I did not say the bellhousings are the same, I said the transmissions are the same but the bellhousings are different.

As an example, my VH is in my S14 using a VH bellhousing bolted to the stock KA transmission. This is simply to assist in mocking up my motor mounts.

Every RWD nissan RE4R01A and RE4R03A transmission uses the same bolt pattern between the bellhousing and the tranny. Because of this, I can use an adaptor made for a Z32 VG bellhousing -> TH400 on my VH bellhousing to mate it to a TH400.

Reeeaaally... I'm in the planning stages of my swap and have been wondering about the possiblity of just using the ka transmission due to the fact that it would make the swap a lot easier with things like shifter location, drive shaft, tranny mount, etc. I thought I would have to make an adapter like everyone else...

Just so I understand your setup:
When you attach the VH bellhousing to the KA transmission, how is the fitment. I guess what I'm asking is what is the length of the VH compared to the KA and what is the length of the VH bellhousing compared to the KA bellhousing?

Just so everyone is clear, I realize that the z32 is a lot stronger than the KA transmission. However, people are putting some pretty serious power through their transmissions with their KA24DE-T's. I'm interested in seeing how well one stands up to the torque of a VH45DE. If it turns out to be adequate for a DD/light weekend auto-x, it would make this swap substantially easier and cheaper. If not, oh well - the transmissions are practically free and nothing has been lost in the experiment.

Read my posts closely. I am talking AUTOMATIC transmissions here, NOT manual transmissions.

The bellhousing length on all RWD nissan automatic transmissions is also the same.

Also, what are the series designators for these transmissions? I would appreciate it if someone could let me know so I would have to sound like such a tool by calling them the "KA" or "VH" transmissions.

Sam

You're still not getting me...

RE4R01A = Stock KA AUTOMATIC Transmission
RE4R03A = Stock VH AUTOMATIC Transmission (and VG-TT fyi)

The VH never came with a manual transmission.

All Nissan RWD AUTO transmissions are interchangeable if you swag bellhousings, which is what I did. I have my VH in my S14 using a stock VH AUTO bellholusing mated to a stock KA AUTO tranny backhalf.

You CAN NOT use an auto bellhousing on a manual transmission.

Every nissan RWD Auto transmission SHOULD be considered a removeable bellhousing. ~10 bolts and they're off, the transmission never needs to be taken apart.

To bolt a manual tranny to a VH you need an adaptor, period, end of story...

I think myself and ultrapulse disagree with you there.

But I do get what you're saying.

Quote, originally posted by Mettler »

I think myself and ultrapulse disagree with you there. But I do get what you're saying.

IIRC you used a modified VH bell on a toyota trans, correct? The fact that it didn't all just "bolt" together means you adapted it in my book.

Symantics, I know... but you get the idea.

I just don't want people thinking that there is a true 100% bolt on (with no fabrication whatsoever) manual trans out there for the VH, there just isn't....

I own a 1978 Holden UC torana 4dr, plans are for it to get a VH45DE, which i can get for bout $1,200 with loom and gearbox. Then to fit a skyline diff into it just for something now. Gettin bigger brakes (330m front, 310mm rear) 4 pot calipers, 18" wheels, mini tubs in rear, 65ltr drop tank, all custom manifold cross-flow, custom cold air adaptable plenums (probably over the radiator sort), PWR trans, oil cooler and radiator, upgraded fuel system, bigger injectors, custom cams, custom chip and engine mappin, better fuel management program. Upgraded suspension with racecar-like setup, hoping to move engine deeper into body to gain better centre of gravity, and so air bags can fit in front of engine to provide high stability and ride height. Later on i wish to twin turbo it to keep up with my brother and my mate, my best mate is planning on a similar build to his exact same car but with the lexus 4.3ltr v8. Tell me what you reckon of my project or any suggestions.

Cheers

I bought the car three weeks ago on an impulse after a customer had it towed in with a blown motor.

I removed the trashed 2.8l six last weekend to discover the Merc has a MASSIVE engine bay! However, after a trial fit today things weren't looking too good. The bellhousing fouls on the steering box, the alternator fouls on the driver side chassis rail, the oil filter assembly fouls on the passenger side rail, the starter motor hangs up on the crossmember, the engine won't fit with standard exhaust manifolds and the transmission almost looks too big for the tunnel.

But its nothing a bit of cutting, welding and some smart thinking can't sort out.

I'll pull the engine out next saturday and sort that out. While the engine is out, I'll do a bit more grinding in the bellhousing area and plate up the section of the crossmember that I cut out.

Did this for starter motor clearance.

Note that I had to cut the head to clear the steering box adjusting bolt. Also, if you look closely, you'll see I had to cut a section out of the bellhousing. Also to clear the steering box. Don't try this at home kids.

Now you see why I had to cut the bellhousing

Gearbox crossmember. I somehow lost the Merc one and had to make a new one. No big deal though.

Turned out really nice.

Engine mounts. I had to cut the little stabiliser shock absorber things off the front of the crossmember to attach mounts.

Engine finally mounted. I wish I could have put it further back in the engine bay, but the steering box said no.

I'm still in the early stages but ill prob do:
VH45DE
Z32 TT Trans/flywheel/clutch/starter
Mega Squirt
Custom Headers
and that's prolly about it. I wanna keep the motor as stock as possible.

Here are some photos of the install process. As they say a pictures worth a thousand words....

This is the muffler that was replaced by the turbo.

Here's my T4 Flange pipe

The is the Y pipe I made to join the OEM dual exhaust

Here's an early test fit of the turbo

Y pipe installation

Here's the exhaust extension w/T4 Flange and flex joints

Extension pipe installation

Here's the compressor tubing

Final mounting and oil lines

Oil feed from filter sandwich plate

Oil pressure sending unit and feed flow needle valve

Oil return line w/modified fuel filter as oil return sightglass

Final mounting

Final mounting with chrome tips

Exhaust heat wrapped and painted compressor tubing.

Gauges

Here's a few videos, I'll do some more and post, I'm not happy with how these came out. Can't hear the turbo good enough and that's the coolest part!
Revving in park

High speed flyby

BOV demo.

The oil pump is in the trunk and still needs to be permanently mounted as of the time of this post. I'll post a pic of it when it's done. Still have a few small items to complete and get to work on the tuning so I can turn up the boost.

stage 1: aka vip q

rebuild engine
fix the little things like interior
weld chasis
fix sunroof
fix window switch
new fuel pump
new brakes
exhaust
coilovers
paint
roll fenders
buy rims in the 18x10 and 18x11or 12 style

stage 2: aka drift vip

twin turbo
5spd
cage
suspension

the reason why im attacking the car like this is cause i just really want a nice looking car to take the girls and homeys out in hence im doing all of the maintainence first plus to me it sets up a great place to start when i go to stage 2 i wont have to worry about little **** breaking ( which i cant stand) plus i have a drift car so i cna peice the hard to find **** like turbos and trans and that stuff while i still drift in hawaii when i crash the 240sx beyond repair the q45 will going on the chopsaw

on a side note im looking for some after market pistons for the vh45 engine lower compression please if anyone can point me in the direction please email me or feel free to message me with the web adress or info

cnisrepeels@aol.com

Im working on putting a JDM vh41de into my r32 sedan drift car. This particular car i have owned and drifted for a little over a year and a half, previously powered by an r33 rb25det and using a rb25det 5spd transmission, although my previous daily/drift hack had 3 different rb20dets. After cracking a piston in the rb25det i have sold off the remaining parts of it (greddy intake manifold, head, injectors etc) and summoned enough coin to pick up a vh41de:D Just trying to plan out my manual conversion issues (as id like to run the rb25det gearbox) before i go ahead with the project. Ill keep you all updated:)

The car in its former glory:

D-SQUAD

(OO Drift OO)

My VH45DE is planned to be dropped into my 1988 Z31 300ZX.
The donor car is a '91 Q45.
I took the engine out last weekend, and this weekend I've taken out the fuel pump, differential and half shafts. I have only performed basic measurements of the engine and I've heard the brake boost cylinder might get in the way, but I'm considering replacing the vacuum booster with a hydraulic setup, or perhaps the Nissan Pulsar booster.
My next step is to see whether or not the subframe on the Q will measure up with the Z31. I don't like the rear-subframe of the z31, and would rather use something that is more stable/adjustable, as I don't care for the z31 rear "squat".
The transmission I am looking to use will probably be from a G35/350Z.

I'm still reasearching this setup, so I'm open to any suggestions out there.

What do you reckon? Will she fly?

It was a daily driver fro about 2 years before tranny problems forced it off the road. Once that happened, things just rolled on.

I had the gearbox completely rebuilt with manual valve body, kevlar bands, 3000rpm stally, hardened gears and external cooling.

Using a Microtech LT10s, I built my own manifold for a T04e running 10lbs.

JIC magic VIP coilovers replaced my Active ride height.

I stole the grill from a 93 Infiniti and had a custom body kit made.

Stereo is a Pioneer head unit with Lanzar 6.5' splits up front and 6' co-ax in the rear powered by an Alpine Flex5. 2 x 12' MTX subs running off an Alpine V12.

Tinted the windows. Nice and dark.

Still looking for a nice set of wheels. After black with machined lips. Either 19's or 20's

Thats about it so far... but its a work in progress...

where can I get this VH to VQ 6speed adapter?
building a budget drift Q45, and I incidently have a spare VQ35DE 6speed transmission laying around.

First thhings first though. I am in the process of solid axle swapping it with a 84ish D44 axle out of a Jeep Wagoneer....as well as a tube bed, dual transfer cases, shortening of the wheel base and a handful of other things. With the 3.3 NA auto, 4.9 gears and 36" tires it's going to be one SLUG of a truck...hence the desire to put the 4.5 in it....my other option is a HP kit from this site http://www.importperformancepa....html but they don't make a KIT for my truck so I'll have to research that as well.....by the time either the Q swap or the HP kit is doen I figure the price will be about the same.....I would love to have that V8 growl in the end....

to follow the slow SAS build go here. http://www.nissanoffroad.net/m...918.0

I hope to do the bulk q motor swap research over the next year so that when I do get underway I won't run into too many unexpected issues. Love this site for that reason...so much info for me.

This is my first post here, and let me kick it off by saying thanks to all you folks for turning me on to the VH swap idea. I have the feeling I'll be picking a lot of brains here in the future. I was waffling between KA-T, SR, RB power for my S14 for about 6 months when I found this site. About 4 weeks later I had my JDM VH45DE and Z32 TT 5 speed sitting on my garage floor ready to get to work, hehe. </P>

I bought my engine and trans from "JDM Tiger Japanese Auto" in Canada. Their prices were good. I got the engine/trans for about $1000 + a very reasonable $175 for freight. The engine was advertised as "25-35K Miles, 1996+, best condition". when it arrived, the engine and transmission were caked with sludge, and they were literally dripping with what smelled like diesel fuel (ghetto corrosion protection?), despite the claim that they would be "Thoroughly cleaned prior to shipment". Just about every part on the engine made of plastic was totally destroyed, embrittled by the fuel sitting on it for god knows how long, and put out of its misery completely upon disassembly. It has VTS so it wasn't really 96 (A BONUS!) but it has oval intake ports, so I'm guessing it's a '94-95? I'm satisfied with it now, because most of the ancilliary components are going in the garbage anyway, but I will probably not do business with these guys in the future. There were a few claims that didn't turn out to be true, and were too glaring to simply be oversights. If I had dropped 2 or 3 bills on an RB swap, and got something as questionable as this, I would have been SERIOUSLY steamed. </P>

After it sat and stunk my garage up for a few days, I sucked it up, and began ripping it all apart for a closer look. A couple weeks of scrubbing, and a gallon of Super Clean later...

I was relieved when I got the timing covers, valve covers and oil pan off There was just kind of a very light tannish brown film if anything on most of the parts, so it was pretty clean inside. It's either a genuine low mileage engine afterall, or the oil was changed religiously. either way, I didn't observe any obvious "red flags" that made me feel like I needed to start pulling heads off, or removing the crank, etc. Replacement parts for this motor are really expensive, so I'm opting for the innocent until proven guilty approach. I re-sealed the timing cover, oil pan, and valve covers, replaced the front and rear seals, and It's reassembled to the point that I'm going to have to start making some decisions. I figure the first order of business is the trans adapter, then mounts. Once it's sitting in there, I'll feel a lot better about everything else that needs to be done to get it going. </p>

This is going in my 1995 240sx SE.</P>

My Plan is to use a Megasquirt to control fuel as well as ignition, via a Ford EDIS-8 module. I'm totally opposed to cutting a hole in my hood, so I've been trying to read up a bit on intake manifold design "fundamentals". Admittedly, most of what I've read is WAY over my head. I'm serioulsy considering incorporating an Eaton M-90 supercharger From a Super Coupe T-Bird since they are dirt cheap, and I am prepared to make a whole new intake manifold anyway. I should be able to do it and still have it sit considerably lower than the stock foot tall intake. The supercharger would add a little complexity, but it should also compensate for a poor manifold design to some degree. I'm guessing that with premium fuel, it wouldn't kill anything to pulley it to run 2-3 psi of boost temporarily despite the ultra high static compression ratio? Once I have everything in there and running and driving, I can build it up properly for a moderate amount of boost.

I'm kind of intrigued by the intake/exhaust manifolds and the high mount alternator that I saw on the photos of the 4.1L further up on this post, will those manifolds clear the hood/body/steering? will they bolt up to the 4.5?</p>

Can anyone tell me if the dimension from the transmission mounting face on the block to the face of the flange on the crank is the same between the VH and VG engines? I'm measuring approximately .25" from the back of the block to the flange face on my VH. I can start working on my adapter plate as soon as I know this for sure.

Take care,

Matt

Modified by VHS14 at 3:25 AM 1/1/2008

Modified by VHS14 at 3:40 AM 1/1/2008

'32 Ford Pickup cab extended 12 inches. Top chopped 4 inches and floor channelled 4 inches. 2x3 square tube frame kicked up 3 inches in front and 10 inches in back with a Heiht indepent front end and a Art Morrison Triangulated 4 bar rear suspension. A 92 VH45DE N/A mated to a 94 300zx 5 speed manual with a Maxworks adapter and a ford 9 inch with 3:70 gears.

I'm running with no fenders or hood and making it as low as I can.

I could use any help that I can get with the wiring. I want to use aftermarket SW guages and to eliminate everything thats not needed in the wiring and on the engine.

Thanks
Quixoticjoe
Dream Ride Builders

I've used an Autronic ecu and a cdi this eliminates the ignitors so tidies up the ignition wiring. ie All I have is a loom that goes from under the coil cover to the cdi inside the cab.
Going this way also means you can get rid of vitually everything not require to make the motor go. ie emission gear, air flow meter, O2 sensor etc.
The factory ecu is fine but if you want tidy then go aftermarket.

I,ve checked out the system and it looks like what I need.

Thanks
Quixoticjoe
Dream Ride Builders

If anyone could enlighten me on how to run the motor without an automatic, that would be great. As far as I know, I'd have to trick the ECU into thinking its in neutral to start. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Engine
http://kiwivh.zoints.com/album/?imgid=75886

Boat
http://kiwivh.zoints.com/album/?imgid=76826

Engine Bay
http://kiwivh.zoints.com/album/?imgid=76827