Nefarious

oh also does anyone know if i will need the xterra/frontier block/accessory brackets as welll... im assuming they are different...

soooo was dropping the motor in today and i have overcome all the other headaches only to be faced with the last major headache....and its a painful one. the power steering pump isnt clearing the steering box dropping it in together... i need another 3/4 inch to squeak it past which is just not there its very close. i am hoping if i dro pthe pump and then drop the motor that i will be able to get the pump on where it sits... i assumed there would be room but hopefully i didnt assume too much... lol... well ill try that in the morning otherwise i guess i will be going to the junkyard to get an xterra pump/alternator *sigh*. the pathy alternator isnt the same just flipped around is it ?? also the frontier is the same as the xterra with accessory layout, yes???

okayyy the motor is all together and ready to go in, got a hoist lined up from a buddy. figured out what im gunna do with the a/c as well. just going to use the r50 ac pump with my currently converted r134a system. i have the aluminum lines from both vehicles im just gunna splice the end connectors that go to the a/c compressor with my existing factory lines. they go to the same location im just either gunna get them welded on from a buddy whos an aluminum welder or just use some flared fittings. using the old r50 power steering hard line and r50 pump, just a little tweak in the thin part of the line and it fits right up. this swap is a lot easier so far than i originally thought. ill get some more pics once the motor is back in and show how i adapted various things.

assembled fuel rail, lower intake manifold, new plugs, thermostat housing, coolant pipes. motor is going in tomorrow!!

yeah i kind of figured the gaskets made a difference... i used the matching 3.3 gaskets with the 3.3 lower manifold and the 3.0 upper manifold. well now im glad i did that after reading mr. 510s post. now i know to swap the lower manifold and gaskets both from the 3.0 if i ever have any problems with leaking. so today i got the intake all assembled, the injectors and rail and all the injector harness all together. just need to index the torque converter back into the transmission, swap the a/c bracket over and it's ready to go back in. seems like im going to beat the snow after all!! btw just a note... i used the factory r50 oil pickup tube, it went to the same spot in the deep sump , same level off the bottom of the pan. it didnt quite fit at first but it was just minor rubbing on the pickup tube in the shallow part of the pan.. the pan has a couple divits in it in the far shallow end. i just "persuaded" one of the divits down maybe 1/8th inch and it fit up perfectly. so u don't actually have to buy an xterra pickup if you dont want. just a thought.

really now.... well that's really good to know i noticed that the 3.3 uses a lot thinner head to lower manifold gaskets. that was the only difference that i found.. the 3.0 were much thicker metal gaskets with rubber inserts and the 3.3 uses very thin sheet like metal ones like the lower to upper gasket seal. maybe this thinner gasket switch wasnt a good idea ?? hmm well i'll try it how it is with a nice silicone sealant job and see if it leaks, if it does then maybe ill switch the earlier 3.0 lower plenum and gasket set over... really want to avoid buying more gaskets for now if i don't have to. i can always re do it next year when the pathy is getting a turbo.

drilled out broken ez out and broken lower intake manifold stud out of the head of my vg33e about to go in. also retapped the hole and put in new stud. ready for assembly now.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/393694_10150952700855504_764055503_21609209_1739995663_n.jpg the stud on the right was broken off flush with the head.. http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/391869_10150952700645504_764055503_21609208_1034562634_n.jpg hard to see in this pic but if u look close at the top left stud u cant even see it, it was broken off so flush. previous owner left me with a present:)

yeah when I spoke with nissan they said it was an O-ring as well... They didn't know what I meant with a flat gasket either.. hmm I suspect us in Canada get the old parts? Lol... I know with my z32 300zx in canada we didn't get a recall for a power transistor unit that controls the coil packs. We have to buy it here, and we get the same part prone to failure. In the u.s. they get an updated version that isn't prone to failure.. and for free. strange.. a note on the swap... *sigh* when I took off the lower intake manifold i noticed someone had already broken off one of the studs flush with the head... so i had the fun adventure of dealing with that. first tried not-so-ez-out. dumbest idea ever, the bolt was extremely stuck even after torch, i doubt ill ever use one of those again. it broke off in the drilled out hole in the bolt... off to the local industrial store to get some cobalt bits...drilled out the hardened steel ez out, then drilled out the whole bolt down into the head*sweating the whole time*. eventually the bit popped through the bottom straight dead on the hole and i had a sigh of relief. i then rethreaded the entire hole and put in a new lower intake manifold stud.... so that was about my whole day right there considering its freezing and only warm enough to work for 4 or 5 hours a day on this rig lol. anyways its done now and i have 4 studs again.. assembling intake tomorrow and hopefully dropping in the new motor!!! then its just hookup and exhaust and she is done.

I haven't actually installed those bushings but I know where the bushings are! lol. There are 2 big fat bushings in the middle of the front differential mounts. If u get under there look where your diff is bolted to the suspension crossmember. it replaces those big fat rubbers in there with the drop bushings.

for the wiper issue that is your wiper amp that has gone bad. i had exactly the same issue with the same symptoms in my 240sx. it was a little green box in the engine bay, i think it's brown in the pathfinder. i would try replacing that first, i got mine or 5$ at the wrecker. for your dome light you might just have some loose or dirty contacts in the light? i also had a dome light that would only work sometimes with the doors but if i smacked the dome light itself a couple times it would work. just cleaned the contacts and it was fine. worth a shot??

hmm.. well I suppose I will continue to wonder. I'm sure the o-ring will be okay absolutely pouring where im at on vancouver island..not getting much done today I don't think...

Dismantled VG33E brackets and plenum, fuel rail and injector harness, and cleaned the upper part of the motor. Drilled out OBX headers to fit bigger 10MM exhaust studs.

hey also... the nissan parts guy said the gasket is actually an o ring. is there a gasket that is better or is the o-ring fine? i thought i remembered reading somewhere that a gasket there was better... maybe im mistaken.

well then maybe I shouldn't feel so bad about it. hahaha. on a side note.. got my steering/balljoint kit today from ebay! 180 bucks shipped for idler arm, centerlink, balljoints(4), inner outer tie rods(4). i have used parts from the same seller on my 240sx for the last 2 years and so far they are still tight like new, so hopefully these ones last on my pathy too!! sure will be better than what's in there now...

I think I'm going to attempt this one. I like running anti-roll bars on the road as I'm used to driving a s13 and a z32, i can definitely feel the difference on-road. they suck on the trails though!! I've got the extended energy suspension front sway bar bolts as well so it should make it a little easier to work with. I'll post pics up when I do it.

I have a brush/grille guard on my pathy but it is not the oem one. it is a lot bigger from another truck. i am currently in the process of making custom mounts to reinforce it all to the frame from the bottom and the top with some triangulation for strength, ill show ya what i mean when i get done with my engine swap and get time to finish it.

This forum is the best, seriously!!! You guys are so much help thanks a lot. Wish I could buy ya a beer.

Okay awesome an '03 will work. perfect, that's exactly what I needed to know. 35 bucks is what they want, kind of stupid but I need it fast so what do ya do??

awesome thanks a lot dude i really appreciate that.

i dont understand why they would be differnt on the same engine... beats me

so major question here. i phoned nissan to get a oil pickup tube from a xterra with a vg33e. he said there are 3 seperate part numbers for oil pick up tubes for 3.3 xterra. one for 99, one for 2000, and one for 2001-200X. which year oil pickup should i get ???

oh really yeah man that would be awesome if you could dig that up for me!! i am planning on just using the current r50 pathy accessories for now cause i need to get this thing winter ready, the r50 steering pump looks smaller but it should work at least somewhat until i have more time (after the snow is gone) to switch it over to xterra/frontier accesories (which are laid out similar to the wd21 pathfinder, correct?)

mr 510 - yeah man the torque converter is a pain!!! i couldnt believe there was no access. I just remembered how easy it was to pull the 3.3 we just pulled it with the converter attached as well. I was already so bloody and cold i just wanted it out. if it was stiff if any way i was gunna keep at it but it just slid off once i got the last engine bolt out so i think it's fine. there was no real pressure on it. hey if it ever goes that's just more reason to swap in a 5 speed manual right ? actually there are new plans accumulating now as my mom's boyfriend has a spare z31 turbo, ecu, and exhaust manifolds sitting around which might be getting fitted to my new 3.3 with an exhaust stack and a snorkle for underwateryness

yeah I was about fed up with the torque converter I just wanted it out lol so sick of being under that thing but yes I am definitely going to reindex it into the trans before re installing. it broke loose really easilly it came out just as easy as any manual ever has and everything looks clean and tight still. I will definitely inspect the tranny seal but it looks good. the motor came out really smooth it just kind of slid out. no pulling or tugging or shaking. yes my 240sx tow car came in handy there!! i got a bad shoulder I been working with for the last 6 months from a work accident so i wasnt about to try and hand bomb that hoist back on a gravel driveway lol. KA24DE towing power!!! lol