# engine swap



## poobah (Oct 4, 2005)

anyone heard of putting in a 05 maxima engine into a 96? wondering if this is possible.


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## Shwyn510 (Oct 3, 2005)

some people have dropped in some vq35des out of the 5.5 gen max into a 4th gen chasis. very good swap, especially for the price. the 05 vq should fit, it is essentially the same as the 5.5 gen max. go to forums.maxima.org, they have a bunch of tech sections in there, aobut 20 people have done the swap there.


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## poobah (Oct 4, 2005)

sweet, thanks for the input.


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## Shwyn510 (Oct 3, 2005)

yeah no prob, go into http://forums.maxima.org and look up JCLaw, he has a 97 max with a vq35de.


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## alexnds (Oct 1, 2005)

*can vq35de be installed in a 3rd Gen?*



Shwyn510 said:


> yeah no prob, go into http://forums.maxima.org and look up JCLaw, he has a 97 max with a vq35de.


Has anybody done this with new engine mounts? If so I would truly appreciate the info. I obviously realize that the transmission that goes with that engine that can handle the power would probably be need to swapped in as well. If custom fabricated engine mounts can be made, will the longblock physically fit, in terms of steering column and so forth?

Any help would be HIGHLY, HIGHLY appreciated. If anybody fabricates new engine mounts, let me know as well.


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## Shwyn510 (Oct 3, 2005)

as far as i know, the whole swap is a direct drop, i dont think new mounts were used, but i'm not 100% sure. i heard they just used some polyurethane motor mounts bushings, and they used the 5spd tranny out of the vq30de out of the 4th gen max, direct bolt on. as far as i know, there is no issue with the steering column.


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## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

I actually have a picture of one from a Nissan Car meet out here in Dallas...I'll post it when i get home though


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## poobah (Oct 4, 2005)

the current engine has 265 horses correct? 255 torque. after the swap you gain all that correct. would it then make sense to swap the gauge cluster too? any ideas?


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## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

here u go....


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## poobah (Oct 4, 2005)

man that's sexy.. same color as mine too.


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## alexnds (Oct 1, 2005)

*Can the 3.5 liter motor be swapped into a 3rd Gen?*



poobah said:


> man that's sexy.. same color as mine too.


that picture is indeed sexy as hell! I think the 3.5 is simply a slightly stroked 3.0 liter, so it's bigger displacement on the inside, but probably the same external dimensions as the 3.0 liter. That's probably the reason why it physically fits in the same physical space. The engine bay, in my opinion, of a 3rd gen seems even bigger than a 4th gen, so I would imaging that it would physically fit as well.

My questions are as follows and I hope anyone out here can answer them:

a) Has anybody seen a 3.5Liter in a 3rd Gen?
b) Do you think if engine/tranny as a combo were used, it would fit?
c) What are the going prices to drop in a motor into a car and everything involved with that? (computer hookup and so forth).
d) What are the good sources of motors, specifically, the 3.5 Liter? I am not confident in junkyards, unless you find a car that has been rear-ended and the motor survived perfectly.
e) What is the cost of a fairly new motor vs a rebuilt motor? Long block vs short block?

I'm at a very serious cross roads with my car and I'm thinking a brand new motor is the way to go. Any help highly appreciated. I'm in the NY/NJ area, so if anyone of you can do this for, contact me and be interested in working with you on this issue.


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## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

if it can be done on the gen.2 then it can be done on any car...if im not mistaking, that guy told us that he used the same tranny...and that u see is an auto


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## Stephen Max (Aug 18, 2003)

To get all the power out of the VQ35 when swapping it into the A32 chassis, you need to swap in the engine harness and the ecu as well, which greatly complicates the job. The A32 ecu's ignition timing mapping is not aggressive enough to take advantage of the VQ35 power potential, and it has no provision for controlling the variable cam timing. A JWT or Technosquare ecu would be handle ignition timing, but you are out of luck with VCT control without a 5.5 or 6th gen ecu.

But you do get the increased displacement, regardless.

By the way, I am the guy who did the VQ35 swap into Dubbya's car in the pic above. I have a VQ35 in my garage that I am getting ready to swap into my supercharged '95.


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## poobah (Oct 4, 2005)

aren't the specs for the 05 max's 265 hsp and 255 lbs or torque? swapping engine, tranny and ECU would essentially get you all that correct? sorry i'm such a newbie. =\


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## alexnds (Oct 1, 2005)

*300ZX motor vs 3.5 Liter 5th Gen motor in 3rd Gen Maxima*




Stephen Max said:


> To get all the power out of the VQ35 when swapping it into the A32 chassis, you need to swap in the engine harness and the ecu as well, which greatly complicates the job. The A32 ecu's ignition timing mapping is not aggressive enough to take advantage of the VQ35 power potential, and it has no provision for controlling the variable cam timing. A JWT or Technosquare ecu would be handle ignition timing, but you are out of luck with VCT control without a 5.5 or 6th gen ecu.
> 
> But you do get the increased displacement, regardless.
> 
> By the way, I am the guy who did the VQ35 swap into Dubbya's car in the pic above. I have a VQ35 in my garage that I am getting ready to swap into my supercharged '95.


My feeling on this, is that if an engine swap was to be done, the motor, transmission, ECU and all accessories from the 3.5 Liter motor would need to go as a "complete" set to the 3rd gen car. Possibly a new transmission mount member would need to be fabricated. Possibly different engine mounts, but as a whole, the 3.5 Liter motor would fit. The other possibility is the 3.3 Liter motor from the Nissan Quest/Nissan Pathfinder, which is essentially same motor but with different fuel/air map to give it better low throttle response vs uppper end response, since it comes from a heavier Van/SUV. But, if one is looking for power, the 300Zx motor from that same time period (1989-1994) is probably easier to install the 3rd Gen Maxima than the 3.5 Liter motor from
the 5th generation Maxima, but I don't think in reality it is really easy.

First of all, the 300Zx was a rear-drive car, so all the plumbing to feed the turbo would not fit properly in a front drive car. Custom duct work would need to be fabricated. Secondly, the transmission that could handle the power output of the turbo motor is likewise designed for rear-drive. The stock Nissan Maxima transmission, especially in an old car, would break from the demands placed on it from such a powerful motor. Thirdly, wiring the ECU from the Z car would be similar to bringing over the ECU from the 3.5 Liter car. 

In terms of power, the old Z car, with the turbo, is in fact in the same power neighboorhood as the 3.5 Liter motor of the 5th gen Maxima. So power-for-power, the 3.5 Liter motor would need less fabrication work, because it's coming from a fwd car to a fwd car. There might only be slight work required to get the exhaust to connect. Assuming one could pull the transmission, all accessories, and ECU out of a crashed 5th Gen car, I think if you're looking for power, it would be an easier swap than the old 300Zx motor from the early 90's. It also would be a newer motor than a rebuilt turbo motor, so in fact, that too would be nice. Plus, the 3rd gen, unlike the 4th Gen, has a an independant rear-suspension, not beam axle.

What do you think of my idea?


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## alexnds (Oct 1, 2005)

*What motors will fit in a 3rd gen?*



Stephen Max said:


> To get all the power out of the VQ35 when swapping it into the A32 chassis, you need to swap in the engine harness and the ecu as well, which greatly complicates the job. The A32 ecu's ignition timing mapping is not aggressive enough to take advantage of the VQ35 power potential, and it has no provision for controlling the variable cam timing. A JWT or Technosquare ecu would be handle ignition timing, but you are out of luck with VCT control without a 5.5 or 6th gen ecu.
> 
> 
> But you do get the increased displacement, regardless.
> ...


I'm glad I ran into such a knowledgeable person. I'm considering an engine swap. If not the 3.5 Liter motor from the 5.5 gen Max, will the motor from Nissa PathFinder or Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager fit into a 3rd gen Maxima will less work than the 3.5 Motor? Much thanks if you have any info


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## brianw (Feb 25, 2004)

With less work?

No, not really, due to the electronics being the bulk of the swap and the fact that the engines you want to use all have CVTC, which Nissan did not have on the earlier engines.

You wouldn't want a Pathfinder/Quest/Villager engine from the earlier models as those are the VG. The `00 Pathfinder is a VQ35DE but is not significantly easier to swap since the fundamental electronics incompatibilities remain.


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