# 94 vg30 engine swap.... .



## nizpathie (Jan 21, 2009)

hi all
i own a 94 pathfinder that has a failing motor (oil pressure light comes on when it warm up on idle, water in the oil and it also had a loud death rattle over 2000rpm....) any way ive decided to cut my losses and do a engine swap to a wrecker motor (same motor vg30e)
my questions is there any issues in removing the motor like hidden thing i should know
can i pull the motor out with the gear box still in or does that have to be droped as well... . 
ima hopeing to do the swap on a weekend is it a possible option or is there to much work....
any in put will be a great help chears


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## OkcOffRoader (Feb 25, 2005)

no easy way to do it, if its a 4x4 the front axle has to be dropped out because the oil pan WILL NOT clear it ....disconnect the tranny from the motor, unhook the cv front axles from the front third member, remove front driveshaft...removing the crossmember under the axle REALLY helps in dropping the axle, but i had to cut off two of the four bolts that hold in the crossmember and replace them, because they wont come out otherwise....i did all this in my driveway the firsttime, its a pain in the ass but do-able...here are a few pics, hope they help...











tranny bolts are fun...









the bolts i had to cut out, actually one bolt on each side had to be cut, the others came right out...









this is the crossmember, the axle is already out, i took this pic for reference, the crossmember has to be completely removed...









dropped the 3rd member...









now the oil pan will clear...









ta-daaa
















replace your clutch while your in there and turn the flywheel too...this is what mine looked like..


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## nizpathie (Jan 21, 2009)

chears mate
ive stated to pull the motor out of mine and yer its a 4wd in australia you can only get that verson here i got my motor today as well missing a few bits but i will plunder it off my old motor ill keep an up date of my progress and get a few pictures
ima put a new clutch kit in her , both crank seals and my be the rocker cover gaskets as the motor is out making it easer


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## nizpathie (Jan 21, 2009)

after searching around i have located a nother motor........
so now im going to c which one is going to be cheaper and im going to get it 
so many decsions hate how ya get held up.....:lame:


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## OkcOffRoader (Feb 25, 2005)

Keep at it, these are good little wagons....Ive put in a second motor since all of those pics, the first motor gave up at 315,000miles.... the second time around i got to use the shop i work at.. getting to use a lift was very nice!!and i bought a brand new Nissan Build longblock..added another $3000 in parts (brakes, steering, suspersion etc.) and some wheels, and now its ready for another 300,000 miles...










:givebeer:


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## vjquan (Jun 4, 2009)

OkcOffRoader,

A couple of questions for your engine removal. I'm looking to do the same on my hardbody pickup.

In removing the trans bolts, were they easily accessible? How many bolts are there? The driver side head seems rather close to the firewall and I'm guessing there's a bolt around there. Any tips/tricks?

Also, for the life of me, I'm trying to figure out the rear lift point. There's a bracket there with some mounting nuts, but no lift hole like on the front side. Where did you get that bracket shown in your pics? Thanks.


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## nizpathie (Jan 21, 2009)

hay hay i completed tha engine change in two weekends bit annoying

i cant meber how many trans bolts there are but that are abit annoying but quite possible with time. i did a couple wit just a normal ring/open ended spanner and some i did with a rattle gun, very long extsion and a uni joint

also with the lift points i dint have the front hook neather so i used the bracket for the power steering pump and the bolt that held the pump in place 

hope it helps I have some photos on myspace
MySpace.com - ..K|-|3||Y.. - 20 - Male - brizzy, AU - www.myspace.com/so_rather_b_riding


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## vjquan (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for the pics and reply. Mine is 2WD, so I don't have to deal with the axles/diff, but is an auto, so have to disconnect the torque converter. Any trouble getting to the motor mount bolts? Driver side looks like it's hard to get to, at least from the top. Seeing all these pictures inspires confidence. For the rear lift mount point, it looks like you just put a bolt through an existing bracket? Do you remember the bolt size I would need or is it some bolt from a removed part?


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## OkcOffRoader (Feb 25, 2005)

not sure how many bolts, but i think there was one less on one side..i got to the top ones from the top with a ratchet wrench....look at my pics above, one of them you can see the holes on the tranny, that should give you some idea....as for the brackets, those are factory lift brackets, if you dont have them you can get them cheap at salvage, off any nissan 3.0 found in many nissans (maximas, Z's, etc) motor mount bolts i got to from under the frame.........if yours is a 2wd, it MIGHT be easier to pull the tranny too...only reason i didnt is because you have to undo the torsion bars to remove the Tcase crossmember..i dont know how a 2wd is setup....


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