It's a difficult and involved swap. The Project X that Nissan built back in 2002 had a VQ35 out of an R50 Pathfinder. Dimensionally, that's the same as the 4.0. The guy who built it is a friend of mine. The VQ block is significantly wider than the VG, and the reason the VQ engine never went into the D22 chassis is because the frame rails were too close together. In a crash, the engine is supposed to break away from the mounts and slide between the rails and under the cab. The VQ can't do this and the truck would have never passed a crash test (fun facts to know and share).They had to take all the electronics over from the donor, as well as the transmission. Using the Pathfinder setup, they were still able to use the TX10A Xterra case (manual version of the electronic one that was in the Pathy), and retain stock drivelines.
The HVAC was a nightmare, and the truck had electrical gremlins, despite it being built at Nissan's Proving grounds. That shows how tough it is to get all the electronics to work. The biggest challenge was exhaust manifilds. The stockers couldn't be used because they exited at the frame rails. Custom headers had to be designed and built to tuck tight to the block to get between the rails.
The plus in all this is that the thing was a powerhouse compared to the 3.3 it replaced, but it was a LOT of work, even for the guys with all the resources.
SWANKy - Southwest Area Nissan Klub (yota)
