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VG33E swap into WD21


Nefarious
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I'll gather all my stuff notes, pics and write-ups from my my old external hard drive and post them for you in a few.

 

I did a right up about a year ago when i installed a 2000 xterra vg33 and xterra auto trans.

 

The whole process took about a week to do but that was mainly becuase i had another DD to drive and was working alot of hours that week.

 

If you can find a 98-02 frontier or 00-02 xterra for a parts vehicle it will make everything much easier.

 

I found a 00 xterra that has been rear ended hard for $800 and had it towed to my house.

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oh really yeah man that would be awesome if you could dig that up for me!! i am planning on just using the current r50 pathy accessories for now cause i need to get this thing winter ready, the r50 steering pump looks smaller but it should work at least somewhat until i have more time (after the snow is gone) to switch it over to xterra/frontier accesories (which are laid out similar to the wd21 pathfinder, correct?)

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so major question here. i phoned nissan to get a oil pickup tube from a xterra with a vg33e. he said there are 3 seperate part numbers for oil pick up tubes for 3.3 xterra. one for 99, one for 2000, and one for 2001-200X. which year oil pickup should i get ???

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so major question here. i phoned nissan to get a oil pickup tube from a xterra with a vg33e. he said there are 3 seperate part numbers for oil pick up tubes for 3.3 xterra. one for 99, one for 2000, and one for 2001-200X. which year oil pickup should i get ???

 

I can guarantee that an '03 Xterra pickup tube will work in your stock WD21 oil pan. I'm running the '03 X oil pan as well, but only because it was in better shape than my WD21 pan. The two oil pans are identical except for the angled area where the drain plug goes. The X has the drain hole lowered so you can get a teeny bit more oil out. Oh, and don't forget the pickup tube gasket!

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well then maybe I shouldn't feel so bad about it. hahaha.

 

on a side note.. got my steering/balljoint kit today from ebay! 180 bucks shipped for idler arm, centerlink, balljoints(4), inner outer tie rods(4). i have used parts from the same seller on my 240sx for the last 2 years and so far they are still tight like new, so hopefully these ones last on my pathy too!! sure will be better than what's in there now...

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hey also... the nissan parts guy said the gasket is actually an o ring. is there a gasket that is better or is the o-ring fine? i thought i remembered reading somewhere that a gasket there was better... maybe im mistaken.

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hmm.. well I suppose I will continue to wonder. I'm sure the o-ring will be okay :)

absolutely pouring where im at on vancouver island..not getting much done today I don't think...

Edited by Nefarious
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Nissan superceded all VG pickup tubes to ones of a new design that takes a flat gasket. There have been many cases of the O-ring turning hard and leaking causing oil starvation and engine failure. I do not remember when they made the change, but it *should* be impossible to buy an O-ring type pickup tube new from Nissan. Also, I'm running the pickup tube from the '03 S/C X and it's flat gasket type stock.

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yeah when I spoke with nissan they said it was an O-ring as well... They didn't know what I meant with a flat gasket either.. hmm I suspect us in Canada get the old parts? Lol... I know with my z32 300zx in canada we didn't get a recall for a power transistor unit that controls the coil packs. We have to buy it here, and we get the same part prone to failure. In the u.s. they get an updated version that isn't prone to failure.. and for free. strange..

 

a note on the swap... *sigh* when I took off the lower intake manifold i noticed someone had already broken off one of the studs flush with the head... so i had the fun adventure of dealing with that. first tried not-so-ez-out. dumbest idea ever, the bolt was extremely stuck even after torch, i doubt ill ever use one of those again. it broke off in the drilled out hole in the bolt... off to the local industrial store to get some cobalt bits...drilled out the hardened steel ez out, then drilled out the whole bolt down into the head*sweating the whole time*. eventually the bit popped through the bottom straight dead on the hole and i had a sigh of relief. i then rethreaded the entire hole and put in a new lower intake manifold stud.... so that was about my whole day right there considering its freezing and only warm enough to work for 4 or 5 hours a day on this rig lol.

 

anyways its done now and i have 4 studs again.. assembling intake tomorrow and hopefully dropping in the new motor!!! then its just hookup and exhaust and she is done.

Edited by Nefarious
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http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/393694_10150952700855504_764055503_21609209_1739995663_n.jpg

the stud on the right was broken off flush with the head..

 

 

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/391869_10150952700645504_764055503_21609208_1034562634_n.jpg

hard to see in this pic but if u look close at the top left stud u cant even see it, it was broken off so flush. previous owner left me with a present:)

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a note on the swap... *sigh* when I took off the lower intake manifold i noticed someone had already broken off one of the studs flush with the head... so i had the fun adventure of dealing with that. first tried not-so-ez-out. dumbest idea ever, the bolt was extremely stuck even after torch, i doubt ill ever use one of those again. it broke off in the drilled out hole in the bolt... off to the local industrial store to get some cobalt bits...drilled out the hardened steel ez out, then drilled out the whole bolt down into the head*sweating the whole time*. eventually the bit popped through the bottom straight dead on the hole and i had a sigh of relief. i then rethreaded the entire hole and put in a new lower intake manifold stud.... so that was about my whole day right there considering its freezing and only warm enough to work for 4 or 5 hours a day on this rig lol.

 

anyways its done now and i have 4 studs again.. assembling intake tomorrow and hopefully dropping in the new motor!!! then its just hookup and exhaust and she is done.

Intake studs breaking on a VG33 seem to be a big problem. When I pulled the heads on my quest it had the same problem but it was the front left stud that broke. It looks like the intake gasket seeps coolant and that corrodes the stud and aluminum around it. I tried everything I could to get the stud out with no luck. Finally I got access to a welding machine and welded a nut to what was left. This just broke off when I tried to back it out. Finally I just kept building up weld on it until it was red hot. This finally broke it loose and I was able to back it out.

The VG33 I bought for my pathy was the same way but I let it soak for a few day to loosen it up before I took it apart and was able to get it apart without breaking it.

I had a 2000 xterra for a year and a half until my wife got tired of shifting the 5 speed and traded it in on the quest. When it was cold the xterra would smell like antifreeze when it was warming up.I could never find a leak so I just ignored it. Later I heard they had intake leaking problems.

James

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really now.... well that's really good to know i noticed that the 3.3 uses a lot thinner head to lower manifold gaskets. that was the only difference that i found.. the 3.0 were much thicker metal gaskets with rubber inserts and the 3.3 uses very thin sheet like metal ones like the lower to upper gasket seal. maybe this thinner gasket switch wasnt a good idea ?? hmm well i'll try it how it is with a nice silicone sealant job and see if it leaks, if it does then maybe ill switch the earlier 3.0 lower plenum and gasket set over... really want to avoid buying more gaskets for now if i don't have to. i can always re do it next year when the pathy is getting a turbo. :)

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yeah i kind of figured the gaskets made a difference... i used the matching 3.3 gaskets with the 3.3 lower manifold and the 3.0 upper manifold.

 

well now im glad i did that after reading mr. 510s post. now i know to swap the lower manifold and gaskets both from the 3.0 if i ever have any problems with leaking.

 

so today i got the intake all assembled, the injectors and rail and all the injector harness all together. just need to index the torque converter back into the transmission, swap the a/c bracket over and it's ready to go back in. seems like im going to beat the snow after all!!

 

btw just a note... i used the factory r50 oil pickup tube, it went to the same spot in the deep sump , same level off the bottom of the pan. it didnt quite fit at first but it was just minor rubbing on the pickup tube in the shallow part of the pan.. the pan has a couple divits in it in the far shallow end. i just "persuaded" one of the divits down maybe 1/8th inch and it fit up perfectly. :) so u don't actually have to buy an xterra pickup if you dont want. just a thought.

Edited by Nefarious
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okayyy the motor is all together and ready to go in, got a hoist lined up from a buddy. figured out what im gunna do with the a/c as well. just going to use the r50 ac pump with my currently converted r134a system. i have the aluminum lines from both vehicles im just gunna splice the end connectors that go to the a/c compressor with my existing factory lines. they go to the same location im just either gunna get them welded on from a buddy whos an aluminum welder or just use some flared fittings. using the old r50 power steering hard line and r50 pump, just a little tweak in the thin part of the line and it fits right up. this swap is a lot easier so far than i originally thought. ill get some more pics once the motor is back in and show how i adapted various things.

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soooo was dropping the motor in today and i have overcome all the other headaches only to be faced with the last major headache....and its a painful one. :( the power steering pump isnt clearing the steering box dropping it in together... i need another 3/4 inch to squeak it past which is just not there its very close. i am hoping if i dro pthe pump and then drop the motor that i will be able to get the pump on where it sits... i assumed there would be room but hopefully i didnt assume too much... lol...

 

well ill try that in the morning otherwise i guess i will be going to the junkyard to get an xterra pump/alternator *sigh*. the pathy alternator isnt the same just flipped around is it ?? also the frontier is the same as the xterra with accessory layout, yes???

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