does anyone know a good site or is able to tell me the basic problems with the ca18det so i can check it out before i go and put it in the car, thanks

Hey dude,
start up an account on nissansilvia.com talk to them boys they usually know a load of information.
cheers shauno

99% of those guys are bogus rich kids.

1. Get the milage on the engine...if not available don't pay more than $1200
2. Look at the external condition of the engine. If aluminium bits are corroded, it's been mishandled or stored outside for a long time.
3. Look at the radiator hoses.. Are they coated in rust? or coated in nice green coolant?
4. Look at the clutch..if worn out, or you see blue'ing of the flywheel where the clutch plate contacts
5. Ensure the Crank Angle Sensor on the front on exhaust side is not cracked or damaged in anyway.
6. See if the Throttle Position Sensor has been adjusted or moved. If it has..it's likely to have been owned by a 'backyard mechanic'.
7. Look for any dents in the sump. This is critically important in an SR20, but still a good indication of 'care' that the CA18 has been handled.
8. Look at the condition of the turbo. If excessive play in the shaft this is bad. If cracking in the exhaust housing between the wastegate port and the exhaust port on the turbo. U need to remove the dump pipe to check this.
9. Either remove the head and look for pit marks on the top of the piston, looking for evidence of pre-ignition caused by overboost or underfuel. This is normally done with a 'borescope' that is a microscope thing that is fed into the combustion chamber from the sparkplug hole.

There u go..1200 owners are smarter than most

thanks, the engine had done 80,000kms and we had it running before we bought it, sounded ok. i was wondering more so about common problems with the engine, like geminis are known for dodgy heads, etc.

Common problems are:
1. Coilpacks
2. Head gaskets
3. Sensors (particulary CAS, knock sensor and water temp sensor in my experience)
4. Hoses and clamps

All these problems are purely age related and can be rectified before you fit the motor. My advice is to fit a new cambelt, new head gasket, new fanbelt, thoroughly clean all the coilpacks and sensor connections, replace all the hoses and clamps and do all the other little things before you fit the motor. This may sound like alot of work but you do not want to have to replace a head gasket or a hose under the intake manifold on these motors once fitted to the car.

The CA is a good little motor that will give years of faithful and fun service if looked after.

yeah CA18DET_Man (Andrew) told me that another fault is that sometimes from factory the block isn't decked perfectly straight which leads to head gasket failure on piston number one.

Most CA18's you won't hav a problem as long as you follow dattodudes checklist, as this tells you the engine have been looked after.

Hope this has helped

Damo

thanks boys, i think it was fairly well looked after, did they come stock with a garret turbo or a nissan turbo?

garrett suppllied all turbos to nissan