ca18det bearing-crank question

[180sx]

in my opinion a standard crank polished and genuine graded bearings would be the best route and i think as long as a decent lad builds the ca you will have no bother with it

[nissan_doctor]

so get whoever grinds it to size the bearings?

Yes. The bearings come in .25, .50 etc oversized to match the corrosponding amount ground on the crank.

The damage to the crank will dictate how suitable it is for repair but if you only spun a bearing then it should be fine.

Any reground cranks that give trouble have either not be ground and polished accurately, have had mismatched bearings used or have not be assembled correctly with tolerances checked etc.


As for CA's being soft.....rubbish. A correctly built/looked after and well tuned CA is as reliable as any other engine.

[200sx]

Yes. The bearings come in .25, .50 etc oversized to match the corrosponding amount ground on the crank.

The damage to the crank will dictate how suitable it is for repair but if you only spun a bearing then it should be fine.

Any reground cranks that give trouble have either not be ground and polished accurately, have had mismatched bearings used or have not be assembled correctly with tolerances checked etc.


As for CA's being soft.....rubbish. A correctly built/looked after and well tuned CA is as reliable as any other engine.

why are they so unrealible then?everyone cant be not looking after them!!

[alan opel]

why are they so unrealible then?everyone cant be not looking after them!!

there not that unreliable, its mainly the bearings that give up, thats usually because of the lack of a baffled sump and doing a heap a rings.

[nissan_doctor]

why are they so unrealible then?everyone cant be not looking after them!!

A properly built/refreshed one will not be unreliable.


The reason CA's in general fail is the same reason that so many SR20's do too.
Up untill they became an enthusiast car(drifting etc) they were driven as cruisers by old men who likley didn't even know they had a turbo.
They have spent the first maybe 15 years of their lives being fed crap services and sh1te oil.

Then some buys it for drifting and rags the t1ts off it and it then fails, I don't see the mystery.


CA's can't take as much power as an SR on standard internals yes, but all the CA's that fail are either original engines or badly built/tuned ones.