I have an 01 Maxima which I have had for two years. It has about 240k miles and I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles. The automatic transmission is starting to act up. From a dead stop sometimes it seems like it's slipping then it will shift hard right into second. Anyway, the transmission is the least of my worries. The car has a REALLY bad case of rust. So here's my question. I have found an 02 Maxima SE 6 speed with a blown motor. Would it be possible to swap the 3.0 out of my current car and drop it into the 02?

 

Possible, yes. But why not just drop in a replacement 3.5?

 

That's a performance downgrade.....Why would you do that? Why not do a 5.7 swap?

 

Well if money were no object, then sure.....but since I have a good running engine in search of a better body and transmission, I'm just trying to work with what I have....

 

I feel with the amount of time/money/effort it will take to downgrade to a 3.0 motor, you could go an get a 3.5 or even HR swap it for the same amount. Long story short is that its a bit of work to go from 3.0 to 3.5 - and same vice versa. Unless you are living hand to mouth you might as well just put in a 3.5

 

Yeah, I did the math. For 850 I can do a complete HR swap with all fluids (probably 50 cheaper with an engine I saw that's local with 44k).

 

The two cars electrical systems are very different. Can it be done? Yes. If you are knowledgeable and have the tools and time go for it.

I would highly recommend replacing the blown engine with another 3.5. It will be a million times easier than putting together what you have.