Just looking for some input here. I am swaping the engine in my 92 SE. I just ordered the engine online and it should be here with in two weeks. I am wondering what I should replace before the engine goes in the car. As of right now these are the parts I am planning on replacing.

-Drive belts
-Plugs
-water pump
-oil pan gasket
-valve cover gaskets


Any other suggestions?

Also how much and what type of fluid does the manual tranny hold for this year? I want to go ahead and order that as well. Thanks.

 

well... if you are comfortable taking the timing chains off you may want to do frontmain/cam/rearmain seals. the timing components should be ok... as for sensors and crap if you don't trust the ones on the replacement engine you can use the ones off your car now... may want to go ahead and replace the rubber fuel lines on the rail and stuff.. they tend to leak with age.

 

I would rather not take the timing stuff loose. That is one main reason why I am swaping the engine rather than fixing/trying to fix the one I have. How about the rear main seal, is that just behind the flywheel in these engines and can it be replaced from the outside?

 

yea behind the flywheel. do it while the oilpan is off... makes life easier. get a new ggasket for the seal retainer as well

also, get new half-moon seals for the oilpan. they are the end-seals.

 

exhaust studs
possibly motor mounts

 

As for the exhaust studs should I order them from nissan or are there some better ones available?

 

lots of people use z31 turbo studs. i got mine from Nissan but used regular J30 Maxima studs not the z31 studs

 

my fear is if they break, I will have to take the heads off to remove them. I am trying to avoid taking the heads off.

 

What? No.

While you have the new engine out, remove the exhaust manifolds, remove the studs (hopefully none have already broken, if they have then drill and extract), then install new studs.

This is to prevent the assured future breaking of the factory studs, because the ones Nissan will sell you now are better.

 

Yeah, I guess what I was getting at is if I cannot drill out a broken one then I would have to take the heads off and take them to a shop to have them drilled out. The only reason I am mentioning this is because I did this on my chevy engine I just put into my jeep. I broke a bolt out in on of the studs, and the metal in the bolt out was burning all of my drill bits so I had to take it to a shop for them to get it out.

 

also I should mention that the engine is a JDM engine, what sensors need to be changed? I think that's what I was told was the only difference.

I am also going to change the clutch while I am in there. Any recomendations under $300? I do not plan to boost this car but it will have have a few bolt ons. How is the OEM clutch? I know I put a fifth gen clutch in my 4th gen and I am very happy with that clutch. Is there a similar option for the VE?

 

I've extracted 3 out of mine, they came out easy, but I suppose there is always a risk.

 

I detail what needs to replaced in my VE swap I did for Chris

 

The maxima/z31 studs were superseded into the same part # years ago, so ordering either will get you the same parts.

 

gotcha. well either way i just have bolts in there now, rather than stud/nut.

 

huh??

You don't have to remove any of that stuff to replace the front main oil seal, or cam seals

The front main is as easy as popping off the bottom pulley, pull the old seal out with a seal removal tool(pick), or screwdriver, pop the new seal in, replace pulley.

 

wait... how do you get the seals in and out with the timing stuff in place? i know you have pictures of this stuff haha. cuz for sure on a VG you have to take the crank pulley and crank sprocket off, and you have to take the cam sprockets off to get the cam seals in.

 

The VE is different, it has the oil seal inside the lower chain cover(remember, oil runs through the front cam covers on a ve) So all you have to do is remove the crank pulley, it's right behind it.

 

I would have some extra hose clamps and vacuum hose and such things you know all the small stuff that you have to run to the parts store 5 times to get.

 

yea... i peeked in the FSM and saw that a little bit after i posted. it dawned on me that the chain needed to be oiled too...

 

revert back to the thread Jeff linked previously. Also do a search for threads started by a guy named spipedong90

NEED to replace or swap:

Coolant Temp Sensor
Water Pump
Cam Sensor


I would highly recommend replacing the following:

manifold studs
front and rear seals
all belts and hoses

If you have a manual transmission, I would also recommend you swap over your variable intake. Almost all JDM engines are ATs. You will likely have to swap over your IACV, too. I guess they are different from AT to MT.

While you have the upper intake off, I would suggest replacing the KS and KS harness, as well.

Think of everything that is hard to replace with the tight spaces of the engine compartment. Then, think of how much easier it is to do with the engine outside of that compartment.

 

I'm gong to try the following out:

M8X45 SOCKET SET SCREW COARSE THREAD - BLACK ALLOY STEEL - 12.1 Hardness. You need 12 of those - and of course 12 M8 Hex Nut Coarse Thread, plus 12 M8 washers, plus the 2 gaskets.


The socket set screws are studs but have a built in female hex socket so in case you have to remove them in a few years, it should be easier. Any industrial supplier should have them. (They also come in stainless steel for higher price)

I used these when I replaced my exhaust system - and their easy to work with.

 

Found my list that I used for Chris' swap. I swapped the KS too. Thus the need to take the upper/lower intake manifold off

Parts needed for the swap
2 Throttle body gasket 16175-53J00
3 Intake plenum gasket PN 14032-97E00
4 (2) Intake manifold gaskets PN 14035-97E00
5 Liquid gasket Nissan high temp
6 4 quarts of oil Castrol GTX
7 Toyota oil filter 90915-YZZA2
8 Antifreeze
9 exhaust manifold gaskets (2) 14036-97E05
10 exahust manifold studs 14065-V5004
11 exahust manifold studs 14065-w4800
12 nuts 14039-w1500
13 lock washers 14037-F6610
14 Front seal 13510-97E10
15 rear main seal
16 tranny seals( 2)
38342-81X01 / 38342-51E00
17 2 new exhaust donuts 20691-8500
18 new power steering fluid
19 new upper/lower radiator hoses
20 new SKS throw out bearing
21 new thermostat (Napa)

22 water pump replacement (1 hr)
23 ks replacement (4 hrs)
incl-upper/lower manifold replcement/gaskets and install of 5-sp manifold install.
24 clutch/flywheel replacement (2 hr)
remove auto shim/clean clutch/disc
25 tranny removal/install (6 hrs)
clean bellhousing/add longer bolts/drain-fill amsoil
26 accessory removals/install (6 hrs)
ps/alt/ac/belts/adjustment/wiring harness/all contacts got dielectric grease added
26 engine removal/install (8 hrs)
27 remove/install new exh manifold studs(2 hrs)

 

okay, I have ordered some parts and I have a few questions.

What weight of transmission fuid do these trannys call for?

I would still like some opinions on clutch options. I can get all new nissan parts for ~250.

As for intake gaskets....which ones do I need? I have NWP spacers that I will be putting in when the engine goes in...for some reason I feel like you are not supposed to use gaskets with this set up.

 

IIRC the fsm gear oil weight is 85-90 gl-4 but i would recommend using redline mt-90, due to finding gl-4 specific gear oils on the parts store shelves is just about impossible now.

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_g...p?categoryID=7

Clutch: Exedy stage 1 is a good choice, ACT clutches are good also. Of course a geniune nissan clutch kit would be nice also.

The nwp spacers use silicone sealant, no gaskets.

 

So it uses GL-4 like my 4th gen. What is the capacity? In the past I have orderd it from talkinghorse on here, I have always been very happy with his service.

As for the clutches I know what brands are good I was more looking for experience.

 

Capacity= 4 1/2 quarts


The choices i listed are from the experiences of many reliable members of this forum over the years. search will reveal the same answers.

 

You are correct on the gaskets.

Are VE clutches different? I was always under the impression that all 86-01's were the same which opens up the option listed in your first post.

 

Correct, the ve clutch takes the same clutch as all the others...

 

I ordered the nissan clutch. I made sure I ordered all of the parts seperate so I would not end up with a key value kit. I got the nissan clutch kit for a decent price, and I knew it would be quality so I went with it.

I have also ordered Amsoil from talking horse.

I ordered a y pipe yesterday from Warpspeed.

I should be about set, I am just waiting for the engine to ship. I will probably try to pull the stock engine next week after work.

 

Another tip - you may want to take the time in advance to paint your Y-pipe. I bought Rustoleum High Temp (Black) industrial paint, and it's stayed on nicely after install. In fact, it looks like it baked into the metal after a month.

Lightly sand off any metal bits, Wipe it down with Methanol first, with a rag and nitrile gloves, let dry, then spray paint many light coats over a few days.