replacing early 97 engine with late 97

blahtsar · Aug 2nd, 2004, 10:27 PM

i have an early 97 altima with a cracked block and want to replace it with an engine from the later production run of that year. the old engine has an external ignition coil but the new one has the coil in the distributor.
has anyone successfully hooked up the wiring from the older model to the newer (internal coil) type engine?

the blocks are both KA24's so i figure at worst i can put my old head on the newer block, but i'd rather use the new head if possible.

tim j

**Asleep** · Aug 5th, 2004, 08:53 PM

you may be able to get away with just replacing the distributor with yours. however, the older engine was a different version of obd2 and the newer is even a more different version of obd2. check the intake manifolds carefully for differences. most of the time when going from a late model obd2 engine to a different style obd2 car, you have to swap the intake manifold to "convert" the engine to the other form of obd2.

obd2 = onboard diagnostics 2nd generation.
its what controls your engine management.

ultimatuc · Aug 10th, 2004, 01:41 AM

you'll need to keep your manifold, distributer/ coil, and IAT sensor. no need to swap your head........

good luck