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1999 JR50 Engine Swap


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I ran my QX4 through very deep mud/water and completely destroyed the engine. This thread will not be a "how to" but will be a place for pictures of the swap and also a place where I will gather advice for others who may be embarking on the same journey.

 

I will try to be diligent with pictures and video but everyone knows how it goes when it gets tough; pictures take the back burner.

 

I am hoping to be able to leave my A/C system intact, basically laying everything over and out of the way. I don't want to have to try to recharge the A/C system and it works so so good.

 

I am hoping to disconnect the exhaust AFTER the precats since I am going to have a hard time getting to the precats off the exhaust manifolds.

 

I am hoping to be able to drop the engine and trans down a bit so I can reach the top to bell housing bolts. Anyone have experience with dropping the crossmember down a bit to allow easier access to those bolts?

 

I found my new engine today for $583 and it has 138k miles. I go next Saturday, or maybe one day throughout this coming week if I can take off work early, to pick up the engine. It looks like it's in pretty good condition. I looked into the valve covers and there was no rust or sludge so I feel like the engine was taken care of. Also there is a 30 day warranty which covers excessive oil consumption, knocking, smoking, and/or any detrimental engine issues that may cause the engine to stop working.

 

I have to tear out my carpet(STINKS) and get the blown engine out before next Saturday. I'll also have to go buy a cherry picker and some 4x4 posts to cut up.

 

I don't really have a solution to keep all the bolts organized outside of sandwich bags, which I will probably end up doing unless there is a better cheap idea.

 

Michael

 

 

 

 

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Edited by onespiritbrain
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I don't really have a solution to keep all the bolts organized outside of sandwich bags, which I will probably end up doing unless there is a better cheap idea.

 

Michael

 

 

 

 

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Cardboard. Using a sharpie draw whatever mating surface/part on the cardboard and poke holes where each respective bolt goes, then just put the bolts in the holes. Makes it super easy to know exactly where each one goes back. Couple this with some extra large zip locks so you don't loose the bolts if it's a longer project.

 

 

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I have always had luck with an impact wobbly, lots of extensions and an impact to get the top bellhousing bolts. I usually do the bellhousing bolts from back behind the tcase. I have only done Fords, Chevys, and one Subaru, never a Nissan.

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Cardboard. Using a sharpie draw whatever mating surface/part on the cardboard and poke holes where each respective bolt goes, then just put the bolts in the holes. Makes it super easy to know exactly where each one goes back. Couple this with some extra large zip locks so you don't loose the bolts if it's a longer project.

 

 

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Well THAT didn't work so well-lol. Was going to add: use pics in conjuction w/your cardboard and notes on the cardboard too. Use a zap strap run through 2 holes in the c/board to hold any nuts you come across.

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Well THAT didn't work so well-lol. Was going to add: use pics in conjuction w/your cardboard and notes on the cardboard too. Use a zap strap run through 2 holes in the c/board to hold any nuts you come across.

That makes it 100 times better haha

 

 

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So I see why Harbor Freight is cheaper.. the workmanship is pretty poor, as you can see in a couple of those pics.. took a while to put together too. A solid hour. I think she'll do just fine though! Sturdy enough for sure.

 

I am going to try to pick my new engine up tomorrow! Whew, I really need to get my carpet out.. it is wretched!

 

 

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She needs work.. but I am excited! I am very disappointed about the wiring harness...... what can I do though. I am seriously thinking about buying a couple engine stands.

 

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She's been in the rain for a couple years.

 

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Looks like my old motors did, rusty. The fluid is in decent health.

 

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The important holes are all covered.

 

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Lol they were like, "nah brah, just leave those on there"

 

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Leaking valve cover.. new gaskets!

 

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That is some sort of white rtv silicone, I think.. does anyone know if that is there from factory? I'll be able to get a better look when I get ready to do the rear main seal.

 

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.....................I want to cuss.. why.. just why??!?

 

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That's going to need a tap. Good thing I bought a set!

 

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Intake will have to be cleaned. I think my muddy water ingested intake might be cleaner.. hah!

 

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I've got my work cut out for me.

 

 

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It's going good so far guys. I've got most of everything disconnected from the top. Thursday I will go over the top thoroughly and then I'll move on to bottom. I dread the cps and bell housing bolts and I am hoping to unbolt the engine mounts without taking the diff out.

 

It looks like I miiiiight be able to snake the engine out around the compressor and it's plumbing! It will work IF the engine doesn't need to come forward very far. Looks like it should be able to almost come straight up.... pre-cats.... those pre-cats might mess it all up. Oh well, it was worth trying if it doesn't work out.

 

Have to tell everyone.. God saved me from being fired at work today! It is awesome having Him beside me.

 

 

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Have to tell everyone.. God saved me from being fired at work today! It is awesome having Him beside me.

 

 

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That's gotta be a story worth telling, you can't just say that and not share!

 

Anyways, sounds like the swap is going well so far. Don't count your chickens before they hatch though! Good luck moving forward with the project, and hopefully the rest goes just as smoothly.

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I can appreciate the "God saved my ass" statement. I truly believe that if he wasn't involved in my life, I wouldn't be here to make that previous statement...ALWAYS BE THANKFUL!! Sorry, I'm rambling.

 

Check CL for an engine stand. It doesn't have to be new just solid. You should spend no more than a $100. Bought mine off CL for $75 then sold it for $80 when I was done w/it. WINNING!

 

You may indeed use the best of both engines for maximum efficiency of your endeavor. And investigate that "silicone" thing you showed us-it may have been someone's stopgap measure that might bite you in the butt later on. If your budget allows, replace as many of those "hard to reach" gaskets as you can.

 

And as to "Why...Just why?" cuz you can't fix stupid or lazy. Just sayin...V.

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Also: replace that thermostat. Although you have the 3.3 and its reasonably accessible, its been sitting outside for a while and it's a cheap part(I always test a new one by putting it in a pot of water and heating it up to make sure it indeed does open)-I had one that didn't, right out of the box. Soooo frustrating if you make the assumption that it will work and it don't!

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Well I hoped I would be a little further along tonight but I am satisfied enough to call it a night.. I only spend about two hours a night to work on this.

 

Anyways I got everything up top done except the alternator, which could be argued that it's a bottom item, either way it's still hooked up. The starter is out and the bell housing bolts are all out! thank You Jesus!

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Original! 170K miles

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I realize there are supposed to be more bolts in the bell housing than that but when I swapped my trans I upgraded to using less bolts

I wasted some time trying to figure out how I was going to reach the trq converter bolts and got a crows foot stuck in there. I forgot that it's impossible without removing that guard..

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I then realized the guard was being squished in there by the driver side gusset and I'm tired of messing around trying to reach those gusset to engine bolts so I'm taking the diff out. I think it's going to be beneficial later on since the oil sump hangs so far below it anyway, might make it hard to pull out..

 

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Messy...

 

 

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Edited by onespiritbrain
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Never mind... that was ridiculous. Seriously, what in the world?!?

 

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THIS....

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FIT THRU THIS?!?

 

Well that's finally over with. Now I have trq converter bolts and motor mounts left! She's coming out tomorrow.

 

One more question, where are some good spots to bolt the load leveler on the back of the engine? I don't see anything except like valve cover screws.. here's some pics.

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I guess I may end up trying to use a strap and d-links or something..

 

 

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If you had someone else to balance the diff while you lower it then you could do that without the strap. I picked it up pretty easy after it was down. Probably only 60-75#, I think..

 

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The driver side gusset really was clamping this in there. Came out right away after I got it off.

 

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Hmmmmmm... that's not good.

 

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Almost ready!

 

 

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So as long as most of the front end is torn apart, are you going to be doing a lot of rust repair/undercoating? Looks like you've got some big progress down! Hope it all goes together smoothly, haha.

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So as long as most of the front end is torn apart, are you going to be doing a lot of rust repair/undercoating? Looks like you've got some big progress down! Hope it all goes together smoothly, haha.

I am going to do some thorough undercarriage cleaning. I don't know if I'll get to any rubberized coating.. we basically have no salt down here in Georgia. I need to borrow a pressure washer..

 

So I finally got the old engine out today. It proved quite difficult.. I had to drop the vehicle almost all the way down onto the rotors to clear the radiator support.

 

Also I had to disconnect the compressor plumbing.... :( no more A/C.

 

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I couldn't find anything in the rear I felt safe mounting the chain to so I used a strap which worked well. Honestly in some situations I think straps would be better than chain for coarse adjustments.

 

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I decided against wrestling these things around on the ground so I went ahead and bought a couple engine stands from harbor freight.

 

Tomorrow I will begin breaking the engines down and putting the best parts of each engine on the new engine.

 

 

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Yesterday I got very little done. I think mostly because I am unsure where to begin so I find other tasks that need to be done... still haven't pulled the carpet though..

 

Anyway with the motors mounted I began taking the harmonic balancers off first. I had a hard time removing the yard engines hb and this is why..

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Luckily it punched out easily. I've read about people having to go through a lot of trouble because of woodruff keys breaking..

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I wanted to show you guys just how bad the water/mud was that helped me kill my engine.

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You can see how deep it was at the speaker!

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Horrible!

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So the carpet is toast. I think I'm going to go with a well rated sprayable bed liner instead of new/no carpet...

 

 

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I did a roll in bed liner and am happy with it. I can say your feet get a little toasty from the exhaust, since the padding and carpet helped shield the heat.

 

I love not worrying about stains on the carpet from mud, dirt, kids etc.

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I did a roll in bed liner and am happy with it. I can say your feet get a little toasty from the exhaust, since the padding and carpet helped shield the heat.

 

I love not worrying about stains on the carpet from mud, dirt, kids etc.

Dude my feet were getting cooked even with the carpet. Granted there was a hole that went almost all the way to the metal.. I will have to figure something out on that.

 

I may try to take my floor mats and attach some insulation of some sort to them. I'd also like to wrap the exhaust in that area or something. The heat shielding is just falling apart under there.. I've been thinking of what to do about it for a while now due to the rattling.

 

 

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I wonder is it a good idea to sand down the shaft when replacing the rear main seal...? It looks quite dirty and grungy. Can't imagine there will be an awesome seal with the shaft like that..

 

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Too late.

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I bet it wouldn't hurt to go over it with 1000. Surely anything is better than the gunk which was built up there before..

 

The rear main seal has been replaced before. I removed a National seal and I don't think that's what came on the vehicle originally.

 

The RTV that was all over the place is from the oil pan. It doesn't have a molded/cut gasket.

 

The oil pump gasket is stuck on the engine like epoxy. About as hard as epoxy also..

 

Not sure why I needed to take all this stuff apart to change out the front and rear main seals... better to do this stuff while the engine is out I guess.

 

I am going to spend 30min or so cleaning up tomorrow night.. it has turned in to a mess!

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