I picked this little 4 door 1994 B13 Sentra up from another technician at my shop. At first, the alure of good gas mileage was all I wanted. Then, after looking at the MPG from the 1.8L and what I get with a VQ in my 240SX, I figured the 2 MPG difference between the two was well worth the 200 more HP I'll gain!!! The same rules apply to the Sentra that applied to my 240SX. The 3.5L weighs less than the 1.8L, but the transmission weighs about 25 lbs more. Custom things will need to be made, but the reliability will go through the roof. So a week or so ago I started on it. Money and a full time job keep me from getting it all done in a hurry, but here's what I've gotten so far.

Here she is. Ugly faded gold paint, peeling off like they all do.

Oh yeah, its not just a grocery getter....but a Grandma grocery getter!!!!

This is the front of a modified VQ30DE maxima cross member. It was from the 1995-2001 Maxima. It was too long in the front and back, when I first aquired it. I cut several inches off the front, and cut out the lower section where the cuts are visible. This was to remove a hump that was in the member and allow me to install a new piece of sheet steel. That piece is not in yet, but this is just a test fit. The second layer of steel will be welded in and drilled where the bolts are visible.

This is the rear of the member prior to welding. I cut about 3" out of it, reshaped the rear mounting portion and grinded the edges so it could be welded back to the member.

Here's the part that the rear bolts actually pass through. Doesn't look like much now, but if you plan to build one of these cars, this is the cheapest way to go.

Here it is welded and in the car. This is from the top, showing the welds across and some of them down.

Not exactly a row of nickels.....more like a knocked over pile of poker chips....but the penetration is good and the welds are clean (no slag or bubbles). I welded the underside of the two pieces too for added stiffness. It will all get painted once the motor is ready to finaly rest in the vehicle.

This is a shot of the test fit from the passenger side. The motor is a little high as the crossmember bushings are not installed...which will bring it down about 1". Once the bushings are in, the axles will have a better angle to the wheels and the shifter clearance will be better.

A shot from where the transmission will sit. This will be running a manual transmission so ignore flex plate on the engine now. I already have an 03 Sentra SE-R V-Spec 6 speed. I just need to get the VQ bellhousing for it.

A shot of the rear motor mount and bracket. The power steering pressure lines will get routed a bit farther back so no noise is transfered from the engine to the steering wheel.

This is the front motor mount and bracket. Is it really in the way of the radiator.....No, but it is VERY close. This will get straightened out when that time comes. The ides for now is to move the condensor and radiator forward about 2" allowing room for the fans. I will be making headers for this, so that frees up a lot of room. In FWD cars (as you guys know) there has to be adequate heat shielding in place between the exhaust and the radiator to keep things cool.

Here's an undershot. Things are tight, but not really posing any problems right now.

A shot from the rear. Oil pan clearance is good and shouldn't get any worse if the crossmember is lowered 1".

A shot from the front.

On the ground now. That's enough for today.

One other thing. This engine will torque, big time. So some stiff motor mounts and good mounting points are very important. The radiator support in this car is NOT suitable for this engine. I'm sure it would hold for a little while, but eventually it will bend, and create all sorts of problems. I am reinforcing the lower radiator support by welding tubes in the holes that I drilled for the front crossmember bolts. This will keep the support square which wil reduce its ability to crumple and flex. The nuts on top will get welded into place for the bolts to thread into (easier).

So that's about it for now. I do plan to run the 350Z ECM and wirring harness. It just makes more power. This means I will be installing drive by wire to this car. I'm more worried about getting the clutch pedal to fit right! I've seen some cool Sentra's built on here, so I don't think this one will be any special thing, but I bet it will be fun to drive!!!!

Till there's more to post.....later gang!

HELL

YEAH!

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Top notch work mate.

Nissan S12 - Gazelle coupe / 200SX / Silvia

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thats gonna be a monster.

Outter shaft and joint from the passenger side of a Maxima (VQ30 is what I checked). Where that shaft meets the joint that is splined into the bearing (supported at the motor), the joint will be removed. The inner joint from another VQ axle will be used here. This gives the correct drivers side axle using an origional passenger side maxima axle. The passenger side will probably be another derivative of this setup.

That is all in theory and quick measurements, but looks like it will work. As for the hubs, yes, I'm going to use B15 hubs. Hopefully I'll have the parts in a few weeks. Then we can see if I'm right or not. In any case, whatever it takes, I'll get it figured out.

Difference inside the transmission when a LSD is present is a complete open passageway from one side of the diff to another. If you're ever unsure of your FWD differential, just remove the axles from the transaxle and look through the diff. If there is a pipe in the middle, that will be the pinion for an open diff, if its a clear shot through, with no pinion, its an LSD. Thats for Nissan anyway, I can't speak for other makes, but I am sure Toyota is this way too.

UPGRADES: Custom short ram intake, exhaust, Tein S-Tech springs, custom tinted taillights, painted upper/lower grill, fog light surrounds, engine cover, wheels.

thats hella gangster dude

So here's a few more pics.

This is the transaxle housing. It was way nasty when I got it. I scrubbed it with a steel brush and hosed it in acid. After that didn't get it clean, I used a cookie and a grinder (green cookie). That got it pretty clean, but made it look like a poor attempt to polish it. I can't have that, so I went with the good 'ol engine paint. Used "engine alluminum" for the color and sealed it up with a few layers of clear. Now I will have to paint the new clutch housing as well, or it will just look bad.

Here's the inside of the transaxle housing. Like I said, it was pretty clean. Basically, soap and water cleaned this up.

This is the QR clutch housing. I can't use this anymore, but I will need to get the differential side bearing race out and remove the main shaft bearing to install into the VQ clutch housing. To anyone doing this swap....be EASY getting the speed sensor out. All of nissans FWD's are horrible to remove the speed sensor if there is any sign of rust on the trans. This one was so bad I had to push it out from the inside to keep from breaking it.

Box'o'gears'n'stuff. Thats the guts of a 6 speed stuck in a Matic D box. I'll have to install these to the new clutch housing and measure all the heights. Cross that with the measurements taken from the case halves and calclulate the correct shims for the main shaft, input shaft and reverse shaft end plays.

Here's the helical diff.

So that's it for now. Like I mentioned, the clutch housing should be in Tuesday. Hopefully I can make a video of the reassembly and post it for all of you. It sounds hard to do this, and the end play part scares people. Hopefully I can make it look less difficult and give you guys one of the secrets to doing this swap. Later gang.

So, here's where I'm at. I bolted the transaxle housing to the clutch cover housing with no internals in it to check fitment into the car. Two things amazed me. One, that my paint job of the transaxle housing matched the stock alluminum color of the clutch cover housing, and two, that the transmission will fit without modification to the frame rails. The down side is the drivers axle is going to be short, very short, so we will have to see about a combination...and if needed, I will have custom axles made.

The differences in housings are this:

This is the stock QR25DE clutch cover housing for any Sentra SE-R Vspec. It is very similar to the Altima clutch cover housing, but it has one more detent than the 5 speed (obviously) so this is Vspec ONLY.

This is the clutch cover housing for the VQ35DE engine from an 03 Maxima with locking differential. I dont think it mattered if it was locking or not when I ordered it. I will post the part number in the future, for anyone who needs it. This one was about $260.00 my cost, which will cost the average joe about $360.00 unless you have a business account or work for Nissan. It is not available through Infiniti. I can say that it comes with the differential side seal and the input shaft seal. I wish I had known that because I ordered those as well, and could have saved myself a few bucks.

Two bolts are holding the two halves together, but all of the bolt holes line up. Im happy the paint matched the metal, so that's one less thing to work out.

We installed this to the engine, and found that I was correct in assuming the engine would need to come down about 2". The crossmemeber is bolted directly to the car, without bushings or spacers, at this time. When the spacers and bushings are installed, I should get between 1.5" and 2" of drop, which will sit this transmission just under the arch in the drivers side frame rail (already there for the previous transmission).

So cool, a little more done, a lot learned! I did pick up an A/C compressor, P/S pump and the clutch/brake pedals this weekend ($75.00 at Pull-A-Part). That will get installed later one.

More to come.....

30400-8H810

This is from an 02-03 Maxima.

Queen City...as in Charlotte? If thats the case I hope to see this car rolling around sometime .

You probably will, but won't notice it. Such a granny car could roll through a license check without being noticed. LOL I have been debating having it completely repainted white, to match my S13, and of course, doing the same color scheme on the engine as well (purple and chrome).

GOOD NEWS!!!!! The speed gear from the origional trans (in this case, automatic) fit perfectly into the 6 Speed transmission. Its the same length, depth and gear ratio (meaning, same number of teeth and diameter). I installed the speed gear to the transmission and set the differential in the case. I gave the diff a spin and measured the A/C current from the speed sensor, all was good, and well within specification....so, no worries getting a functioning speedo in this swap (unlike my 240sx!).

I am searching for a set of NX manual gauge cluster set if anyone has one.

So I ordered my shims on Monday, and today they were supposed to be here. Bad news, one of them is on BACK ORDER with no release date as of yet. What a bummer. Im going to see if we can't "customer care" them (nissans way of getting things done a bit quicker). So once those are here, I will be making the video of the trans build up.

Few new tips:

The speed sensor from the old trans will fit, will give a signal, BUT does have a slightly smaller diameter than the newer speed sensor. I believe this will not last long, but we will see once it's running. If not, the newer speed sensor is of the same pulse generating type, so it will give the correct signal to my speedo, but the plug will just have to be changed on the wiring harness.

The service manual states, to select the correct shim for the input shaft, main shaft and reverse idler shaft, to subtract the height of the gears from the deptch of the case, then ADD endplay. This is assuming that by adding the endplay, it is written as a negative number. So basically, measure how far into the housing the gears will go (at the bearing, without the shim), and how deep the housing is from its mating surface, subtract the first measurement from the later, then SUBTRACT end play from that. Order the correct shim closest to the middle of the end play range. Example.

D = Distance D1 = hieght of bearing with shaft installed into clutch cover

D2 = depth of transaxle case to where the bearing sits (and shim rides)

Lets say D2 is 86 mm meaning the depth from where the transaxle case bolts to the clutch cover housing, to where the shim will ride is 86 mm.

Lets say that D1 is 84mm and this is measured from where the clutch cover housing bolts to the transaxle housing and measured to the top of the bearing on any given shaft.

D2 - D1 = 2mm That is the gap between the transaxle case and the bearing on that particular shaft.

Now, end play is 0.02mm - 0.09mm. To find the correct shim, you must subtract this from measurement "D" which was 2mm. So to find range you will need to be in, in order to get one shim, you subtract 0.02 from 2.0 giving you 1.98mm and again with 0.09 from 2.0 giving you 1.91mm. Now your shim list gives you shim sizes of 1.90mm, 1.94mm, 1.98mm and so on. You would select either 1.94mm shim or 1.98mm shim. 1.98 will be tighter, but as the trans wears out, this gap will increase slightly. I would use a 1.98 and sand 0.01mm off of it to get just on the tighter side of the middle.

So, thats it for now. I will be putting this in soon and hopefully getting more goodies to install.

The best part of this build is, there arent even that many people on NICO following it, so that means, there won't be many people on the street expecting it!!!!

So its been slow enough at work that I could take some time to try and fit this transmission in. Well guess what???? IT FITS!!!!

Its a bit tight on the drivers side, so that will need some "massaging" with the BFH. The stock mounts for the transmission will be very close to bolting right in. The engine t-cover mount is going to be some work. Anyway, the passenger side axle will clear the rear most motor mount with no problem (as it should). The engine still needs to come down a bit, as I have not made the spacers for the crossmember yet. I'm just excited that I was able to get this in! I have pulled the dash to start work on the shifter cables, drilling and installing a clutch pedal, and cleaning out the heater core and evaporator cores as they have decades of grime in them. Remember, you breathe whatever goes through your heater core and evap core, so if you can, when rebuilding a car, clean those so you can be sure there isn't anything growing in there (and if a cars sits long enough, stuff can grow there!!!).

So here's a few pics!!

There it sits. Bolted up and ready for mount fabrication. There is no clutch in this. When that time comes, there is a real possiblity that I might have to pull the entire drivetrain to install the clutch.

From the side.

From the other side.

Dash pulled.

This pic is just because I'm happy how they turned out. This is a 350Z wheel on my 240SX that I painted today. I think it turned out pretty good. Not related, but I think this paint scheme would look just as well on some Sentra SE-R 17's.

So thats it for now.

Later gang!

The wheel paint looks sharp to. What kind of paint did you use for that?

EDIT: I see now, good luck with it wiring is the fun part

Modified by VQpwrdSpeCV at 9:20 AM 11/12/2008

The ECM will be from a 350Z as will the wiring. This should be good for an extra 20-25 HP over the Maxima ECM (non EGR). The wiring won't be a problem. I've installed VQ35's in many different vehicles. Just a week ago, I got one running in a Datsun 240Z. Also, I'm happy to install NATS, wouldn't want anyone taking this thing when I'm finished!!!

I just ordered the B15 clutch pedal, master cylander, shift assembly and control cables today. Hopefully I can start on that this weekend.

We've covered the B15, extensively, when it comes to this swap, but, I've never messed with the B13 or B14 chassis in terms of VQ development (yet).

Travis

I will be installing NATS, BCM and the ECM to ths car. This requires the use of DTC's to stop the logic process of the ECM to determine what systems are functioning and which ones aren't. By using what's known as a normality code (having it stored) for any given system, I can use that to my advantage. This will cause the ECM to determine that any further testing of that system is irrelevant, therefore ignoring other items that pretain to that system. Basically, what I'm saying is that I use codes that normaly would be bad, as a tool to keep the vehicle out of fail safe.

The B15's are wicked with this swap! Glad to see them, just looking to get this B13 going.

So, basically, I worked with what I had. I could have welded a tap to the side of the clutch pedal bracket and yada yada yada, but instead, I simply bent the top of the pedal bracket to fit flush with the body and drilled a hole to pass a bolt through. The bolt drops in from under the cowl, so it needs to be sealed thoroughly or water will get into the cabin. Then I marked the bulkhead where the holes needed to be for the master cylander studs and shaft and drilled them out.
The B15 clutch pedal bracket has two pipes welded to the plate mating with the bulkhead (firewall). These could be cut off and the klevis pin shortened to allow for the difference, but since they are there, I'll use them to my advantage. Sentras are known to develop cracks where the clutch pedal mounts to the bulkhead. I will cut a piece of plate steel and bolt it (or weld it) to the bulkhead and then mount the pedal to it. It will be the same thickness as the pipes attached to the clutch pedal bracket. This will allow the force of clutch operation to be dispersed more evenly across the bulkhead.

Lastly, I installed the coolant temp sending unit to the water pipe that goes behind both cylander heads (and off to the radiator). Just drill, tap and install. Add sealant and teflon tape to prevent any leaks. I used a bit too much, but oh well, it wont leak!

The clutch pedal bracket is slightly angled. Basically, I didn't measure this. I just fit it in as best as I could. I did have to bend the pedal a bit to get it to sit correctly in relation to the brake pedal, floor and foot rest (not on M/T cars).

It's a tight squeeze, but it fits! You do have to remove the cruise control actuator. I wish I could keep cruise, but I would need alot more than a BCM and ECM to get that, and that's just not in the budget.

It's ugly, but it will work. The single spade terminal sticking out of this pipe is the coolant temp sending unit for the guage cluster. The blue connector near it is for the ECM. On all newer Nissans, the ECM reads the coolant temperature from the coolant temp sensor and then transmits that information, over the CAN lines, to the unified meter amp (gauge cluster control unit). So, when installing one of these newer engines, you need to add a sender for the old style gauge. I gooped RTV on the outside to make sure of no leaks. At this portion of the pipe, the alluminum can be grinded down flat, and a quarter of an inch is available for threading the sensor into. This will ensure a tight seal and proper fitment. Plus, its in a good place for an accurate reading.

Well, thats it for now.

The cables are the correct length for the shifter as well. I did have to enlarge the hold where they pass through, but other than that, its up and over the subframe and straight to the shifter mechanism on the trans. I gotta say, Im very excited about how easy this was. I'd say I had about 45 minutes in the whole swap. I did notice that the manual transmission shift boot for the B13 does not clear one of the linkages on the shifter. I dont know if I need to change the lower console assembly out (if it was different on the manual sentra verses the auto) and will research that more in the next few days. If there is no other option, I can just made trim that will work. Oh, and the B15 shifter is considerably shorter than the B13, so its not as sloppy as the older ones and looks better.

With the clutch pedal, master cylander and shifter assembly in, I just need to add a hydraulic line and this portion is finsihed! Up next, the front engine mount, transmission mount, axles, hubs/brakes, wiring and then.....vrrroooommm!

Quote, originally posted by numbnuts240 »

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This is going to be EPIC!!

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2007 G35 Coupe 6MT JWT/Z tube, 5/16 Spacer, MREV2, Stillen Cat-back Exhaust,GT Spec strut brace

Back to the shifter:

Here it is. When I got this, every component was covered in heavy rust. I guess that's what I get for buying a $40.00 shifter assembly...but then again, $40 is WAY cheaper than a new one (several hundred). I did have to take it completely apart and clean it/regrease it. The base part has two studs and two holes that line up perfectly with the existing locations on the body. The only modification was an alignment tit on the bottom of the shifter base. Grind it off and it will bolt right in. Even the little rubber protector for the A/T shifter fit nicely. The opening through the floor for the cables had to be enlarged and new bolts installed to the pass through protector. I don't see the shifter trim fitting over this, so I will have to make something custom here.

Another angle.

The linkage above the orange cam is what is hitting the shifter trim. I really, really want to keep the stock B13 shifter trim, so I am going to see what I can do to raise the center console, or just try my best to match the origional piece when I make the new one.

Here's the cables meeting up with the shift mechanism. Yeah, I know, its rusty and I need to sand/paint it. Right now my main concern was to get this all installed and functional. Great thing is, its all just coming together. Hopefully this keeps up! Pushing this car around has proved to me how much lighter it is than my 240SX. I expect this to be faster than my 240 with the VQ in it.

So, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get more done in the next few weeks. Thanks for checking in everyone!

I personally can appreciate your hard-work and dedication to something you want to do. Daring to be a bit different isn't such a bad thing and there are enthusiasts that truly wish for your success, for I am truly one of them.

Dee

Dee

Thanks again!