I could go on & on here...

 

Did someone want pics?






engine and misc parts coming in tomorrow.

 

+1..........

 

 

Really? As in the engine is slightly newer and a slightly better exhaust? Tuning is obviously hardly changed from an 03 Z. Now, if you could make 290 WHP with a basic bolton 7th, then it would be different. Otherwise, it makes the same power as the old VQ35, which is indeed lame.

 

Cvvt on both I and e
H r heads
dual pv Intake manifold
Higher cr

the 03z did not have even a rev up option, that came in 05. The 03z and 09 max engines are the most dissimilar of any given year of the two.


And I still havent yet to discover all of it. If anything its more similar to the 07z with the h r minus the dual tb.

 

do you have to use the original 5.5 gen ecu if you swapped any post model vq (pref a 7th gen vq) into it? i cannot recall reading about it

 

It be ideal for simplicity.

 

Wow 213,000 miles. If I get to 180,000 miles in the next couple years Ill be very happy, and most likely buy a newer vehicle.

 

Got the engine out today and got down to business swapping everything over. Had a Gulf sized oil spill which had to be cleaned up among more and more coolant still pissing out of this old engine.Tomorrow I will finish up the swap out of parts and put the newish engine back in the car.

The upper oil pan definitly needs a swap out, the location for the crank sensor on this '05 automatic engine isn't even in the same location as manual transmission one. It sucks as that is alot of work to clean all the old RTV off the block and the 2k2 engine oil pans. Then put it all back together. If this was my car I would just pay more for a '04~'06 engine that had a manual transmission and not worry about oil pan swapping. IDK about the '07 ~ '08 engines, the crank sensor is a different part number where as the '02 ~ '06 manuals have the same crank sensor part number.

Bad news is that the two piece flywheel is gone! It looks like a pro fighter punched it in the mouth. There are bits of tooth sized metal falling out of the center of the flywheel. Its now a multi-piece flywheel...

 

I knew about the cvvt and slightly higher CR, but the **** poor tuning nissan does for the maxima pretty much negates any of the power gains associated. That was kinda my point. I'll be more specific next time

 

You couldnt be anymore wrong...

But keep thinking that you're right so more 7th gen maxima engines can be available to guys like me who have already helped to pull one apart, measured and compared parts to older VQ's and have already swap... I've said too much already...

 

I have a 5.5 with 86k on it.the motor seems fine but I do notice what sounds like a rattle coming from the top end when I slightly rev it and going up hills sometimes. Anyone else have this issue.It also makes that same noise right when I turn off the engine

 

Next time post in the I'm new here and have a question sticky at the top of the 5th gen forum.

If you start the engine and in park, rev the engine. Do you hear the rattle when the RPM drops? If so, that could be a pre-cat with a broken catalyst material. See if a near by shop will pull the cats and inspect them. Expect to pay for new exhaust gaskets for the inspection.

 

Finally done tonight with this car!

Started on the first attempt the other day and its back on the road running like a champ!

Few things learned with this swap.

1. If you remove something with a gasket that sees coolant replace it with a new gasket! Had several water leaks cause we cheaped out and reused gaskets for all the coolant pipes.

2. If you buy a motor thats damaged from a front end accident check all the coolant piping in the front for hair line cracks.

The motor had a obvious cracked coolant log but the little piece with the two pipes in it thats near the alternator had hair line cracks in it. It was hard to see until we added the water...

3. If you remove the engine remove the AC condensor or protect it with a plate. Again tried to save money by not draining the refridgerant and the engine kicked when removing it, then hit the condensor and made it leak out. Had to get a replacement condensor and new freon.

4. Use 100% distilled water when refilling the engine coolant, its a $1.50 a gallon and way cheaper than antifreeze. When everything is ok then drain the radiator and add new coolant. Luckily I knew this from the get go and we didn't waste any coolant just a few gallons of distilled water and a wet garage floor.

Those first 3 mistakes put us back almost half a week with all the running around for replacement parts and lost time.

 

Sweet news, how about some show off pictures now?

 

Manny poked me and told me to come in here.

I think its to tell people that the newer VQ35 with the plastic manifold can not be used on the 5.5 gen ecu as far as I currently know. Maybe essential knows more...

There are some other known issues too. I think TurboS13Hatch actually has one of the newer motors from an Altima and there were some other little surprises too.

 

The front end belt/pulley configuration is different, the VIAS works off of a different principle (not RPM related) and well, CVTC on both I & E. Most of that can be cured with new software aside from the pully deal.

 

I really dont see why it cant be used with the a33b ECU. Think of how we currently do 3.5 swaps in a32 and a33a chassis. That new VQ w/ the plastic IM is still a "VQ" after all. This time, think INSIDE the box.

Just remember, most things on any VQ is interchangable.

 

My Max has been running for a couple of months now, I dropped a VQ35DE in it from an '08 Quest shortly after purchasing it with a bhg. Being an absolute ignorant virgin when it came to these cars, I just assumed a 3.5 is a 3.5. I was wrong, but only on a few real issues:

Being an automatic itself, the two engines were remarkably similar. I had to swap knock sensors and the rear cam sensor from my old engine due to harness differences, but that was NBD. Also, the fuel inlet line was a different setup. I could have swapped my fuel rails, but I'll just get a custom line made someday, I've got it connected well enough for now. I re-used my existing flexplate, the new engine's one was different, but it bolted up without fuss. Last item was the EGR port, my car didn't have the setup, so I just used a gasket and fabbed up a block-off plate, easy.

Everything else on the two engines swapped over without any problems. All the sensors plugged in, the coolant lines all plugged right back up, the motor mounts swapped over, the exhaust manifolds swapped over, the alternator and power steering and a/c compressor bolted back up, I didn't touch anything relating to the oil pans or lines, those were the same. Same with the intake manifold and VIAS thingamabob. Different look, but plugged right in. No changes in crank pulleys or belt sizes or tensioners, etc.

The biggest difference, and the only problem I've been putting off tackling, is the crank position sensor mount. Unknowingly, I moved it from my old block's spot to the new block's spot, throwing off the sensor's point of reference in the process, so I have extended start times and SES/TCS/SLIP lights, as well as no tach signal, to go with it.

I was content to just deal with those issues for now, being as how the car runs great, but since I found a remote start keyfob in the center console the other day , I might have to move this back to the top of my priority list.

Thought I'd share my experiences, while we're discussing VQ35's, hope it helps.....

 

I know what your saying but doing that much work just drop in the same engine is too much but then again dropping in the 6th gen with AT can be some work too.

 

But thats the thing... Its not the same engine.

But from what i've discovered, this engine without an extended rev limiter is a waste of time. With one though...

 

Dont get me started with that "It's a VQ" nonsense. We have seen that the likes of FWD VQ's are horrifically interchangeable, but once stepping into the RWD and HR, VQ37 a lot of things begin to change.

Inside the box = comparing 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen DE's(VQ30/VQ35 Pathy, VQ35 A33B/L31) FWD VQ's to each other

Outside the box = VQ35 (A35) VQxxHR/VHR/and RWD. Come on now, it gets far more complicated for this particular forum in order to get these to work t their full potential.

The A35 version changed things up quite a bit. IIRC, 55º CVTC's, now how can we control those (aside from V-Manage) using OEM(A35) software w/ an A33B chassis? BCM's get more complex, CAN lines,

I think we were damn lucky to get things so simplified from 95-03 ... but as we whom have contemplated wiring Z33 harness onto our A33B's for any reasons such as UTEC/EMU, etc, we see that the ECU's differ greatly, yes it can be done, but then I come to Dave's post .... and rest my case .. Yes it can be done .... but why go through the trouble when there are other more economical solutions. I hope to be proved incorrect, and someone say the dropped an A35 VQ into an A33B chassis and they changes was the MAF sensor. That'll be cool.



Which engine is "this" you refer to?

 

I was curious about the swap... I've been following this thread but didn't see any tech stuff. But what I definitely need to know is did you run into any after-swap problems. I just swapped mine for a 6th gen (from 5.5) and have a non functioning AC (no cold air at all but blows the fan) and a whine-type noise as if the power steering pump is going(doesnt happen when steering, just kinda whines with the RPMs) and somewhere the antifreeze seems to be leaking. But mostly its the whining and AC that needs immediate attention. Any thoughts/similar issues?

 

Since I re-used all of my existing A/C components, I didn't have any issues like you're describing. If your AC worked before the swap, it should work after it. I'd suspect you either missed the plug, or one of the wires was perhaps damaged/broken, it's the little harness that shares its plug with the alternator's. Worst case scenario you punched a hole in your condensor while the engine was being removed or installed and all the freon leaked out.

As for your RPM whine- that's a ground issue nearly 100% of the time. I did experience that after getting my car running. I ended up taking down all the block grounds and cleaning them with sandpaper/wire brush/etc. Sprayed 'em with some of that battery anti-corrosion spray, fixed.

For the coolant leak, that's not too hard to find. Grab the kit and pump up your radiator- you'll find the leak pretty quick.

Good luck

 

I know im ressurecting an old thread, but this is one of few that I found, as I need to replace my 3.5 in my 2002 6spd. I have a nasty oil leak coming from the timing cover (local mechanic checked it out, thats what he said it is coming from), and now car has no power. Anyways, I was just curious about to pulling the motor itself. Just follow the haynes book, or is there some short cuts that you can do? Thanks for your help. Im looking at many different motors, but findning something reasonable in nor-cal is a pain!

 

Will cattman and hotshot headers fit from the 5.5 gen motor to the 6th gen motor?

 

I am pretty sure I have all the basis covered, I just wanted to check one last time if I will have to change my ECU and harness or if I will be able to use the same one from my 02 engine? Also will the timing need to be adjusted since it is a little more powerful motor? I have a 6-speed and the engine is from a auto.

 

omg i kept reading this thinkin this was new news til i come to a post that says i know this is an old thread. WTF! Fail on me

 

As long as the motor sits in a 5.5 gen chassis and the headers are for the 5.5 gen chassis, yes those headers will fit a 6th gen motor in a 5.5 gen chassis.

You will be able to use your same engine harness, sans EGR, which is more of a mechanical endeavor. It's in this thread, read carefully and perhaps PM the OP.

Nonetheless, one of the more informative threads on here lately.

 

Newb here...thanks to all for the great info. Unfortunately I am facing this swap dilemma. I have the infamous timing chain rattle (between 1k and 2k rpm while putting around, not at any other time) and I'm burning oil at about 1/2-2/3 quart per 1k miles. I found a competant nissan tech who quoted me roughly $900 for the job (tensioners, guides, chain, water pump, seals, etc.) which is in my opinion a steal...only problem is an 04+ vq with low miles is in the same ball park or slightly less.

I plan on keeping this car for a while (2-3yrs) and mods are definitely in my future. It runs pretty strong considering its age (120k) and also considering I need a tune-up, have a rear vcg leak, an oil pan leak, and the rear main is sweating pretty good. I understand that all these issues can be taken care of when he drops the engine at extra cost, but that just puts me closer to $12-1300.

Obviously this is a terribly subjective decision...
1)but which one makes more sense? Not sure how much a swap should cost in real-world labor terms, so any advice/insight on cost of swap (labor) would be helpfull as this will definitely help my decision.
2)also how long can I expect to go with the chain rattling (bad tensioner problem) under normal operating conditions? Not looking for a terribly accurate answer as that would be impossible without breaking it down and looking at it, but again any insight/educated guess on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for lengthy reply, but TIA

 

so obviously you used your 5.5 gen cps, did it just plug in no problem or did you have to doing a bit of work to get it to fit?

 

Any pics of the finished product?

 

It will look like a stock unit. I can't think of anything that would be different.

 

An engine from an '06 should go in just the same shouldn't it? Thanks.

 

That's correct.

Save for the details in this thread (EGR/IM, etc.)

 

I'd be interested in some photos myself.

 

Sadly this car was totalled last week.

I've swapped a replacement 6 speed trans into this car in '07, various other maintenance, 4th gen headers/y pipe to replace the dead precats, then this engine swap in '10. I've done almost more work on this car than my own so its sad to see it go and the two threads about the transmission swap and this engine swap keep popping up for some reason.

It is fixable but his insurance won't pay for it as the car has such high mileage. He got $4200 for the car and thats a fair price considering the effort for a part out and dealing with all the whiny cheap a$$ org BS. So some junkyard in Eastern Massachusetts is about to get a cherry of a 5.5 gen parts car.

Those that want pics, its a stock black 6 speed 5.5 gen Maxima with an aftermarket intake and not much else.

 

Where is Spencer WA?

Doh found my reading glasses.

 

OMG ..... You're not "leaving" us are you ? Maximaville, more important ville ... "VQ_VILLE?_"

Either way, sucks man, I agree, .org BS ... and no need to explain what you've done, you are a pioneer ...