First time I hear about this. Can anyone link me to a how-to? What kind of parts do I need, and how hard is it to pull off?

 

Basically find a 5 speed parts car. If the tranny is blown then get a new one from a parts yard. That way you'll know what goes where. From what I hear it isn't that hard but you'll need atleast a 36 hour downtime (with my experience atleast). You'll also need metric sockets, a good torque wrench (air tools if possible), a good jack and ramp set, and an extra person. Everything is pretty much there other than the clutch master clyinder and clutch pedal holes.

 

sell it and buy a 5spd from the start, it will never run the same way again after you convert it

 

Yeah, pretty everything bolts right up. The hardest part for me was the holes for the clutch pedal bracket.

5 speed tranny
Flywheel
Clutch
Pressure Plate
Shifter linkage
Shifter bracket
Clutch pedal
Clutch master cylinder
Clutch hydraulic line
Metal plate behind flywheel

You need a Haynes or Chiltons for torque specs and things like axles that may not be completely intuitive. Once you start taking the car apart it should appear fairly straightforward.

The manual says that you have to remove the engine to get the auto tranny off, but I didnt do that. I just undid the 2 front crossmember bolts and lowered the front of the engine an inch or two to get extra clearance. I also took off the cover on teh top of the trany and pulled out whatever I could (Thats the valvebody I think) for more clearance. We were able to wiggle it out enough to lower it down with a wheeled floor jack. Removing the 5sp tranny is much easier since you dont have that huge torque converter to clear.

And for the love of God keep track of your nuts and bolts!!!

You need a good set of metric sockets and combo wrenches. A torque wrench is mandatory, especially for putting on the flywheel and pressure plate. Also, it helps to have a 2'+ long pipe you can put on the end of a ratchet or breaker bar to get the 36mm axle nuts off

I didnt have a parts car, so I ended up making probably 3 or 4 trips to the junkyard, which is a good 30 minutes from my house. It would be easier to have a parts car right in your work area so you can easily see what goes where.

Another tip, if the engine wont budge from the tranny and you have all the bolts off, look again for any bolts you missed. It took me forever to realize I missed one by the clutch slave cylinder. I eventually got frustrated and dropped the whole engine and tranny, then saw that one bolt. Took it off, and the tranny slid right off.

 

Click here its for a 4th gen but the same principles for the swap and it is easy as hell.

Kikcaffine: y do u say it will never run the same??? i haven't heard anyone complain about the swap includin' myself. i know a guy that use to have a black VG SE up in New Jersey did the conversion and he kept sayin' his was messed up for like 3 months. eventually he sold it and bought an Infiniti. did u do something wrong???

 

Mine frequently idles really low and seems like it about to stall. I'm just going to check it over next chance I get, vacuum leaks, injectors, plugs, all that good stuff.

Once it hits about 1500rpm it pulls great, but it seems to stumble up to that point.

 

I haven't had any real problems at all with mine, tho the other night it kept idleing at like 2k but it was REALLY cold that night, and i had just started it, otherwise it runs great, I also sugest you go to the extra troublt of using a VLSD transmission from a VE, its only the axels, and the hubs that you have to change in addition...

 

Hmm, that dosnt involve messing with the wheel bearings does it? I wouldnt think so...

 

I have to say, this tranny swap seems awfully tempting..

One question to those who have done it; What was the final cost
including Tranny and misc parts???

 

cost depends on sorces but i would say anywhere form 200-2000$

i helped a friend do it for about 300$ but if we didnt replace the axles it would have been about 180

 

I think it ended up costing me about 350$, but that included numerous little things like food for the 2 guys helping me and broken sockets and a new axle and some other stuff.

 

Thanks Guys.. I'm definately looking into the swap option since my
auto is starting to slip.

 

So when you say around 300 dollars, is that going to a junkyard and getting all the parts? Or how do you come up with that price?

 

junkyard.

i got mine with all the parts for $180 plus $40 for a new clutch and i was good to go in less than 3 days and car pulls even better compared to my last 3 auto trannies. hasn't given me any problems since then ::knock on wood::

 

Would a transmission from a VE motor work on a VG motor? Is it the same tranny?

 

it will bolt up but you also need axles and hubs from the ve max

 

Hey newbie here. Im wanting to do this to my maxima but still had some questions. Do you have to change the ECU or not? Just wondering.

 

Nope, you dont need to mess with the ECU. You will have to jumper the socket for the neutrel saftey switch. I think Twinkle has wired up his reverse lights, I havnt looked into doing it yet so I couldnt tell you how.

The clutch in my victim car looked brand new so I reused it. Had the flywheel resurfaced since it looked like hell. Dosnt slip at all, grabs fine.

And if you can find a VE tranny you also get VLSD. I wanted to do a VE tranny swap but I couldnt find one. Maybe I'll look for one to stick in when this tranny craps out. Hooray for buying a junkyard tranny with 208k miles, a noisy input shaft bearing, and some weird metallic clinking at low speed.

 

don't need the ECU at all. i just ended up getting one just in case though. if i would've known about the VLSD from a VE i would've done that instead. i also know that Fugi43 did the same wiring for his reverse lights and cruise control but hasn't provided enough info on it. im not sure if the link i provided above applys for our 3rd gens as well when it comes to do the re-wiring for the reverse lights and cruise control.

 

The swap went fine, everything bolts up. The problem Im having is the Flywheel. The DOHC is 8 bolt, the Sohc is 6 bolt. Does anyone know what Flywheel I can use, someone told me an 88 300z so I bought a new fly wheel and clutch off EBAY, around $250..... They dont work. The starter wont work on it. Is there a different model SOHC that the fly wheel will work off of?

 

pretty much the only one is the SOHC maxima.

 

yeah... any 89-91 flywheel will work. that's the only years you could get a VG with a manual on a 3rd gen. 2nd gen flywheel might work as well.

but that stuff you bought might work on my z31 though.. what brand flywheel and clutch did you buy?

 

so how would you deal with the speedometer gear? or do you not even deal with that

 

you are using a VE 5spd or VG 5spd tranny?

 

That is not an issue. The gear is in the tranny and plugs into a harness.

 

oh okay. is the harness a direct fit.. like plug and play?