knikmudslinger Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Hello im new to new to the forum stuff. I dont really know what im doing...It actually took me a few days of messing around on the site to even figure out how to post a new topic. I realize there is already a few topics posted on doing a 4.3 vortec swap and the possibilities. well its definately possible! I am in the process of doing it right now on my 95 its pretty simple. My problem is I cant seem to get the tach to work right when i hook up the tach wire from the 4.3 to the nissan wiring harness its like the signal is doubled or something. The tach reads higher than it should at idle and when i rev the motor the tach shoots way up! does anyone know if there is any kind of adapter to fix this or can a resistor or diode or something be put in line to fix this any info would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I'm sure you "can" make it work, but I think most people just swap in aftermarket gauges when they swap to a Chebby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver97ex Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 What motor did you pull out of it? The nissan tach is controlled by the ecu and when I put a new tach in my Pathy (95 SE V6), it reads higher than it should and I figured out that it is because the tach I got from the jy was out of a 4-cylinder so the tach reads 4 pulses and my ecu is giving it 6 pulses per revolution. If I am incorrect someone correct me but that is what I figured was wrong with mine. And if your tach is out of a 4 cyl it may be the same issue. I'm not 100% though. Just an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I would love to see pictures of this swap!! I have never done this, but just thinking out loud, perhaps put the guts of a tach from a blazer of jimmy in your dash would solve the problem? That could be a lot of work. Perhaps if you measured the output voltage on the tach wire with a meter and then got a resistor to bring the signal down to what you need? You would want to verify the result with a timing light or something you could trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift220 Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 There aren't to many options but Dakota Digital makes just what you need... http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/pag...prod/prd127.htm Stock gauges look way better then aftermarket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Stock gauges look way better then aftermarket! I don't agree, but to each their own. I have just one of these, but would love my entire dash to be only these: http://www.jegs.com/p/Cyberdyne/749235/10002/-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Aftermarket gauges only look bad when someone doesn't install them right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 My buddy had to use the Dakota Digital when he swapped a 5.0 into his Bronco II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 What motor did you pull out of it? The nissan tach is controlled by the ecu and when I put a new tach in my Pathy (95 SE V6), it reads higher than it should and I figured out that it is because the tach I got from the jy was out of a 4-cylinder so the tach reads 4 pulses and my ecu is giving it 6 pulses per revolution. If I am incorrect someone correct me but that is what I figured was wrong with mine. And if your tach is out of a 4 cyl it may be the same issue. I'm not 100% though. Just an idea. im assuming it came with a V6 this isnt the original body i started out with a 1990 that had a vg30e then last fall i rolled it...so..i found a new body for it. It was just the body and frame. my original frame already had the sas so i just swapped the bodies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 There aren't to many options but Dakota Digital makes just what you need... http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/pag...prod/prd127.htm Stock gauges look way better then aftermarket! hey thanks! That looks like the ticket!! I really want to keep stock gauges. aftermarkets look fine but not when you had a dead gauge in your cluster!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 I would love to see pictures of this swap!! I have never done this, but just thinking out loud, perhaps put the guts of a tach from a blazer of jimmy in your dash would solve the problem? That could be a lot of work. Perhaps if you measured the output voltage on the tach wire with a meter and then got a resistor to bring the signal down to what you need? You would want to verify the result with a timing light or something you could trust. 1. how and where would i post pics 2. I will try the resistor idea its much more cost effective than the device from dakota digital. 3. My swap is probably being done in the cheapest and easiest way possible. Im using a variety of parts lol! the motor is out of a 92 s-10 its the cpi motor, its supposed to put out about 200hp. the bellhousing is the same as a 350, with that being said i found a bellhousing off an old 350, then my brother had a 5 speed out of a 2.8 s-10 laying around. I found that the four bolts that attach the transmission to the bellhousing is the same as a 350 so im using this tranny..im not sure how well it will hold up tho.. My biggest reason for using this tranny is to get my shifters back as far as possibe. I still needed to modify my trans stick to make it fit properly. My other clearence issue was the fire wall the distributor wouldnt clear so i notched it back as far as possible. I would be happy to post pics as soon as i figure out how! (I know.. damn newbies...) *mutter mutter* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 LOL Ok, from the queen bee... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20781 my brother had a 5 speed out of a 2.8 s-10 laying around. I found that the four bolts that attach the transmission to the bellhousing is the same as a 350 so im using this tranny..im not sure how well it will hold up tho.. Depends if the 2.8 tranny is the same as the 4.3. Who knows with chebby... Yeah, a few people have done the same thing. If you could put together a basic write up, well, that would be appreciated. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Very interesting. The 4.3 is not a high revving motor, but you will be quite happy with the torque it produces. Other V6s may have higher torque, but the 4.3 has nice torque at low RPMs. I have a Vortec 4.3 in my 99 Jimmy and I prefer it over my VQ3.5 pathy for towing. THey both tow fine, the Jimmy just feels a bit better in lower RPMs. The 2.8 5 speeds are not bullet proof, I would not abuse it if it were mine behind the 4.3. JMO. THere is always photobucket.com for posting pics. I hope the resistor thing works... like I said, I have not tried that, it was just an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 the bellhousing is the same as a 350, A 4.3 is a 350 with 2 cylinders chopped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 LOL Ok, from the queen bee...http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20781 Depends if the 2.8 tranny is the same as the 4.3. Who knows with chebby... Yeah, a few people have done the same thing. If you could put together a basic write up, well, that would be appreciated. B Thanx im a lil slow!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 LOL Ok, from the queen bee...http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20781 Depends if the 2.8 tranny is the same as the 4.3. Who knows with chebby... Yeah, a few people have done the same thing. If you could put together a basic write up, well, that would be appreciated. B I do know the 4.3 tranny doesnt have a removable bellhousing and the distance hooking the front of the bellhousing to the center of the stick is shorter than the setup i am using. I also failed to mention i made a inch and a quarter spacer to put between the tranny and bellhousing. in the next few days i'll do a detailed write up with pictures if you all promise not to laugh lol, its a home brewed creation for sure!! PS thanx for all the help and advise so for everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift220 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I don't agree, but to each their own. I have just one of these, but would love my entire dash to be only these: http://www.jegs.com/p/Cyberdyne/749235/10002/-1 Sorry, I meant for R50's generally. I really like the simple clean look of the gauges. I hate seeing any size white tachs mounted anywhere else on the dash. I'm pretty sure your 2.8L tranny is a T5 which means it may not hold up very long behind the 4.3L. Your best bet would be a NV3500 but i'd wait until the T5 goes on you. The engine itself is rated for about 160 hp but the torque will be a definite improvement over your old engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Sorry, I meant for R50's generally. I really like the simple clean look of the gauges. I hate seeing any size white tachs mounted anywhere else on the dash. I'm pretty sure your 2.8L tranny is a T5 which means it may not hold up very long behind the 4.3L. Your best bet would be a NV3500 but i'd wait until the T5 goes on you. The engine itself is rated for about 160 hp but the torque will be a definite improvement over your old engine. where would i find the NV3500 is that made by new process? the tranny i have now is a borg warner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift220 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 where would i find the NV3500 is that made by new process? the tranny i have now is a borg warner New Venture and its found behind 1990+ V6's. I'm not to familiar with the manual trannys so I may be wrong actually about the durability of the T5. I figured because they used the NV3500 behind the newer V6's still that it was a better option but after further research it may be just as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irocjoecool Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 2.8 5 speeds have the 60 degree chevrolet V6 bolt pattern. The 4.3 is a 90 degree v6 that uses the same pattern as a small block chevy. The only 5 speeds that will work with the 4.3 are the ones found on 4.3s or small blocks like the new venture or even the t-5s from camaros and trans ams (have to change tailshaft I think) I love my pathfinder but I had a 92 4.3 CPI Vortec Blazer and it was MUCH more powerful than my VG30i. 190 hp. the 160 hp 4.3 is the TBI engine. I'd love to have a CPI 4.3 in my pathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I had a '93 Blazer before my R50... Missed the mean torque and overall badassness of the 4.3 Vortec. Had 78,000 original km's on it when I rolled the beast about a year ago. The thing was mint. I'd love to have that engine in my R50... *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 2.8 5 speeds have the 60 degree chevrolet V6 bolt pattern. The 4.3 is a 90 degree v6 that uses the same pattern as a small block chevy. The only 5 speeds that will work with the 4.3 are the ones found on 4.3s or small blocks like the new venture or even the t-5s from camaros and trans ams (have to change tailshaft I think) I love my pathfinder but I had a 92 4.3 CPI Vortec Blazer and it was MUCH more powerful than my VG30i. 190 hp. the 160 hp 4.3 is the TBI engine. I'd love to have a CPI 4.3 in my pathy the 2.8 shares the same 4 bolt, bolt pattern that attaches the tranny to the bellhousing as the old 350's. do you know much about the t 5, do they hold up to much abuse, what should i look for or avoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irocjoecool Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 The actual bellhousing bolts are the ones that vary depending on the engine the transmission was originally attached to. T5s are fine for 4.3s and 305s. They were not available stock behind a 350 in a chevrolet vehicle, allegedly the 350 made too much torque for the T5. 5.0 Mustangs had a "World Class" T5 that was a little stronger than the one used in the Fbodys and S10s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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