Q regarding nissan quest & mercury villager 3.3L engine
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blockmachining
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Re: Q regarding nissan quest & mercury villager 3.3L engine (rabsusa)
They use the exact same engine and transmissions. The engine was assembled in Smyrna, TN while the transmission/transaxle was assembled in Decherd, TN. Both of these components were then shipped to Avon Lake, Ohio where the vans (both the Quest and the Villager rolled down the same line) were assembled by Ford. The VG33 engine has a cast iron block with al. heads. As for reliability....both engines are very reliable. The VQ35 engine has an al. block with al. heads. The VQ engine is more efficient and emits less noise. I hope this helps.
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: Q regarding nissan quest & mercury villager 3.3L engine (rabsusa)
The vans are identical except for badging. Same engine, same trans, the Nissan models even share the Ford parts bin radio headunit.
As for the 3.5, it was not offered in the 2nd gen Quest. Only in the third gen (which is all-Nissan with no Villager counterpart and is based on the Maxima platform) offers the 3.5, which is an entirely different motor than the 3.3 (VQ35 vs VG33). The 3.3 is a much simpler motor and is very cheap and easy to maintain, but I would say the two are comparably reliable (both on the excellent side). The 3.5 does make significantly more power and offer significantly better fuel economy, though.
The REAL boon of the third-gen Quest over the 2nd gen is the 5 speed AT offered from '07 on. It's a big improvement over the 4 speed used in the 2nd gen.
As for the 3.5, it was not offered in the 2nd gen Quest. Only in the third gen (which is all-Nissan with no Villager counterpart and is based on the Maxima platform) offers the 3.5, which is an entirely different motor than the 3.3 (VQ35 vs VG33). The 3.3 is a much simpler motor and is very cheap and easy to maintain, but I would say the two are comparably reliable (both on the excellent side). The 3.5 does make significantly more power and offer significantly better fuel economy, though.
The REAL boon of the third-gen Quest over the 2nd gen is the 5 speed AT offered from '07 on. It's a big improvement over the 4 speed used in the 2nd gen.