Well from what I undestand the swap is pretty straight forward. All the sensors and stuff similar to my 99 etc. Anywho.
Other then an rpm switch for the intake manifold what else do I need? Can I use the 99 tranny on the 2k1 engine? That would keep me from having to change cv joints out. But in the event I do get a 2k1 tranny what do I need to change just the passanger or drivers side cv joint?

 

what about the ECU and the rest of the wiring harness for the 2K1 engine?
is it cali or fed spec?

tranny should be fine.

 

I'm pretty sure I dont need the 2k1 ecu, the sensors etc are exactly the same as long as its a fed spec to match my car.
Unless I am missing something

 

i was wondering if u installed the2k1motor in ur 99 yet im goin to install my 01 ae motor this weekend and wanna know if im gonna run into any problems

 

What about just using the 99ECU for all the stuff on the inside and getting the 01 ECU to run the motor??? Does the 01ECU run the 99 Dash and all the other stuff?

 

uh guys, if you are planning on putting an 01 ae engine in a 99 or any 4th gen max, why not do the 3.5 motor swap. your 99 3.0 is basically the same as the one used in the ae or any 00-01 max. the ae motor only has a 5 hp gain from the exhaust system that is shares with the i30. imo i think the 3.0 to 3.0 swap would be useless, you are better off just modding the current 99 3.0 instead of spendin the $$$ for the same engine. imo my 97 se feels lighter than my 01 ae, therefore the 97 even with less hp (37 less than an ae stock) feels faster and actually may lay a better 1/4 mile time. i mean i may be all wrong here, but doesnt it make more sense to swap the 3.0 for the 3.5?

 

Correction my 99 has the same 190hp that all the other 4th gens have. So putting an 2000 + motor in with the extra ponies and torque will so great benefits in the 4th gen. Its an easier swap then to the 3.5 to.

 

To swap in a 00-01 is useless unless you blew your first motor and just want to get a little more performance but really want to stay 3.0, i.e. to boost it. If you want the performance gain of the engine swap then just swap the intake manifold from it. That is the easiest thing to do. There are supposed to be some other improvements but you probably won't feel most of them besides the IM.

If you want to see why the 5th gen may actually be slower than a 4th despite the power difference then look here
https://maxima.org/modules.php?name=30_comparisons
A good set of light weight wheels are a good mod for most 5th gens.

 

So it seems that swapping a 5th gen motor into a 4th gen would produce better results then a stock 4th gen.

I am considering an engine swap in the near future, but dont want to do a lot of fabrication. There a several leaks on my VQ that are just not worth fixing. I want something more plug and play complient than a 3.5 swap. With that said I believe a 5th gen swap would be ideal for me from an outside veiw. Are there any write ups for this swap? I will continue to search through the forums, but if someone could point me to the right direction I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Warner

 

222hp vs 190hp seems like a decent upgrade to me. Especially for the work it entails.

 

Thats what I am trying to figure out What work does it entail? I just browsed through all the N/A posts and didnt come up with much. I will try going through the 4th gen area, but that is a daunting task.

Is this something that my mechanic will hate me for asking him to do it? Should I try to find a more Nissan knowledgeable person to preform the swap?

Warner

 

I would guess you need the 222hp ecu also. And hope the all the ecu pinouts match the 190hp wiring harness. I would think it would... but I'm not the one to ask....

 

reading post #8 and the atachment the 3rd gen puts down more power than the 4th gen wow i know its only like 3-4 hp but has anyone bolted the third gen intake to a 4th gen do they match up ??? im just suprised the 3rd gen have a vairable intake and 4th gens dont

 

3rd gens don't have variable intakes, just VTCs.... right?

The VTCs were not used in the 4th gen engine cuz the lighter internals and improved design gave enough of a performance gain even without VTCs.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong....

 

You're right. The 00-01 motors are pretty much the VQ's version of the 1992-1994 VE motor in that it likes top end power.

VGs and normal 95-99 VQ's are both respective engine's "non-variable" versions. They're also engineered more for low end torque and mid-range than anything.

VG=160 hp, 181 lbs-tq
VQ=190 hp, 205 lbs-tq

VE's and DE-K's are comparable in the same sense. Top end, but not much more torque than the "normal" versions.

VE=190 hp, 190 lbs-tq
DE-K=222 hp, 217 lbs-tq

So, the De-K may have a whopping 32 HP over the 4th gen version, but the torque increase is only 12 lbs-tq for a 200-250 lbs difference (and heavier wheels). Surely the VQ30DE-K swap would be nice in a lightweight 4th gen, but it isn't really less hassle than a VQ35 swap, really...

IMO just swap the VQ35, you're going to regret it later. It's not just the displacement increase, the valvetrain is better, the cams are better, the heads flow more, the engine is 35 pounds lighter than the VQ30, and if you're into top end power, a manifold like the one SR20DEN has will always yeld much greater results than the same setup on a VQ30. You'll never get 250whp+ on a VQ30 without FI or more N/A work than it's worth going throw. With a VQ35 250whp can be had with bolt ons and some A/F tuning.

The VQ35 swap isn't that hard if you don't do anything stupid (like trying to do it in a different way, like me, and lose money in the process ) and stick to the bluebrint Tilley used. Plus, VQ35's aren't much more expensive than VQ30's. Plenty of them available for 800$ with less than 30k.

 

Like it has been said before, a DE-K swap isn't worth it. A drop-in VQ30DE with a 00VI is the best way to go since the VI is where most of the HP increase comes from. And no the DE-K doesn't have special lighter internals like some on here have said.

 

Okay...you all need to be patient with me. I'm a total car idiot in terms of engines. My area of expertise is computers. But anyways, I recently bought my brothers 97 GXE (150kmi) for the bargain price of $500. Put like $2,000 into for various sensors and suspension work. But seeing as the engine has 150kmi on it...I don't really want to spend the $2,500 that I did on the car and then junk it in a short while. So I started considering a swap. I've been reading this forum but like I said, engines aren't my thing. My question is, can I take a 5th generation motor and put it into my Maxima without doing heavy duty work (My dad is good with cars but I don't want to kill him with my request...and i'm defintly not willing to pay a mechanic. Labor will cost me an arm and a leg)? I have buddies that buy cars on auctions and fix/sell them so I can probably get a totalled 5th gen. and take the engine out of it...for cheap. I'm wondering if this is a viable route to take or should I just look to get a new car period? Thanks everyone.

 

Since you got a 97 for 500$, keep it. Check www.car-part.com for used VQ35DE's. Plenty of them for 800$. You only need the engine, not the car, because you re-use all 3.0 wiring and ECU.

You don't need "custom work" per se. Motor mounts will bolt up, headers are the same. VQ35 is not physically bigger than VQ30. Mold is same. The basic idea is to use all 3.0 sensors on the 3.5. But you need to send Tilley your 3.5 cams to get spacers and have the cams drilled in order to use the 3.0 timing cover, gears, chains, water pump and oil pan on the 3.5.

Do yourself a favor. Make lots of coffee and read throughout the All motor forum, it's only 7 pages' worth.

We really need to make a complete F.A.Q about this soon. I'd be willing to write some of it but can't provide pics.

 

Thanks alot JClaw. Very much appreciated. I actually checked Car-Parts.com right after I posted to see how much a used engine would cost. Thanks again.

 

Well I'm most likely going to be throwing in a new engine since my VQ recently died, and from talking to Tilley, he had it sound like the 3.5 swap is far more involved than a DE-K swap. He said he could get a DE-K for like $600, and it would take about 8 hours of labor to get it in. Compared to a 3.5 which costs $800+, and would take more than twice as long to install properly, I'm going to go with the DE-K, no question.
Now if I had some disposable income, I would love to go 3.5, but that is out of the question for the moment.

 

3.5 has much more potential than De-K though. SR20DEN has 263whp without cams or ECU tuning.

It doesn't cost much more if you do it yourself. If you get someone else to do it it will always be expensive.

 

[QUOTE=JClaw]3.5 has much more potential than De-K though. SR20DEN has 263whp without cams or ECU tuning. [QUOTE]

I think he has a TS ecu??? And a AFC and lots of hours of dyno tuning.

 

His TS is apparently only an extended rev cut (7.5k I think).

 

Well i'm only for looks and so I have a car to drive. I'm not about horsepower. A stock 3.0 Maxima is fast enough for me. If I wanted speed i'd go for a rice burner such as an Integra GSR or Si. I want something that looks nice, drives nice, and gets me around. So thanks for your input JClaw. Greatly appreciated.

 

Huh?

 

A GSR teg is no faster than a 4th gen 5sp but whatever...

I just think nissan should have shoved the 3.5 in the A32 platform before changing it...

 

hey i live right over in amsterdam im getting a 3.5 swap in my 96 max right now at tilleys. Maybe taking a look at my car could persuade you

 

I wish I was in the US too. It's like I'm the only one in Canada doing this swap

 

You won't be forever... I'm planning on doing a VQ35 swap too (I'm in Ontario), but it likely won't be for a year as I'm purchasing a house first so the money won't be available.

It does suck up here in Canada though as far as shipping, taxes, duties, availability of things goes though doesn't it?! It's so much easier down there in the US...

Next time I'm up Montreal way I'll have to look you up and check out your car...

 

Hey I have another question. I've been looking at various engines. I'm looking at one that's being sold for $1200 and it's has 2kmi on it, which is why i'm looking at it. But I believe it's from an SE. When you guys were refering to "3.5" Were you talking about the SE engines? Because if thats the case, then I don't want it. To much work. I want as much plug and play as I can get out of this job. And another thing, what is DE-K?

 

If you don't know which engines came in which Maxima, or what the engines are called, you might want to reconsider this project.
3.5's were in all 2k2+ Maximas
VQ30DE-K's were in 2k and 2k1 Maximas

 

Yeah, I know the 5th and 6th gens come with 3.5's. And like I said before, i'm strictly looks, hence the reason why i'm engine illiterate. The only reason why i'm in this forum is because I want to do a swap to an engine with less miles. I wanted to know how much work is involved.

 

yes just get a 00-01 engine then all of your 97 sensers and things can be swaped over and you can put your stock IM back on and sell the 00-01 IM's to me. The dek does have better things that nissan did to it over the 95-99 engines and there lower miles so go with that

 

If I get an 00-01...is it basically plug and play like another 97? If not, what do I have to do?

 

Because I found a 2000 Motor with 12kmi for 600 bucks. And if what you say is truly correct, then i'm so getting that (if my parents let me of course).

 

yes but you have to transwer 99% of things from your 97 motor to your new 00 motor but you cant use the 00 inatake manifolds thats why i offered to buy them

 

So I would only have to put my 97 manifold on the 00 engine? Other than that I just swap everything and drop it in and connect everything? If the only thing i'll have left over is my old engine and the IM then sure, i'll sell it to you.

 

You can't use the DE-K manifold in a 4th gen? Since when? Or are you just trying to get his IM?

You say transfer 99% of things, does that include KS, alternator, starter, etc parts like that?

 

Oh ya.... Before you get the engine, ask for the VIN# to verify the miles are true. It should be stamped on the block.

 

Usually they will not include the alternator, starter and A/C compressor, they like to sell those separately. But yeah all of those things will swap over.