engine swap seems impossible for vq35de! (Houston)

F

fx350gt

Member
Name
Steve
Hello everyone,
Nice to finally be a member of the Scene after using it for years... So june 10th my engine blows, piston rods bent from too much friction/ heat & semi- melts the crank rod . God knows how much damage was done to the core or timing chain. its been parked in the garage ever since :bomb: next day Had it towed to my close friend: Josh Jacobs @ West Houston Infiniti to confirm my theory with a diagnostic turns out i was right! New engine, labor, fee too junk old block $7,000 & Trexx is valued at $8,976..... HELL NO . I start visiting shops locally and asking about engine swaps ... y'all wouldn't believe half of the responses i got !!! "What your asking to do is really really hard man!" or "your not going to find anyone in the country to switch that vq out its way too complex son" like bro wtf its 101 of being a mechanic !? Remember my core is damaged beyond boring out the cylinder holes back to factory spec so rebuild is out of the question.!! plus my bolt on accessories have 143,000 miles on them so trash as well. @ this point im fully depressed and dying to find someone... i find JGY company on my Instagram and give them a call.!they said $1,000 dollars for swap, 1,500$ for 49,000 mile engine , and $785 to ship upstate , plus $400 for megan racing motor mounts and top speed 504 grade-stainless steel g35 headers would fit nicely on my vq block..? what the hell isaid yes! so everything for $3,800!!!!! PERFECTION _less then half the blue book value, i was in the red again with enough $$$ for up rev tune. Then I read reviews on jgy and seen a posting they had on instagram of a 370z .. took them 2 1/2 weeks too assemble big brakes and pads....? HELL NO. Now im here to ask y'all what do i do now?? I love my FX:disapointed:
 
Have you heard about a place called JTran Motorsports?


Sent from my iPod touch
 
No actually never have... I see they have good reviews. I will call 1st thing in the morning . do you recommend any others in case swap cost too much w/ jtran?
 
Last edited:
Engine swaps aren't hard. Friend did one on his Z with just a few of us helping. The hardest part is having all the right tools though, and it definitely helped having other Z's to reference where random wires and connections go. Not sure why shops would be shying away unless they just don't want to do it. Find a place like Jtran or PowerFab that does them often.
 
Hah, shops that shy away from swaps are the shops that shouldn't be doing them anyway I guess...

Jbaker is right a straight swap for another VQ35 is relatively simple. I don't see why any capable shop would turn you away for that.

I would totally go crazy and swap in like a 402 T5, or a VK56. Hell even doing an LSx swap would be awesome...
 
meme405 said:
Hah, shops that shy away from swaps are the shops that shouldn't be doing them anyway I guess...

Jbaker is right a straight swap for another VQ35 is relatively simple. I don't see why any capable shop would turn you away for that.

I would totally go crazy and swap in like a 402 T5, or a VK56. Hell even doing an LSx swap would be awesome...
Click to expand...

that would be pretty freaking cool
 
myron02 said:
that would be pretty freaking cool
Click to expand...

I would prefer to keep a nissan engine in there, and the aftermarket support for the VK56 is pretty big since the Titan's use that engine. I would probably go that route, but I am pretty far away from killing my engine I think...lol
 
^ I don't know, I never experienced the VK56. And buddy that had a Titan said it was a piece of crap truck, but I don't know if he was talking about the engine. I have just had an itch to LS swap something. I don't think I would do the FX tho, something small and fast looking would be nice.
 
https://www.infinitiscene.com/search/1/?q=18944-replace-my-engine-advice-please

This member did it himself...in his driveway.

FWIW, any shop that won't do a straight swap for the same motor is incompetent. You're not asking for a conversion with new wiring harnesses or transmission adapters. You're asking for someone to unplug hoses and wires, unbolt and engine and then reverse the procedure. It's not that hard. A lot of times when installing a twin turbo kit on a G or a Z with tight spaces, it's EASIER to pull the engine than it is to install the kit while the engine is in the car.

I swapped a VQ30DE on my 4th gen Maxima after I melted some valves tuning the turbo setup. A friend let me use a lift at his shop and tools; it was far easier than I imagined. I had zero experience with engine swaps and basically just drained all fluids, and started unplugging hoses and wires, then unbolted the engine. So if a shop says it's too hard, they really shouldn't be working on cars. I've seen VQ35's get pulled from Z's and G's at my friend's shop, it doesn't take long.
 
I finally paid for the swap and come back to Houston tuesday.. I bought carbon fiber intake , sport rotors , brembo pads, & top speed headers. I will post pics asap!
 
I saw today someone on craigslist selling a vq35de engine and tranny with 120k for a grand... I think that was kind of a cheap price. Sort of off topic but kind of relevant :dont-know:
 
So glad this turns out in the positive direction. Yes please on the pics! I want to see it too.
 
Has anyone swapped our VQ35DE for a VR38DETT Crate engine? I contacted the people at Graveyard Motorsports about doing a swap and although they said it would be pricey it could be done since there is plenty of room in the engine bay. A Nissan GT-R powered FX would be sweet!
 
PEARLFX35 said:
Has anyone swapped our VQ35DE for a VR38DETT Crate engine? I contacted the people at Graveyard Motorsports about doing a swap and although they said it would be pricey it could be done since there is plenty of room in the engine bay. A Nissan GT-R powered FX would be sweet!
Click to expand...

Anything is possible with enough money. The Juke-R is a perfect example, if they can cram the GTR drivetrain into one of those, then our car is no problem. They are right though, the very nature of that engine and parts makes it immediately more pricey that other swaps.

Depends on what you are going for, and everyone needs to judge this for themselves, but for that type of money, I would much rather just snag a Cosworth VQ35DE longblock, and TT it (This would be basically what Rookie did with his car).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top