I am currently driving a Nissan 200sx SE. Well, when I say currently, I mean that if I were in the states thats what I would be driving. Im actually in Japan right now, and have been looking at junk yards. I went to one, and inquired how much an sr20det would be... To my surprise the mechanic replied "3 man en"... which basically translates to about $250. That is including their taking the engine out of the car. I was shocked, as I remembered seeing them go on ebay for 2-3 grand.

Well, I have been reading the post about someone wanting to put a RWD sr20det into his altima [could be wrong on the model]. I want to do the same thing, but instead use my 200sx se. Then I read that there are models of the sr20det that use a FWD tranny. That would be much better than having to mod out my car to fit the engine. I have no experience swapping engines, but I do fix up cars (body work) that have been put in for claims by insurance companies. My dad would help me install the engine, as he has experience doing so. For those that have done the change, (in particular, into a 200sx) how would you rate the swap, in terms of difficulty and time invested?

If anyone knows which cars use the FWD sr20det, please let me know. I think that the model of the pulsar that uses the sr20det might be FWD, but Im not sure.

On a final note, I want to talk with someone that has experience with international shipping of engines. Any info on pricing, good/bad companies, length of time, sea/air/land shipping differences would be greatly appreciated.

You can't put a RWD motor into a FWD car, so I never want to see you post that again, lol!

You are on track with the FWD version, the Nissan Bluebird and Nissan Avenir had AWD setups and used a FWD motor. OR, you can get a USDM or JDM SR20DE motor and put a turbo kit on it off a Bluebird or Avenir, or even Pulsar/Sunny GTi-R on it.

You need to spend some serious time searching these forum archives and stuff and educate yourself before diving in here.

Brent

Thanks for the reply.. that is exactly what im doing too! Btw, you did see the part about the engine only costing $250.. I am guessing (totally uneducated) that I can get the engine to my doorstep, in MI USA for around $1000. Since I paid $500 for my car (at auction)... well, I could basically get a pretty sweet car for under 2k. This is why I am interested in getting one from Japan. Plus, I would only get one off of a car that hasnt been driven hard. Opening the hood I will know in a second whether or not it has been used to drift/race. No mods and it probably never went faster than 65mph. The average speed limit in japan is about 35mph... though no one really obeys them. Again I ramble...

As far as the RWD/FWD goes, I was under the impression that if I used my existing tranny then the swap could be done. I am taking it though, that you are saying that this is an impossibility, correct?

Correct, the heads are different, so things like TB and coolant hoses would be way off. Stick with a motor out of a FWD car. Honestly, you should prolly take the whole damn thing, eingin, turbo stuff, trans, wiring harness, ecu and mounts. SHipping will be the same and you get evertying. Stuff can be sold off here in the states to make some money back.

Brent

i have even debated whether to buy the front clip, or even the whole car. that way i could use the tires, rims, seats, and other parts. plus, with the engine upgrade comes a double increase (or more) in power. i want to match that with parts that can handle the power. the first things that need upgrade that come to mind are as follows:　clutch, tires (rims), and brakes.

i have heard that people sometimes use the brakes off of, correct me if im wrong, the altima. since the 200sx has front disc and rear drums, the rear brakes are usually upgraded to discs. id probably end up switching to bigger brakes in the front and back. since im on a budget, i would probably end up just buying them off of scrapped cars.

you could put sr20det bluebird ( u12 or u 13) or gti-r engine into nx200, sentra, 200sx, g20 but you have to use thier 5spd tranny (2.0).
i have b13 sentra se-r and i use sr20det bb u12 engine se-r harness. motor mounts, tranny.

So I am taking it, that the list of possible engine donors for my 1996 200sx would be as follows: bluebird (version u12 or u13) or the pulsar gti-r. If there are other FWD setup sr20det cars, please let me know. I will be calling junkyards pretty soon, so the more models I know that have the correct parts, the better my chances are of finding a match. Thanks for the info, to those who have posted thus far!

Ok... these damned ebay posts keep confusing me. I would like to see what some of the more experienced people around here think about these engines. This whole RWD/AWD/FWD fiasco is starting to tick me off. hehe.. Seriously, they should have decided on a single setup! Anyways, here are the auctions that I am looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7917520337&category=46098&sspagename=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7916924172&category=46098&sspagename=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7916259633&category=33615&sspagename=WDVW

If anyone can verify if these are credible or not, please let me know.

you wont be able to use the last one. its a rwd motor
if you need a Sr20 harness and mounts and ecu, and all that to do the swap, i would consider gettting the whole front clip in the first one. the 2nd one is confusing to me since it says U13 motor, but it clearly had a top mount set up. i thought only U12's and gti-r's have a top mount.

How is it that I would be able to use the AWD (first one)? Im just running a GA16 right now, so I would need all the parts from the SR20. However, this is where I see the trouble coming into play. Can I use the transmission from my GA16 with the new SR20 engine? The GA16 is FWD, and the SR20 is AWD. I obviously wouldnt be able to use the AWD trans from the SR20, so the only logical choice would be to use the GA16's... right?

u need a fwd sr20 trans

Blk -- thats what i was thinking. i dont see how my g16 could hold up under the increased power. shit, that means i need to either find a sr20det that has fwd, or i need to get a new tranny.