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1989 pathy vg33 swap


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So I've ran into a small issue on my VG 33 swap! I've just about got it ready to drop in my 89 rebuild but I have come across a fskc up I never thought would happen, so the harmonic balancer from the vg30 does not fit the VG 33 and its a 96 motor which meaning the different belt system, should I just send my old harmonic to a machine shop or is there a new setup for the swap!? Any answers!?

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The way most of the guys go about doing the swap is transplanting the crank from the original engine into the vg33. There was a guy a while back making adapters but don't know of anyone currently making them.

 

Sent from my Tank Xtreme Pro using Tapatalk

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So I just happen to have my original VG 30 heads and they are almost spotless for the use they've been through..(375k miles) My vg33 was in a rollover so oil came out the top end and the exaughst and it has 160k miles, should I swap the crank and heads from vg30 to the vg33? Should I swap the bearings as well? And will there be a timing issue?

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What damage would oil have done to the VG33 heads?

IIRC someone on here used VG30 heads an a VG33 block because they thought it would be easier than swapping the VG30 cams into the VG30 heads. The passages aren't the same and I think they ended up doing some grinding to sorta fudge the difference. Not the way I'd go.

 

I haven't heard of any timing differences between the two motors, except that your '89 VG30 will have square-tooth sprockets and the VG33 will be round-tooth. Make sure all the sprockets (and the belt!) are the same style.

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The 3.3 pump is superior to the 3.0 pump. (That said the 3.0 pump has kept my family 93 going for 290k on good oil so it is 'good enough' for normal use)
The 3.0 balancer will crack out if you machine it to fit a 3.3 crank.

The producer of the crank pulleys has been under poor health for some time but has every intention of having another production run made when he gets well.
I would have a shop make you a larger aluminum hub that bolts up to the existing pulleys, It does not need to be balanced but the bolts can be upgraded one size for better holding in the softer metal.

Alternatively if someone buys me a lathe and a keyway broach I can make them :)

 

Edited by MY1PATH
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  • 3 weeks later...

Update i just got my machine cleaned vg 30 crank succesfully installed into the vg 33! Keeping the front pump and am about to time it up and start dealing everything!!!! I am a bit scared that Im gonna start this motor and its going to throw the crank... Didnt have the money for bearings, rings, etc but there was almost no wear fue to the engine only having around 90k! Can anyone tell me if they have stick a 30 crank into a 33 and had a succesfull outcome! Gotta keep everything as original as posible so no parts have to be messed with!

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Yes, a 3.0 crank will work in a 3.3. Just use all your 3.0 stuff it's been done many times before.

 

I prefer the 3.3 pump because it flows more and I prefer the front mount filter because you don't spill on the starter or risk burning yourself on the header...
BUT my 1993 has 290k on a stock 3.0 pump with 3.0 filter location and the engine has been been just fine over the last 25 years so I think you'll be just fine.

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  • 1 month later...
2 hours ago, Wroth said:

I had an adapter made. It took about three weeks and cost me $125 at a local shop. I have two extra. 

Good price for made to order!

 

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1 hour ago, MY1PATH said:

Good price for made to order!

 

I thought so too, but I've never had anything custom machined like that, so it's good to hear someone else say so. This swap has been crazy, and I keep running into problems, but I love my truck and I'll do anything I can to make it run again. It's gotten me through a crazy blizzard on a cracked head on the way back from buying it off Craigslist in Phoenix, a freaking flood in Fayetteville, AR trying to get my little sister to her senior prom with 'fuel injector seats' made of a cut up rubber hose (it took a while to source the right ones and even longer to get them, don't judge me), and many less memorable incidents. When I pulled the engine and started taking it apart I found out that the previous owner had also had it out and partially apart, but hadn't torqued ANYTHING to spec! I can't believe it lasted that long! I drove it a couple of thousand miles without the stabilizer bar hooked up to the passenger side at all! Huge face-palm when I realized that... I got rear ended at 65mph in Oklahoma on the way to Denver (heh, the 2018 Equinox that hit me totally lost the front passenger side wheel, spindle, etc and everything else from the quarter panel to the engine block), continued to Denver, then down to Santa Rosa, then back to Arkansas and all I replaced was the tail light. I'm putting in an entire new exhaust system now, by the way, which I bought with the insurance money before the 3.0 blew. Sorry, I kind of went off on a rant there and I never did get the hang of paragraphs, but I have had several people suggest the truck isn't worth it (the undercoated frame suggests otherwise to me), and there seems to be a general disparaging attitude towards older vehicles prevalent in today's society. The insurance rep I dealt with after being hit was flat out rude, implying constantly that my precious was a beater just because it's 25 years old. She also refused to believe that my XE had LSD until I emailed her a picture of the sticker. I hope to keep driving my Pathfinder for the rest of my life, or until my eyesight fails and I become a danger to others... 

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  • 4 months later...

Update I need a oil pump that will work is all I'm really wanting... I was going to use the side port oil filter but I don't have the ball and thread installed so I'm wanting to use a vg30 oil pump with the filter at the front... Where can I get one? Made a thread on here about bearing issues as well, help meh pleez

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On 12/3/2018 at 1:07 PM, Keeyinn89pathfinder said:

Update I need a oil pump that will work is all I'm really wanting... I was going to use the side port oil filter but I don't have the ball and thread installed so I'm wanting to use a vg30 oil pump with the filter at the front... Where can I get one? Made a thread on here about bearing issues as well, help meh pleez

Maybe a Nissan Quest / Mercury Villager 3.0.
I'm pretty sure most the front filters were 3.3's and the ones that clear our steering system the best were from the xterra and frontier since they had the same steering system.

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