Light Bulb Replacement

Now I will explain how to remove the light bulb out of a S13 Nissan 240sx headlight. To remove the light bulb out, first you need to lift up the pop up headlights by either turning them on which would be pointless because then you will be removing a hot light bulb, or you can just push the switch right above the cruise control buttons and they will pop up. Now once the headlights are up, you will need a phillips screwdriver and a ratchet with a 10mm socket. Use the screwdriver and there will be four screws on each side of the first cover. Once all four are out, pull out the cover. Then there will be four 10mm screws, use the ratchet and socket to remove those and the metal plate on top will come off. You will have an easier access getting to the bulb. Now pull back the rubber seal and there will be a clip, push down on the clip and to the side and the bulb will fall out. Disconnect the wiring harness to the bulb and then repeat the process on the other side. Then reverse the process to have the new bulbs installed. Make sure that you align the metal plate and plastic cover so when the headlights go back down that everything is flush and straight.

Catalytic Converter

Now a big concern is a bad catalytic converter because if your converter is clogged its a loss of power and engine performance overall. The Catalytic Converter is basically an exhaust system filter of bad gases. When that goes bad it must be replaced because it will cause you to fail the state emissions test. To remove the converter the Nissan 240sx must be lifted at a workable height to operate. The converter is located near the beginning of the exhaust system on the left side underneath the car. There should be four bolts holding it to the rest of the exhaust system, two in towards the front and two towards the rear. If it is an older Nissan 240sx, more then likely the exhaust bolts are extremely rusted, so you may have to heat them, if not torch off the bolts. Once that process is done, you may then remove the convertor. With the new convertor, put it in place with the new exhaust gaskets that were given with the new convertor. You will need to get new bolts and nuts to tighten the convertor because the old ones will be no good anymore. After the bolts are tightened up, the job is complete.

Water Pump Replacement

Here I'm going to explain how to remove and replace a water pump in a Nissan 240sx. The water pump is a belt driven pump that forces water/coolant into the engine block to cool it off. To remove the water pump, it is easier if you remove the intake pipe, the fan shroud and the fan. Once all those things are removed, the pulley on the water pump will come off taking the belt as well. Once everything is off all you have to do is then remove the pump. There are five bolts holding the pump and once all five bolts are off, the pump should then just fall off. There will be a gasket residue left over from the pump that was on. There you want to scrape off that left over gasket so the surface is clean for the new one. Now when you remove the pump most of the water/coolant will have poored out, so make sure you have some to replace what you lost. Your new water pump will come with a new gasket, I recommend also using the silicon gasket maker as back-up with the paper gasket they give you. To install the pump, slowly place it where it belongs so the gasket doesnt fall unless your using the gasket maker which will hold it, then start to screw in the bolts into place. Becareful tightening them because you could break them if bolts become too tight. Once the pump is on, put everything back on and if you had use the gasket maker, allow the silicon to harden and then fill up your cooling system with the proper coolant. You now have finished a water pump replacement.

Strut Assembly

The Nissan 240sx uses a MacPherson strut assembly and it consists of the coil spring, the hydraulic gas strut where the spring sits, and the strut top which encloses the spring in place. The purpose of the strut assembly is to give the Nissan 240sx its ride height and holds it up. It is bolted to two different parts of the car; the steering knuckle and the strut tower. To remove of the strut assembly is another simple process. First you want to jack the car up and kept the car supported on jack stands. You then want to remove the wheel on the side you will be replacing the strut. There are only two bolts attached to the steering knuckle and three to the strut tower. First remove the nuts from the strut tower carefully so the strut assembly will drop. Then once the strut has dropped, unbolt the strut from the steering knuckle. Make sure that all brake lines and hoses attached to the strut are removed so they are not damaged. The strut should then be removed easily. To install the strut the easiest way, first install it throught the strut tower first so it holds itself up making it easier to install the steering knuckle. Make sure that the strut is installed the right way or that the car will be out of alignment and that will be another issue to deal with. The strut installs one-way flush in the strut tower where the bottom will slide right into the steering knuckle as well. Once the strut is bolted in, make sure to place the brake lines back to where they should be. Install your tire back on and your done.

Replacing Fuel Pump

In this segment i will be explaining how to remove and replace the fuel filter for the Nissan 240sx. Fuel filter replacement is the same on each three generations of the Nissan 240sx. Replacing the fuel filter in general in any automotive car can help improve gas mileage and performance as in a clogged fuel filter can cause your vehicle to not run due to the lack of recommended fuel needed to have the vehicle operate. So lets begin. If you look at the Nissan 240sx from the front with the hood open and clear view of the engine bay, look to the left side of the engine next to the intake manifold. You will see a can like figure with two ports one on top and bottom with a rubber hone connected on each side and bolted to the strut tower. That there is your fuel filter. The purpose is basically to just filter gasoline that enters the fuel lines so the motor does not burn contaminated fuel which could damage the motor. To remove the filter is very easy. You first unscrew the clamps on the fuel lines from both the top and bottom of the filter which requires a phillips screwdriver. Then pull of the hoses carefully not damaging them and then slide off the fuel filter upward. Replacing the filter is just the reverse process of the removal process.

KA24DE valve cover gasket

Here I will show you how to remove and replace a valve cover head from the Nissan 240sx KA24DE motor. The valve cover gasket is a rubber piece that follows flush with the seam of the valve cover and the cylinder head to help prevent leaking of oil from the valve cover and/or spark plugs if the plugs are installed through the valve cover such as the KA24DE motor.



Here is a shot of the valve cover removed from the motor to show which bolts are needed to be removed so the valve cover may come off to remove the gasket.

Here is a shot of the cylinder head with the valve covered removed showing where the gaskets are at. This is a very easy process where you may remove the gaskets and replace them with the newly bought ones.

SR20DET Motor swap

The Nissan SR20DET is probably by far one of the most popular motor swaps in the automotive industry. It originated and first shown in the Nissan Bluebird in October 1989 and the produced in the Nissan Pulsar GTI-R. The Nissan Silvia and the Nissan 180sx, which are both originators of the Nissan 240sx, were the first to produce the car in the rear wheel drive fashion. The Nissan Silvia was the longest running production vehicle to have the SR20DET. The S14 and the S15 models though had bigger turbos then the S13. The SR20DET is the identity number of the motor. SR stands for the engine model, 20 stands for the 2.0 liter displacement, D stands for the double overhead camshaft, E stands for electronic fuel injection, and T stands for turbocharged. There are many types of different SR20DET motors described as the the Black top or Red top which basically was just the valve cover pinted those colors but there are different types of Red tops and Black tops that have different size turbos and differrent adjustments done to the motor internally. For example, the most popular and highly craved for SR20DET motor is the one produced for the S15 which is the Japanese Nissan 240sx, also known as the Nissan Silvia from 1999 to 2002. They came with Variable Vavle Time on both camshafts, a 6 speed manual transmission and a Garrett journal bearing T28 turbo for the European and Australian versions and the Garrett ball bearing T28 for the Japanese motors which produced 245 horsepower and 274 foot-pounds of torque. The SR20DET swap is a very easy process except for the wiring which involves much work unless you plan on having the ECU and harness shipped over as well with the SR20DET motor and 6 speed transmission. Here I found a link where all the wiring and what is all needed to do the SR20DET swap.
http://www.mestiso.net/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t428.html

S15 (Nissan Silvia)

The S15, also known as the Nissan Silvia, was the last generation of all the S-series and was ended in 2002. The Nissan Silvia is by far one of the most popular vehicles in the import tuning industry. It is were the famous Nissan turbo motor, the SR20DET, came from. Today now a days, many teenagers who own these the older generation S-series, take the SR20DET motor and place them in the S13 and S14 models because they bolt on directly to the chassis of the vehicle, but we will get more onto the SR20DET swap on the next post. The Nissan Silvia or the S15 as refered came with many other upgrades such as a better limited slip differential (LSD), stronger chassis, better suspension. It also came with two options, the Spec-S and the Spec-R. The Spec-S was the basic model with the basic suspension and LSD and the 5 speed transmission. The Spec-R came with all those upgrades I named earlier but with a 6 speed transmission instead of the 5 speed. The Silvia came with a completely new body design with a standard spoiler, projector headlight, and it only came in the right-hand drive, meaning the steering wheel was on the right side of the vehicle instead of the left side we all have.

S14 (1995-1998)

The second generation of 240sx was the S14 model. This model only lasted for three years from 1995 to 1998. In this model the hatch and convertible model were removed and only the coupe model was available, the flip-up headlights were removed and fixed, or regular headlights as many people would say, were the replacements. The S14 model was exactly as the S13 model, just a few slight modifications were done and a few add-ons were placed when buying the vehicle from factory, such as an LSD (limited slip differential) and some miscellaneous things for the interior. The 1998 S14 240sx though came with a few different exterior front design with factory projector headlights, a different front bumper, hood, and fender design and came mandatory with side skirts. The S14 also came with the exact same motor as the S13 model, the KA24DE, so maintenance and repair is the same way as well, except that the camshaft degrees in the S14 are slightly smaller then the ones in the S13. The S14 was the last generation for the Nissan 240sx in America. After 1998, all Nissan 240sx were removed from the American production line in July 23, 1998. Now all 240sx are only made in Japan.



1998 style

1995-1997 style



S13 (1989-1994)

Nissan created three generations of Nissan 240sx. The first of the 240sx is the S13 which only was around from 1989 to 1994. The S13 was the lightest and smallest of the three generations. It came with the pop-up headlights, which basically distinguishes it from the other generations. It is the only generation that came with either the hatchback model or the coupe model and the coupe was the only model that came with the convertiable option. The car came factory with the KA24E (1989-1991) which is a single over-head cam motor or the KA24DE (1991-1998) which is the dual over-head cam motor, both motors originated from the old Nissan hard-body pick-up trucks. It came with an automatic 4-speed transmission, or a very popular and was manufactured more, the 5-speed manual transmission. The S13 model also came with 2 different style from bumper. They were known as the pignose and the sharknose style front bumper. This was a very popular car and very reliable one as well. To find these cars in very good condition or stock for that matter is very difficult now because of the age and that the 240sx is no longer in manufacturer.

LS2 240SX S13 Drifting Video

Here is a modified Nissan 240sx, the S13, the submodel, which was available in the US from 1989 to 1994. Here the person installed a Chevy big block motor and is performing the Japanese racing art of drifting at very high speeds. The person also went out of his way to do a famous front-end conversion and got the front-end look of the Japanese model 240sx.

About the 240sx

The Nissan 240sx, one of the most popular automobiles to the young age and the import tuning industry. Only in production for nine years and 3 generations, it is a very difficult car to acquire and excellent condition or stock. Many performance shop and mechanics to the ordinary people you see everyday are turning most to almost all of these cars into customized show cars to all out race cars. From everyday drivers to everyday racers. As you seen in these photos, you see what this car first was to what it can become. People can see what amazing work can be done to these cars, others see this car as just regular driving cars and nothing special. I see art and I see something that is lean turned to mean and great to fabulous.

before

after