ok long story short I blew my 3.0 motor and I am deciding whether to pick up another vq30 for like 600 bux or go the real-mans way and swap in the newer, bigger, badder, vq35.
To do it the easy way(keep 3.0 ecu, chain cover, ect) and do the swap myself how much will it run me? I have been looking on car-part.com but I'm not sure if "engine" means it includes the transmission as well, as I've heard it can mean when referring to fwd cars.
also, I was wondering how much horsepower I will make. I know there are several vehicles I can take a vq35 from, which one would offer the least hassle/most power? will using my 4th gen exhaust tubing and ecu give me appreciable power loss? Will I be able to tap into the vast expanses of 350z parts or are there internal differences between the fwd and rwd versions of the vq35?
I was also wondering how much boost a stock vq35 can take safely. I know the vq30 is good up to about 8psi, is this the same with the vq35? I figure if i'm going "all the way" and swapping the engine/transmission I might was well throw in some boost for good measure.(sorry i'm too lazy to start another thread in boosted forum to ask this)

sorry for the n00bish questions but I don't have much time to search, I need to decide soon so I know how many hours ask for at work.

 

You should get the CAMS redrilled by Tilley for $50 and get JWT CAM Spacers. At that point if you can swap VQ30 engines then you shouldn't have a problem with the VQ35 swap.

 

how much do you think you can get the 3.5 for?
i'm interested in this in the future. i've spent about 900 on intake and exhaust components now i'm ready for some real freakin punch.

 

$750 for a higher mileage one.

 

interesting, i still need to learn alot about it though i'm sure. you think anyone will do a how to anytime soon?
edit- ooops oops

 

wow 750? not bad at all.... I was thinking it would be more along the lines of 1200. This puts it only 100 or so higher than the cost of a vq30...now i'm very interested indeed. This would allow me to add a turbo system when I install the engine with the extra money. How much boost can a vq35 safely take?

nice to know I can get cams drilled and spacers for only like 70 bux too!
I don't believe any of the hardware needed for the swap was damaged on my old engine(over-rev damage from missed shift), so this is starting to sound real good.

how many have done this swap now?

 

The vq30 can take allot more then 8psi i don't know were you heard that it can only take 8psi.

 

I'm talking stock internals though, and I mean reliably, like 200k miles.
how much boost can the vq35 take without any modifications save maybe bigger injectors and MAF?

 

Lots of guys are boosting lots more than 8psi reliably. 200k miles lol what are you gonna keep your max for another 10 years heh.

 

sorry to hijack, the 3.0 auto tranny would have to be built by level 10 or someone to handel the vq35 properly correct?

 

I got my 3.5 with 800miles on it for $1000 shipped to my door. I found it on car-part.com.

I don't recommend the swap unless you are very mechanically inclined and have a lot of time to spend on it. Otherwise, do a DE-K swap.

An "engine" on car-part.com does not include a transmission. Any FWD VQ35 will do-Maxima, Altima, I35, Quest, and the AWD murano engine as well.

 

i didnt know the de-k was that much of an upgrade?
whats so hard about the 3.5 swap that makes you say you should be very mechanically inclined?

 

There is a sticky with all of the answers. If you blew your VQ30 then there is 0 reasons to drop another VQ30. It should be an amendment to the constitution that you have to drop in a VQ35 because it is a literally the best bang for the buck.

People are ignoring my thread of VTC

 

It's a pretty big upgrade. You ever hear of the 00VI?

The 3.5 swap is a lot harder and requires more work than a DE-K swap. The 3.5 is not a direct drop in like the DE-K is.

 

yeah my dad was a mechanic tho so he could help me with the swap. I would need an engine and tranny unless the 4th gen 5spd can handle 250 hp+ 8 psi of boost

 

Rebuild your current tranny and cyro treat, shot-peen, debur, and polish the gears. Good luck getting any maxima transmission to last long with 400whp (3.5L + 8psi). Let's face it, our engines are top notch, but are trannies are garbage.

I think you need to seriously think about your reasons for wanting a 3.5 AND 8psi of boost. That is, without question, beyond the practical limit of FWD. Your reliability will blow chunks, engine management is a PITA, you will need new tires every month, and will not be very "streetable."

You can have a billion HP engine, but if the FWD in a maxima can only handle, say 300hp, then the rest of the HP is useless and counterproductive due to the wheelspin it creates.

 

I am going to have to call you out on this one SR. I am not talking from experience, but from what I have read so you have every reason to hit me back ... but ... If you have the CAMS drilled for you, get the spacers, and buy a Mallfinder 01-03 TB then how is the 3.5 any different from a DEK swap?

This is of course assuming that you use 3.5 IM and heads.

 

I am talking from experience. You have to remove the intake cams, mail them to Tilley, and wait for the elusive cam spacers. You have to take off all the timing components, inner and outer timing cover and transfer them over to the VQ35. This is not a trivial task for someone who has never done it before. You also have to modify the TB or find a mallfinder TB, which is like finding a needle in a haystack.

My point is that the DE-K is a direct drop in, the 3.5 is not. The 3.5 takes a lot more time and is a lot more of a hassle. Is it worth it? Well, that's for each person to decide.

 

Your sticky says, "Enlargen the hole in the timing case". Can a noob do this or does it require a very accurate drilling?

 

It's a piece of cake and doesn't require "accurate drilling." the inner timing case has two holes that don't line up exactly with 2 of the holes in the camshaft brackets. You simply need to make the hole bigger or dremel it a little bit so you can bolt it on.

 

I would have to disagree about the wheelspin. I have seen 300 hp civics that wiegh half as much still get most of their power to the ground. I'm not sure if I agree about the transmission though. Many people run 6-8 psi of boost on 4th gens and some of them have gotten 10's of thousands of miles on without blowing them. Not sure about realiabily of the new 6 speed, havent heard anything about it.
I don't think the engine management would be that bad. The stock ecu is proven to take at least 300 whp in the form of 8 psi of boost on a vq30, is 360 whp that much of a stretch? (I meant 400 hp at crank). If the vq35 is up to the reliabily standards of the vq30 shouldn't it be able to take 6-8psi of boost safely as well?

 

try it and find out

 

lol ok. I been reading up more, the engine swap seems straightfoward enough. Might not get it boosted, havent decided either way. I just don't know if I can muster up the money for an fmu, bigger injectors, fuel pump, piping, junkyard turbo+rebuild kit, maybe intercooler, ect... that I would need for boost.

I just really like the sound of having ~360 hp though, that would be insane!

 

Tilley is building my 3.5 as we speak. Cost is 1800 shipped with a 2k2 PF TB modified for drive by cable, IACV adaptor, drilled cams, spacers...everything. Also having Cattman Headers added to the package to the tune of an extra 800 bucks. By the time the swap is said and done I expect to have spent just about 3K. It is pretty much ready to drop short of the following:

1) soldering new injector plugs onto the 3.0 harness
2) attaching a vac line to the VI ( yes he has tested this and it works great just off vac with no rpm based equipment...0psi or full throttle opens her up)
3) have to cut a little bit off one of the coolant hoses

I questioned him on the whole topic of Return/Returnless fuel systems and he said an FPR isn't necessary since I have a fuel pump from a 300ZXTT pushing out 52psi standing on its head so the stock dampner system is all that's needed. He did mention something about having to bend the AC line a little bit in places but soldering seems to be the most major 'mod' for this swap.

This is a HUGE swap with minimal effort if you pay the bones to have someone who knows what they are doing build it out for you. The swap is cheesecake in and of itself. I've spent the last three years building up the surrounding car (axles, clutch, exhaust, gauges, SAFCII, LM1...the list goes on) to handle 300+HP both in FI & N2O applications. I'll be putting a 75 shot on top of this new bad boy and that should be a REAL screamin demon that WELL exceeds the 300hp mark. I'm taking indirect guesses that it will be closer to 350ish under spray.

 

I did my entire swap in my garage for around $1200 including motor. For only a few hundred more than a set of Cattman headers, I believe it's the best single mod you can do to your car.

 

You did a 5speed swap or are you still auto? 14.0 wow dude.
I want to do this but when it comes to the wiring harnesses I'm just confused

 

nah...its simple really. The color coding of the 3 wires for the injectors on the 3.5 is exactly the same as the 3.0. If you can color by numbers you can't screw it up. I was wiring retared until my first engine swap last winter. The FSM's really spell it all out for ya thought. Invested a good 6 hrs at least in translating the electrical diagrams to reality

I am a 5spd convert as well. Pulled 14.0@100.4mph last year with the 3.0 + 50 wet shot and a 2.6 60'. Ya puke I know. Can't wait to hit 12's

 

I'm a 5spd swap too. That 14.0 was with a slipping clutch and an ugly 60 foot.

 

I'd keep it auto but man, I can't wait to start.
Thanks for the info.
'Night

 

ya...you should definately be a lot lower than that once you get the 60' dialed in. I'm in the same boat..practice makes perfect I guess. If I could ever keep one setup for more than one season I might get better quicker LOL...

 

how well will an auto with vb mod handle a vq35 swap? and what kind of numbers will we be looking at with the auto? i know someone on here did a dyno of around 184whp but I believe there were issues with that.

 

The Auto will be relitavely slower and the reliabilty of the Auto will be quistionable, i have a 2k2 Auto and iam currently at 94 k and its slipping all over the place, come summer tilley is doing a 6 Speed swap for me..

 

I would say the reliability of the 5spd is questionable. My 2k maxima has eaten 2 trannies in 100k miles.

 

Maxs with 5-speeds tend to be driven A LOT harder than autos, and probably stand up to track abuse a lot better.

 

you can rebuild a manual tranny for ALOT less than an auto tranny...i would just do the 5spd swap...and if it's a 5th gen...6spd swap.

 

Ive never heard of a MT die every 50 k unless there is lots of power going to it, Obviously something is wrong..... Also it does not matter how much abuse a Manual takes if driven properly no gridning gears and stuff it will outlast the Auto since Auto's are prone to Slippage if driven hard.

 

It's even worse than that. The 1st tranny died at 59k miles and the 2nd is now dead at 100k miles. There isn't much power going to it either, 180-190whp.

It's never been raced. I've never done any burnouts. The 2nd tranny had redline 75w-90 in it since it was new. I drive 100 miles a day on the freeway and I always rev-match when changing gears.

I already have another thread dedicated to this topic.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....9&goto=newpost

 

If you did everthing right, like you stated, then why is it they die so easily on you, and not so much others?

When the seal failed, it probably went dry, or next to dry, and that's what caused the majority of your problem(s) ...

 

The 2nd tranny was put in the car in 11/03. The seal shouldn't be leaking when it's 2 years old. I could understand if it was 12 years old. Hell, even my pos 1988 dodge dakota never leaked oil from the tranny and it had 140k miles on it when the engine threw a rod back in 2000.

 

I think I remember reading a thread on here where people actually stated that the auto handles more power better than a MT and that with a VB mod they can be suprisingly durable. I may me wrong but maybe im just telling myself this so i can go ahead and do a vq35 swap and keep my auto lol