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VG33E swap into WD21


Nefarious
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okay got all the driveshafts and front suspension back together. went around torquing all the bolts all over the truck. I made my old vg30e power steering lines work with a pipe bender for now. I'll get custom ones made later that are shorter when it bugs me enough.

 

The headers end up fitting perfectly after everything is together, I would highly recommend them based on fitment.

 

Pathy should be up and running in the next couple of days. I'll get some more pics up tomorrow.

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okay got all the driveshafts and front suspension back together. went around torquing all the bolts all over the truck. I made my old vg30e power steering lines work with a pipe bender for now. I'll get custom ones made later that are shorter when it bugs me enough.

 

The headers end up fitting perfectly after everything is together, I would highly recommend them based on fitment.

 

Pathy should be up and running in the next couple of days. I'll get some more pics up tomorrow.

We need pics of said header fitment.

James

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Got the torsion bars reindexed and back up with tons of room for adjustment now.

 

hooked back up all the wires... it worked out very well since the alternator harness already came from the other side of the truck i just pulled it over and it all plugged in to the r50 alternator. i pulled the oil pressure wire out of the loom and it stretched over to the other side where the filter is now. i will extend this one wire for neatness sake, as it runs in front of the motor right now to reach.

 

the truck is basically back together now aside from the intake box and exhaust.

exhaust work is happening tomorrow, i'll get some pics of how the headers worked out when im finished.

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Ooooookay. Finally getting to the last bits here. Got all the engine wired and plumbed in now and got the exhaust started, so far so good. Going 2 inch off the headers merging into 2.5 Y pipe transition then 2.5 inch through a flowmaster and to the side exit. Using all my old exhaust pipes (used to have dual 2 inch exhaust) to make the Y pipe and transition and I got a 7 1/2 foot straight length of 2.5 to make the rest with. Flowmaster coming tomorrow.

 

Here's the start of it.

 

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can see where i need to make my last cut and add one more angle to bring the pipe into the other and transition to 2.5 inch. angle will change where the black line is

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yes im using duct tape to hold it in place for now. i forgot to pick up a slip joint when i was out today. :P ill weld one on tomorrow.

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pipe will snake inbetween torsion bar and driveshaft.

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still have room to drain trans fluid and all that.

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custom pop charger. needed to ditch the air box as I wanted my power steering reservoir there. works out better anyways since I have headers and exhaust going on this thing anyways!! haha.

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plumbing is together and wiring complete.

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this side of the engine bay is basically empty aside from the battery now. tons of room (once it's cleaned up lol)

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Edited by Nefarious
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Oooookay so I got the distributor set in now, ignition is all hooked up again.

 

Finished the Y pipe today which was one of the most frustrating parts of this swap thus far, lol. Maybe if I had a lift and I didn't have to crawl in and out from under my truck about 4000 times to get fitment right before welding. lol. Oh well it's done now, fits perfect. No rubbing anywhere.

 

I'm far from an exhaust pro, this is my first time for an engine swap, first time doing an exhaust system, first time for many things really... lol but it should serve the function and should flow much better than what was in there "shudders".

 

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the Y ends up in a perfect spot really... ill weld in an o2 bung into the 2.5 inch pipe right there.

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shiny new wires eeeeeee :)

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altima dual electric fans

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Edited by Nefarious
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I actually looked for a Y pipe for this application. I did find one at lordco that would have worked as it was a straight piece with the other pipe coming in on an angle, which is how the pipes have to go. but it was 2" in and 2" out. that other Y pipe with 2 straight in and 1 straight out is wayyyy to big for where I wanted my pipes run. i could not find a very small compact simple Y connection with 2" in and 2.5" out so I made one. I am determined to run 2.5 inch exhaust!! lol. and I want both pipes to come together where it's 2.5 inch so there's no 2" bottleneck after the pipes meet. that's my thinking on it anyways!!

 

 

and wow are those your pipes before the Y on your setup?? where did you run the pipe across?? have a pic of it in the truck? lol it looks like a snake climbing up the chair :) hehe

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No, that's not the Y-pipe. :lol:

 

I actually have the Doug Thorley headers which come with a Y-pipe and end in 2.50" and here you can see my intermediate pipe:

 

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That pipeage you see on the chair is the tailpipe. It goes from the muffler over the axle and around the gas tank while clearing the upper crossmember. I was just showing it for fab comparison purposes. :lol:

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hahahahah okay just making sure I kind of figured it was the tail pipe lol. Those doug thorley headers look nice for sure.... I was just doing this as budget concious as possible, had a BADLY cracked stock manifold... like 4 inches long crack lol..

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I can't wait to fire this rig up tomorrow!! Should sure be a noticeable difference from my tired vg30e and horrible exhaust job/cracked manifold/broken studs with o2 only reading one exhaust bank.... previous owner was a tit............ now I need to find some 33x10.5 tires...

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yeah it's pretty much bolt on really, works out really well and is TONS of air to keep the pathy cool even going super slow on the super steep trails we have here on the island.

 

the top 2 tabs line up, you have to figure out a way to mount the bottom. I made a couple plastic tabs that I glued on to the body of the fan shroud where it would rest against the bottom of the rad, using auto goop. they let the bottom of the fan rest on the outside flanges of the rad where I drilled a small hole to put a screw in. i didnt end up using the screw after all though as just having the spacers in there at the bottom resting in between the rad and shroud puts a bit of pressure against it stops it from moving, it takes quite a bit of pulling force to get it to come off the rad so its not giong anywhere by its own weight. u could always put in a bolt or screw in the bottom into the side flange on the rad if u want there are many small holes along the edge already. really simple it took me all of 5 minutes to make it fit. lol.

Edited by Nefarious
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Great write-up man, loving all the pictures too. I am in the process of contemplating what I want to do with my truck, not a good noise coming from the engine (very loud ticking all the time). This swap has crossed my mind many times, and it is great to see someone doing a great, detailed write-up on it. Keep up the great work.

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Yeah I hear ya there man, I had that same lifter ticking. Quite loud even with thicker oil and I wasn't about to go through the work of fixing the heads without getting more power out of the deal. lol. I would personally do this swap (obviously) just based on the simplicity of it and the lack of wiring/ecu work. VG is a great motor to stick with and I think the 3.3 should have plenty of power for this rig! Especially with a few bolt on goodies.

 

I am gunna start this thing up tomorrow, I forgot to pick up an alternator/waterpump serpentine in all the confusion, or else I would have fired it up today! *doh* lol.

I'll let everyone know how it works out and get some more pics up of how I finished the exhaust. Also put in new shocks! :) This thing will be a new truck! haha

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I can now officially say no... I fired it up today!! Started up first try, I am impressed... No there are no wiring issues with this swap. You use the old 3.0 fuel/spark systems to run the 3.3. Depending on if you use the original 3.0 accessories or upgrade to the 3.3 accessories as I did, you have to pull the harness over to the other side for the alternator. It runs from that side already though so just undo the straps and re route it back, no biggy!

 

It sounds AMAZING compared to before. I am really impressed. Almost a v8 rumble. 2" outlet headers to 2" pipe which merges to 2.5" at the Y and is a short very straight shot of 2.5" inch pipe to a flowmaster and a side exit tailpipe. very simple and sounds great! ill try and get a vid up to show the sound...

 

I also forgot I had to plug the egr hole in the manifold!! Went all over trying to find something even the industrial stores only went up to 20 mm with a 1.5 thread pitch... I actually ended up giving up and went home and then I had a random idea to check an old 240sx transmission that I had.

 

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if somebody can find a part number for that little plug bolt, it is the exact 22mm x 1.5 thread pitch and is the perfect length to plug into the egr!

really did luck out on that one...haha

Edited by Nefarious
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just to add, all of the vg30e accessory connectors plugged right into the vg33e accessories. haven't checked a/c yet as I am not running a/c right now but I believe it is the same as well.

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just a small update....WOW this setup has POWER. My auto pathfinder is now faster than my 5 speed 240sx.... First time I took it off I wasn't expecting it I only give it half throttle and it peeled down my driveway and spilled my drink lol. This should be enough power for anyones needs!! That's with 31s too so 33s should still have tons of get-up-and-go!!

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3 stage powder coat job. zinc epoxy primer/gunmetal with metal flake/clearcoat

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a little wider stance now...lol

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cut/welded backs of the front fenders for clearance, no more sharp edges to tear tire with.

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finally some ground clearance!

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and now it has the power to push these babies!! still got tons of power off the line. will have to see how it does on the highway.

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2 stage powdercoated gloss black front bumper/bull bar. zinc epoxy primer/gloss black. put in all clear lights.

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2 stage powdercoated custom rear bumper. zinc epoxy primer/gloss black.

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Edited by Nefarious
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I agree. I broke the plastic door handle in the winter trying to open the door so I got the metal ones (which came in chrome) on ebay for cheap. I can powder coat those black.. and the grill I would like to paint gloss black as well. Too bad it's all plastic... Wet paint it is. That is much less important than finishing my lift though!!! :)

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Looks good. I have a few suggestions but they are just what I would do:

 

-Move the rear bumper up to compensate for the body lift

-Ditch that brush guard, it looks like its off a chev or something.

-Do a 3" SL so you don't have to cut out so much metal :lol:

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Looks good. I have a few suggestions but they are just what I would do:

 

-Move the rear bumper up to compensate for the body lift

-Ditch that brush guard, it looks like its off a chev or something.

-Do a 3" SL so you don't have to cut out so much metal :lol:

 

 

1 - i am about to make some brackets to lift up my rear bumper.

2 - i plan on ditching the brush guard... I have this to throw on to replace it. :)

3 - 3" SL is in the works but I'm still going to cut metal out!!! Bottoms of the fenders where much too restrictive, how was I ever gunna stuff the 33? :P

 

and yes I know a powder coater quite well.... he is me!! lol. I did all those at work for free wooooo.

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