Kolbewhite1 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 2003 Nissan Pathfinder SE 3.5L V6 I've got the front differential off, and I can access the 2 bolts on the bottom of the motor mount. The top bolts are another story though. They're very hard to get to when looking down from the top of the engine. Has anyone done this before, or have any advice or tools I should use to get them off? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Well, I don't know how it is with the 3.5L, but yeah, on my 3.3L, those top nuts are really hard to get to. I used a 14mm box wrench and removed the driver's side mount from underneath. It was really tough, and I had to use a pry bar wedged against the wrench to get enough torque to loosen the nut. I was able to access the passenger side mount from the top of the engine, and from the front. Again, I had to use a pry bar wedged against the box wrench. Not fun at all. Incidentally, you don't need to fully remove the nut from the mount. The stud on the mount fits into a slot on the motor mount bracket bolted to the engine. You will need to jack up the engine about 1" to pull the mounts out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 It's pretty tight on the VQ, too. But hard to say how tough because when I did it on my buddy's truck, we had already begun propping it up for the SFD install. I think I needed to support the engine at least 1" to reach the nut and give clearance for installing the new one. I think it was a combo of socket extensions that did the loosening, and a good old fashioned reach-around from underneath to get the nut back on. We would've like to have changed the passenger side while under there, but were on a time crunch and only 1 of 3 in the entire Phoenix metro was available within 50 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaPath Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Mine has been apart in my garage for 2 months because of this project. It looks to be incredibly daunting. Well, this project and about 5 others, but this is the main one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexey_Maruschak Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 The only correct way to remove the VQ35DE is to extract it together with the transmission on the stretcher from the bottom.Remove the exhaust system, the middle transmission subframe, the front drive gearbox, detach the front and rear of the cardan, the wiring, the coolant pipes, unscrew and then, when your machine is on the lift, put the stand (table) from 0.5 meters/ When your stretcher is lying with the engine and transmission on the table, lift the car body lift and thus extract the engine. From above it can not be removed. VQ35DE is removed through the bottom .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Good info in case anyone needs to do an engine swap. Fortunately, the original poster only wanted to remove his motor MOUNTS, not the whole motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 What XPLORx4 said. You can get by with dropping the front diff (it's in the way), supporting the engine (Harbor Freight sells this support bar for $60 after 20% off), and lowering the subframe a little bit. I used a 2x4 at the transmission housing to support the engine, but also helps to have a floor or transmission jack to lift everything. You'll need ratchet extensions and some flexibility reaching the nuts atop the mount. Getting at the bottom nuts is trivial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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