Well my maxima has hella problems now, transmission got toasted and now my engine has a knock from a piston arm that is loose on the shaft from a bearing im guessing. a mechanic told me to rebuild the bottom half but i dont know if im up for that Anyways i was wondering (from someone who has done this i hope) what has to be done to drop a DEK engine into a 4th gen maxima. As in what needs to be modify or changed over. ill be back soon!

 

i forget the name of the guy, but tilley swapped in a DE-K into his car. He has a silver I30

 

3.5 > De-k

 

What you're saying makes no sense whatsoever. Either the mechanic doesn't know what the hell he's talking about or you didn't quite understand what he was telling you.

Knock(ing) = pinging = detonation This has nothing to do with the "piston arm" (rod) being loose. If it was "loose," your engine would soon self destruct and prolly send the rod through the oil pan and make huge mess. Did you run your engine low on oil recently?

Did your mechanic say something to the effect of "it's about to throw a rod?"

Or did he say it was knocking?

You can dump in the DE-K. Everything bolts right up without any problems. You'll need to use the 3.0 wiring harness and transfer over some of the sensors. You'll need to splice in the DE-K injectors to the wiring harness. You'll also need an RPM switch for the VI.

It'd be better to dump in the 3.5 though. It would cost a little more, but I think it's worth the extra $500. Go read the sticky on that.

 

You have spark knock and rod knock mixed up SR-71

 

No I don't, max gordon does. He needs to clarify if he's getting spark knock, or if the rod(s) are "knocking" and therefore about to make a mess.

 

Sound clips FTW ..


95maxrider did the full swap ... or rather ekohb
http://www.forums.maxima.org/member.php?userid=8211

 

oh its a rod for sure, hmm spark plugs dont bang and leave metal in oil pan.....

 

it was 95maxrider, and if I recall correctly he did the swap on the side of the road!


I just want to comment on the statement of do the vq35 instead of the DE-K. The reason usually given (i'm not singling anyone out) is that its about the same cost wise, when I believe it really isnt.

VQ35= $800
Headers=$700
Clutch=$400
misc parts = $200

DEK= $600
msc parts=$200
clutch = $200
rpm switch = $60

I know my list is missing a lot but thats the general gist of its, and the price different currently is about $1k. If you do the DE-K you dont have to get a new clutch unless your old one has many miles on it. Dont have to purchase headers in order to squeeze what you can out of the motor. Installation isnt as envolving.

If anyone blew a motor and needed to throw in a quick one the de-k would get done fast than the vq35. (which was 95maxriders reason for doing the de-k over vq35).

I do understand why the vq35 would be more encouraged thought, better power output, and if you have to pull the motor and put in a new one, might as well drop a beast in.

 

You don't have to spend $700 for headers for a 3.5 swap. A y-pipe and the 3.0 stock headers would make almost as much power.

If quick (time-wise), easy, and cheap are the priorities get a DE-K. If you are willing and able to spend $500-$1000 more, and spend more time on it, get the 3.5.

 

i agree i still have stock exhaust manifolds off my 3.0 on my 3.5 and car feels great.

headers will be a final weight reduction mod for me when everything else is done i believe headers are all but useless on non precat maximas

 

IMAO, paying $700 for headers when you can get a ypipe for $160 is not worth the measly 3-5hp.

 

isnt headers needed to help unleash more power when swapping in the vq35? the stock headers dont flow as well(vq30). from all the threads I've read aftermarket headers will help you get more power to the wheel. not just 2-3hp but much more.

 

It's pretty obvious he was talking about a rod knocking.

 

Why the difference in clutch cost? You use the 4th gen clutch when you do the VQ35 swap.

 

DE-K = 5th gen clutch
qv35 = 6puck clutch. (dont know for sure if the vq35 clutch works good in there, and the 4th gen clutch might not be up to the new power)

 

On 02+ maximas, the precats are not in the y pipe, but in the stock headers. That's why putting aftermarket headers on 02+ maximas makes a lot more power over a y-pipe. With the 95-00 Fed spec, the precats are located in the y-pipe. So if you're putting in a 3.5 and will use the 95-99 stock headers and an aftermarket y-pipe, you won't lose much power over using aftermarket headers.

 

I've read that the 4th gen clutch can't handle the torque. There was someone that did the swap and kept the 4th gen clutch, only to have it slip after 2 weeks.

 

learn somethig new everyday. I had it backwards, I thought the 4th gen fed and cali spec had pre cats in the headers too. Well that definately makes the price gap between the vq35 and de-k much closer.

 

Theoretically yes .. but still has yet to be proven ...

 

Call me a ricer but i'd get headers just for the sound even if the HP gain was 5 HP on a 3.5. An aftermarket y-pipe just ruins the sound IMO. Low and dump-truck sounding...

 

+1 on the sound. Especially with a CAI

 

GAB + headers + VQ35 =

 

Well i called up tilley, cuz first off a 3.5 needs work to be put in.
2100(my priced shipped to wisconsin) from tilly or $1000 plus my time to learn about what im doing my self.
so i think VQ35=$2100
DEK=$600-800
so the VQ35 is awesome and will be fun, but will cost time or money in the end. I dont have lots of money plus i would like a car again, having to drive my moms/brothers car sucks. missing the reving queen maxima.

Also need a cherry picker, buy it or maybe find someone to let me use it.
So its all on how much time and money i want to put into to her.

 

You can rent a cherry picker for like $25/day.

 

Wait but the 3.5L would flow a lot better and hence make a lot more power with the Cattman headers as oppossed to the 3.0L.

 

depends on what you mean by "a lot." $800 for headers is too rich for my blood.

 

Well you COULD get hotshots for less than 600. But i see exactly where you're coming from though. 4G exhaust manifolds with a y-pipe will flow pretty well. Personally i'd get headers for the extra edge HP-wise and for that damn sexy sound.

 

eh when your gonna spend 600 bux on something, spending 200 more for a much better product just seems more reasonable....

 

Your logic is reasonable. But, $850 bucks for headers, which is nothing more than metal piping, is too much for me to stomach. To each his own.

 

i'm gettin my de-k for 300 shipped, and my vq35 for 650 SHIPPED.

 

Those are some killer prices. Do they have a lot of miles on them or something? I got my 3.5 for $1000 shipped, but it had only 800 miles on it.

 

Yes, please enlighten us and let us know where we might be able to get that kind of a deal

 

I put a DE-K in mine because my CAI sucked some water in and I snapped a rod. I think I would have went with a VQ35 if I had more time and knew what I was doing, I needed an engine asap because school and work. Swapping in the DE-K was the first time putting an engine in so it was a fairly easy swap. Heres the thread about it if you decide to do it yourself. The motor cost me $550 picked up with 7k miles and I got a cherry picker from Pepboys for about $100.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=422573

 

i'm jealous i paid 650 shipped for 21k DE-K

 

Wow how did you get that so cheap?

 

Does the DEK run the same timing as our 4th gens?

 

If precats on the 3.5L are so restrictive then WHY does a 01 DE-K with one pre-cat in the front exhaust manifold put out same power as 00 DE-K with fed spec (4th gen) manifolds ? Reason is, stock manifolds are "shorty" style headers, the exhaust ports are very small and don't flow as well. Cali spec 99-01 Maximas use the same FRONT manifold and precat as the 3.5L. Why do you think Stillen headers made 0 power ? Its all bout the long tubes and collector merger design vs crappy shorty headers/manifolds. I'm rockin HotShots on my 01 Maxima, and they deff put down more power at the wheels than just a Cattman Ypipe.

 

I just finished the de-k swap and im a kid with no experience, some ppl are saying its not that much different but mine is much faster then my old de, im running in the 13's with only intake , exhaust , it was pretty easy too, plus i didnt have the time to deal with all the hassle of the 3.5 , so i would say if u dont want to spend a lot and u want to do it faster and easier, get the de-k, i got mine for only 300 bucks something like 10k on it...also if u want i can tell u all the conversions and stuff i did to help u out, but u probably got that covered with all the other threads on this...

 

no way youre running 13s with just intake exhaust, but alright