Swapping a vg33e (pathfinder) ?

[Inda_bebe]

I ordered a vg33e and specifically asked for a non-pathy motor. But guess what? Got a patchy motor and my mechanic accepted it.  So ran into an issue here. The accessories are in different locations and opposite sides of my vg30.  I was told just to put the vg30 accessories on the vg33, but where the alternator is supposed to go is there the oil filter housing is at and had to move it. Do I need a block off plate or relocation adapter? On the opposite side of the motor, there’s an area another oil filter housing that’s blocked off by a plate. What are my options at this point? 

[Slartibartfast]

Nefarious got an R50 engine working in his WD21, with the R50 accessories, and the R50 filter adapter. Info in this thread. I'm guessing the short power steering lines had to be made custom, reservoir moved, alt and power steering pressure switch wiring modified. And it looks like he had to re-engineer the power steering pump mount, probably to make it clear the box. But it is possible! And he seemed pretty happy with the outcome.

 

I'm curious whether a W/D22 oil filter adapter would bolt to the R50 oil pump. Might be an easy way around the problem you're having. There are signs that it may not--the oil pumps for WD22 and R50 have different part numbers, and the seals between the pump and adapter are different as well (R50 has O rings, WD22 has a gasket). But the oil filter adapter flanges on the two pumps look about the same to me, and it looks like the O rings on the R50 are grooved into the adapter, not the pump. So... maybe? Looks like the X filter adapter is still available. That should be what's on my VG33, which is on the floor and half torn apart at the moment, so if you want to compare measurements vs the R50 adapter, PM me.

 

If you want to run the VG30 accessories, keep in mind you'll need a crank adapter and a cut-down VG30 water pump to make it work. I've heard of people running the VG30 crank and oil pump instead of an adapter, and it sounds like that works, but it also sounds like it's a downgrade of both parts.

 

I think I've heard of 300zx guys relocating the oil filter to where that plate is (back to where the filter goes on the VG30). Not sure what they do at the front. Might be something they do when using the VG30 crank and oil pump. Have a poke around on some Z car forums, surely someone's written it up.

 

I vaguely remember someone, might've been Nefarious, having to beat on the VG33 oil pan to make it clear the WD21 front diff. Naturally I can't find the thread now. But, yeah, something to keep an eye on as you're putting stuff back together.

[Inda_bebe]

My mechanic got it done. It was an actual JDM motor which was told was less than 55k miles but as we were removing parts off of it, i noticed that the oil filter had 166k written on it with a sharpie, SMH. i didnt expect them to be honest about the miles without the vin number. i requested the vin, but they couldnt get it since it was from Japan. oh well. all the accessories were reversed, so i went to my local junkyard and pulled the accessories and brackets from a USDM xterra which costs close to $500 without the a/c compressor. This $1400 project vehicle costs me more than i expected. everything bolted right into the engine bay, i even kept the vg33 intake and just rewired the injector harness. i wasnt able to swap in the vg30 cams cause i didnt want my mechanic to get in there and cost him more headache and me more money. i will keep it though for another time if any case i had to get in there. I also replaced the exhaust after the CAT and put in a Super 10 flowmaster. i may have to replace the CAT cause its still causing a bit of smoke from oil coming from the vg30. 

 

Next project is to find parts and guidence to add the vg33 supercharger 

[Slartibartfast]

Good to hear you got it together. Did you swap the Xterra oil filter adapter as well, or work around the R50 one?