I decided to not work on anyone else's cars for the next 2 weeks so I can work on mine a little each morning after work to get this swap done.

today I lowered the engine in and mounted it all up. it was pretty easy lowering it in from the front and straight down on to the lower mounts. first I bolted in the front lower mount than the rear lower and installed the passenger side mount last. I have a friend coming this weekend to help me install the tranny so until than I'll be working on the car a little each morning after I get home from work.

 

today I installed the flywheel and clutch. JWT flywheel with M-Pact kit 06072ST2 for 350Z/G35 I got from Rockauto.com . according to the M-Pact website it's suppose to be a smooth engaging 6 puck that can handle 20-40% more torque than stock.

 

had to modify the bracket that goes on top of the passenger side upper mount. mainly just widen the 2 holes, they are oblong. also used a stud and nut since I had a left over exhaust manifold stud. the 2 bolts are m12x1.75x60, perfect fit...

 

Nice work. I bench pressed my 4AT up in there by myself. So if your friend bails, just know it's possible.

 

does the 4AT have to be lifted up to the engine sideways and rotate into place like the 6MT?

 

No clue. But I did have to wrestle it in there, and I went from the bottom. I'm no Arnold Schwatznegger either. It was a pain in the *** but I did it. I would imagine the 4AT is heavier? Not sure.

 

automatics are usually heavier, torque converter plus all the fluid they hold really add up.

 

Yeah it was a *****

 

I got the tranny in today, this is like the 9th or 10th time doing it. hopefully the ACT throw out bearing is better than OEM and all the other ones I've used in the past, it looks the same with the same plastic piece on the back end. this time i cleaned the tube that the throw out bearing rides on real good, practically polished it. now I'm wondering if not cleaning it thoroughly is what caused all those throw out bearing failures. got a new fork and pivot ball as well.

 

Nice progress. My project next year (after my current ones are over with) will be to get a very low mileage newer model VQ and swap it in. But right now, mine is doing just fine. I'm surprised to hear you had issues with the OEM throwout bearing.... My original lasted until 185k when I replaced the clutch as preventative maintenance - the clutch wasn't slipping and the TOB was in perfect condition. My current one has about 80k on it now and it's 100% fine as well.

 

Damn. I wouldn't even dare installing the engine without the trans hanging off it if they were both out

 

It takes a lot of tilt to get it in that way. It takes skill with the auto to do it (I've done it in and out). You can smash **** up if you're not careful.

6 speed is pretty light and small and the bolts are all easily accessible, so I still just slide it off/on. It's cake and less time, I bet, than tilting (one man show anyway).

 

oh I'm aware. When I did my swap it was in and out the top with the trans.

Second time was out and back in the bottom. Much easier.

 

I've always been in the habit of pulling the tranny and engine out seperate. I don't want to be messing with all that weight at once or bang anything up under the hood.

 

I've had repeated throw out bearing failures over the years, first time happened a month into getting the car, December of 2012. I've used OEM as well as aftermarket. hopefully this ACT is something better...

picture of throw out bearing plastic broken off and stuck onto throw out bearing sliding tube, this one lasted only 25,000 miles...

 

today i knocked out some wiring, hoses and lower intake manifold


the 7th gen block has 2 knocks sensor locations so I used one for a ground.. the LIM studs on the old engine are the same so I was able to reuse them to have all studs to mount the LIM to the block. the company that made the thermal spacers for these engine seems to have gone out of business so I double stacked fel pro gaskets hoping they will block some of the heat to the LIM. not shown in this pic though.




all this old plastic is brittle so some improvising and zip tying had to be done. this here is a metal bracket I made..





the front bank's VCT solenoid wire reaches the connector but I'm going to extended it 2 inches so it's not pressing against the cam gear cover. the one for the rear bank will have to be extended longer than the front bank...




main connector for the rear coil sub harness crumbled when I removed it so I did this to avoid spending $155 plush shipping for a new one.




all the injector clips broke and I do have a complete harness that came with the engine but I hate dealing with these tiny wires, leaving them zip tied for now..



here's how the back of the block is looking, I had the outlet bead blasted and coated. I'll worry about the heater core later, i broke the plastic tubes coming out of the firewall 🙁.. that ECT connector was taken from the 7th gen harness that came with the engine, didn't wire it in yet..


how it's looking under the hood so far...

 

I deleted the power steering cooler to simplify things under the hood. the cooler on these have no heatsink just a simple aluminum tube that doesn't seem to even get any airflow.

 

not too many bolt ons for this engine but the 2J racing main pulley fit. the power steering pulley is also from 2J and is for the QR25 sentra SER, 32" belt fit perfect. I also trimmed the underside of the cam gear cover just in case. it's for a wider belt but fits fine with the belt centered on the pulley. the lightweight alternator pulley is for the 350Z, I used orange Loctite since only a few threads go through. I got it from AMS. I will be running A/C I just put that extra pulley there at the bottom for test fitting and belt alignment, needed 3 washers at the front of the alternator lower mount like most others I've seen who did the swap.

gotta give credit to @Child_uv_KoRn for his thread that had the info about using the 2J Racing light weight QR25DE power steering under drive pulley
https://maxima.org/forums/all-motor/...to-2002-a.html




don't have the money for headers at the moment but I'll be running 4th gen fed spec manifolds with Warpspeed Y, the setup definitely flows better than what the 3.5 came with stock. I already have 3" exhaust with a turbo muffler to keep the noise down..











just wanted to add this in. the newer windage tray can be used if you just grind down one of the mounting points for the old windage tray. I circled it in the picture below...

 

Yet, I bet it radiates a lot of heat out of the system. Just get a cheapo on ebay.

 

any thoughts on using the trans cooler in the radiator since my car is a 6MT?

 

I did all the necessary wiring mods today. since the connectors for the VCT solenoids are in such a tight spot, I decided to wire it in a way that I can remove the VCT solenoid with the connector intact...

I also recommend to install and modify the rear bank wiring harnesses before putting the engine in.








the inverters fit nicely on the valve cover tabs. the one on the back of the head of the front bank had to be cut and drilled as shown in the illustration or the upper radiator hose won't fit....





the front valve clover is from the 07 and newer Altima that doesn't use VCT on the exhaust cams. looks much cleaner with it on. I only got it for the front since the rear was on back order, rear one doesn't show so I don't mind.. I used diagonal cutters and 1/4 drill bit..






rear bank

 

Apparently, ideal operating temp is 170-180. A little higher is acceptable, so it would work.

Lower temp thermostat would make it perfect (170).

 

Trans cooler is in the outlet tank of the radiator so it'll be cooler. I've never actually measured radiator discharge temps but I would expect it to be 120-140 range

 

On cool days, sure. Summer heat? I bet it's 170, especially with AC running.

 

I think I'll just add a cooler from ebay, found a 6 row cooler for $28.46 shipped. But I'll drive around with the bypass on for a week so I can test difference in temperature.

 

did some more work today,

I relocated the evap service port and solenoid. I mounted it onto the transmission to a bolt hole that wasn't being used and extended the wire.








I'm able to run my modified stock air box still... only thing left is Y-pipe and CV axles.. gotta make a run to Nissan for the transmission output seals....

 

real nice work , thanks for sharing the progress. gives some hope to 5th gen guys who wanna keep their 20 year old sedans going.

 

Looking good man

 

Or I was gonna say grab one from junk yard off 350z/g35. It's small, so you can tuck it anywhere you please.

 

I'm just going to order one, don't really have time for salvage yard hunting..

 

Regarding your TOB issues, are you putting the correct type of grease in the specified locations? I don't see any in the pics your posted.

 

I only greased the clutch fork pivot ball.

 

That might explain why you're burning through TOBs. You need to grease the spines as well as the ears of the TOB. Check the FSM for details.

 

SMH @ myself, I looked it up in the service manual for the first time after all these years..

 

so I got it all back together and ran into a little issue with the driver side axle seal on the transmission. it has actually been an ongoing thing for the past 2 years and even though I get the seals from Nissan the one on the drivers side doesn't fit the transmission as tight as the passenger side one. there will be a new thread on that one..

 

I had to do a little custom job with a 2.125" inner diameter washer and RTV to seal the outer bore of the driver side CV output seal. I'll be letting it cure for 24 hours before I fill the tranny.... running B15 SE-R Spec V Helical LSD with stock 5.5 gen gearing.


while putting in all the other fluids I noticed a power steering leak. the new o ring I installed on the pump inlet didn't seal properly. it didn't look as thick as the one i took off, it was still on the floor by the old engine..

latest under hood pic.... I plan to clean and reinstall the stock power steering cooler with new universal tranny cooler lines (3/8")

 

Looks great.

 

thanks, I plan to do a lot more detailing under the hood once I'm all done. car is also due for paint job and new carpet.. took that pic last summer when I got it back from the body shop.... damage was from a guard rail i slid into in the rain...

 

Ahhh..

Man I remember your thread on this. I know your happy you kept this car now. Your first pull with this will make it all worth it. Swap Progress looks good, Great Job.

 

thanks, I'm in it for the long haul, I fell in love with maximas the day I borrowed my friend's 5 speed 4th gen for a day. once I found out the 02's came with a 3.5 and a 6 speed I started looking. she turned up in front row of a dealer I passed every day on my way to work, got her the next day. came with bad engine mounts, warped rotors and the throw out bearing went out three weeks later lol. the original motor even had the start up rattle the whole 10 years I had it from 175,000 miles all the way until 330,000 when I pulled the engine... one good thing I can say is the tranny still shifts smooth, I use Sta-Lube GL-4. the car wasn't babied at all, I probably floored it every time i left from a stop lol...