np123 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Im not sure where to post this so I'm doin it here if it needs moved or I do something wrong please let me know. Im a newbie here and most likely will mess up lol. But heres my question. I have just rolled 207K on my odometer and the stock engine is gettin pretty tired. I want to do 35-37" tires eventually with hopefully a 6" suspension and 3" body lift to clear everything. But what I'm wondering is what would be a better engine for my toy the Supper Charged one from the Frontier or a 4.3L vortec V6 that I have laying around? My Patty is a 1993 SE with manual trans pretty much all stock atm except for intake and exhaust and it definetly needs more power lol. So what do you guys think? Also have any of you heard or know anybody that has done either of these swaps that could let me know how much of a headache im in store for? Thanks guys and talk to you soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 IMO if you can get the harness and ecu out of the frontier then id swap that into the pathfinder. Also you need to investigate what suspension you will run along with what transfer case and gears you will run There is lots of stuff in the hardcore mod section...I would expect a SAS, 4.88 or higher gears, some form of doubler and probably some rear suspension geometry changes... All the above is under the impression this will be wheeled and not a street truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 4.3, there beat to death in fork lifts and pumps and they out last the toyota and nissan motors. But then you gotta change the tranny to gm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
np123 Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Ya thats what Im trying to decide. And Im not sure if I want to have to trailer it to the trails or if I wanna do a street/dirt truck. I was thinkin about doin somewhere around a 4:11 gears and havent really decided on what I wanna do as far as the suspension goes. I just know that I wanna stuff 35's-37's under it and still be able to go uphill at a decent rate of speed lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
np123 Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 nismothunder, I was thinkin bout findin a 700r4 trans to bolt it to but what transfere case would you recomend? Ive gotta rering the 4.3 anyways so im probably going to bore it out and mabey stroke it and a rather large cam, basically try to get as much power as possable out of the lil bugger lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhornet Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 GET A TRANSFER CASE DOUBLER EASIEST THING AND THROW IN A FRESHER 3.0L THIS WOULD BE BEST FOR OFFROAD OR GO WITH THE SUPERCHARGED CONVERSION FOR A DAILY DRIVER WITH LOWER GEARS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Stock gears should be 4.36 or 4.62 in your truck. For t-cases it depends on the applacation. If your going to use a chevy tranny then you might as well use a chevy front axle (cheapest, parts truck swap) then I'd advise a chevy np241 with the shifter. If your going too run a ford,dodge or stock nissan front parts you could run a dodge version of the same t-case or a np205. As far as a 3.0 vs 3.3 vs 4.3 swaps. The 3.0 is the cheapest, followed by the 3.3 swap then the 4.3. A 3.0 or 3.3 with the stock 5 speed and a 3.92:1 t-case gear set would crawl pretty good in 4low and would be easier to complete. But the 4.3 offers more power (yah the 3.3 sc makes power) then the 3.0 and build tourqe at a lower rpm. For 35-37 inch tires you will need too do a SAS (plus no buddy makes a 6 inch lift for these trucks) The rear axle is good enough stock for this range of tires, although ifyou start making decent power (above 300lbs) or you stuff the rear into cracks you may want to switch to a 9 inch or dana 60 rear. Gearing should be around 4.88-5.13 with the 4.3/ 33s/c and 5.13 minimum with the 3.0. A dana 44 minimum for the front axle, a 60 is really heavy and over kill for your app. But the first thing you should do is put the 3inch body lift on it and buy a used set of 33s. Just to see if you want too deal with a lifted truck day to day. And decode your axle gearing, on the passanger side of the engine compartent there should be a tag on the fender, it will ethier have HG43 or HG46 for the code, HG43 is 4.36 and HG46 is 4.63. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
np123 Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Ya ive been wondering about the lifts. What is the biggest lift you can get for these and where from? Also what is the possable power you can get out of a fresh rebuild 3.0 natrually asperated? Im still in the thinking process of everything. One of the big reasons I wanna lift it is I miss my long bed toy SO much, it was on 38's and could go damn near anywhere. But it did have a very stock 2.2RE so if you tried going up to steep of a hill you would just roll back down lmao, and so thats what I want out of this project is a truck that can go anywhere AND get out of its own way lol. I live in the foothills of CO so there is a bunch of primo off roadin up here and I want to be able to go EVERYWHERE . So basically what would you guys recomend to be the best "bang for the buck" for a set up? Good power good crawl and not have to trailer it to the trails? I do have a 2500 burban also so If I go to wild i can tow it but would rather just drive it to the trails lol, im lazy lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
np123 Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 O and thank you guys so much for all the advise. This is the first time ive actually joined and participated in a forum on one of my cars and Im lovin it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Hey bro, welcome to the forums... Your questions have all been answered before in various parts of the forums, so I would suggest utilizing the search feature as well. As for another angle to answer some of the suspension questions: Do you have welding, cutting and fabbing tools/experience? If so, then your already ahead of the game. First things first, do your suspension wether it is a straight axle conversion or just going with the t bar crank and UCA's. The reason I say this (and I speak from experience) is that if you decide to do a motor swap (especially if your going to a 4.3) then you will need to be sure that the new motor's oil pan and accessories will clear the stock suspension. I have experienced both the IFS (and its problems) and gone to the other end with a solid axle conversion as well as many others on this site. I would strongly suggest that you make sure and have all of your ducks in a row and your research complete before diving in, as (again I speak from experience) it can get VERY expensive if you have to go back and change something mid stride. Best of luck to you, and for the love of all things right take some pictures of your rig!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 A 4inch trailmaster is the biggest lift you can get for these trucks stock. But they havent been made in years so you have to find one used. A t-bar crank with 3inch body lift will clear 33x12.5s without a problem though and with trimming it will clear 35s. Although at that point the tie rods and centerlink are the weak points. A N/A rebuilt 3.0 should be around stock 3.3n/a (say 180hp, 210-20 lbs)power with the Jim Wolf Cams, custom ecu and headers. Maybe a little more if it needs to be bored out. But that would be a very minimal gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
np123 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 tmore4512 sorry bout starting a new one when the questions were all ready answered DOH lol. Do u just search for the forum topic or how does the search work? I know Im comptarded . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Hey man, I wasnt trying to give you a hard time! Actually the search function isn't working correctly right now, so your good!! If you go to the garage section, or this section (custom fab, hardcore etc) and browse you will see alot of the stuff thats already been covered. This forum is a place for THIS.... so don't feel bad, we all started out just like this, and if it were not for some of the veterans around here most of us would still be scratching our heads in wonder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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