundstrap on the driver side head!

 

With the 10mm bolts removed, now carefully work out the heat shield on your headers which should reveal the 3 14mm nuts that connect your headers to your midpipe and catalytic converter.

 

With these 3 bolts removed, you can now disconnect the back half of your midpipe and catalytic converter. Unbolt the midpipe from the transmission mount and the back half of the exhaust system, unplug the secondary 02 sensor and remove the entire pipe.

 

Now with that pesky midpipe removed, you’ve got more than enough space to undo the speed sensors and shifter ( if applicable ) As this vehicle is equipped with an automatic transmission, you will have to pull the cotter pin and slide off the shifter. If your vehicle is a manual, simply unscrew your shift knob and undo the 4 bolts that hold your shifter grommet in place.

 

Take a secondary floor jack and prop up the transmission back half with it, and then undo the bolts that hold the transmission mount to the car and to the transmission. Remove it completely but make sure your jack is holding this back half of the transmission up securely.

If you own a manual, now is the time to remove your slave cylinder altogether and just let it hang.

 

Now undo the 2 motor mount bolts that secure the motor on your subframe.

 

 

Now the things left on the driver side of the motor are the power steering lines and the air conditioning pump and the lines themselves. You can disconnect these at your leisure but if you do not want to disconnect your AC lines, simply undo the 12mm bolts that secure it to the motor and secure your compressor to the side.

We are roughly at the halfway point of our Learning how to remove your KA24DE guide, if you are here correctly your motor is ready to be pulled.

You can now begin to raise the motor out of your car, take care as to go slowly and have a friend double check your work if you are getting caught on something. We like to remove the motor with the driver side of the engine elevated, because you will need to clear your steering column, as shown here.

 

We usually like to get the motor to this position before undoing the starter and the last of the transmission connections ( on an automatic transmission only )

 

Pull back the cover and undo the starter to allow your motor to come out a little further, where you will disconnect the last of the transmission lines

 

There are just 2 lines left on the transmission side of the harness, but if you own a automatic like ours you will have to cut the main white wire harness coming out of the transmission.

 

After you unclip the last of this transmission harness you should be able to lift the motor up and out. This harness can be problematic if you are on the floor working on jackstands as you go through our Learning how to remove your KA24DE guide.

 

Another look at that pesky white harness coming out of our automatic transmission.

 

You are now done and ready to prep your car for the next stage! Check our RB25, 2JZ and LS1 articles here.

You now know how to remove your KA24DE. Happy Swapping!

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