# New Member trying to identify an engine



## 46Willys (Sep 30, 2018)

I am brand new to your forum and wanting to learn about an engine that came to me with an interesting and possibly dubious story. 

This is the story as it came to me. I have no proof of authenticity other than the man's word.

A few years ago, Nissan decided to get into the US truck racing circuit. They sent a team here with a race truck and spare engines. Apparently, things did not go as planned and they gave up and returned home. They left this "race ready" engine behind. It has been sitting in a shed for at least fifteen years or more. This engine is supposed to be ready to go play. I was told all it needed was a wiring harness from a Nissan truck.

I have not played with anything Nissan since I played with Datsun trucks back in the 1970's so I do not know how to recognize any of the more recent stuff. I cannot even find anything for an engine serial number on this block.

Information that I do have:

Twin Cam 16 valve 4 cylinder
Fuel injected
There is a number etched onto the lower right side - 809-04-10-02-053 but this doesn't look like a normal engine ID. It isn't stamped, it is etched onto the block.
Casting numbers found on block - 65F and 3R

The engine came to me free, so if the story is not true, or if this engine is trash, I'm not out anything but my time. I really will appreciate any insight you might provide. If you could even describe to me where to look for the engine numbers, I would be further ahead than I am right now.

I have pictures of the engine but it appears that I am not able to post attachments here.

Thanks,
Will


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

My guess is that the engine, based on your description, might be ether a KA24DE or an SR20DE. There is also a turbo version called an SR20DET that was used on the RWD Nissan Silvia. Does your engine have a turbo setup?

To post pictures on your threads, use an image hosting service that allows you to upload images to the hosting website. The image host will then store the image onto its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view that image. Here are some image hosting websites:

dropbox.com
imgur.com
flickr.com

My favorite is imgur.com which I use.


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## 46Willys (Sep 30, 2018)

Thank you much. This engine does not have a turbo. I'm trying to figure out Imgur...


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## 46Willys (Sep 30, 2018)

My first attempt at this Imgur thing.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Looks like you got imgur.com figured out. Nice set of pictures. The engine is an SR20DE; it's a short stroke high rev engine; very strong rod/crank assembly. Lots of high performance parts available on the market.
Here's some specs:

'94-'98 S14 SR20DE
Black valve cover. All specs the same as S13 , except for the following changes:
Variable valve timing system (Nissan's version of Honda's VTEC!)
The transmission is also a little stronger than the S13, and has a slightly lower gear ratio


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## 46Willys (Sep 30, 2018)

Good deal. That's a big help I think.

I'd like to make this thing run. Any suggestions for what vehicle would be a good donor for a wiring harness and computer?

Do these engines normally have ID numbers somewhere on them? The only numbers I can find are those shown in my first picture and those don't seem to be 'normal' ID numbers. At this point, I don't even have a guess at the year of vehicle.

Thanks. I really appreciate your help thus far.

Will


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## 46Willys (Sep 30, 2018)

At this point, I don't even have a guess at the year of vehicle.

Well, other than when I reread your post, I see it should be '94-'98

And I did a little reading to understand that S14 is the car model, possibly a 240SX. I'm learning as I go. Sorry if my questions are amateurish. 

Thank you.


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## 46Willys (Sep 30, 2018)

After doing a little reading about the SR20 engines, I found where to look for an engine number. I found a stamped number on the bell housing flange partially hidden by the exhaust port and very hidden by years of dirt.

SR20 330337W

Is there a decoder out there anywhere?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

46Willys said:


> Any suggestions for what vehicle would be a good donor for a wiring harness and computer? Is there a decoder out there anywhere?


Here's a list where the sr20de was used:

Model Years Produced
180SX 1991–1992, 1994–1998
200SX SE-R 1995–1998
Almera 1996–1999
Avenir 1990, 1992–1995, 1997–2001
Bluebird 1989, 1991–1993, 1995–1998, 1999–2007
Liberty 1998–2000
Infiniti G20 1991–2002
NX2000 1991–1996
Prairie Joy 1995–1997
Presea 1990–1993, 1995, 1997–1998
Primera 1990–2002
Pulsar 1991–2000
R'nessa 1997–1998, 2000
Rasheen 1998
Sentra 1991–1994, 1998–2001
Serena 1991–1995, 1997–2000
Silvia 1991–1993, 1995-1996, 1998–2002
Wingroad 1996–1999 


Check out this web site for engine decoding:

https://www.autozone.com/repairguid...ION/Engine-Serial-Number/_/P-0900c1528004f090


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Of Nissan's 4-cylinder engines, the SR20's were probably the best and most durable. In the US, they only came in the B13 Sentra SE-R, the B14 Sentra SE and B14 200SX SE-R. They usually put out around 145 HP stock, depending on the year. Outside the US, they came in different variations, including the popular SR20DET, which had a turbo. A lot of people stick them in the 240SX, which is the US sister to the Nissan Silvia, to make "Silvia clones." The 240SX in the US only came with the KA-series engines, often called Nissan's "work horse" engine. Durable, but not necessarily known for their performance. 
I think the biggest question is if the engine is essentially "stock" and comparable to the engines that came in the Sentra SE-R in the US or if there were internal modifications made to it? Is it a high-compression version made to run on race gas, perhaps? Are we running stock size valves? Are there performance camshafts? While we can always check the cams for part numbers or measure the lobe lift and duration and compare to stock cams, the rest would require teardown of the engine. The story is a good one, but it would be nice to have some hard verification on it. Any factory racing effort by Nissan would almost certainly be under the wing of NISMO (Nissan's Motorsport division). They do have a contact section which you could try to find out more info (use link):

NISMO | Contact

If the engine is essentially stock, I don't really see any real value outside that of any other SR20DE engine. That said, the SR20DE is a fairly sought after engine due to its popularity and the ability to modify these engines to 300+ reliable horsepower and more, depending on one's budget and desire. WiringSpecialties.com specializes in modifying and/or making wiring harness for swaps on Nissan vehicles, so they may come in handy if you go this route. Obtaining a factory harness for an SR20DE engine or even an ECM may be possible, but you'll need some vehicle specifics for them to look it up and my experience is that it can take over a year in some cases to actually get a harness from Nissan, if it's available. Salvage yard donors are often plagued with brittle plastic harness connectors and/or mouse damage, as well as wiring that can be difficult or fragile to maneuver out of the vehicle now that the wiring insulation has decades of sitting in the same position and exposure to heat. If you could find an old Sentra/200SX SE-R with a blown motor, that might be an ideal candidate. Good luck!


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