CA20E swap

Gsolo · Sep 18th, 2003, 06:49 PM

Heres the deal...i've got an '87 Pulsar NX...haven't had it for very long. in fact its not even licensed yet, which is a very long story to explain. Anyhow...I have a CA20E laying around...actually i have two but the one i know is in good shape and I was wondering if anybody had an opinion on me swapping out my E16i for the CA20E ? I think i can use the tranny thats already in the car...if not i'd have to get another one cause the tranny on the CA20E is a 4wd. I'm looking at just tearing down the engine and doing gaskets and bearings and putting a euro cam in it. All of this would be cheaper than anything else i can think of. Anybodies thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. I think if i have time i'll start taking the CA motor out of the car its in this weekend. It'll probably take me forever to do this cause i'm slow. Oh, and does anybody know if the DOHC head from the CA18 would fit on the CA20? I can take a pic of the head later once its apart and see if anyone can help. I've always been curious about doing a CA20DE

....and how come nobody sells camshaft bearings?? or do cars not have cam bearings anymore?

Myetball · Sep 18th, 2003, 07:42 PM

Here's some good info dug up by a guy with many of the same questoins

. Hope it helps.

Gsolo · Sep 18th, 2003, 10:53 PM

cool..thanks. the big question i've had though is what about the bore difference?? i mean is 1.5mm going to make a difference or do you have to do something about it? But for now i'm just sticking to CA20E with the euro cam. maybe later down the road i'll do dohc. right now i'd just like to get a little more power and its not going to cost me much. btw, CA and E motors have the exact same mounts dont they? it looks like it to me...and i'm sure not very many people here would know but figured i'd ask. but i'll keep posting as i make slow progress. i've never seen a CA20E pulsar before

oh...also with some wondering if the CA blocks have a strong bottom end...i've understood that the CA done properly can take more beating than a SR...and it has alot more lower rpm power. but dont quote me on it being stronger. its just what i've heard before.

Myetball · Sep 19th, 2003, 03:46 PM

FWD CA motors will drop right in to an E series car. I've never got my hands on CA20 bottom end parts but have seen pics of the rods...pretty wimpy looking. However, the only instances of engine failure I've read about involved too much compression with alot of boost.

The larger bore shouldn't be a problem. Many engines have a flat portion of the head over the block bore.

If you can get the CA20E over 100hp with the cam upgrade it should be a nice economical shot of power. Pretty much anything beats running around with 69hp.

Gsolo · Sep 19th, 2003, 06:00 PM

umm.....the CA20E is stock 102hp@5200 and 116lb-ft@3200

Myetball · Sep 19th, 2003, 06:37 PM

That's true for the RWD version in the old 200SX, the FWD Stanza engine was only rated at 97hp. Only a few points difference and regardless it will be a nice upgrade to the Pulsar.

Gsolo · Sep 20th, 2003, 06:52 PM

not trying to say you're wrong but everything i've read says that the 200 and stanza were the same...wheel hp though would be different. but this is from the 4wd stanza wagon and they have a different power band...but not much. as far as i know its the only model that had the solid lifters. although i suppose the 200 might of had the solid lifters. its a very torquey engine though...my old nissan i could just let the clutch out and it would drive even on a 45degree hill without touching the throttle.

and the car did 105 going down hill

if you know what the wagon looks like then you can imagine how aerodynamicly challenged it is. It should be very good in the Pulsar. at this point I have to wait until i can get a job to rebuild the CA but i can get it torn apart and ready to do. By the way...i've been trying to figure out what i'd do for the ECU if i did the dohc swap cause it doesn't have the dual coil setup and i'm not sure if the ecu would go into closed circuit if it didn't detect the second coil set. like i said at this point that wont be for a long time but i could at least write everything down that would have to be done for it all to work...and maybe somebody else out there would be interested in doing it too

gERVs · Sep 21st, 2003, 05:44 PM

ive thought of the ca20de before also, just get the ecu from a 18de if you put the head from off it(if the head fits), and change all the sensors too(ca18de), so it would be like a ca18de with the pistons bored out to 2.0l specs,im sure that would give you about like 140-150hp, if not more, i heard the ca20e was a crap motor in the performance departement(not trying to offend anyone who has it)

i have the pulsar too, the mounts from the ca, e, ga engines are the same, except for the one in the back(but its still just a bolt up job, no welding needed), since the engine is bigger i guess,

Gsolo · May 10th, 2004, 10:58 PM

wow, i found my old thread. I've finally gotten to where this weekend i'm going to take the engine out of the wagon (yes i know i've put it off to long). I've done some referencing and have determined that I can convert the tranny from the 4wd wagon to 2wd with the case parts from my pulsar so that means i wont have to buy anything except a few gaskets probably. i'm not so sure yet though, will find out either this week or next. I have to get the engine all ready to drop out then just have the mounts in and take it to my shop class and drop the motor and tranny out from the bottom. double check that i can do the tranny idea, if it works then in a few months i'll probably have CA20E pulsar provided i dont have any problems with the wiring harness or fuel. hmm...fuel will be a problem wont it.

I'll have to see if the stanza pump fits in the pulsar tank.

hehe, i'm getting excited over this

going to go from an anemic powered car to a respectable car.

and does anyone know of common gear ratios for nissan transaxles?? i've tryed searching and nothign but i know i've seen them here before.

Gsolo · May 11th, 2004, 12:01 AM

well...seems i misread what i was reading when i read part numbers and parts. i mistaken differential case for clutch case cause its kinda same thing and yeah so darn. At least i know that the pulsar diff in the E16i is the same diff in the stanza sedan.

Hawkon · May 12th, 2004, 07:45 PM

want my CA20S fwd bluebird tranny?

you'd probably get it cheaper over there...

let me know if you need anything you can't find elsewhere. Ive got a complete CA20S laying around. it's gonna be my CA18ET's parts pickoff.

(the head and tranny is currently disconnected from the block, so I could check up on # (if there are any) if you want me to.. if you tell me where they are )

Gsolo · May 12th, 2004, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkon

want my CA20S fwd bluebird tranny?

you'd probably get it cheaper over there...

let me know if you need anything you can't find elsewhere. Ive got a complete CA20S laying around. it's gonna be my CA18ET's parts pickoff.

(the head and tranny is currently disconnected from the block, so I could check up on # (if there are any) if you want me to.. if you tell me where they are )

hmm..bluebird transmission...which one is that? the 50 or 51?

Gsolo · May 12th, 2004, 09:05 PM

ok, little update, i've gotten the old CA20E running, barely. i drained the fuel tank, put afew gallons of gas with marvel and stabil (old gas had water and of course you can't completely drain tank). Got it started but wouldn't idle...checked computer codes and omg....13,23,24,31,32,41

thats water temp sensor, idle switch, neutral switch, load signal, start signal, air temp sensor. i'm going to look up just what exactly that means could be wrong. i have another stanza wagon that runs so probably take those sensors and switches off of it. yeah you're asking why not use the other one if it runs...well cause it has over 200K and drastically needs a rebuild. this other one still purrs...and purrs good for all this bad electrical stuff.

minute rice sentra · May 12th, 2004, 11:06 PM

dang, that's alot of codes! I wouldn't think it would even start with that much crap messed up.

Gsolo · May 13th, 2004, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minute rice sentra

dang, that's alot of codes! I wouldn't think it would even start with that much crap messed up.

it starts and runs, i had to turn the ias way out for it to idle. I can't figure out whats wrong though, i've replaced the throttle switch and checked out distributor and what not but it still runs rough and feels like its missing. and when you open throttle past like 75% it just bogs down. any suggestions or help would be nice. only thing i can think of is that it doesnt have an 02 sensor but it hasn't had one for a few years and ran fine til the car was rolled