Got a blown engine in my 96 maxima this weekend. a guy on nissanforums says that i can do a 3.5 swap out. Is this true? and if so how many mods will it take to achieve?

yes it possible. It has been done alot. here are two different write-ups to do it http://www.vqpower.com/v2/arti...id=78 and http://www.vqpower.com/v2/arti...id=82

that is amazing. theres a heck of a better chance at finding a 3.5 with lower miles than the stock 3.0. and from what i understand, you can use any 3.5 motor from 00-09? or only up to the 02 models?

2002 and up have VQ35's. IIRC u can use any 3.5 from a nissan FWD vehicle. IDK if you can use the drive by wire motors or cvt though

sweet. you know alot more about this than i do haha. i hope to do this mod, itd be great. so drive-by-wire,,, what does this mean in the event id switch to a 3.5? new throttle body?

Yes, you will need a new throtle body, as well as a few other items. Everything you need to know is in the link tigersharkdude posted.

alright sounds good. I checked out both links and it looks as if its guna be quite a process with two people hah. But it sounds like the mods wont be all that difficult so it more er less looks like the 3.5 is the motor thats gettin put in. what could you expect to pay for one at a u-pull-it or equivilent? about 500?

The hardest part about the swap will be timing the engine after installing the cam spacers.

Prices will vary depending on the mileage of the used engine. You can check out http://www.car-parts.com or http://www.lkqcorp.com for engines.

Yah i heard the whole timing thing cn be difficult from a couple mechanics this last week. Ive been doing alot of research on the motors and procedures. I stayed up till 1am reading my haynes and chilton repair what im not sure about is modding the tb. The site talked about a gold thing that needed to be ground off er somethin. Are they talking about the 3.0 tb needing modification to fit the 3.5?

iwannagofast wrote:The site talked about a gold thing that needed to be ground off er somethin. Are they talking about the 3.0 tb needing modification to fit the 3.5?

Yes. Just from glancing at the first link, it looks like you need to grind off one of throttle stops.

If anyone is interested I do have the correct throttle body and cable bracketing for this mod ready to sell also a fuel return rail no regulator though. Email me at [email protected]