Engine replacement questions

[ZMQguy]

I have an 07 m35x. Which engines will work in my car? Also, alldata says to drop the engine out from the bottom, along with the front differential, and transmission. Has anyone done this? Is it possible to do by yourself? I'm guessing about 1000 lbs for all of that.

[Ilya]

Your car has the VQ35DE. You cannot use the VQ35HR from the 2008+ M, etc. The VQ35DE is also in the 5th (2002+) gen Maxima, etc...but I'm not sure if there is anything different from the Maxima to the M.

[EdBwoy]

Any VQ35DE engine, especially those used in RWD cars - M35, FX35, 350z. I have had my suspicions that with a few modifications the FWD engines from Murano, Maxima and i35 would work too but that's an experiment you'd probably not want to deal with.

Unless you have a lift, the FSM method will be extremely difficult for a DIYer. Yes, those are the best methods, but I believe it's possible to remove your engine through the top after separating the transmission and front axles.
This is the only DIY V6 replacement thread I can recall at the moment: no-spark-help-t596245.html. Not sure about the details of this work, and what equipment he had at his disposal, but I have swapped my m45 engines by pulling them from the top while the FSM called for a bottom pull.

You might get as lucky as this member: need-to-replace-engine-burned-t611151.html

[ZMQguy]

Well, the reason I ask is certain motors for sale say they will only fit AWD vehicles.....why is that?

[EdBwoy]

The oil pan of an AWD model has holes for the front axles. In reality, the engine itself should work whether you swap the oil pans or not, but most sellers would rather not take on that liability. It's easier to deal with same make/model + model year + drivetrain options.

Even disregarding the holes for the axles, it would be more tricky to make a RWD oil pan work in an AWD car since the RWD pan are most times not shaped to clear the extra components that AWDs have up front.

Same guy from the first link used a RWD drivetrain on his AWD: vdc-off-slip-t597626.html

[ZMQguy]

I do have a lift. I'm still unsure of how I want to try to remove it. I've narrowed it down to 2. One has 78k for $1250 the other has 120k for $900. Here's the catch. The one with 78k seller doesn't have compression numbers and only has a 30 day warranty. The one with 120k does have compression numbers and a 6 month warranty.

[EdBwoy]

I'd go the FSM or Alldata way. Seaparate it at the driveshaft and monkey around with that mess while it's all on the floor. Crawling up and down the fenders to access things at the top then bottom is something I do out of necessity, not for the fun factor.

If you'd still prefer to use a cherry picker, you could use the lift for bottom access then lower the car to access thru the top. A lift will take away my biggest gripe of undoing bolts while lying down in a foot-and-a-half crawlspace.

Just consider that these cars are packed pretty tight so pulling the engine up still mated to the trans ain't happening. A third method I've seen is to remove all the components at the front and just pull the engine + transmission straight back.

[cruzad3r]

go to car-part and search for your engine. i bought one for my car recently and it's an 06 X. i got an engine from 07 X, the key here is to look for the VIN with letter A on the fourth digit. i had it done at an Indy and the tech told me he has to take out the front diff before he can remove the engine.

fan, radiator, wheels, diff, most of the suspension connected to the drivetrain, those need to come out. i do have some pics, will upload when time permits.

[ZMQguy]

That would be great, thank you!!!