VQ35DE in S13 in progress.....

[SpecDRacing]

Time....LOL. I hear ya. Well, for one, I tend to stick around a good bit longer than I should. So when most of the guys are heading home, I'm still working or something. As far as the swap, I used to do alot of them, so I have a good bit of trail and error under my belt. It doesn't take me nearly as long as it used to to see something in my head, how to do it, and make it happen, as it used to. I've got about 5 hours into the B13 so far (drivetrain removal excluded, add 1.5 hours for that). The front engine mount will probably have 3 hours in it, the trans mount should come from an Altima, so maybe 1-2 hours in that, then the fun stuff....axles, knuckles, wiring, etc.

Besides, we've been pretty slow lately. Im barely getting 40 a week. We are open 7:30 - 6, but it depends on the appointments as to what time I actually get to go home. Most of the time I'm out of there by 5.

So how did you like GT-R trainning. I didn't get to go. I've been waiting to take my hands on tests for the AMT program all year. I was with infiniti for about 6 years and nissan about 4, but in all, 10 years of constant Nissan parts and problems. I got a late start as the Infiniti dealership I was at first wouldn't send me to school. I got DFRT certified and that was it. Finaly, I heard about the AMT program last year, went and took all of my ASE's (so happy too, I passed them all 1st try, I know alot of people do, but I was proud) and then took the three tests to get into the hands on test. Man.....let me tell you, those three pretests were HARD. I mean, the engine one was a piece of cake since I had already built so many, but the Climate Control Systems test....we're talking everything from 20 year old nissans to present on that test. Thats alot to remember. 60 questions each, one chance each. Make it or break it. You fail, you never get to try again and its back to the waiting list for classes to come available. Well, I passed them and now I'm just waiting to take the hands on tests.

Oh, and the bore of the GT-R engine is not larger (as some have suggested). It remains 95.5 as in the VQ35/40 series of engines. The crank has 7mm more stroke, 98.4 up from 91.4. The block on the other hand, even with the same bore, is way different. Its a closed deck block with plasma sprayed bores. Our VQ's are open deck (as you know). The only thing we could figure at our shop is that the sleeves are already too close together to try to creat a closed deck block with. I'd LOVE to have one of those blocks. Forget the heads, the turbos etc.....just the block. Sign me up! But, not likely. Engines are $28,000.00 dollars, transmissions are $18,000.00 and so on. Crazy car. Love to have one....but I think from a cost standpoint, I'll just get a matchbox version and be happy.

[s13_350sx]

gtr was cool. they teach you a lot about clutch pack and touch point adjustment and balancing the engine bank 1 and 2 which is basically just an iavl if there is no air leaks. everything for this car is EXPENSIVE! i could not belive some of the prices. anyway i like everything about it except the paddle shifters are not on the steering whel which is lame. anyway, i need an engine control harness and ecm for an 06 z. i cant fine one for a reasonable price. do you guys have one around that i could buy off of you? that would be sweet. theres a place in sacremento that im gonna call tomorrow but if they or you dont have it im screwed until people wreck some more z's. i got the exhaust done today, i modified stock z manifolds, custom y pipe and other pipes using old titan exhaust systems by using pieces that fit the bend that i need then welding it all up. i used a stock g35 sedan muffler and it fits perferct on the 2 rear hangers! no mods there. just had to make a custom front muffler hanger as the 240 mounts on the right side of the muffler and the g is on the left. anyway, just need to wire it up and fire it up! cant wait. please let me know about those parts or if you know of some available.

[SpecDRacing]

I dont have any engine harness period. I'm all out right now. I need one too for my Sentra swap (running the Z stuff there too). You might use an 04 harness (with A/F sensors) as it has all the same wiring, minus the exhaust valve timing connections. You can just wire those straight to the ECM and wherever the power needs to come from. The 04 wiring is blank where those pins go, so you wont have to repin anything, just add it. I'll keep an out for you. Keep me posted!

[s13_350sx]

what do you think about using a altima or maxima vq35 e/c harness? i have a 06 350 e/r harness. i think we have one of those e/c harness in the back for an altima. i think it should work right?

[irax]

if you want to re-pin more than half the wire sure it can work but it wasn't until 05 that the engine harneses started to see some standardization. but that doesn't mean they are compatible.

[SpecDRacing]

IRAX.... Not to discredit that remark, but I have already...PERSONALLY....pinned out every single 350Z and G35 ECM/Engine harness available for the VQ35DE engines (inluding the high rev). I did suggest adding the EVT to an 04 and newer harness for a reason. Trust me, there are empty locations in the ECM connector for the Exhaust Valve Timing. Again, I'm not guessing here, as I printed every wiring harness and ECM connector page. I won't give advise like that if I'm not correct. If a dozen wires added to the ECM connector scares someone attempting this swap, just wait till they get under the dash. If you work for Nissan, check your ASSIST. Go to Engine Control Systems, Trouble Diagnosis, ECM Terminals and Reference Value, and count the pin locations.

Later all

[irax]

none taken! but you are agreeing with me. That if he wants to do it he would have to repin it. As long as he has both wiring harness pin outs it shouldn't be a chore. I wasn't saying it was a bad idea or for him not to do it, I was telling him he would have to do work to make it work.

BTW I have an 02 maxima harness that I got from fred, it will need some repairs but you can buy it

[cesar240sx]

here is mine withvq35de supercharger out nissan exterra[IMG][IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

Modified by cesar240sx at 8:42 PM 10/8/2008
Modified by cesar240sx at 8:44 PM 10/8/2008

[s13_350sx]

NICE! clean car!

[melons97]

Insane! Nice work.

[SpecDRacing]

very nice looking. Did you use the VQ30 timing gears on a VQ35? It looks like thats a VQ30. In any case, that's wicked. Did you modifie the lower manifold to fit the charger on? or have one built?

[gadget1382]

Question... why, if direct supercharged, is there a FMIC on it?

[s13_350sx]

its been a while but i finally got the hood cut and all the wires in the 240 harness seperated and labled. i finall found an ecm. just waiting now for the ec harness and drive shaft so i can drive this thing! oh ya and i got to finish the hood.














Modified by s13_350sx at 10:51 AM 10/21/2008

[SpecDRacing]

Looks great!

You definately put more time into your hood than mine. LOL I'll get around to my body work some day.....just too fun to stop driving.

So, for you guys wanting the 350Z flat five spoke wheels. I came up with a good way to paint them today. Tell me what you think.



Is that PAINTED???? or is it not???



Yeap, it's painted. This was taken seconds after the first picture. Turns out, that white on silver will look like silver in sunlight, but in an angle where it becomes shaded, it becomes defined.



This is it on the car at night.

I think it turned out great. I need to do the other three wheels now. I just wanted to make sure it would look good prior to going all in. Of course, I did this to match the car (which will get painted back white), but it would look good if matched to any other color.

Later all!

[mattblancarte]

here is mine withvq35de supercharger out nissan exterra

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

hey it has been a while, I have been working on my car when I can and think I might be back on the road again soon. Just still need your help in getting the gauges to work. Let me know when it would be good to bring it up to you. Just email me or I can give you my number to work this out. Plus here are a few pics of my car.this is part of how the shop in Tampa messed up my car!

[SR24DET]

this is part of how the shop in Tampa messed up my car![/QUOTE]

Nice car.

Did the shop do that, or your wheel? My wheel hit my harness a month ago and I am still trying to fix it. OMG is it hard. Sh!ts blown everywhere!

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

the shop did it when they took it for a test drive. then half *** fixed it for my drive home.

[gadget1382]

Dodgy Bros. Inc.

The engine looks at home there, looks good. But i'd be worried if the rest of their work was like the wiring. Leaving wiring in a location that it will rub is such a simple fix that it should never have been an issue!

Questions:The bonnet reo obviously has been chopped to allow it to fit. Has the bonnet been raised at all to gain additional space? Also how low is the sump sitting below the chassis? Cheers

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

Well I have already re-wired most of what the messed up, I still have to re-wire the ecu and the fuel pump. Next on the list of things to fix is the fuel system.

[Trav4011]

Gang,

I appologize I havent been on in awhile. Things with this particular 240sx swap are going really slow. It still at the driveshaft shop. As soon as it leaves there, it will be going to my other shop (not the dealer) in charlotte for the exhaust to be finished, as well as a few wires.

As for what I've been up to.....well, I just finished rebuilding the engine in a 200sx V-6. I have got to get pics of this car and post it. All stock (sorry hot rodders...this is a restoration) but it looks show room new.

As for the NEXT vq swap. I had mentioned doing some crazy stuff for my personal car......well, its underway. I opted not to go VQ40 for two reasons, different trans and too tall. So I stuck with the VQ35DE.

My donor engine is a VQ35DE from a 2003 Altima. The transmission is from a 2006 350Z. I have completely rebuilt this motor. Top to bottom. I'm waiting on 2 stupid o-rings to get here so I can finish it (o-rings for the timing chain tensioners on the heads, without those, you can't do much else). So here's a few pics.....

Enjoy.....



Freshly torn down, stuck an HR piston in it to see what the difference is.



Stock 10:1 piston at TDC. Compare that to this...... --->



10.6:1 piston from the new 07 VQ35HR. I'd bet the compression will be higher than 10.6:1 though.



The block after I cleaned it and rehoned it.



All the Part #'s you'll need for the bottom end, if you want to go this route. Be prepared, my rebuilt (with my nissan discount) cost me over $2200.00 in parts (motor only).



Ready to build in my garage at home. Yeah, it's trashy, I know. We plan to lay concrete as soon as it gets a little warmer.



New Bearings are always recommended. This block had 109,000+ miles on it. So a good cleaning and inspection was needed. Be carefull if you order bearings. The block is marked as is the crank. Both are needed to get the correct bearing. Nissan has moved away from the 1,2,3,4 days and back to the old Matrix chart.



Clean cylander head. Nothing like stacking together an engine you could eat off of!!



New rings. Not much to see. Just make sure the 1st and 2nd rings are 180 degrees from each other, as with the oil rings, but put those at 45 degrees from the 1st and 2nd rings. Confused yet???? Oh, and line up the oil ring (like a spring) with the 1st ring......lol...its really not that bad. If you think that sucks, wait till you bolt the heads down (72 ft/lb, loosen completely, 32 ft/lb, 90 degrees, 90 degrees again....and that second 90 will take all you've got!!!)



Pistons are in!!!!!!



A veiw from the deck.



Now for the dress up. I've modified some old VQ30 valve covers to fit with the VTC solenoids. I am even using the same front coils from the older motor (brand new of course), so they'll fit under the trim. The part that says 3000 will be sanded off and either 3.5, VCT or 3500 will go in it's place...depending on what I can find that fits.



It fits nicely. Oh, and if anyone is brave enough.....the VQ30 heads will bolt onto the VQ35 block. The chambers are approx. 2.5 mm smaller (bore is 93mm vs 95.5 in the 3.5). Use a 3.5 headgasket and you should see a seriously high compression VQ.

So thats where Im at now. Gotta polish the timing cover and the intake manifold (after I have it built...lol).

So hopefully you guys are still interested in whats going on over here. As soon as I get the engine finished, I'll mate it to the trans, slap a starter in it and get a basic compression reading.

Later guys!

How are the HR pistons working out for you? I measured about .010" of piston sticking up above the deck.. The compressed height of the head gasket is around .026".. so, that leaves you with around .016" of clearance between the crown, and the quench pads on the cylinder heads.

I've put a set of HR pistons into a FWD DE block as well, and I'm having noise issues. I pulled it back down, and I can see a line across the piston, where it was getting awefully close to the quench pad, if not hitting it. It's hard to tell, since the engine didn't run for very long, but, I'm going to fly cut the tops about .005", just to be safe before I put it back together.

Travis

[Initial_R90]

hey it has been a while, I have been working on my car when I can and think I might be back on the road again soon. Just still need your help in getting the gauges to work. Let me know when it would be good to bring it up to you. Just email me or I can give you my number to work this out. Plus here are a few pics of my car.this is part of how the shop in Tampa messed up my car!

lol your car is like almost the same as mine besides i have an ls1 and you have a vq

[Trav4011]

I just finished pulling a DE apart that had HR pistons in it, and it looks like there is some contact between the piston and quench pads. I suspect that this is happening when the engine is cold, and the piston can rock in the bore a little more. I measured as much as .014" of piston sticking up out of the bore, with it rocked all the way over. That leaves .012" of clearance, and I can almost guarantee that it was hitting the head. The pistons were clean of carbon, with a line across the dome, showing the edge of the quench pad(s).

This engine had a slight noise when cold, and I suspected valve train noise, but, now, I firmly believe that it was the HR pistons, just barely touching the cylinder head.. just enough to make a little noise, until everything got hot and expanded. My sollution? Fly-cut the edge of the pistons about .010", to make them flush with the bore. If I've done my math correctly, that will give a max potential of about .004" sticking up out of the bore, with the piston rocked all the way over.. And, with a crushed height (head gasket) of .026", that will give me a minimum of .022" clearance between the heads and pistons.

I'll post a pic of the piston later on to show what I'm talking about, but, bottom line, is that you need to take about .010" off of the edge of the front/rear edges of the piston, up to about 1/8" from the valve reliefs, to insure adequate clearance for a HR piston in a DE block, with DE rods/crank. Or, you could buy thicker Cometic head gaskets..

Travis

[Trav4011]

Stock HR pistons, with VQ35DE rods/crank will not work, without either slightly fly cutting the edges of the pistons, or, by using a slightly thicker Cometic head gasket.

Without mods, and with clearances set a little on the loose side (any performance built engine), the pistons just barely make contact with the quench pads in the cylinder heads.. So, I would recommend fly cutting the edges on each piston, up to about 1/8" from the valve reliefs. I would cut it around .010" deep, to avoid any/all potential contact.

Here's a pic to show what I'm talking about..



The area in the rectangle, shows how contact with the quench has cleaned the piston of carbon. We're not talking much here, but, there's enough contact to cause noise. By cutting the area shown with a mill, you can increase clearance by about .010", just to be safe, and get away with putting HR pistons into your DE block. You should be able to get this done at any competent machine shop for around 100.00 for 6 pistons. Or, you could spend a few more bucks, and get Cometic gaskets that are a little thicker, and avoid having to cut the pistons alltogether.

Anyway.. just wanted to share some useful info..

Travis

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

cool. does yours run?

[Initial_R90]

yes lol i drive it everyday

[myS13wantsaVQ35]

I am hoping the guy who started this post will be able to help me get mine on the road.

[SpecDRacing]

I'm happy to see someone has taken this engine apart.

I had no noise untill about 3 months after the engine build. It never rattled, never knocked or anything. In the colder months, it did have a noise. Almost as if it was piston slap.

Now that it's getting colder again, I hear it. It's pretty bad, but doesn't present a problem after a few minutes of idleing. I am pretty sure mine is actually piston slap on number 3, as I have no noises from any other cylanders. This is my daily driver, so untill I get the sentra swap done, I will be driving this. If it pops, well, more motivation to get the sentra swap done.

So you think maybe this is what I'm hearing too? Its a tap, goes away with acceleration but no deceleration. Only when its very cold or for the first minute or so of the engine warming up. I just assumed I beat on it too hard and burned a wrist pin bushing.

Intersting. I'd like to see pics of the pistons after you shave them.

[SpecDRacing]

Trav4011,

Now you really have me thinking. Worste case cenario, I have a set of sretched head bolts, some bad wrist pin bushings (from the tapping...if its actually hitting) and maybe even rod bearing damage.

Best case, somehow I built mine to where it doesn't hit (doubtful). I know the noise issue starts when outside temps get to about 50 degrees and below, at any time. I do have a spare block and pistons. I guess I will go ahead and build it after shaving the pistons. I might not have much of a problem right now, but I'd rather not have a chance at a problem on the next engine. Thanks for the info and glad you posted!

[SpecDRacing]

mys13wantsavq35,

Wow, you have come a long way. What guages are you wanting to get working? I don't have much time to personally work on your car, but I am more than willing to post whatever I can so everyone can benefit.