Guest hondatuner Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I have some questions, Im new to this site and also new to my Pathfinder. I have not even driven it since I bought it 6mo ago. The crank key way decided to to rust and fall apart and the timing is off so it does not run well I removed the engine(by the way removing the front diff was wonderfull ) and now I dont know if I should replace the crank and maybe rebuild it or replace it with a take out from Japan and will it fit The engine I found is a VG30E RWD (Long crank snout, Knock sensor in Valley) that is exact wording my Pathfinder is an 1988se with the VG30I I really need help where can I find a reasonably priced engine I have an acccount with nippon motors but other than that engine which says it is 2wd only is the only one ive found 89-94 Nissan pickup 200sx 300zx 2wd only long crank snout ,knock sensor in Valley VG30E RWD SOHC will it fit? I was told swaping oil pump and manifold and somthing with the crank snout I was also told there are engines with one keyway or two any help would be greatly appreciated I would love to take it to the mountains at some point thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 So you're saying you found a VG30E as a replacement for your VG30i but don't know if it will work or not? Man, you gotta start using periods in your writing. It's not a direct swap, no. The intake and FI setup are all different, and at the very least you'd have to swap all the TBI stuff over from your old engine to get it to work, unless you wanted to swap engine computers and transmission computer(if it's an automatic). I don't think they made 2WD-specific engines, so they should be very nearly the same. I really can't comment on the crank length or keyway issue, cause I don't know. Sorry. Lots of luck, man! I hope you get it going soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Here's the problem I ran into. Check the crank shaft diameter. Make sure it is the same as the one you have. When I did my '91 VG30E, I didn't realize it was a different size till I had everything mounted but the pulleys. Measure yours, and inquire about the size of the one you are lookin at. M.M. Edit: as for the knock sensor, the new motor I put in didn't have the same mounting place as the old one, so I drilled a hole as close to the crankcase in the bell housing (where the tranny connects) as I could, then just bolted it there. It has been workin fine for the last 2 years. (knock on wood) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hondatuner Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Thanks for the help both of you, Your help is greatly appreciated.My girlfriend says my punctuation is poor also, I get carried away sorry. I found a site pertaining to my questions on the engine. I found that there are two generations of the VG30 maybe more. The old Pathfinder engine pre 1987 (or vin split(87)) is all one key crank the pulley for the timing belt and the harmonic balaner are one key. the 88-?93(I or when engine changed) is a two key one key for the crank pulley and one key for the harmonic balancer. I found this info from an engine sit called rpmrons.com they offer complete rebuilds,cranks,shortblocks, etc. also 4x4parts.com is an excellent site they where also very infoformative. I like this site alot. Every Pathfinder owner into offroad customizing has been very helpfull setting me in the right direction.I cant wait to get my rig in the mountains. I have a suggestion there is a site you should check out. Hondahybrid.org it is a resource page for swaping engines suspension and other upgrades. M aybe you could do the same for Nissan trucks. Like how to's on V-8 swaps,Lift kits,etc. Just a suggestion. (dont want to step on any toes I like this forum) Thanks again JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest januk1 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 I have an all stock 1989 SE-V6 4X4 with the VG30i engine in perfect working order. In fact the whole car works perfectly apart from the tranny which is in pieces in the trunk. I have a post in the sale section if you wanna check it out. But basically to me my car is a write off, I can't afford to drop another tranny in there so I'm willing to chop it up if you wanna buy the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 I have done this exact thing and in fact a VG30E meant for a 90 300ZX resides in my orginally equipped VG30i engine bay... they ONLY thing ... and I mean only thing ... to worry about is weather the crank shaft is a SHORT or a LONG ... either way is no real big deal ... all you have to do is look at the shaft, compare it to the other, and you will know ... your stock engine should have a short shaft ... if you find a motor with a long shaft, you'll have to get the correct balancer for it (Nissan Part number -12303-12G01 - 189.00 dollars ) and everything will line up perfectly ... do not use the original harmonic balancer/pulley that came with it unless it is from a Pathfinder or pickup ... the car ones are different ... Everything else will easily convert over.... (manifold(s), power steering, a/c, etc) if you get the motor from a 300ZX like i did, you'll also have to change the oil pan and pickup over .... trust me on this ... even with my TM 4" lift there was only about 1mm of space ... and do NOT ... I repeat - do not use silicon for a gaskget ... only use the rubberized Nissan piece ... you'll end up doing it all over again if you use anything else ... plan on getting a new clutch set w/ throw out bearing too ... unless you have an automatic, this will save you tons of frustration in the future ... I know the exact thing you are going through right now ... I stripped the key and key keeper completely and was the reason I chose to do the engine swap ... you can get by for a while by welding it like I did, but it will be out of balance, and will likely eventually fail ... replaceing the crank is WAY to involved for a novice mechanic like myself, and time consuming for a good mechanic ... do the swap and you will be a lot happier ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 For the swap, I have a question. in the late 80's 300zx i was told that the fuel injection was a batch fire set up. if this is so, you should be able to use the 86.5-89 Pathfinder vg30i computer and wire harness (if you have ever seen the wire harness, you don't want to pull it out!) on the VG30e am i off my rocker? -thnkboutit- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 you cannot use a throttle body injection computer and harness for a Multi-Port injection system ... you will have to swap the, intake manifold and the TBI all together for the vg30e block to work ... the two computers are miles apart in difference with the various different sensors that it uses... so dont even try it ... hope that helps ... and it isn't the computer that is the problem ... it was the injectors themselves that caused fires ... kinda funny actually .. I pulled up into a Nissan dealer in Seattle and they had a 300 ZX just sitting there ... a tech jumped in and tried to fire it up ... and that's all he got was a fire ... lol ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pathfinder_1988 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Back when my 88 Pathy engine expired ( front oilpump seal blew out at 65MPH, dumping all my oil), I went down to my local dealer and bought an engine for a 300ZX. All I did was put my Oil pump, oil pan, and intake on it. Pretty simple job, but I am curious...why did you take out the front Diff?....lol.. I left mine in the truck...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 the clearance between the oil pan and diff is too tight to just slide the motor out off of the tranny output shaft... so you have to do one of three things ... remove the oil pan and pickup. remove and slide back the transmission. Or remove the diff ... since I have the trail master lift and a body lift with 35's, removing the front diff was the easiest for me as far as room to work... I didn't wanna futz with the oil pan while it was still in the rig, and I didn't have a good enough jack nor the strength to mess with the tranny ... BTW ... I did put the front diff back in ... I have a question for you though, why did you swap the oil pumps? They are the exact same thing on a non-turbo Z? ... just curious ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcardamone Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Just an Offer here, I pulled a V6 out of an 88 Pathy. I got it On a Pallate and Ready for sale. If you want it, Make a Reasonable offer. Its just sitting here waiting for the Right moment or person to Happen. joe@cmsolutionspa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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