My 4th Gen had some decent "giddy-up" when I bought it. I had to replaced the engine and got one from Japan with a tranny already attached. Seemed like a simple enough pull out and drop in. Now there is no giddy with the up! it drive fine...just no "kick." I have no idea what could be wrong. Now, when I want the giddy-up, I jump into my wife's 5th gen.

1. Would an engine and tranny from Japan cause this problem?
2. Is there a sensor, control unit, or computer chip to blame?
3. Fuel pump...Fuel Injectors...Light Bulb?

I'm grasping at straws here...any ideas?

 

try taking the car to oreilly's/pep boys/autozone etc and have them check codes. I wouldnt be surprised if you have a bad knock sensor. The knock sensor won't throw a CEL.

Other than that I would change the plugs if you haven't already. If you have a misfire, coil packs could be suspect too.

 

Agreed on the knock sensor and plugs. It is quite likely that both the original engine and the japanese engine both have bad knock sensors. So you might have the same issues after all that work. You might also research if the original engine and the Japanese engine use the same fuel injectors. They might not. If that is the case you should consider installing the ones intended for the USA market. Please have them cleaned before you install them.

 

The million dollar questions are.....

Why did you get the engine and trans from Japan when there are hundreds available right here in the states? Secondly, was this a new, reman or used setup? Last but not least, what happened to the original motor and trans?

Curious minds need to know...

 

Assuming automatic tranny I would bet that your original motor and the Japanese replacement, assuming all other regular maintenance was taken care of, could have gotten its "pep" back by these 2 things alone:

Replace primary O2 sensors
Refresh auto tranny fluid (as in drop and fill with new Dexron III, NOT flush)

 

- No codes
- Knock Sensor replaced in Oct
- Plugs replaced in July

Thanks

 

- Plugs changed in July
- Knock sensor changed in October
- Injectors are the same ones

Thanks

 

i often wondered about the japanese used engines...people in japan usually dont drive vehicles further than 40kmiles before they are taken off the road for some reason..i guess they get a good deal from the govt. when they take cars that are older then a few yrs...ive heard good things about how many low mile used japanes motors and trannys are avail...you can get most makes with under 40k miles

 

Water pump went, blow the head gasket (later saw the head cracked). I had no time to do a head job and could not be without a car for a week. At that time, a used engine with a used tranny was the fastest and least expensive option -- 2 days and done.

Thanks

 

or buy new

 

it dexron 5 now

 

I understand that coolant does not play nice with the oxygen sensors. I agree that replacing the upstream oxygen sensors might help matters.

 

most Japanese vehicles have around 80,000km-150,000km. the reason they export or junk their vehicles is the inspections and whatnot cost a fair bit over there for older vehicles, its easier for them to sell and export them to here in Canada, Africa, or Australia. if you go into the Japanese countryside, theres vehicles parked for years in forests or sideroads as well

JDM drivetrains arent always the best, most driving in Japan is stop and go traffic thats hard on automatic transmissions and the engines get alot of idle time from it. id take a semi-low mileage USDM drivetrain thats seen alot of highway over one

 

Could you have gotten a VQ25DE or worse yet... VQ23DE without knowing? Both were available for the A32 platform.

 

Another question is did you use your old intake manifold and egr valve? As far as I know jdm engines don't have egr valves for emissions.

 

yep, some older JDM cars only had a cat converters. i know for sure many Toyotas and Mazdas had just a cat converter and a sensor/dash light to tell you if its getting too hot, not sure about Nissans but probably the same

 

I doubt a japanese tranny with 40k miles on it has any more wear than say a car with same miles in say NYC

 

I hate to beat a dead horse, but how can you air freight an engine and tranny from Japan in 2 days (customs brokerage too?) and claim it was your lease expensive option?

There are hundreds of them scattered across the USA in LKQ yards nation wide, same or next day delivery with 30 day warranties.

Something isn't adding up here...

 

any stop and go traffic is hard on vehicle, in Japan thats what youre mostly stuck in. yes the same as NYC basically. what i mean is i would take a USDM auto trans with 150,000km mostly highway use over a 60,000km JDM trans

 

i can get an 80,000 mile 99 maxima motor for 400.00 sent right to my local shop for free with a 2 year warranty. i only have to add 250.00 for the extended time, which is a standard 90 days

 

^^^^^ Bingo! ^^^^^

Air freight charges including customs would be upwards of 2 grand (conservatively) for an item of that size.

What the OP claims isnt adding up.

 

^^ Maybe he chose that one because the listing said JDM?

 

dont think so, i called a place in Japan to get an estimate on a transmission from there to Canada, low K trans and shipping to my work was like $700-$800. even for whole vehicle importing places its only $1000 for shipping/paperwork for a vehicle from Japan on a shared SeaCrate, only more if you want an individual crate

 

Yes Chrome, you're right, but the OP said he got it in 2 days. That's air freight, not sea.

 

HE probably didnt get it shipped from Japan per say. He probably got it from a shop specializing in jdm imports. Here where i am there are atleast a half dozen of them that sell jdm engines and tranny's. These shops only sell jdm parts which they import. That's the only thing i can think of because i agree there is no way your getting something shipped yourself directly from Japan and in the car in 2 days.

 

Come to think of it, if he had a JDM motor, it would have had the MEVI on top. Also, the idea that the water pump went and led to a blown head gasket AND cracked head suggests severe abuse. This story is quite mysterious, to say the least.

 

His stock engine went and he swapped it with a jdm engine.