Oh I see. Yea you're right, I was assuming off by degree of alignment, not in the way you explained.

Hopefully debuloz or the machinists can work something out. It really doesnt seem like too big a deal

 

Oh it's definitely a VERY big deal. The camshaft will not physically install on the stock intake sprockets. I think it's possible for me to make them fit by modifying the camshafts, but I am going to wait until I hear back from Deluboz.

 

Just a question, but could you extend the slot in the gears a little bit? Or have a machinist do that for you?

If possible, that would be less dramatic than shipping cams around the country. Of course you want the vendor to make good on your purchase, but....

 

http://forums.maxima.org/6978403-post480.html

Yes, I should be able to get a machinist to extend the 2mm diameter alignment hole on the intake camshaft. I don't know what slot you are talking about in the gears. I am only having issues with the intake sprockets/cams. The exhaust gears have a slot, but the intake sprockets have a tiny alignment pin.

I am not going to be shipping the cams anywhere though. Were you referring to me sending them back to the vendor? These cams are no longer being produced. So we simply can't swap them for non-defective cams. Deluboz responded to my email and just as I expected, their customer service is some of the best you can find, other than NWP Engineering's customer service. I don't want to go into any details, but I just wanted to say that I speak highly of their customer service. And anybody who has dealt with NWP Engineering before knows that I know the true meaning of "customer service"!

So the plan right now is to hit up one of my local machinists to get him to extend the alignment hole on these intake cams. It will not increase the diameter of the hole, but just extend it so the pin will fit in tightly.

 

I guess I didn't exactly understand what you were saying - I forgot you're sticking with the OEM VTC timing parts. Nobody likes a hole that is too shallow.

 

It's not too shallow. It's not in the right spot. The pin on the intake sprocket is 30 thousandths away from going into this hole. So the pin just spins on the end of the cam without finding it's way into the hole. So I have to extend the hole so it's oblong, not make it deeper.

I'll post pics when I get this done though.

 

umm..



YES! this is what I would have done lol. Dude didnt I tell you that when I did the actual build for my engine, I didnt use adapters for my int cams, I drilled my sprockets! Saved me some $ there and it was easy as long as you are super sure the spot is right before you drill lol. Drilling sprockets is MUCH safer than drilling a cam billet. Screw up on a sproket, get another and do it again. Screw up on your cam... you just lost a few hundred dollars.


EDIT-
NEVERMIND!!!! What I said applies to doing this with 3.0 timing equipment.

You are right, you have no other way to do it BUT to re-drill the alignment hole on the cam itself. Sorry for the confusion :shinner:

 

You can't drill the CVTCs easily, nor do I even want to consider going that route. Modifying the cam ends are the only safe way I can go about this other than buying new camshafts all together.

Remember that I am a FULL ECU swap.

Edit: Your editing skills are very fast.

 

ninja edit


j00 no see me!

 

I recently removed the front jack point on the 3rd gen to make room for the 4th gen crossmember. I am in the process of making some mounting brackets that I can weld on my frame so I can easily bolt up the crossmember. I will be sure to post pics of those when they are complete within the next week or so.









One more pic:
http://www.nwpengineering.com/forum/...-Removal-4.jpg

 

I also recently did some porting of the stock TB and matched it to the elbow.

 

I'm surprised you havent removed the VE yet

 

And as you may have read already, I had some issues with the camshafts I got. The intake sprockets would not install due to the alignment hole on the cams being slightly in the wrong position, by about 25-30 thou.

I had one of my local machinists extend this hole for me and now the sprockets fit perfectly on the camshafts. I have now bolted the camshafts to the heads while the heads are still on the bench. Most of my valve clearances are just slightly out of spec on the tight side. They are only .001-.002" out of spec. I really don't want to have to buy a crap load of new lifters. Those can get very expensive at almost $20 a pop. I may decide to have a tiny bit removed from the valve stems to get the valve lash in spec. If anybody has any tips or suggestions, please feel free to post.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

 

I am going to do that on my friend's lift all in one day. In the meantime, I am prepping my 3rd gen to minimize the amount of work we will have to do to swap engines. And I'm just trying to get this VQ35 back together so I can finally get it in the car.

 

can't wait to see this already Aaron.

 

 

there is litterly no rust on your 3rd gen....damn!

 

Having an uncovered car sit under an open carport for 7 months will wreak havoc on a paint job. The tiniest little paint chips on my car are showing rust now. There is a paint job in my near future most likely.

Also, I removed the stock engine control harness from my Maxima last night. So my dash is completely ripped apart to access the firewall. I tried my best to remove the harness without removing the heater core components, but there was no way. Too cramped. Now I have to do a little studying of the VE FSM so I know what wires I need to run to make the stock TCM work.

Jim, got any ideas? I was thinking of just cutting the TCM connector off this harness and running all the wires myself to the appropriate connectors. I don't think there's that many of them. Inhibitor switch, speed sensor, revolution sensor, etc. I think that would require less of my time than cutting and pruning this stock harness just like I did with the VQ35 dash harness, which took several weeks.

 

I just removed the stock tcm and switched manually even before I got the Suprastick. I only used the a and b, lockup and the overrun clutch solenoid wires.

 

Oh I thought you said you ran the stock TCM for a little while with the 3.5 since you told me all it needs is the tach and speed signal to operate.

Did you ever run your stock TCM with the 3.5 engine?

 

Yes I did for a short period and it works fine without any connection to the ECU except for the tach and of course the speed signal which comes directly from the trans.

 

Yeah. How did you wire that up since the TCM wiring is part of your 4th gen engine control harness? Did you run custom wires to the inhibitor switch and any other sensors the tranny has on it? Or did you prune your 4th gen engine control harness and use all the TCM connections including the TCM connector?

 

On the 4th Gen the TCM wiring is separate from the engine harness so I didn't change anything except hook up the tach.

PS Of course you can see that the 5.5 gen engine harness includes the trans wiring and I just left it because I thought one day I might put in a 5.5 gen trans. That was until I remembered how it was when I had my 5.5 gen. 1st and 2nd shifts weren't too bad but the 3-4 is horrendous. I'll stick with the 4th gen auto.

 

Oh ok! Same as the 5th gen then. Sorry. On the 3rd gen, the TCM wiring is all in the engine control harness. I'll figure out something myself then.

Thanks!

 

I see. I've never shifted the 3-4 shift while spraying nitrous. But all motor, it shifts into 4th gear just fine. You said on the 5.5 gen, the 3-4 shifts were very slow, especially while spraying.

I just wanted to continue this topic some. My local machinist has a valve stem grinder. He will be able to shave each valve stem for just a few dollars each. Tonight, I will spend more time logging all the clearances and see if I can swap some lifters around to reduce the amount of valve stems I have to modify.

 

On the 4th gen, the trans and TCM connectors are on the engine control harness.

 

Maybe I spoke too quickly, on the 95 the TCM wiring is separate. I haven't checked other years.

 

It's integrated on my '95

What did you have, a completely and physically seperate harness that went into the engine bay alongside the engine control harness?

 

Yup, it does go through the firewall the same place but the wiring is totally separate. Maybe its a Canadian thing like the VLSD.

 

That's...odd.

Do you know what production date it is?

 

Yeah that is odd. I am use to all the engine control wires (TCM and ECM) being formed in the same grommet that fits on the firewall.

So Jime, you have two bundles of wires going through a lose grommet on the firewall? It's not a permanent type grommet like you would find on the 5.5 gen harness, right?

 

I just finished logging all the valve clearances much more accurately. The LH head intake side is BARELY in spec or only .0005" under the in-spec range (.010"-.013"). The exhaust side is as much as .001" under the in-spec range (.011"-.015") or is just barely in spec. Everything is on the tight side.

The RH head exhaust side is as much as .001" under the in-spec range (.011"-.015"). The intake side is a little funky though. Most are .010" but cylinder #3 is .006" and .008". So I did some quick calculating and switch the two buckets. Now cylinder #3 is .003" and .010". Atleast one of them is in spec.

So, since my local machinist has a valve stem grinding machine, I am going to take two intake valves (one from Cyl #3 and one from #5) and have him remove .007" from one and only .002" from the other. Then, everything will be in spec and on the tight side.

It may not be until Monday when I will be able to have my heads ready to put on the block. So I guess I will take advantage of this awesome weather and do wiring and soldering on my 3rd gen this weekend!

 

For a full ECU swap tho, you have to use the CAN system, correct? Or were you going to just bypass the CAN system and send the required inputs directly to your 3G TCU?

 

Its not necessary to use the CAN system. Its salso not necessary to connect the TCM to the ECU except for the tach. None of the trans to ECU connections are remotely the same in type or in number.

Aaron and pmohr I went out again today and had another look at my trans wiring and finally figured out what I did. It was 3 years ago so I'm a little foggy.

pmohr you are correct on the wiring being integrated with the engine harness. When I removed the 4th gen engine harness I separated the wiring for the trans and taped it up and ran it separately. It wasn't until I took a second look that I saw my taping job. Sorry for the misinformation, comes with age.

 

Sounds good. Thanks for posting that update. That's exactly what I will end up doing; pruning my VE engine control harness.

 

Nice, finally starting to see the "meat" of the project (re: crossmember etc)

I really don't want to have to buy a crap load of new lifters. Those can get very expensive at almost $20 a pop. If anybody has any tips or suggestions, please feel free to post.

Sounds like you have it all worked out via swapping and cutting valves, but if you end up needing any shims let me know, I've got a list of all the sizes I have if you want a copy of it.

 

Thanks Kevin. I'd rather replace the lifter than to machine the valve stems. I'll give ya a call.

 

Lemme get that harness when you're ready. Kthx

 

I have this style fuel pressure regulator on my VE. Can anybody think of a way to use this on the 3.5 engine? All I really need is an adapter fitting that bolts on the regulator that has a barbed hose fitting. But I haven't been able to find anybody that makes it.

If it's easier to buy a universal fuel pressure regulator, does anybody have any recommendations?

 

Have you checked to see whether or not it'll bolt up to the VQ35 fuel rail yet?

It looks to be just about the same, and I suppose you could mount in place of the damper on the other side of the rail.

The only problem I can see in that is the front bank may not get as much fuel as it needs, considering the crossover point in the VQ35 fuel rail is at the rear, instead of at the front like the VQ30's.

Where do you plan on mounting the FPR to the rail?

As far as universal AFPRs, the only one I've had my hands on that I can remember is the Aeromotive (like this: http://www.suprastore.com/aefuprre.html). When I was working at AAM, that's all we used for the return style fuel systems for the VQ35, and never had a problem with them.