UglyMax

No I am not planning on doing it right now and I'm not looking for any ideas, but I was just wondering if anybody had ever done it on their car. That would be sweet. You would already be starting with around 55 hp more and you would have .5 more liters of potential power. I may do that to the 95 in two years. SWWWWEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTT.

clee130

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

You may be wasting your time. Why would you spend the 3k in the new motor, the 1500 for a new wire harness plus installs and labor... Just get a newer Max.

This flame could've been avoided by using the

SEARCH feature.

Have a nice experience at Maxima.org

UglyMax

HHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

$4500..........$22,000................$4500....... ...$22,000

Yeah I can see your point. That is pretty close in price isn't it? SHEEESH. And I did get on this board to have a custom Maxima. If I wanted to buy a new Max and just bolt some stuff on to it, I would have done that. Thank you.

clee130

No one has done it yet.

But you can be the first (along with the other 50 people that said they were going to do it).

Then you can post pics and laugh in all our faces.

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

4500 in parts if you have a hook up. Why not buy a turbo kit? and invest the rest, since your a math wiz.

I see that your new, and I'm sorry to be the first to flame. We criticize therefore we are, we take it and we give it. Use the search feature you'll like this place a lot more.

UglyMax

Cool. Well, whoever it was that just gave me the 50 other people bit, the reason I say two years is because of the fact that I have a 95 w/ 150,000 on it that will get me to and from school for the next two years. I am selling my truck and will get near $11,000 for it (give or take a few $100). I am putting that money into a two year CD and HOPEFULLY, if I still want to, I will have saved enough between now and then to get the engine, new transmission, and a supercharger in it. Then again I may change my mind by then. Goodbye.

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm He's a big talker, he must be under the age of 21. Let me check his profile

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm He's a big talker, he must be under the age of 21. Let me check his profile

Suprise Suprise Suprise, for god sake do the swap---actually if you are gonna put the money into it, why don't you put the Vq35DE out of the 350z? I mean why settle for 255-260 when you can have 280+.

UglyMax

Yeah I am under 21. I am..........oh, 7 months shy of 21, but what does that have to do with calling an ace an ace. I am selling a '97 GMC Sierra Sportside, 3 JL Audio 8 W6s, 4.3L Vortec w/ minor upgrades. It also has rollpan and sport mirrors. It has 73,000 miles and where I live will easily get $10,000. I am hopimg for at least $11,000. I suppose you are one of those a**es that believes that age means maturity. I suppose you've never heard of guys like Keith Richards. Oh well, closed minded will always be closed minded. Like I said before, I can't prove anything for two years.

UglyMax

My bad!!!!!!! I just saw the creative spelling rule. Sorry mods.

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

Naw I don't think age is a sign of maturity, maybe immaturity. I am although puzzled why you would by a truck with such a small motor... Oh well thats good for another conversation. I do find humor in your countless waving of unsold trucks and uncollected money around. You should stick around Ugly, your good for a laugh. In any case, maybe with your wisdom you'll see that dumping 4k or more in a 9-10 y/o maxima isn't the wisest thing to do. Even if you are talking about a motor swap, do you think that the tranny or driveline can handle that stress? You are looking at redoing the whole car from head to toe. In which case 4k is probably a crack pipe of an estimate. If you want to dump money into a car and have a real runner, put the swap into your v6 fullsize truck.

UglyMax

THAT is the problem though. The truck IS the source of money. I will only make about 7-8 grand over the next two years. I am in the final two years of college and won't have much time to work as I will be carrying a constant 18 hour load. The reason I have the V6 was not my idea. It was my pops, he convinced me at a time that I had not looked into cars or trucks with bigger engines. So I thought all would be good. Oh well, and I do know about V6 Vortec's and have done what few mods I do have so I do know enough about that anyway. Like I said in other posts, I am here to learn and learn I shall about these cars called Maximas. Later.

Maximus1000

First, welcome to the board, you'll find that the search funtion is your friend in your first few weeks here.

Dont mind SLCs comments, he has an Infiniti (kidding....kidding..). I do understand his point. Every week or so, a newbie comes onboard with a so called budget ranging from $100.00 to $100,000.00. The talk all big and bad about doing a totally custom turbo or some VQ engine swap into a first gen. Than after their big talk, their next post is something to the effect of "help me find the cheapest tires out there". Get the contradiction (not that you are like that)? It is *possible* to do the swap if you have an open line of credit with your mechanic and dont mind countless headaches. Heck in less than a year the new '04 Maxima will be out with some unknown engine...maybe a V8....why not that? Also, since you have a 4th gen, just do a rebuild and S/C it.

You have to realize that your car has some miles on it, and while reliable, will become a money pit for that type of swap with absolutely no return in resale. What if you wreck it? Do you honestly think the insurance company cares any at all how new your motor is? Nope, you'll get wholesale value for a 95 Maxima...aka not much.

All tha being said, you could do it, prove us wrong, and take over the board in a coup. Than again, you could come to your senses, realize just how impractical that would be, and live to fight a new day here.

emax02

iTrader: (1)

Damn, what is the deal with some of you guys? This guy comes in and want's to know about a very good motor swap idea and you all make fun of him? If you don't have anything nice or constructive to say then don't say anything at all.

Now for the motor swap. You can locate a VQ35 with low mileage for about $1000 and a engine harness for a few hundred more. You may also need another tranny but I'm not sure about that. If you install this stuff your self it should cost you less then 2 grand, infact if I had a 4th gen still I would really think about doing it. Take a look at www.car-parts.com for a wide selection of used car parts.

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

If I were ever to consider swapping an engine into my Maxima, it would be a VQ30DET... none of this normally aspirated jazz that I'm messing around with now

Dummy

reliability?

Maximan190

iTrader: (8)

we need more people like him on the Org

97GLE

From what I understand the easiest way to do the swap is to pick up a 2k2 block and heads, but continue using your manifolds, ecu, harness etc. There will almost definetly be some gremlins since this has yet to be done... but i keep looking at car-part.com and drooling at the thought

The major question i believe is transmission. Will a 5spd mount up to a 2k2 block? or would adapting a 6spd to the 4th gen be cost effective... i imagine if a 5 spd bolts up you will save yourself a lot of headache though by not having to worry about axles, mounts, linkage, etc.

why dont we continue this thread with intelligent posts, maybe we all can learn something.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Heads? How are you going to deal with the varible cams? Different front covers, different chains, sensors, ecu etc......


The best you could do(if at all) is use the block and see if the 3 liter heads work. If by some minor miracle the oil gallies line up and it doesn't raise the compression to over 11:1

speedy3gen

If I were ever to consider swapping an engine into my Maxima, it would be a
VQ30DET... none of this normally aspirated jazz that I'm messing around with now


what car is the VQ turbo in normally

02MaximizedVQ

The only way the Maxima community will ever know if its tried first. That was one of the most ****-headed comments I've ever read on the org. Someone is volunteering their time and it would be their money after all. And in the process we would probably learn some valuable information on the differences between the 2 gens.

Jesse

Maximus1000

Ethan, I think the whole point was the practicallity of this. I agree, we should all loosen up and not flame newbs for some remedial questions (a disturbing trend as of late...the flaming not the questions), but this guy may not want to be the test pig for such a HUGE and UNEXPLORED undertaking. Its like if I went and bought an old Beretta and asked the GM guys if I could shoehorn the LT1 in there. Admitedly a 3.5VQ isn't that outlandish, but the practicallity isn't there. Okay, he'll gain a whole bunch of power, but he could just as 'easily' do that with a custom rebuild of the engine and a s/c with a built tranny.

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

Nissan/Infinti Cima, This has already been done by some people on here-with the VQ30DET.

In addition, I love how people that think that them putting a drop in filter a re-build genius. No I am not one either, I work in the Operating Room and own my own business. Until this board never even knew how do squat to a car. But this is what I've learned thus far...

Different engine types although have similarities... use different ECU's and Wire Harnesses, you can procart.com these items, but do you want to chance your "low milage" 800 dollar wireharness? I'm not sure if you can pull for 2 of them one the first one is faulty. New ECU? Same rule applies. No a 5spd tranny doesn't bolt up to the 3.5, its been tried before, ,even if it did, the bell housing would probable poke out the wheel well a little bit. You would have to remount your engine mounts about 3 inches lower to accomidate the Upper Intake Manifold, and get rid of your FSTB. Oh wait some of the perches for the engine can't be lowered? I guess you're doing some custom welding and remounting. OMG there is a cross member under the car, I guess you have to remove that---There goes some structural integrity, not a lot.. but some. Now that everyone see's where I'm going with this, all of you 02 Max's go measure your engine bays and then go and look (Don't waste your time) and the engine bay of a 4th Gen. As posted earlier, if your last name is Gates, or Trump this can be done... but the question still remains...Why? If you want to do the swap, get a 2000+ Then do the swap.

carnal_c30

iTrader: (38)

some people said you couldnt turbo the Maxima... it was done by a few, and its sold even as a kit

if you have access to cheap parts and have the tools and know how I wouldnt be surprised to see it happen

how did a Northstar V8 find its way into a Fiero? how did a Vette engine end up in a S10? how did a V12 end up in a Vette?

Frank Fontaine

What makes me wonder is why a 2k motor is only 3600 from the dealer when a 98 motor is 5100. Then again, all that stuff is what, 500-600 used on eBay? You couldn't even get a motor that cheap for a 85 Volvo!!

Why not just wait 2 years and buy a 2k2 with 30k miles for 13 grand? You'll have your 255 hp but then again can you imagine that chassis in 2004?

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

We're also not interested in being blamed for a failed attempt, which will happen when you newcomers any glimmer of hope on something NO ONE here has done. Find me the person who did it and their posts will be stickied and they'll probably be made a moderator. You should hear the "unpublished" stories here of members who have attempted to sue other members due to incomplete advice that a three year old would think to research before attempting repairs on their own.

You as well as I know who the "experts" here are. Who among them has attempted this task? That's right: nobody. Most reasons revolve around the fact you could go buy a real sports car and have a Maxima for what it would cost to undertake such a swap.

Asking someone to search isn't being an ***, it's being realistic and also prevents you from appearing ignorant when you aren't. I can lurk on dozens of forums and get my info without making a post, why shouldn't that be expected of others?

Please keep in mind NO ONE here has done this and the undertaking will be quite expensive and time prohibitive. We are not responsible for what happens to your car.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Turbo < > Motor Swap

Turbo is a lot more practical than a motor swap. How are you equating the two?

Why isn't a VG30DETT in ANY 2nd gen and up Maxima?

Why isn't a VG30DET in a 2nd to 3rd gen Maxima?

Why isn't a VQ35DE in a 4th or 5th gen Maxima?

I would love for these things to happen, but they aren't realistic goals on some Nissans. Maximas are one of those it isn't realistic on.


Motor swaps aren't a dime a dozen like they are on Hondas. Having 4 cylinders, lots of engines available, and simpler ECUs creates a lot of the allure for motor swaps on Hondas and they are practical.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

carnal_c30

iTrader: (38)

My reference to the turbo well... there was so much complaining about how it was impossible or it wouldnt happen blah blah I know its more practical than a swap- but its the same idea when people just say it cant be done.
one thing about the majority of Maxima people is they dont have the same deep pockets to spend all the time needed to swap engines as some of the other auto enthusiats,and also the Maxima isnt a very practical place to put very high powered engines- all opinion
has anyone REALLY tried the 3.5 swap or has it always been dismissed at prohibitly expensive?

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Thus far, it's been dismissed as prohibitively expensive. The only Maxima I would attempt it on is a 2k1..........

emax02

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bill99gxe



I really don't see how responding to this thread with idea's would lead to someone here being "blamed". If your honestly afraid of being blamed for stuff you share ideas on I would classify that as a case of paranoia. Theres no sense in living in fear over sharing your ideas to attempt to answer someones question on a internet forum. 99.9% of the time you will be thanked.


I could count on one hand who the experts are here in regards to motor swaps on there maxima. The vast majority of memebers here lack the desire and knowldege to attempt a motor swap on there maxima. Also if someone has a high mileage 4th gen this could easaly be a very cost effective solution to add more power and quite possibly better the car's reliability (if done right of course) . I really don't think this swap would cost a whole lot of money if it is installed your self.

I don't recall putting anyone down for telling someone to search


The undertaking is only expensive in your opinion, it may not be. Of course with attitudes like this we may never know..


Have a nice day

emax02

iTrader: (1)

The engine bays are the same demensions from 95-01 so I don't see how a 2001 has a advantage over the other years.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Nice try Ethan, poorly veiled attempt at being as effective in a discussion as myself.

I didn't state you put anyone down, although I can understand that impression in context. Sorry about that.

Just like you had the ***** to do the NZ header experiment, someone else will have to ante up that much more cash to prove or disprove the swap theory. To most, the ends doesn't justify the rather expensive means relative to what you gain. Your experiment actually had potential. It was expensive, but not outlandish.

You've never been phoned by a member's lawyer and chastised/threatened to be sued because of what you have stated or recommended here, have you? It has happened before, and will probably happen again.


The 2k1's advantage revolves around the ECU/wiring harness issues and nothing more. It would most likely be less of a wiring nightmare the closer in model year a Maxima is to the year the VQ35 debuted. It has nothing to do with physics.

MaxedOut

iTrader: (4)

maybe i should try this swap... i wanna be a moderator i wanna travel over to the dark side

97GLE

From what I understand, from MardiGrasMax, is that the intake and exhaust manifolds do mount up. The variable cams are a mechanical function, not controled by the ecu, and the only sensor to worry about might be a knock sensor since all the o2 sensors will be from a the same car as the ecu.

Why oh why is there so much resistence to this, if you think its a bad idea, your point has been made, we hear you loud and clear. If you think this is stupid quit wasting both of our time and just dont post in this thread.

emax02

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bill99gxe
Haha! I love it

All righty.

This is true but the victory would taste much sweater if you could get the motor swap to work.


Nope, but if did happen I would get a kick out of it.


You will still have to change the wiring harness on a 2001, so there would be no advantage to doing it to this particular model year. Atleast not that I can think of.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

to your other comments.


You have to remember: I'm a dumbass when it comes to motor swaps, but common sense tells me fewer of those fun "unknown" issues will crop up when using a similiar vehicle with similar ECU setup, etc. 5th gen ECU is a different animal from 4th gens, etc.



For those who wanna do it: go for it. The moderator prize awaits.

clee130

Notice that when the technical discussion about the swap actually start taking place, the original poster is nowhere to be found. Several comments about this:

1) If you're going to be discouraged from a couple of flames and say, "Goodbye", then you're definately not cut out to do a swap that no one has done before.

2) If you don't ask and join in the technical discussion, then you haven't done enough research in the first place and not cut out to do the swap.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

All the varible cam systems I've seen in all the cars I've looked at, have their systems activated by an ecu signal(that used about 3-4 sensors at least) Since these the 3.5VQ is an infinately varible cam timing system, there is NO way, it could be a purely mechanical system. Even the dual cam phasing system in the VE30DE was activated by the ecu(and it's switchover was determined by at least 2-3 signal points)

What resistance?? Point me to Mardi's post and I'll take a look. I never said it's impossible.

I'll post where I like. Especially when they probably contributed more to the thread than most have.