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'92 Sentra engine swap..

9150 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Sentra E, 
S
So, with my '92 Sentra E 2 door closing in on 300k miles, the original engine and clutch are very tired. The dreaded timing chain slap is very loud, the engine leaks and burns oil and is very down on power, the car is slow as crap. The 4 speed manual trans has no problems other then it grinds a little going into reverse. The body of the car is still in great shape, no rust or anything like that with the car being in the south east since new. A/C even still works great.

So, I was browsing Craigslist and came across a listing for a wrecked '93 Sentra XE 4 door for $550. Said it had a new motor, clutch and rebuilt trans. Went to look at it, and low and behold it has a 30k mile engine in it, brand new clutch, and 5 speed manual that has been totally rebuilt! The woman bought the car new back in '93, had put over 200k on it, and then in September of '07 had the new engine and all that installed, she had a pile of receipts totaling over $2300. Then wrecked the car just 4 months later, and it has sat in her garage since then. The car is hit pretty hard in the right front, but still drivable. I drove it around the block, and it runs GREAT compared to mine, it runs just unbelievably smooth and quite, and has way more power then mine does. It still has the factory plug wires on it with the Japanese markings on them. The trans works great in all gears, clutch is awesome also. Has factory cruise control that works great, so now I have everything to swap cruise into my '92. Another plus, the interior is in far better shape then mine, very nice seats and carpet in the car. Also has a nice Pioneer AM/FM/CD head unit and Sony speakers. Needless to say, I snatched the car up quick at a price of just $500!

What, if any, issues will I run into swapping the '93 engine into my '92? Also, going from the 4 speed to the 5 speed, any issues there? I'm hoping everything will just be a straight across swap. I've completed many engine swaps before, but mostly in older Mustangs and stuff like that. This will be my first working with a Japanese car. What about the interior? I assume the front seats from the 4 door '93 will swap into my 2 door '92, but what about the rear? What about the carpet? Obviously the door panels won't.

Thanks!
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K
Yeah I think you just found a gift from some higher power. Thats one hell of a deal. Pretty sure nothing will be an issue swapping. Just some extra work for the cruise. Dont think the carpet or anything other than the seats will fit for you. Dont the 4 door have seatbelts attached to the chassis instead of door? If they do I woud try to scavenge those. On the carpet you might be able to use part of it. Just cut the back side where it doesnt fit. Thats a big maybe though. Good luck and man I need to find a car like that.
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S
Yea, it has the electronic auto retracting seat belts. I can't swap those into my 2 door can I? That would be awesome if I could, but it seems the length of the 2 door-doors wouldn't work.

I definitely feel fortunate to have found the car at such a deal. The woman said she has been relisting the car on Craigslist for over 6 months now, the price originally at $1200, and only a few people had emailed her about it, no one ever actually came out to look at it. She said she would have just hated to send it to the junk yard with all the good parts on it. All I can say is, I'm glad I got bored the other night and decided to just browse around on there!
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BeyondBiscuits2
Snatch that shit up! The engine is a straight drop-in, same harness and everything.
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S
Ok, so I'm about 95% done pulling the engine/trans out of my '92. Everything is disconnected and it's dangling around in the engine bay hanging off the hoist. Problem is, I can't figure out how to get the CV joints loose from the trans. I don't want to remove the rubber boots if I don't have to. Don't the CV joint cups just have splined ends on them that should slide right out of the differential?

Would appreciate help on this ASAP!!
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greenbean699
your axles should pry out of the transmission. they have splines, just take a prybar and they should pop out, but they need room to come out. you will need to pop the ball joints to get the needed clearance.
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S
7
Well, I now have the original engine and trans out of my '92 Sentra E. I just took a crow bar, wedged it in between the CV joint "cups" and transmission, gave the bar a tap with a mallet and they just popped right out. Appear to have a C-clip on them that lock them in.

While disconnecting the engine harness from the computer under the dash, I came across these four plugs that don't appear to have ever been hooked to anything. Anyone know what they are for?





Here's the original engine just before I began removing it:


A few hours later, lifting it out:


It's out!!


Empty engine bay. Man, that leaky front seal really made a mess. Being that the A/C on this car works perfect, and not wanting to screw that up, I opted to just unbolt the compressor from the engine and leave it in there with the lines still connected. Then I can just bolt it back onto the new engine, and the A/C should still work great after the engine swap.



Car looks like it's launching hard without the engine and trans in it. :D :rolleyes:


Plans for next weekend:

Saturday: Pull the new engine and trans from the wrecked '93 donor vehicle, fully degrease and clean the engine bay in the '92, and degrease and clean the new engine and trans (they are pretty clean to begin with).

Sunday: Reinstall new engine and trans into the '92, hopefully be back on the road Sunday evening.

Then over the next few weekends I'll work on swapping some of the interior, stereo, cruise control and stuff like that.

If anyone cares, I'll keep posting pictures as I go...
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O
So...did you ever finish? pictures mebbe? yesplz? :D
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S
Yes, the car has been finished for about a month now and runs and drives excellent. It is amazing how much faster it is compared to the original engine. It used to be so slow it would hardly get out of it's own way. Now, it has no problem doing a burnout!

Unfortunately my camera died, but I'll try to get a new one and get some updated pics of the car up soon.
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