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New Engine?


xenuex
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Hey yall, my buddy and I have been working on my Pathy. She is a 1991 Pathfinder V6 3.0L 5 speed 4x4.

 

She's been bogging and sluggish. Well, we found out that Cylinder one had about ~80 PSI. Which leads us to believe that the rings for Cylinder 1 are going. This engine has 275k miles roughly and after some discussion we came up with a couple solutions.

 

  1. Rebuild the engine (rebuilding the top and bottom end would be most efficient, obviously).
  2. Replace the engine with a like motor
  3. Replace the engine with a different motor

 

We are currently leaning towards replacing the motor, so options 2 or 3.

 

 

My question to yall is:

 

Is there another Nissan motor that I could utilize as a direct bolt in? Maybe something with a little more umph than a 3.0L?

  • If so, is anyone local to Western Washington that knows a reputable place to obtain one?

 

What do you guys recommend?

 

 

 

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Cant speak for what is local but the VG33E out of a 1st Gen Xterra will bolt in. The VG33E is rated(depending on year and only because of tuning) 170-180HP and 196-202FT LBS. The belt drive in the Xterra is a little different but closest to the Pathfinder. It has higher flowing heads and a not so agressive cam compared to the VG30E. There are a few thing you have to swap from one to the other to make it work, but overall many have been happy with the swap. I already have a donor engine for my 93 that I nees to go through.

Edited by Frenchy
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3.3 is the popular choice and I too have one waiting to go in. This thread should get you started. He bored his out for higher compression, and he's got the old TBI system rather than your MPFI, but the rest should give you an idea of what you're up against.

 

It's the same family of engine, so it mostly drops in, but there are a few differences that'll need attention. To use your existing fuel injection, you'll need to swap over your old intake. The 3.0 cams are an upgrade for the 3.3. The big one is the harmonic balancer. The trucks with the 3.3 had flat belts, the 3.0 trucks had V belts, and the pulleys and balancers do not interchange between them. If you want to keep your V-belt accessories, you can buy an adapter from Mr. 510/David Carroll (the guy who wrote the thread linked above) and do a little bracket tweaking here and there. If you're good with flat belts, get the engine with the accessories from an X or Fronty, they're supposed to fit easier (similar frame to the WD21, accessories in similar positions), though IIRC someone on here did manage a 3.3 swap from an R50 with a little fabrication.

If you tear down your 3.0, I would be interested to hear what went out. I'd be surprised if one cylinder's rings went on their own unless that cylinder had an injector issue or something. Valves, maybe? What were the other five at?

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Why get a crank adapter when you can run the Xterra accessories? If anything you just need to get a different low side hose(probably the Xterra hose) for the AC and you are set. You can even put the early Quest Alternator on just by swaping the pulley and push 125 AMPS.

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The xterra hoses are pretty different, I have an xterra and a pathfinder. Pathfinder uses banjo bolts while the xterra has a flared fitting, like a large brake line to the steering box. A lot easier to just use the adapter (which really is just a new balancer your pulley set bolts to), than futz around with making custom ps and ac lines. Plus I didn't have to discharge my aircon.

 

I just want what drops in the easiest and won't be too much hassle for anyone in the future who has to order parts or work on it.

Edited by adamzan
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The bore is a bit larger on the 3.3 compared to the 3.0. The stroke is the same. If you are going to rebuild the engine, maybe use the 3.0 crank? 
 

This saves trying to get an adapter for the crank pulley. 
 

The big end of the crank is the same between the two. The small end is not though. It’s about .024 larger on the 3.3. 

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I have heard of people running the 3.0 crank in the 3.3, but it seems like a lot of work to run inferior parts. They made the later cranks bigger for a reason. It's rare, but the 3.0 crank snout has been known to shear off. The 3.0 oil pump isn't bad, but I'm told the 3.3 pump is better. 

 

I guess it comes down to where you want the modifications to be. Mod the balancer, brackets, and water pump to keep the accessories simple, or mod the accessories to keep the engine simple. I'm not sure which is less work.

If your aircon works, then, yeah, there's a good reason to keep the V belts.


If you want to run a great big honking alternator, you may be better off with the flat belts. The later (130/145A) Quest alt will bolt up, but from what I've read, it may be too much for a single V belt. I've got a 90A Maxima alt on mine and haven't had any trouble with it.

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As mentioned the only thing that would have to change for the AC is the suction hose. I suspect one from an xterra will work. Also the xterra power steering pump will work with the wd21 hoses. Its been done. As for the alternator, the quest will bolt on just fine and the belt will handle it just fine.

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  • 5 months later...

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Edited by Satteinsyw
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