VQ35DE in S13 in progress.....

[Nycist]

the ka transmission wouldnt be any fun.......

i just read every post in this thread...its wicked. i was planning on doing the vh45 swap, but due to availability of a free vq and i just sourced a 6spd transmission from a '04 350z for $300, it makes sense to do this swap.

look for my writeup soon...

[chrispyy]

[SpecDRacing]

To catch up here:

350Z REAR SUBFRAME -- I have looked into this, and the end result, way too much time and money for very little gain. Yes its alluminum and yes it gives more adjustment than the stock setup, but it doesnt save that much weight and would require new mounting points installed to the body. Not worth it.

350Z FRONT CROSSMEMBER -- I have one of these too, and its too wide, by about 2 inches. It also hangs a little lower as the frame rail in the Z is higher. Again not feasable to spend the time or money on.

KA TRANSMISSION -- This would be a great imrovement if the trans could withstand the power. The stock KA has horrible bearings that are normaly worn by 100,000 miles. The KA trans can barely handle a turbo upgrade. It may not show to those who drive with that kind of power, but to me, who has torn those apart, has seen the wear and tear it creates. I agree this would be cool, but just not reliable. Think, the stock VQ with a full exhaust and intake will yield about 300-320 crank HP, thats double the KA....now add cams, ECM upgrade, etc. The KA trans is way outside of its range by that time.

Ok, for the write ups. If I get the time, I might do a write up on all of this stuff. The VQ install (detailed wiring), the J30/Maxima rear brake conversion, 350Z sway bar install, etc. That is if I get enough time to write it all out and take pictures. The brakes are still in testing as I found out the Maxima caliper will NOT fit over new pads. To get around this, I left the best of the worn pads on the caliper and installed a new pad to the other side. Once those new pads wear approx 3mm, I will be able to isntall the other half of the new pads. So a better caliper is being searched for.

So thats where its at for now.

Later gang!

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

hey, it has been a while. I should get my car out of the shop next tuesday with the swap comlpete. I will try and post the pics I have right now tonight.

[240sxrb25det]

hey man i sent you an e-mail with some q's, but i was gonna ask you how fast you have had the car at?? you have to be careful of critical speed of your driveshaft, its pretty long and im guessing its made out of steel. just make sure your angles are all within 1-1.5 working degrees. not tryin to break balls just tryin to help ya with some of the troubles i had with my less than bolt in swap (2jz-v161)Dane

[SpecDRacing]

Yes, driveshafts can break if not correctly designed and especially if the angles are not correct. My driveshafts are built by a shop specializing in big truck (rock crawlers, moster trucks, etc). I chose them as I know they can handle that kind of abuse. As for the driveshaft angle, this setup sits at the same angles as the stock setup. Thats why the trans hangs down under the car about another inch (thats alot when it comes to road clearance!).

Mark

[Sac240]

Hey SpecD,

Love all of the info on the swap, and was wondering if you'd be interested in doing some wiring for my swap, it won't be an S13 though. The engine is going into my 95'. I probably could do it myself, but it would take me 10X as long and you definitely seem to know what you're doing. So it would probably be easier for me to pay to to do it. If you're interested just email me with prices and details. If not, I'll just have to butcher it myself.Thanks

[S3t0_S13]

wow man simply amazing, went through all the pages and everything!!!

so how much has all of this cost you so far man!?

[240sxrb25det]

mark i wasnt saying that the shop can't build a driveshaft, i was saying that many driveshaft shops overlook "critical speed" of driveshafts (which has nothing to do with rock crawling). i dont know what kind of gearing you have and how fast you plan on going but given the length of the driveshaft, outer diameter of the tubing, wall thickness, and material(ie density, modulous of elasticity) every driveshaft has a speed at which it will essentially bow in the middle (some people call it whipping)

now im just guessing, judging by the pitures the shaft is somewhere around 5ft long and 3in in diameter if it was made out of .083 wall thickness it dangerous point would be around 6000 rpm. not to say it gonna come apart at 6000rpm but its not good to be bringing it there.

so the ratio of the 5th gear is 1.0 and 6th is .794 if you hit 6000 on the tach the driveshaft is moving at 6000 rpm in fith (probably around 120mph) and in 6th 7500 (around 150mph) the reason i said something is i dont know how many top speed runs your doing but i was a little nervous about the driveshafts in the pictures, if your plannin on long highway pulls i would invest in a better suited driveshaft. once again not trying to be a ****

[SpecDRacing]

I appreciate the concern, but driveshaft bow is actually very rare. Especially in cars with this weight and HP number. This shaft is not much different than a titan or pathfinder with 4wd. Those have longer driveshaft, and are thinner. If a company like nissan trusts so many lives to those driveshaft, I have no problem with mine. To everyone reading this, as long as your angles are correct, and your driveshaft is built by a reputable builder, you will be fine. As for monster trucks and rock crawlers, they tend to run gear ratios higher than 5.6:1, meaning they top out (6000rpm) well below 100mph. If they can climb mountains, spinning 36" tires or bigger, at full tilt, weighing 3 times as much as a 240sx, then I have trust in that drive shaft.

He makes a good point though, and just goes to show you have to trust who is building things for you, as they are ultimately the ones keeping you alive on the road. For this particular swap, any decent drive shaft will do. The HP numbers and speeds will not be to the point that you should worry.

In any case, 240sxrb25det has given you guys another thing to think about. Just make sure your stuff is built right, and dont cheap out.

Someone asked how much I had invested in my swap, only about $4000.00, but that is because I get everything at discount, got the engine for free, trans for free and can do all the work myself. Oh, and my driveshaft was a swap for some labor on the red car. If anyone is looking to do this on their own, plan on spending atleast $4500.00 -$6000.00 on good parts. You can cheap out and use cheaper stuff, but it will catch up with you sooner or later. Everything for my car is either brand new, or I rebuilt it. I'd highly recommend atleast having the motors freshened up prior to doing the swap. The worste thing that can happen is to do all that wiring, try to start it, run poorly and think its your wirring only to find out the motor is bad.

Later all!

Mark

[Soravia]

You should make a manual DVD of it and sell the stuff.

[240sxrb25det]

hey spec D sre you positive that the 350z hubs will fit in the uprights od the 240?? ie the same hub seating diameter, im pretty sure the 300zx tt and the q45 will but i wanted to get a newer hub with less miles on it so i was hoping to get a g35 or 350z.any help would be appreciated, Dane

[accordfreak]

awesome job! Just wondering, did you end up using the HR coolant pipe setup? (routed under the intake manifold) keep up the great work!

[SpecDRacing]

I didnt use the HR setup on the red car. But the chrome/purple motor has that tube installed. IMPORTANT: HR COOLING PIPES WILL NOT FIT THE VQ35DE. Reason, the block is 120mm on the HR (meaning a 4.0L block), and the VQ35DE is 100mm. This puts the heads about 10mm closer together, making it dificult to get the rear water pipes to fit. I had to shave the rear of the heads (water outlets) and correct the pipes for stud fitment. Then, where the pipe fits through the timing cover, I cut the pipe and mounted the front section to the cover. The pipe below the manifold was custom made to fit. Its way too much work for any normal joe to do, unless he just has to have it. I only did it because I paid over $150.00 for all the parts and didnt want them to go to waste.

Later gang!

[accordfreak]

Later gang!

thanks for the info. Would you happen to have pictures of the setup you just described? I want to do the same thing to my vq35de.

thanks!

[Ton_13]

ever got to run that red s13 at the tracks? what was the times?i was going for the rb swap, but i'll try this swap out, since i got a vq35de jus waiting for me to bring home, plus the trans is still on order and i need to get the harness together, i think i can wait a few more months.

this thread is awsome.

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

Hey this what happened to me when I took my car to Zfever to a vqswap done.

This is how it all started; I found the number and information for Z fever on line and gave the owner, Doug, a call. I asked him about doing a motor swap: 2004 Nissan 350z –VQ35DE in my 1990 Nissan 240sx S13. He said it would be easy. We talked about it for a little while and he told me that he had done them before. He said there was an S13 in his shop at that moment with the same swap done with a twin turbo set up that he put on himself. We talked about all of the parts needed to do the swap and he said he would use all of my stock parts to include the ECU, throttle body, wiring harness, and dash cluster. He said that his shop would custom make all of the other parts needed to do the swap. Then we talked price; he said that it would not exceed $2500. The last thing we talked about was time frame to do the job; he said he could have it done in three weeks. We set a date for me to drop off the car.

I took the car, motor, transmission, and all of the extra parts I have for the swap to his shop one day late of my appointment. I had already called and said I was running late and he said to bring the stuff in the morning of the next day. We got there to drop off the stuff and Doug is not at work and no one there knows a thing about my car or that I am dropping it off. I unload all of the parts and unload the car. I spoke to an employee named Major until Doug showed up. Major told me that they had never done that swap before. Yet when Doug got there he told me they had done one before. I tried to show Doug where all of the parts were, but he tells me that Major already knew. Again, we talked about price and he told me that it would not go over $2500 and that he would have it done in three weeks. I pay Major $2000 in cash, which is what Doug told me to bring. I ask once again about the bill and I am told that it will not exceed $2500.

I started calling after about a week to see if things were going okay and if I needed to send him any parts I did not take him. I was told things are going fine and to send him an e-mail for him to keep me up to date via e-mail. After about a week and a half he tells me that I am missing a security ring on the steering column. He said it was a light where you would put the key in to start the car. I knew this was not true because I was driving my 2004 350z at the time and looked to check - there was no light around the key. I also took the complete steering column to Tampa with the car. I told Doug this and he asked where the column was; if he had even started on my car at that time he would have already known exactly where it was – in the trunk. Then I got an email saying I was missing the rear cam sensors, which I know were there when I took the car and parts to him. He said he had found an extra set and would keep going with the car. After this incident, he started getting really short with me when I called or sent emails asking for any updates or pictures.

About one week after the date I was told the car would be read, I called and talked to the employee who was working on my car to ask how it was going. This employee informed me that he was wiring up an AEM stand alone e.c.u. and not using my stock e.c.u. I told him right away that I did not pay for this $1950 e.c.u. to be put in my car. He told me that Doug told him the whole time to wire up the AEM e.c.u. He had not said a word about the stock one being used in the car. The employee then told me that it was not going to affect the amount of money that I had to pay - Doug just wanted that car out of his shop. After another two weeks of waiting I was told my car was ready to pick up. We headed for Tampa, Florida from Augusta, Georgia (a 10-hour drive). I took all of the Nissan parts I own with me as a previously discussed trade. We got there around 5pm and the car was not there - Doug had to go pick it up from an alignment shop. We waited for him about an hour at the shop. He pulled in with the tires rubbing in the fender wells. He wanted to roll the fenders and change out the exhaust that I had brought him to put on my car. However, he wants to do it the next morning and asks if we can just get a hotel room nearby, then pick the car up in the morning. I agreed to be there at 9:30am.

The car was still not ready when I arrived at 9:30am. We had to be on the road no later than 11am, and we were told that would be no problem. At this time I was told that the cam timing was not working properly because they did not have the correct program for the AEM e.c.u. I was also told that it would be retuned for free by Glenn in Atlanta, Georgia whenever I could take my car to him. This would be a three hour drive.

Then I got the bill which I was told would not exceed $2500 the whole time Doug had my car. The bill was $6500. I was not ready for that at all. We discussed everything. Then Doug told me that all of the extra work is what caused the price to increase. I gave him all of the parts he did not use for the swap and all of the extra Nissan parts I had. I gave him parts for an S13, which is a 1989 to 1994 Nissan 240SX; and an S14, which is a 1995 to 1998 Nissan 240SX, which included: 2 motors - KA24de, two S13 5 speed transmissions, one S14 5-speed transmission, one S13 e.c.u., one S14 e.c.u., one 350Z e.c.u., two 300ZX wheels, one S13 dash cluster, one S14 dash cluster, one 300ZX dash cluster, one 200SX dash cluster, one 350Z steering column and steering wheel with air bag, three 350Z digital gages, one S14 driveshaft, one S14 master clutch cylinder, one set of S14 clutch had lines, one S14 slave cylinder, one 350Z radiator, and many more small parts. He then took $1500 off of the bill. I paid the rest of the bill with two credit cards: $2000 on my employers credit card (which is being disputed), and $1000 on my personal credit card.

I get in my car to drive to the gas station because the tank was empty. It ran out of gas before I could get out of the parking lot. They put some gas in it and it still would not start. They replaced a fuse and it was up and running. I tried to get gas again but the car does not make it across the street to the gas station before it shots off. I waited about 20 minutes for them to walk over and get it running again. After they worked on it for an hour or so, I tried again to get some gas. It shut off in the same spot. Then I waited 30 minutes before they came to tow my car back across the street. After they worked on it for another two hours, I tried again to get some gas. I made it to the pump, but it would not start after I put gas in the car. We got it back to the shop yet again and they spend about 3 hours working on my car. The mechanic finally figured out that when Doug had drove my car he bottomed out so hard that it ripped out the fender liner and destroyed the body wiring harness in the driver’s side fender well. They did not fix this, but patched it up good enough for me to make it home. About the time that was finished, it was 6pm – we had a 10-hour drive home. After I am well on the road, I notice what all is wrong with the car, but we made it home some how.

Here is a small list of things that do not work and should: Cam timing, speed odometer, temperature gage, front and back defrost, reverse lights, horn, electric fans on radiator (the ones he put on the car are falling apart). The car is out of tune and not many people know how to tune it so I will have to go to Atlanta to get it running correctly. Also, when he rolled my fenders Doug put two big dents in the rear panels of my car and destroyed my front two fenders. I was a quoted $1889.57 to have the body and body harness fixed that Doug messed up. Glenn, the guy who is supposed to retune and rewire the e.c.u, is working on a quote for that. He said after buying the correct fuel injectors for my car and wiring up the cams, which was never done, the bill should be around a $1000. I will send in the paper work as soon as I get one from Glenn at Vision Performance (706-896-0030).

To recap: Doug lied to me from the start. He had never done this swap before and all of the custom parts he was going to make on hand at his shop he actually bought from a web site (vqswap.com). After all of this, my car needs a lot of work to the body (which Doug damaged) and the engine needs to be re-wired and tuned to run correctly. I am only asking for $2000 of the $4000 I was overcharged. The bill went from the original $2500 to $6500.

$6500 Amount of Bill: Paid as follows$2000 cash 07/31/07$1500 credit for parts 09/07/07$2000 Platinum Plus #3706 09/07/07$1000 Personal credit card 09/07/07

T

[EMK]

So what was done for the exhaust. Did you go rear exit like planed? Did you do single or dual exhausts? Why'd he decide to sell it? Where do you pull used parts from I can never find anything in Pull A Part?

[RFcool]

spec D, amazing build. Love the details to everything. I look forward to seeing more of your builds.

[SpecDRacing]

MYS13WANTSAVQ.....

I am making you, and only you a special offer. If you are willing to cover my cost for fuel, I will come work on your car for NO LABOR CHARGES.

Again, this is not something I offer to many people, but he got royaly screwed! I may not be able to look at it for more than a day or two, but you need help. First off, if that guy offered to do the swap for $2500.00, he obviously hasnt done one before. It is amazingly labor intensive to use the stock ecm. He must have been to VQswap.com's website and read the part about the stock stuff is ok to use if you have the dash harness. They are correct, but as all of you know (who read this thread), this is only the tip of the iceberg. It's good you got a standalone. That, with the proper tunning, will give you a much cheaper maintenance future, though parts availability for that unit may be hard to come by and expensive once it gets outdated. As for your wiring issues, what your describing is a multitude of problems.

No speedo means he didnt install a converter. Why? Probably because he had no where to get a signal from. Your gonna need a J30 or 300zx rearend with an abs ring built in (on the pinion)....or install an abs ring to one of your rear wheels. Once done, you can install an abs sensor and get the proper pulse you need to generate a speed signal. After that, you'll need to install a Dakota Digital Converter (about $85.00) to get that signal to jive with the stock speedo.

No temp is because he didnt install the temperature sending unit (for meter). This wire is blue with a black stripe (stock 240sx) with a single spayed connector on it. It would have been in the stock engine harness. I doubt that is there. Your going to have to drill the thermostat housing and tap it for this sensor. Then you'll need to run a wire from that sensor to the connector under the dash by the ECM (where it was stock) to the correct blue and black wire. Once thats installed, you should have a temp signal.

No reverse lights because he didnt install the trans harness correctly, or didnt install it at all. Will need the two wire reverse switch wired in to the fuse box of your 240. This will give you your reverse lights.

The defrost is tricky, I'll have to dig into the wiring diagrams for that one, but more than likely is just a cut wire at that same connector I previously mentioned, or could be from damage.

The horn may simply be disconnected or the fuse may be blown. If not, then we are back into the wiring diagrams again.

I want to say that I am really sorry you had this experience and if there is anything I can do to help, you let me know.

[SpecDRacing]

Used parts are hard to come by when your talking 2000 or newer. I get alot of them from work (nissan dealer). Someone buys a new part or throws something away, I rebuild it and keep it.

Just yesterday I got a VQ40DE for my very own. A local oil change shop (will not disclose the name for obvious legal reasons) forgot to put oil in the motor. This caused the engine to seize. I got it to spin freely with minimal effort, but by that time, #6 cylander had lost compression. Im betting that I'll have to do a good hone job on this one before Im done, along with replacing every bearing and seal in it. This motor only had 10,000 miles on it!!!! Twin turbo or High compression?????

For the exhaust....well, Im leaving that up to the owner to take and have done at a local exhaust shop.

[SpecDRacing]

More of my builds......well.....LOL the only thing we have going on next is a VQ35DE powered AE86. This one should be a real badass sleeper. As for other mods.....well, cant wait to get my hands on the new VQ37!!!!

[DJButton]

Ae86 VQ powered... freakin saweet!

[SpecDRacing]

Oh yeah, the AE86 is already dissassembled and the motor is waiting to be fabbed into the chassis. Once we actually get around to the swap, of course I'll take pictures and post it all up.

[EMK]

I meant older parts when I said that. I can actually find newer parts really easy

It's been impossible to come by a j30 for me. I was wondering if I was looking in the wrong places.

I'm come to the realization that I'm too broke and busy to try to do this all at once so I'm trying to do it in stages.

Stage 1 ... j30 rear + z32 brakes + 5 lug coversion (steelies for wheels)

Stage 2 ... 350z + s13 wiring ECU + BCM aquisiton

Stage 3 ... 350z/g35 motor and trans aquisition, rebuild, and mods (shifter, exhaust, drive shaft)

Stage 4 ... Wrenching (getting all that into the car and wired up) (Key programming)

Stage 5 ... Wheels tires (Good Rubber) Suspension (Sway bars, Coilovers or Bags???)

What do you think??? I'm finding the z32 brakes ok although expensive I just need help on the rear end (locating it). I'm from the same area. Any suggestions on where to look???

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

Thanks for the info, but when you connect a laptop to the AEM unit it tells you everything you could want to know. So the information is getting to the ecu and no where else. I was told that the cam timing was just not pinned in to the ecu. I alredy have a 180sx rear end but I can get a 300zx non-turbo rear end pretty cheap. I would rather just bring my car up to you and pay you to fix what you can. Just let me know.

[SpecDRacing]

EMK

I have a spare 300zx LSD if you would like to purchase it. Just email me directly.

[SpecDRacing]

If you were wanting to bring to the car to me, then just email me directly and we'll set up a time for you to bring your car. Unfortunately I cant give a price untill I actually see it and get to check it over some. We can discuss that more later as well. Before you bring it, I HIGHLY recommend having a good (solidly mounted) cooling fan. The last thing you want to do is blow a head gasket trying to get it here.

[SpecDRacing]

OH and by the way.......

[email protected]

That is a more direct email for me. I have started a website, but it is no where near finished. Feel free to visit it anytime. Work is being done on it weekly.

http://www.nissandoctor.com

[EMK]

I sent you an email about the rear end.