2006 M45 ENGINE BLOWN,I NEED HELP!

[driveatl]

I have a 2006 m45 and the engine just blew,I priced a motor and its no way I can afford one they are 2k and that is the cheapest Ive seen,i just bought this car from some used car place as is and it didnt last me 45 days,smh. Is there any way to swap one of the old Q45 motors 2002-2005,or maybe an old M45 motor,they all have the same 4th digit of B so I was hoping they were interchangeable. Any suggestions guys? Im open to all ideas,that motor is so overpriced for the 06-10. Can I use a block from older engine and swap my heads??? Please help!!!!!

[Ilya]

Welcome to the forum...sorry to hear you're having issues.

We have a few guys who are good with the M45...they'll chime in soon enough.

[driveatl]

Thanks for the reply just looking for some insight, I figured you guys would be able to help

[EdBwoy]

My ears are burning. You are right in that most of the older V8s had the same vk45de. Unfortunately they aren't a drop in replacement. The 06+ m45s have their starters on the driver's side while most of the others have them on the passenger side. That's the biggest hurdle that would prevent the engine from mating with the transmission.
There are other minor things like different motor mounts, different exhaust manifolds, different upper intake collectors etc... which would probably just be bolt-on, but even skipping the guesswork and pioneering issues, the cost of buying the correct parts will probably bring your cost up to what the proper engine costs.
Some recent threads below, you're in good company:
1. topic610021.html
2. topic610470.html
3. topic607523.html
4. topic607464.html

Look at the 2nd link. No chance it's the same car as that poster, is it?

[driveatl]

No its not the same car but a heck of a coincidence though!!

[driveatl]

Im really thinking about buying a used m35 motor and swapping it. I know I would need to swap the ecu and harness,but what else,do I need to swap the transmission as well?? I know this is a much cheaper route and I know a lot of mechanics I just need some instructions.

[EdBwoy]

The transmission is the same 5 speed unit, but I bet the bellhousing would be different. No info on the differential either, but thats not something that should affect the way it runs, just change its driving character.
So, get a v6 engine + transmission at worst, v6 harness, v6 ECU, corresponding security modules and keys, and you can probably obtain the exhaust system cheaply too. My assumption would be that most other accessories would be located pretty close to the same areas between the engines and can be shared.
Again, here its up to you to do the math and see if all that is cheaper than just obtaining the in-kind replacement. There's a member who went the other way - put an m45 engine in an m35 but that person hasn't really posted much beyond reporting that he/she got it running. Would be nice to see what all was different.

[driveatl]

Believe it or not I still think that would be cheaper,I wonder if anyone has a definitive answer rather or not I need to change the trans or not,if I dont that would be great!!!