# b12 ga16de swap questions



## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

Ok, so I've found an '89 sentra sport coupe with only 147k KM's on it (approx 90K miles), it has the GA16i, and i'm wondering how difficult the DE swap is. what's involved as far as troubles go, and what needs to be done beyond dropping it in? it's my understanding it's a direct swap, so the mounts should fit.

I searched and couldn't quite find the info i needed.


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

you will need to swap out all component's:
Engine
Tranny
axles
wheel assy. and spindles
ECU 
Wiring harness
i may be missing a few things..........its been awhile


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

Um, are you sure about that??

This is GA16i to GA16de.

that seems like alot of trouble for same family engines. when i searched, what i found was that you could use the old tranny, axles, wheel assy, etc., and all that needed to be done is drop it in, and do the wiring.


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## BeyondBiscuits2 (Jan 18, 2006)

Having done the swap in my B12, here is what you need:

*GA16DE* (duh); '91-'94 is coil to distributor OBD1, '95-'99 is coiled distributor OBD2

*engine wiring harness*; year appropriate for engine, OBD1 harness will not work with OBD2 engine and vice versa

*ECU*; year appropriate for engine as well, if it is an automatic you must use an auto ECU. Manual cars can use either, but if you use an auto ECU in a manual you have no real rev limiter so watch out!

*GA16i cylinder head engine mount*; you must keep your GA16i cylinder head engine mount (cylinder head to passenger side frame rail). You will have to cut out a chunk for it to clear the twin cam head, but it is a must for the swap.

*B13+ throttle cable*; your GA16i throttle cable is just not long enough, so get one from a '91+ model Sentra or 200SX.

Everything else; transmission, CV axles, halfshafts, hubs, engine mounts (including dogbone), fuel pump (yes, even that), alternator, and etc. can all be used from the GA16i engine.

When I did the swap, there were no write-ups on it (about 3 years ago now) and it took many months to figure everything out. Then again, I had never wired up an engine or anything before. I ended up getting a friend to finish up the wiring; all I was missing was a fuel pump ground (duh!). Now, several other members have done the swaps and have even posted "How To" tutorials. Good luck with it; you will notice an instant increase over the GA16i engine.


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

sonicgundam said:


> Um, are you sure about that??
> 
> This is GA16i to GA16de.
> 
> that seems like alot of trouble for same family engines. when i searched, what i found was that you could use the old tranny, axles, wheel assy, etc., and all that needed to be done is drop it in, and do the wiring.


dont listen to me...........:crazy:


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

BeyondBiscuits2 said:


> Having done the swap in my B12, here is what you need:
> 
> *GA16DE* (duh); '91-'94 is coil to distributor OBD1, '95-'99 is coiled distributor OBD2
> 
> ...


Thanks Biscuits! you're the man. Yeah, i figured it was a general direct swap. nothing really to out of the ordinary. awesome. thanks for the info.

If you see this, is there a possibility of you pming me pictures of your bay, especially what you did with the engine mount?

and yeah, it'll be hard not to notice the difference. i mean, it's already got 25 crank horse over the ga16i. also, it's just setup better for simple bolt-ons, and the bolt-ons are easier to come by.


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## BeyondBiscuits2 (Jan 18, 2006)

Not a problem... here are some pictures. My car was swapped by hand and not everything is still tied together . Sorry for poor picture quality... 'twas a tad bit sunny outside.

























The engine mount in question --^
























The wiring fun you're in for --^ (ouch)

I just cut down the in question engine mount using a grinder. It took a while, but it worked fine. The best thing to do is test fit it on the GA16DE, and then cut what needs to be removed for clearance.

This is my next project: T25


















All I have to do is cut apart the A/C bracket, and put on my tapped oil pan and 370cc injectors. Once that's done, and an exhaust is fabbed up at a shop, hello Turbo B12. P.S. the Walbro 255 lph fuel pump install against a factory original GA16i fuel pump is not fun .


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

when i swapped mine in, i put the ga16de ecu in the same location as the b13. all i had to wire was a few things like signal lights and fuel pump. so in other words, i made the b13 harness work on the b12.


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## BeyondBiscuits2 (Jan 18, 2006)

I wish I could have done that with mine. I used a 2nd generation GA16DE, so I couldn't use much of anything (except alternator harness) from the GA16i. Thanks OBD2... what a pain. Looking back, I should have just used a 1st generation GA16DE, and kept the coil to distributor and OBD1 setup. Swapping things would have been much easier like you said . I had to put the ECU (passenger floor) where I did because the harness wouldn't extend any further into the cabin.


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

BeyondBiscuits2 said:


> I had to put the ECU (passenger floor) where I did because the harness wouldn't extend any further into the cabin.


I drilled a 2" hole for the harness in the firewall so i could put the ECU in the b13 stock location. Then just got a rubber grommet to seal it up. :cheers:


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

Awesome guys, thanks for the great tip. so now i know what to do and to get a 1st Gen, to make the wiring more simple.

Here are some pics of the sport coupe:


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

ok. now for the performance questions.

with the ga16de swap done, can i just simply buy GA16DE bolt-ons?


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

yeah, you shouldn't have a problem


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## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

nice. i'm going to go test drive it/check it out this weekend. and hopefully i'll have it by the following.


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## AltheZilent (Feb 9, 2014)

wow! that seems so nice... Thanks for sharing bro, I guess I will do the swap also. Maybe if I get the whole stuff in here... and well I will need such a great assistance so I don't get into such a big trouble xD by the way, Your lady seems so hot pal xD congrats!


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