Tungsten

The oil pump only needs to be replaced for the old water pump to fit but you can grind the old water pump to make it look like the new one and keep the 3.3 oil pump. The biggest challenge in this project is you need to get a v-belt pulley adapter in place of the serpentine belt pulley.

It depends on the year I guess. Not all of the switches are illuminated on the square dash models. I know this because I have taken them apart to only not find any bulbs.

The older square toothed belts break much sooner and sometimes out of random.

There is a kill switch for the compressor where if the compressor starts to bog the engine down then it gets momentarily shut off.

Yes I agree either works but headers are more difficult to install on studs inside the bay because of how the studs stick out. The best part about studs is once you get the headers on then tightening them down evenly is great. Remember that you also have to put the gasket on the studs first. You can do the same with bolts but have fun with the gasket.

On that note, don't want to jack the thread right now but you can get 250 hp from a N/A VG34E build. It will haul serious ass and still get great fuel economy to boot. Overall, it's not that costly either.

I doubt you will get a NA 4 banger to make as much torque as a NA VG from the same time period, especially at the low end. Newer Nissan Maximas use nylon guides, not rubber, so they fail. A comparable chain driven V6 OHV still will not rev as high as a comparable SOHC engine with a belt. You can probably get away with running high RPMs on any Japan made 4 banger doesn't matter if it's a belt or chain because of their lower rotating mass.

No, they're not a pain in the ass, I could go on for a while why the timing belts are better. Timing belts run quiet, don't need an oil bath or guides, and when you have to replace them the engine needed those new parts anyway. The only real disadvantage to a timing belt is sometimes they can skip a tooth or two while starting the engine but that is if you don't tension it correctly. It's a misconception that chains do not have to be replaced. A timing chain is rated for maybe 200k miles but the nylon guides wear out much sooner and you have to do the entire timing chain job. The only chains that do seem to last forever are the ones found in OHV engines where the chain is just so short. The OHV design doesn't get you as much top end power though and has a much lower RPM limit.

x2 go with manual hubs and take it easy off-road and you should be fine

Check my thread on MAF testing procedure: -> clicky <-

shiny that movie was pretty good, love that reference (and the bottle opener)

Yes, the engines are built to the precision of a wrist watch. Extra care should be taken when doing the bore out.

The reason I was asking is because some states offer as low as 85 octane fuel (considered safe for higher altitudes), which isn't very good for this particular engine. Here is something to try: Unplug the battery for a minute and plug it back in. See if it runs good for the first few minutes while it gets up to temp.

what octane?

Do they come with igniters too? If they don't have igniters they are not real HIDs.

usually 100 ft/lbs is a good safe bet on the torque and that's what most impact ratchets are set for in the shops just make sure they start the nuts by hand

Yes, like I mentioned before, in my opinion the best thing to do would be to put single beam xenon bulbs in place of fogs.

I just started it up in that shot as you can tell by the rising needle and the cold temperature. I remember all the bulbs and that's where I got them. I don't want to jack the thread so you are going to have to PM me about that. I may have started another thread on here about which ones to get.

That looks much better. If I was to do HIDs, I wouldn't use Bi-Xenon. Probably only the low beam style HID lights and I would put them in place of fog lights so I don't have to bastardize the headlights.

This might sound stupid but what kind of gas do you use?

You can use some 360 degree LEDs in them and then they look amazing at night.

that front bumper looks amazing

If you want to do boost then just boost the 3.3 straight up without any other mods maybe except for the 3.0 camshafts. Boring out to 3.4 with higher compression pistons is what you do for more NA power.

That seems to be either a miswire or a ground problem. If you want to start trouble shooting you will first need a wiring diagram. Do you have one of those?