Silvia Club of NSW

Hey fellas,

I'm helping a mate convert his 94 180sx (auto) to a 96 spec SR20DE (manual).

The rundown:

The Car - 94 180sx SR20DET Auto with ABS and HICAS (oil pump failure)

The halfcut - 96 180sx SR20DE Manual (ABS, no Hicas)


We're in the middle of the conversion, both engines are out, and I want to iron out any potential problems before we go any further. I'm planning to use the Engine, gearbox, engine loom and ECU from the halfcut.

What I've noticed so far:

1. Turbo engine loom has this extra plug near the ECU that goes to some control box/module (possibly A/T control/Hicas????). NA loom doesn't have it

***A/T control module, don't need it

2. Turbo engine loom has 3 plugs under the airbox (connecting to the body loom). NA loom has 2 plugs (left and right, no middle)

***Just connected the 2 plugs, 3rd plug is for AT control I believe

3. Turbo engine loom has an extra wire and plug for the P/S reservoir. NA loom doesnt have it because its non-hicas

***Low PS fluid warning light, left it disconnected

4. Turbo engine loom (ABS) also has an extra plug for passenger front ABS sensor. NA loom doesnt have it.

***was actually ABS equipped halfcut

5. Since the car has ABS, do we need an ABS manual tailshaft (the wrecker that supplied the tailshaft says theres no difference. (From memory ABS diff was either longer or shorter?)

***Swapped for an ABS tailshaft, fitted up

6. Wiring Auto to Manual - I know I need to bridge the neutral switch wires, hardwire the reverse lights and the VSS should plug in. Any other wiring required?

***Bridged the thick black and tan wires.. made a short plug'n'play harness for the vss, reverse light, neutral switch

7. Brake Pedal Box - instead of replacing the whole pedal box can you just remove the spring and bolt and just swap the pedals over? It's a pita to remove the whole pedal box because the air ducting is in the way

***Swapped just the pedal, alot easier

5) yes if you have an ABS diff then you need an abs tailshaft (or just the rear section) as they are a different length

7) yes I did it that way and it was easy to do, box is too much of a bitch

Thanks for that

Can I bolt the rear section of the auto (ABS) tailshaft to the front section of the manual tailshaft?

hmm, maybe, never done that but it might work, but only if the auto box is the same length as the manual box

Good point. I'll measure both boxes tomorrow and then measure both tailshafts to compare.

Thanks for your help.

Got the tailshaft swapped for ABS modele one, all good bolted in

Engine and Gearbox is in

The wiring for the gearbox, starter, alternator all done. Coil relay removed.

Wiring at the dash plug is done, but 3 wires didnt match so left them disconnected for now, have to trace them tomorrow. Where do the wires for the dash plug go to? Cluster?


The car is cranking BUT not starting.. suspect spark/ignition problem. Any troubleshooting tips guys?

check the 2 factors for a running engine, spark and fuel. remove a plug and check for fuel whilst cranking, also check that you are getting spark to the plug, if not trace it back a step ie. coilpacks, if not then coilpack loom and so on

Definitely has fuel, will need to test distributor, ignition coil, wiring

Figured it was missing a rotor in the distributor, got that in and has spark


Also figured out half the wires from the dash plug go to the consult port, so those wires aren't that important

Other wires on dash plug

Black (may be more than 1)-----------Ground
Blue / Green Stripe---------------------AC Signal
Blue / Black Stripe----------------------Water Temperature Signal
Orange-----------------------------------Ignition Start
Yellow / Red Stripe----------------------Tachometer Signal
Yellow / Green Stripe-------------------Speedometer Signal