tmorgan4

How wide of a tire do you want to run? I had my TrXus MT's on mine with 3.75" BS rims that were 13" wide without issues.

Here is one of the 3 kits I built a while back. The engine mounts are the smaller blocks.

Now it's hard to say since I'm really only aware of one guy that successfully completed the swap but he went the all OEM parts route. I really wonder if you'd have better luck tuning the car with an aftermarket ECU add on (like a SAFC II) instead of switching over to a complete VG33ER ECU and harness. I looked at a wiring diagram a while back and there are quite a few differences. All that SAFCII is going to do is modify your fuel map to re-tune for the extra air that's coming in. I'm far from an expert on this kind of thing so I'd definitely talk to someone who has more experience with it. Since almost nobody in the 4x4 world has done anything like this your best bet is to look at 300zx and Maxima resources. Lots of people add on turbos to the NA engines and what you're doing is really the same thing. I really hope to see you go through with this since a lot of people want to do it but there's not a ton of info out there on what needs to be done. I really have a feeling that once someone completes the project and documents everything well people will realize that they can add a lot of power to the VG engines for not a lot of money.

I REALLY wish I still had my old VG33 laying around. It would be cool to build an intake manifold that would allow a bigger supercharger than stock. Like the one L&P built with a M90. Let me know if you need help with parts and I'll try to help out. It would be soo much easier if I still had that engine laying around, though. I didn't have the space to keep it and I had to give it away.

You should see the turbo kit the shop across the street from mine built on a VG33E Frontier! I'll have to get a picture of it sometime. I can't remember the HP gain on it but it was pretty substantial but still reliable.

Thanks everyone! Trying to find some motivation to start working on it again. I actually have thought about building a few more of those oils pans (I designed it but didn't weld it) since these VHs only come with front sumps. I had initially modified a factory VH pan and couldnt' get it to stop leaking at the flange. After seeing how much work it takes to build even one of them I can't even imagine doing another. The only time consuming part was welding it since the main body is 1/4" 6061-T6 and the flange is 1/2" in the same material. It's built like a tank so I hope it hold's up.

I just looked for 5 minutes and couldn't seem to find my old thread about the start of my project. I can't tell if it's gone or I'm just not smart enough to find it. I can't seem to find another thread that talked about hub to fender measurements (comparing stock to lifted) so it may be my inability to search. Does anyone have a stock measurement from the frame to the ground or from the center of the hub to the front fender? Not a huge update but the front suspension is almost done. I still need to do the steering and probably pull the engine to do a few things. I've got an Atlas 4-speed on order which should be fun. Then I have to re-do the rear but it should be simple compared to the front. Hope to get it "done" by early summer.

I don't have everything you need, but I do have a flywheel and 5 speed ECU.

I can't tell whether you're trying to tell the guy who started this thread that he's a whiner or that your tuned Sentra is really cool (a really stiff cable operated clutch must mean it's fast???). The clutch I just put behind my VH is good for 480 lb-ft and it drives better than stock. I really don't understand the obsession with a race clutch on a street car.

Your clutch is worn. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's worn out, but the clutch gets stiffer as it gets older. I was amazed after I drove mine the very first time with a brand new clutch since it was so much lighter than before. I want to say that my OEM clutch with 115k miles on it was stiffer (pedal wise) than my new clutch that will handle 3x the torque. If it really bothers you, replace the clutch but realize it won't be cheap if you pay a dealer to do it. If you can live with it, wait until it starts slipping or the throwout bearing makes noise to replace it.

You are a dumbass.

A trailing link, like how people often refer to the rear lower arms as "trailing arms"? Just think of each link as restricting one more degree of freedom of the axle. In my front 3-link setup (and a front non-triangulated 4-link is similar) the three main links (2 lowers, one upper) keep the axle front rotating and an additional panhard/trackbar is necessary to keep the axle located from side to side. In my setup I've got flex joints at the frame side and heims at the axle. They all pivot to keep the links from binding. As far as how long they are supposed to be, there are pros and cons of going longer and shorter. With a longer link they are closer to being flat which is usually a good thing for suspension geometry. A longer link helps protect the underside of the car since you can slide over rocks with them but you lose ground clearance at the same time. You'll get more flex out of longer links, but PLEASE do yourself a favor and don't build a suspension around how much travel it will give. Design it with good suspension geometry in mind and you will have plenty. There are long more pros and cons of suspension link lengths but it would take forever to discuss them all. You just need to find a balance between long and short and they should do the trick. No magic number. Mine lowers are about 38" from bolt hole to bolt hole and the upper is slightly shorter. Are you talking about a traction bar like people use with leaf springs? Some people add in traction bars while using leafs to help prevent axle wrap. I am NOT a fan of leaf springs but a lot of people like them.

Always good to see people eager to learn. Unfortunately there is so much more to building a suspension system than anyone is going to tell you in a single post on here that you'll probably learn more by searching various sites that have write-ups on certain topics. My friends have always been into fast cars and I somehow got interested in building inefficient, poor handling, and slow off road cars. I'm actually working on building a few other friends projects for them since then I can have some four wheeling friends whenever I get around to finishing mine. I always hated the idea of IFS and never understood why any companies would build a vehicle with it. It's not until after you drive a car with it (I still haven't driven mine) that you start to realize why Nissan designed our R50s with IFS. Handling with a well designed IFS is so far superior to a well designed solid front axle that you have to decide which aspects of your rig are important to you. I'm trying to design my solid front axle so that it handles well on the road (relatively speaking for a rig on unbalanced bias ply 40s and a lot of lift over stock) but I'm sure it will still never handle like it did stock. Recently I've been introduced to the world of heavy duty long travel IFS systems after a friend of mine asked me to build him a kit for his Tacoma. After studying up on them more a long travel IFS is a great way to build a rig that will handle great on the street but still have suitable travel for moderate four wheeling. Don't think you need to hate your IFS....enjoy it's handling and comfort on the road but keep in mind there are strong options out there. I'm still waiting on parts so hopefully I can have something to show for this soon instead of CAD pictures of what it *should* look like. A well designed 4wd long travel (while most are 2wd and are worthless other than the street and the desert) will get in the neighborhood of 13-15" of wheel travel. With my solid front axle I'm getting closer to 40" of wheel travel so you can see a big difference there. You've probably already seen these but unfortunately it's one of the few pictures I have from testing my solid axle. Just keep in mind that you're one nice looking Pathfinder will slowly go downhill until it doesn't look nice anymore. It's an expensive hobby since things can go wrong so fast. We were on our way to go four wheeling a month or so ago and a friend rolled his pristine condition FZJ80, and it went from being worth $9000 to $500 in a few seconds. It was cold driving it an hour home in 10* weather! I've learned a ton over the past 3 years and I sincerely feel that the best way to learn anything is from experience. People will always try and discourage you from modifying an R50 because there's no aftermarket support or because it's a unibody. I just kind of go my own way (if you haven't noticed) and ignore all the people that tell me things can't be done. Feel free if you have specific questions to ask and I'll try and answer as best I can.

It sounds like you're close to getting at the sensor so maybe a quick picture will help you find it. This is a picture of the bellhousing off my stock transmission when I did my engine swap. Keep in mind that I had about half an inch taken off the face of the bellhousing which explains why you can see the actual "channel" that the CPS sits in. The big channel is where the CPS sensor goes and the small threaded one next to it is the 10mm (wrench size) bolt that holds it in. If you don't already have a set of them, a 10mm ratcheting wrench is extremely handy for these things! I'm under the impression that it is much easier to access from underneath than from the top. You can tilt the transmission down a fair amount for access but just watch your engine mounts closely and make sure they aren't ripping. They're pretty soft and fragile.

That sounds like a pretty fair trade. This riding my bike to school in the snow crap is getting old really fast.

Honestly...my 5-speed VG did great with 35s on stock 4.6 gearing. I could chirp the tires in second if I tried really hard. Somehow mine was quite a bit faster on 35s than a friends 5-speed 1st generation Xterra with 32s. If you have an auto there are a few things you can do. If you have a manual...you're good to go.

Spacing the steering rack off the subframe is an option. I have seen the simple blocks that are used on the Japanese kits as well. These would all work to a certain amount of lift. Nobody that I know of has really researched it enough to know exactly how much. I've got a lot of cool ideas, but most of them would probably cost a lot more than people would want to spend.

How did I forget about yours! I might have to take you up on that if I don't get something done before then.

The main reason that everyone is dropping the subframe 4.0" and not less is because of the steering. Since the whole rack gets moved down, another universal joint is added to lengthen the steering shaft and make the angles not quite so harsh. Keith deserves the credit for figuring that one out. Less can be done, but I'm not sure of anyone who has tried it. I'd really like to build a few things for these vehicles once I find some time. Between school, my Pathfinder, building a friend's rolled Land Cruiser, and building a Tacoma long travel setup I have no time anymore. When I get some of these things done I'd like to spend some time building an R50 lift that is bigger than 2" without some of the flaws of the subframe drop kits. The only issue is finding people to buy them, but there is no way to gauge that until it's built. Oh, and the fact that I don't really have a Pathfinder to mock the lift up on anymore.

The biggest flaws I noticed in your test was the engine was cold and all the plugs were pulled. Every time I've heard of doing a leak down test, it's specifically noted that the engine must be warm and you're instructed to leave all the plugs in except for the cylinder you're testing. While it's obvious that every cylinder besides #3 tested close and #3 was the odd one out, I think leaving the plugs in all cylinders besides #3 may help to pin-point where the air is leaking from. It sounds like you're plenty familiar with the procedure. Personally, I've never had a leak down test result in a bad head gasket so I'm unaware of the symptoms. From what I've read, a bad head gasket is often assumed if the other 3 locations of air leak are inconclusive (intake - intake valves, exhaust - exhaust valves, crankcase - rings). Good luck and it's nice to see someone documenting their problem so well instead of coming here and asking for help without providing any info on what has been done so far. EDIT: It does appear that you went back and put the #1 plug in and heard the leak through the exhaust. I somehow missed that part.

Good work! That holds the spring that adjust the front/rear brake bias based on the height of rear end. Nothing too crucial.

Be careful with this because metric grade 8.8s are not the same as the standard grade 8 bolts. A metric grade 10.9 is a standard grade 8, and a metric 8.8 is equivalent to a standard grade 5. I can't see it failing but it's something to be aware of.

Hah...I just know that I have done it PLENTY of times whether I used a hi-lift or forklift on the bumper and didn't have any issues. I just sold my ARB actually. My car is torn apart again.

Probably one of the things they have to tell you just to cover their own a$$. I've used mine plenty of times to lift the front end off the ground and NEVER had a problem. You will find that although the mounts are airbag compliant (they are very very intricate mounts, crush zones and all) they are still VERY sturdy. These mounts won't crush easily. I say lift from it and don't worry.

You started yet?