pulxar

I'd be more than happy to give you whatever advice you need, but I don't really have the time or drive to do another swap for the time being. I just started on my next big project: finishing my pilots license, so that is taking most of my free time for the foreseeable future. To be honest, the only reason I did the swap was I blew a head gasket and I knew the rear main was leaking and had messed up the clutch.

I am getting ready to go to the 32's myself, but from what I understand the lego's are 15x7 and almost all 32x1150's say they need a 15x8 or larger rim. At least that is what the guys at the tire shop tell me... Does it not matter then?

I think this may be what you're looking for, I have it bookmarked from when I was having issues with my alarm. http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19755&view=&hl=keyless%20entry&fromsearch=1

OK, so for an update on the mileage: It is getting about 17 mpg for a mix of freeway and city driving. That is right about where the 3.0 was. I can post again after I go through a few more tanks and get a better average.

Precise1 said everything I found messing around with mine. Though I did have to take a piece of pipe and put it over my wrench to get the necessary leverage to get the jam nut to pop loose. If you decide to use something like a pipe to help out your wrench, use the closed end on the nut, I used the open end end ended up with some busted knuckles for my effort.

I'm sure that depends on the wrecker. I know the guy who runs the local yard, so I just asked him to show me any VG33's and then I picked the best one and had him fire it up for me to be sure it ran. The Frontier and Xterra engines may be a better choice than the newer pathfinder engine I used as they already have the oil filter bracket you'll need.

It is possible that the thermostat is bad, from what it sounds like it could be stuck open or mostly open, or possibly was set to a different temperature than the one you had in there before. I really don't know a lot about this, but I do know that they have a "right-side-up" that needs to be aligned to function properly. There is a small, loose fitting metal valve on it that can allow some bypass that needed to be at the top, IIRC. As for the coolant loss, I had a similar issue a while back and it turned out it was a bad radiator cap, so the pressure test was fine, but the cap let the coolant blow by it. I'd take a look at the cap and see if perhaps it is not holding pressure like it should. They aren't expensive, you could try just replacing the thing and see if it makes any difference.

No special tools needed, outside of an engine hoist and an engine stand, and I am not an experienced mechanic. On a 1 - 10 I'd rate it at about an 8 for myself. But keep in mind I nave NEVER attempted anything like this before. I paid $750 for the complete engine form a wrecking yard, it ran, had good compression and almost exactly 100k on it. It did not need a full rebuild, I just kept the block and heads as they were and made the rest work. Oh, I did need a grinder to modify some things and a ball-peen hammer to modify the oil pan (I had to buy both).

I spoke to a guy who did just that when I was researching the swap, he ran into some similar problems to me as far as the oil pans and stuff was concerned but it is also a viable option. I just didn't want to deal with all the re-plumbing. He had to get the AC redone, modify the wiring harness to fit the Xterra hardware, and fab a bit more for his exhaust (not exactly sure why he had to do that). He was using headers if I remember correctly, and had to drill them out for the larger studs too...

I had a Grand Am when I was in high school that did almost the same thing, lost all the oil in very short order. It was a PITA to track down with the oil all over the engine (and everything else), but the culprit was the oil pressure sender. I'd take a good look at it on your rig, I was shocked at how much oil can get through the thing when it failed.

x2 on the timing belt. It is not too difficult of a job to do yourself. As for the lift, a suspension lift makes the most sense to me. I have the 3" kit from AC and have not had any difficulty with it. I test-fit a 32x11.50r15 on one of the stock rims and it fit after the lift. Enjoy the new toy. I had a Jeep before I got my Pathfinder and I like the Pathy a lot better. Hope you will too!

So, I found the last gremlin with the Speedometer, it was not the sender or the dash like I suspected. It was a dumb rookie mechanic mistake. I left the wiring harness form the tranny unsecured and it slid over onto the exhaust manifold. Wire + hot manifold = bad things... I soldered the wires back together and wrapped them individually then as a group. Everything works again and lesson learned! As soon as I go through a tank of gas I'll post the mileage I'm getting on the new engine. On another note, I was due for emissions and the new setup passed with flying colors. To me that is the final proof that the VG30 computer can compensate for the larger displacement without any issues.

I have been running the AC UCA's for about two years now without an issue. I also added the Ball Joint Spacers for the additional little bit of lift it gives to level my truck out (and make room for getting 32x11.50's once my 31's wear out). They have held up remarkably well, though I got them in the kit with springs, shocks and the steering reinforcement.

x2!

Nope, the exhaust and everything just bolted in. I did not have to extend anything on the wiring harness, there was enough slack on the oil pressure gauge and the rest plugged right back in! I really did not have to do much fab. I made a note on my writeup of everything I needed to change. And the power difference is really noticeable. I can't tell what the mileage is at the moment because the speedometer has decided to freak out if I go above 55 mph. It starts jumping all over the place. I am thinking I damaged some wire when I was moving the tranny to get the engine in and out and it is getting jostled or something. I'll post the mileage as soon as I can get that fixed...

Yup, it started right up with the VG30 ecu, I never touched any electronics, they are all VG30. According to Nissan the ECU can compensate for about +/- 15% in displacement without any issues. I am going to take it in for emissions this afternoon, but it should be just fine!

Actually, I just had to pull a bit more wire out of the harness and the existing wiring reached the new sender just fine! There was a spot for it on the VG33 block in the same location as on the VG30, but it had a bolt in it so I just left it alone. And yes, I am so glad I'll not have oil dumped on the starter!

Below is a link to my writeup in PDF format. I could not get it to let me post more than a couple of images directly. VG33Swap.pdf If an admin would like to help me post the whole thing directly I'd be happy to, just let me know how to do it!

It took me about forever to figure this one out, but I finally got it working so I am adding this in the hopes it helps someone else. I never did find the fusible links from the diagram so I re-ran new wires from the fuse box to the alarm module for both the constant +12v lines as well as the line that is only hot when the key is at run. The alarm and keyless entry now work flawlessly!

I recently purchased a Defender rack for my '94 from Automotive Customizers (www.4x4parts.com). Shipping was a bit high, but the rack is very nice and bolted directly to the factory mounts. I have used it to haul lumber for building a fence and ladders for work. I'd at least take a look at it, the part I got is RHOUPF90WRACKWELD. There is also a version of this rack that is designed for trucks without factory racks.

That was the first thing I did. It is fine. Dome lamps, radio standby power and a number of other things run off of it too. There are two fuses on that diagram, are they both referring to that fuse?

I tore into the alarm this weekend while I installed a carpet kit, which was a whole other can of worms. The idagram was great and I think I found my problem. I get no power over either of the lines marked on the diagram that have fuses on them. Anyone have any idea where those darn fuses might be? They are not with the relays under hood nor are they in the fuse panel below the steering wheel.

You ROCK! Thanks a bunch!

I had the exact same problem due to a collapsed lifter. I simply replaced them (all) and now it'll only clack like that for about 2-10 seconds after sitting overnight. From what I understand that is pretty normal for hydraulic lifters. I tried all of the oil additives, thicker and thinner oil first, but it sounds like a collapsed lifter and the only way I found to fix that was to replace it. And once you're in that deep, might as well do 'em all.

I did a few hours of digging, including going through Nissan's site and couldn't find anything. If you'd be willing to take the time to do that I'd appreciate it.