starbai

WEll guys here it is, pushed it into the garage tonight... the swap begins this weekend Raingoat how is it going? Running well I hope? Any issues I should be worried about or look for?

Awesome, this is fantastic man, I took a leap of faith and ordered the motor on ebay on Tuesday. Def from an 01 or 02 as it had a throttle cable. Black Valve covers, and seemingly all the correct ports for the sensors... so I'm fairly certain its from an 02. Supposedly getting to my buddy's shop on the 14th. Then I gotta go pick it up and get it home. They would only deliver to a commercial address. That said, I cant tell you how appreciative I am for all your help (and everyone elses). I'm going to start a new thread with updates of the swap when I'm ready. I likely wont be starting the actual work until Mid March. Next few weekends are just super full for me.

Well if your screws are missing it must be in there somewhere... so yea it sounds like the case. I will be pulling the IM off mine to see if thats what happened as well. I'll be sure to make sure the powervalve screws on this one motor are secured as well with loctite before I wrapp up this install as well. Wish me luck gentlemen. I'm about it hit BUy it Now.

Thanks again for the reply. I do know that the rule is that motors have to have less than 60k. This isn't my first time purchasing a JDM motor as I recently put a JDM H22 into my Prelude. The motor I bought was clean enough to eat off of... But that was a local supplier who doesn't have any VQ35s of the vintage I need...so it is what it is. I'm personally hoping I can knock this out in a few weekends. I've never pulled my motor from the pathfinder but I've gotten it up on a hoist and separated from the subframe 3x now with all the repairs I tried to do my existing motor (just for it to end up dying on me anyway). So I figure this time it can't be that much harder to just hoist allll the way up rather than stop at only a few inches up to do the rear main seal. The good news for all your expense is you've got a warranty after it all. For me personally, I'm going to save myself probably about 2000-2500 at least to do this on my own...but at the expense of no warranty. Honestl, I'm going to start daily driving that prelude I mentioned. As soon as the Pathfinder is running its going up on craigslist. I'm glad you have confidence in your truck, I simply have never owned something that was this 'fickle'. I new motor or not I just don't personally trust it. I was going to wait to hear from your mechanic but since it doesn't seem like we'll get that I'll just take comfort in the fact that it "can be done" since yours is running. If he can do it, I can do it lol. I'll likely drive it around for a month or two till someone picks it up on craigslist. I'm not going to give it away either. All said, thanks for everything bud, please keep us posted on how it feels/runs/any CELs, any other issues as time goes by. Cheeers!

Honestly, if I were you, I'd either buy yourself an engine hoist from harbor freight or go on craigslist and buy a used one. It's just a lot more safe and less stress. I think I bought my hoist and stand for like $200 brand new with the appropriate coupons when they have sales. Someday I'll sell it back for $100 and be happy with all my use of them for $100 total. If you're lucky maybe you'll find someone selling one on CL just to make space in the garage. Edit: One more question... do you think its worthwhile for me to wait to hear your report from your mechanic? Or do you think he must have had an easy enough go at it once he got hte new motor and its all good... (as a result I should just go ahead and pull the trigger)? I'm mostly interested in how much he needed to dive into the new motor to swap things. I know the water pipe is going to have to be moved and likely many accessories bolted to the engine, I just REALLY REALLY dont want to have to crack open that oil pan or timing chain cover...

Excellent. Thanks. good luck on transporting. as far as storing in the garage I went and got a shipping pallet from my office's loading dock. I put an old tire on top of that and my old H22 from my prelude is sitting there on top of it. I suspect i'll line up another one for my Original pathy motor as well.

Well, guys, I've been stalling as long as I can to buy this motor I found online. I'm trying to wait to hear the good news that @RainGoat's truck is all up and running with the new appropriate year motor. Otherwise, what complications I need to look into before I decide to drop yet another $1k into this truck. That said, how's it Going @RainGoat? Getting close to getting it back?

Again thanks RainGoat. At least one of my questions were answered by your pics here. I clearly see the oil cooler on this engine. To be 100% sure though, did he take the oil pan from your original motor or is this the oil pan from the JDM engine in these photos? I'm hoping ifs the JDM oil pan. if it is, my second question above is sufficiently answered. The first issue I raised above was the water pipe. This motor in this picture clearly has a port for a water pipe (circled) on the left hand side (USDM Driver's side) of the motor. I'm not even seeing the equivalent port on the passenger side of your JDM motor, so honestly I have no idea how the heck this even works on the Japanese engine. Long story short, I do see the water pipe port on the driver's side and that should be good enough to satisfy this question. So thank you again. So all I really need to know is, is it the JDM oil pan in these photos or did he put your USDM oil pan on? If he did swap your USDM pan on to the JDM motor, why did he do so? Is the oil cooler port missing on the JDM oil pan (which I'm assuming is just sitting around somewhere in the shop)? Thanks again!!!!

RainGoat, first off let me say thank you for taking the time to give me all of these updates. Its extremely helpful. And thakn you to MicahFelker for reminding you as well. I can respect that you've got a lot going on and so its extremely appreciated that you took the time to write all that out. That said, its a shame we won't learn more from your experience. Unfortunately, I am also dealing with an eBay seller who is just extremely unresponsive. I've called, emailed, sent eBay messages, even messaged the facebook page for the business. I've gotten one response. I initially asked for pictures of the front of the oil pan to make sure that it had the appropriate places to attach the crankshaft positions sensor. It did, but what I also noticed ist hat the pictures show a motor that looks like its got oil all over the oil pan and is extremely dirty like it was literally sitting int he dirt. So I asked if it was the same motor as pictured on eBay, because that motor on eBay looks like it was detailed or something, it looks pristine enough to eat off of. I don't know if they were offended by the question or what but they've now gone unresponsive again. The other problem is that looking at the pictures I don't see an oil cooler. Now it's possible that the oil cooler was removed for transport and isn't included with the engine. I'm okay with this, I can reuse mine. But its hard to see the side of the oil pan from the pictures. So I am now worried that perhaps the JDM motors simply don't have a port for an oil cooler. I'm trying to pour over all of the pics of a JDM VQ35DE on eBay and no one seems to take a pic at a good angle that would show this. (1) So if there is any way you can ask your mechanic if he noticed a port for the oil cooler on the side of the oil pan on both JDM engines? If I can simply confirm that all JDM VQ35s had oil coolers just like USDMs did, I'd be satisfied enough with this answer? My other problem is that I'm aware that I'm going to have to swap my water pipe from my existing motor onto the new one. Okay I'm fine with this. But the water pipe isn't only connected ont he back of the motor, its also connected to an outlet on the front, drive'rs side of the engine above the exhaust manifold as well. I'm worried that on the JDM motor this port on the driver side may not exist? If it does, then I have no problem swapping it. But if it doesn't, what does one do? I feel like it HAS to exist. I mean you're the only one I know so far that's going to attempt to use a JDM motor and may be successful... but other than you, I haven't personally spoken with anyone else that's successfully done this. So, (2) can you please ask your mechanic if he sees or is concerned in any way with swapping the water pipe from your right-hand drive vehicle onto the new motor? If he simply says, oh yes that's just a bolt off/bolt on a concern I'll be 100% satisfied with the answer. These should suffice as my last two items to check off before I'm ready to go ahead and pull the trigger... that said if there is any way you can get me some info on these two points. OR if ANYONE else has any ideas/insight/guidance. I'd sincerely appreciate it! All that said, again, thank you for the reply and pictures!

RainGoat, by any chance do you have an update? I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on this new motor. One I found online. And I'm struggling to determine the differences between these motors. You and I have 2002 Vehicles. We can safely eliminate 2003 and 2004 engines. I know how to distinguish against these because they will have drive by WIRE and only one cam sensor per bank, no front crankshaft position sensor, and the flexplate will be different. This leaves us with 2001, 2001.5, and 2002 Engines as possible replacements. I know for sure you can tell a 2002 by its black plastic valve covers vs the aluminum valve covers. The new engine you have shown in your pictures is most assuredly NOT a 2002 motor because it does not have black valve covers. What I can't figure out is, other than the valve covers why won't it work on a 2002 vehicle? The camshaft sensors and crank sensors are all there according to your pictures. I can't see the flexplate, but I do know its drive by cable because I can see the cable hanging onto the floor. The question is, why the heck didn't it work? What differences did they find between this motor and your original 2002 motor? I've been pouring over the differences in the service manual and I cannot figure it out. It's bothering the hell outta me because I'm starting to worry that black valve covers may not only identify 2002s, but perhaps also 2001.5s. And if that's the case, then what changed between 2001.5 and 2002? Your engine pics here are clearly 2001 engines so maybe I shouldn't worry about it, but it'd really make me more comfortable to understand why they decided it would not work so that I could zero in on those areas of the service manual to ensure I choose the correct motor. I don't mean to be a pest, but I'm balancing waiting patiently for your reply and the concern of losing out on the motor if someone else decides to buy it before I do online.

Lucky you have the option of sending it back. Thats great news. Unfortunately for me, me buying it on ebay and having it delivered to my garage means a few weekends of work for me and if I get it wrong, I'm SOL.

I bet he found the same things we've been talking about. Looking forward to your updates. Even when you get your next new engine, hopefully from an 02, please dont forget to share your findings. Are you paying for both motors or are they taking it upon themselves to swap this replacement for the new replacement?

Honestly, What I've learned from my mess is that sometimes it's better to not mess with things if they're doing okay. I get if it had high mileage...but since it does not. I think its worse to open it up if unnecessary. On the other hand, it seems like they're going to be cracking that timing cover off anyway. I don't see how they're going to use that motor without ultimately taking that timing chain off to swap out the sprockets anyway... so what it boils down to is what the real cost of chain replacement? It shouldn't be anything more than parts beacuse you're already going to be paying to swap all that stuff out of that motor of yours. In this case, might as well put a shiney new chain on it. What I will say though is dont mess around, replace the chains, guides, tensioners and water pump with OEM. Dont do what I did and go with ebay for some of this stuff... you'll regret the money and time u've put into all this just to skimp on the parts if you dont.

No worries on the thread jack, BUT please do report back what you find out when you're looking at it. It'll help me determine which motor I need to buy...

Just read this on my FB post... its the other way around but basically the same position you're in... "I just did a swap from a pathfinder to a qx4 . 01 qx4 From a 03 pathfinder We had to swap out pretty much everything from the plenum gasket up including all of the wiring harness. Because the qx4 has a boost sensor and the pathfinder does not . Its was a bit of a bitch but it worked . All of the powertrain is the same . I had to get at the knock sensor to replace anyway and thats under the manifold . Runs perfict now. Take a look at the wiring Harness plug and see if the same amount of power connections are there. If you have 1 to many you will probably need to swap out what we did." thing is, since he had an 01, maybe the ECU wasn't looking for all the stuff that it does in 04?

Have them check and recheck the cam and crankshaft sensors, I believe there are 2 per camshaft and two on the crankshaft. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we may all have a different perspective on this since it seems that that varied by year).. My numbers above are based on an 02 motor... or at least the 02 motor in My pathfinder.

Well... couple things to say here. One given the way my engine started knocking like crazy out of nowhere and also just died I'm starting to strongly consider that this was my motor's failure too. I don't know but I will find out. As for whether or not the motor you have is correct, I would definitely say that it is at a 2001 motor, an early 2001 motor. I say this because 1. there's is a throttle cable so it eliminates 03/04... and I see aluminum valve covers so it's definitely not an 02 motor. I hate to say this but I really don't think that that motor is going to work for you. They'll end up swapping many things to make this work. You'll need the new style flexplate. And for that flexpate you'll need the ability to connect the sensor next to it that will work. To do that I think you have to change the upper oil pan beacuse I thint hats where it mounts. The ECU will be looking for a different type of signal than the front cam sensors currently have because they use different sensors. Those different sensors require different cam sprockets. To mount those 'different sensors, you'll need your old timing chain cover. Is this a USDM or JDM motor? The good news for you is that since its at a shop they have the time/patience/and expertise to swap whatever they may need from your previous engine. If you have the ability to ask them, it would be extremely helpful for me if you can find out that, if it's a JDM motor, does all of the cam/crank sensors and mounting points exist where they should? It very likely does not. For me personally, I REALLY, REALLY don't want to have to take off that front cover again or deal with the chains again. It was an utter nightmare and I'm still not confident that it wasn't something I did that caused my motor's eventual failure. The only saving grace that I did it correctly (and it was a subsequent failure of something else) is that I did run the truck for about a good 6 months and 5k miles with no problems after my work. That said maybe it won't be so bad with it on an engine stand rather than me leaning over the fenders and grille on a step stool to get the valve cover on correctly.

I've been reading through these two threads... http://forums.nicoclub.com/2003-pathfinder-with-2001-motor-no-start-no-spark-t613787-30.html http://forums.nicoclub.com/01-pathfinder-3-5-swap-to-03-jdm-3-5-no-start-help-t614604.html It seems that the biggest problem with the 03 vs the 02 other than the throttle body is the flexplate. the 03 has a different number of cam/crankshaft position sensors. Without the right upper oil pan and timing cover, the ports dont exist in the right places for these sensors. And the cam sprockets are also different. So in order to make sure I dont have to crack that motor open, I need to get one that has the correct cam sprockets and ports for cam/crank sensors. At least I understand what I need. To be as simple as possible, I have narrowed it down to an 02 motor. Visually from pics, I need to identify a throttle cable and black valve covers. I've identified two possible motors that have these characteristics. What I need to do now is figure out how explain to ebay sellers to check for the cam postiion sensors and confirm that they exist where they need to. Once I do that I have to hope that the cam sprockets are the same. I'd HOPE that the black valve covers are enough to indicate that the cam senors are present where they need to be... I just dont know how to do this yet.

Right I have an 02. and I know for sure I got the black valve covers and even with that, I know for sure that my #1 coil pack was different than 2-6.

Now what scares me is if i find an 02 motor like mine, that has the black valve covers and the throttle cable.... that there are still even more variaations within that subset of 2002s that end up requring me to take off the timing chain cover which is what I'm seriously trying to avoid.

Thanks. @hawairish... To complicate things further, I now believe that the 01 and 02 Motors are different from each other. Basically, you had 4 years of the VQ35DE in an R50. 04: Drive By Wire 03: Drive By Wire 02: Throttle Cable + Black Plastic Valve Covers 01: Throttle Cable + Aluminum Valve Covers. This is how you can visually identify them. The cam/crank sensors/coil packs (and potentially other things) are different from 01 to 02... So if you're in my position and you're trying to replace a motor from the 01/02... you gotta be sure you get the right thing or else you'll have swapped from the original motor the cam sprockets, timing chain cover, and god knows what else. I'm told that the 03/04 coil packs would definitely not work in an 01, and possibly an 02 as well. I want plug and play... so for me, I need to find a motor with a throttle cable and black plastic valve covers it seems. IF anyone else has any other suggestions on how to visually inspect what I need I'd really appreciate it. Local places def dont have an 01/02 motor in stock which means I can now only go off of what I can see in pics online. That being said I'll take any visual cues you can offer!

For future reference here... I just got this feedback on FB... of course I cannot confirm it myself... "If you want to use your ecu and harness you need to swap a lot off the original motor including cam sprockets, timing chain cover, upper oil pan, fly wheel, o2 sensors, upper intake plenum, throttle body, air box...you really have to convert the 03/04 engine to an 01/02 engine. Otherwise if you just want to drop it in as is you will need the entire front clip including harness, ecu, and instrument cluster, but I’m still not positive the new ecu would talk to the other units like transmission ecu. It was a huge pain but can be done"

I honestly dont know yet. I had the motor apart for a few months. I did timing chanin/water pump/guides/tensioner... I checked all valve clearances and replaced the lifter buckets as needed. New Oil pump while I was in there. I mean I really refurbed the thing. A few months ago on a longer drive, oil light starts flashing at me... car started loosing power... major knocking/clicking ensued and the motor died. I got it towed home and I haven't driven or had the time to figure out exactly what was wrong with it since. I tried starting it a few times with freshly charged battery and the motor doesn't even want to turn. I put a socket on the crank and tried to turn it and it was locked up. ITs still got all its oil no leaks.. So whatever it is, is internal. I'm just done trying to salvage it and figure at this point it'd be more cost effective to put a new motor in it and call it a day. Before I ordered/picked up a new motor, I would at least do at least a little more investigation like checking for metal in the oil etc. My guess is, and it's only a guess... is that some RTV broke off from somewhere, clogged an oil passage, and starved the motor till it died. My only clue as to what has happened thus far is that that oil light was flashing intermittently when I started the car... and went away for about a week.. then one day it came on, stayed on, and the motor died. On another note, I considered swapping my IM/Throttle body off of my motor and putting it onto a new motor if I deiced to do with the 03 since there were no differences other than the TB... drive by wire... But before all those troubles mentioned above, I had a P1130 that wouldn't not freakin go away no matter what I replaced. So I was hoping that if I went with 'new motor' it would include its own TB/IM and all the @!*% that goes with it so that that code would no longer be an issue.

Hey everyone. I have an 02 Pathfinder. The engine is shot. I have a few JDM importers in town here and they have a VQ35DE from supposedly an 03/04 Pathfinder. Some shops are saying that the 03/04 isdifferentn than the 01/02... and some shops are looking at me like I'm a crazy person for asking why the VQ35DEs from the Pathfinder would be different across the 4 years they were offered. That said, does anyone know defininitively if an 03/04 VQ35DE is different from an 01/02? If it is different, are the differences material enough where the motor wouldn't work without some basic/small modification? Lastly, and this question may be more difficult, any material differences from the JDM motor vs the USDM motor that may make this impossible? I know that I may have to swap my IM... but anything else I should be concerned about? My goal is the easiest plug and play option here, I dont want to go into changing ECU's and other major items if I can avoid it. Thanks in advance everyone!

And if your pathfinder is 2WD, then you dont have front CV axles right? So should be an easier job?