Member: vsamoylov has a 2000 Engine and Transmission IN a 96'.
I would like to Accumlulate All of the Necessary swap Information on this thread specifically.

We all keep touching on the Subject of What it takes. But Lets Finally Narrow it down to what Needs to be done, then shoot for a HOW-TO.

-2000 engine and trans.
-2000 ECU for auto trans.
-Relocation of Thermostat.
-Reverse 1 of the engine mounts to fit (i read this, unsure if its a fact)
-Axles? (which to use)
-What else?

Please Post If you can Provide Help and Know Information about this swap.
I would like to know the Essentials for this. WHat Basics we will Need. Is a Whole Salvaged 2000 Maxima needed to be purchased from a yard to get all necessary parts.?
Is this the cheaper route? (to buy the entire car)
Im doing this to place a 20K engine in my car this summer. nothing fancy


Quote from: vsamoylov brother who did his whole conversion.
Also Notice: Big D says somehow this cannot work....
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=276274
Oh and the firewall prob was corrected by reversing that Enging mount i read somewhere.

 

maybe 2000 ecu and tcm?

 

I remember he couldn't use the intake manifold, which is where most of the increase in hp from 99-00 comes from.

 

cheapest route would be to buy a salvaged 2k maxim copart.com has them but you need a account number to view or pay $50 a month to check listings.

Basically what you need is.

2k engine and tranny
2k axles
ECU can be used fro myour current 4th gen 96 intake manifold
relocation of thermostat
rerouting hoses
taking tranny apart to change some parts from your current tranny or ecu codes will be thrown for improper shifting and then your car wil shift a 6600 instead of 6000

and some rewiring done inside the engine bay

i will talk to my bro on the topic of what he changed inside the tranny and what you need.
but these are basic so far.

 

awesome vs~

Was i correct on the Engine mounts?

If we use the 2000 tranny that was attached to the same 2000 motor Do we need to rewire?????

We can use our stock ecu u said? how r these Air/fuel and Timing Measure's the same or did he swap ECU's in yours..

Please keep us tuned into what else needs to be swapped.!

 

Sweet I was mentioned. Like I said before, if it was worth it or fairly easy to do many people would do it. Truth is it's too much of a hassle for anyone to try. If someone does try however many others would too if he was successful. I suggest you do some research first. Go back a few pages in the 4th gen and general forums and you'll see this HUGE thread about this and all the problems there might be.

Like it was said befor VS is missing the intake manifold which is the major difference in the power on the VQ. Since the 2k tranny is the same part # as the 4th gen tranny why would there be any problems with the wiring and things? You need to go read up on this cause this topic has been beaten to death already and seems to pop back up as soon as the threads about it disappear to the 2nd or 3rd page.

 

Ok...
First, I will mention the differences between the 4th gen and 5th (2000-2001 maxima in this case)
a. as you all know the 5th gen intake is variable, I’m not going into details here, its operation is ecu-dependent.
b. 5th gen ecu uses abs signal to monitor vehicle's speed, meaning there is no speed sensor in the tranny (auto tranny here)... although the hole for the sensor is in place but just has a plug, and the plastic gear (that turns) it is installed also, so if the sensor is installed then it works just fine.
So you can't make 2000 ecu work off the speed sensor unless you tap into abs circuit to get the signal which that particular car did not have.
c. Auto tranny might look the same, but there are real differences inside. Two output gears (under the front transm. cover - next to the left wheel) have the same ratio but it is achieved through a different number of teeth on both of them, which is not good - there is an auxiliary speed sensor sitting on one of them; this sensor defines shift speeds and tranny controller compares its readings with the main speed sensor... So if it's left as is you simply get trouble codes for wrong gear ratio and like.
d. 2000 gets shorter final gear ratio - like 3.78 vs. 3.69 (auto again)

 

Yeah I forgot that the 2k-2k1 tranny uses different axles but that isn't a big problem.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=41105
Look at that thread Bob, almost all the info you need is in there.

 

e. Another thing about internals of tranny - valve body and wiring is kinda different too. But they are interchangeable! Of course with some minor wiring modifications.
f. Engine/transmission mounts are identical. Except that some 4 gen cars don't have el. controlled mounts, some have one el. controlled - front one, 5th (2000 at least) gen has 2 like that - front and rear. BTW, 6-speed 3.5 does not get any electronically controlled mounts, just rubber/ liquid.
So, 2000 engine/tranny physically just bolts right in.
g. Axels... there is some difference in size of grooves as i recall, it's something like 2000 ones would not fit into the old diff or the other way around, can't remember; the outside is the same.
But! Try to follow this: the dimensions of 2000 from side to side is different - the total length (of 2 axels plus diff in the middle) is less by 5 to 10 mm (smthing more like 7 mm). This dimension is defined not by axels/tranny, but rather hubs/lower control arms/suspension member.
h. Internals of vq30de in 2000 is not exactly the same. Cams, valves, compression are changed as I’m told; actually my hands are itching to open it and see for myself . The engine develops its power at higher rpms - 6400 vs. 5800 (5900 ?)
Valve covers (and ignition coils of course) are different; there is an extra water passage with 2nd thermostat in V of the engine.

 

On the intake manifold... I don't really know what other ppl say about "same part numbers", but with my 20/20 vision i could not find anything identical in them. No, I did not look at the p/ns, but I looked at the parts itself. What needs to be done to put it in:
1. Yes, it bolts right in, even the back of it - the exhaust recirculation pipe i mean... when you use the one that comes with the 2000 manifold.
Except that the valve covers are specific for that thing too. And coils are specific for the covers.
But it all can be modified to fit.
2. If old throttle body is used, then either the TB or the manifold needs to be modified to make it fit together. If 2000 TB is used, then you've got to deal with the electronically controlled idle.
3. Just upper part (plastic) of 2000 manifold can't be used - the lower (splitter ?) part is specifically designed to accommodate the upper one. Only two of them together. Which brings this: fuel injectors on 2000 are different from 4th gen ones; fuel rail are different too. They may have higher flow, but electrically - different impendence too. The ? is this: how the old ecu is going to handle it.
4. If 2000 ecu is not used, something has to be done to make the variable part work... somthing like rpm switch or else. The other thing is that 2000 manifold has lower part similar to the one in '99 - with butterflies. That has to be made operational too... or can be removed.

 

vsamoylov did not re-use the 2000 intake manifold or ECU. He swapped a lot of parts from his 4th gen onto the 5th gen engine.

IT IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT if you are only looking for power. If you need to swap engines for some reason anyway, then you might think about it. But, if you just want more power, there are MUCH more cost effective ways of getting it.

 

come on, my bro just told you alot of info right now. he did alot of the work on it. i just helped him when he needed it. and if you don't know his name here on the org, it is maxS.

 

This is all the information i was looking for. vs _ i had no idea maxs was your brother but man he knows what hes talkin about.

Thanks maxS this is good ****. Thanks for all this Information.
Im not Looking For Just More Power. I want a 2000 engine w/ 15K for like $300. Instead of a 96' w/ 70K for $300. Oh i need a new tranny soon as well.

I feal i could do everything under 1G - 2G but if i need a whole donor car then that may be more $ but worth it if i replace the control arms and all.

maxS- whats a donor car go for about on car-part.com(after i $50 for a membership).

BigD. hey man , do you realize maxS did do this conversion. in your first post your claiming no one has , just wondering.

 

copart.com and the price varies cause it is a auction and you to have a dealers account o bid. if you pay $50, you can just look at differents cars from a to z and you can then go to the auction and find a dealer there and he can bid on it for you.

 

So can you answer this for me,the upper plastic manifold will not bolt to the 96 lower manifold?

 

Just upper part (plastic) of 2000 manifold can't be used - the lower (splitter ?) part is specifically designed to accommodate the upper one. Only two of them together.

 

This is my big ?' will the 96 injector connectors plug into the 2000 injectors . If you could answer this ? that would help me alot.

 

Is your head stuck up your *** or something? I said that no one did a swap including the intake manifold. Can you read? Even he himself said he DIDN'T use the intake manifold. WTF? Read!

 

on that one ask maxS

 

Can you answer this if the 96 lower manifold cant be used with the upper 2000 . If you bolt the 2000 upper and lower on with rails and injectors will the 96 connectors hook up. thanks

 

Bigdwtf.? dont start with little girl games
Do you see anywhere in this post regarding ANYthing about Inake Manif.
Have I ask ONCE about Intake Question, Will it work or Not? EH?
whats wrong with you. Read your post above , recite.

MaxS was great at explaining the ecu swap ideas. Trans possibilities ect. ect. The whole idea sounds fair enough and ill definatlely look into that auction site vs. ( i thought u were accidentally msp'ing that web address)
Thanks for all the help, west.

 

i did the 2000 swap into my 97 gle. I reused the 97 intake manifold just because i prefer the cast over the plastic. i used the the 97 ecu no problems only one problem i did run into was the evap system. it is completely different and the harness i got was cut in half so i had to use my 97 harness. due to this i had to fab new mounts for the 97 evap system that mounts on the waterneck tube on the 4th gens. everything else was off of my 97 if you have specific questions ill anwser the best i can. also the time tdc for the 97 is 15 plus or minus 3 the tdc for the 2000 engine is 13 to 17 but nothing was effected.

 

Umm... why would you not use the plastic 00vi? That intake manifold is what gives that engine the extra power vs a 99 engine.