and just FYI for anyone else swappin a auto tranny motor into a 5spd truck, that bearing(pilot i believe;behind the fly wheel) is a real PITA to get out. it took us for ever to get that bearing out. we sawzalled, chizzeled, air hammered, tried pulling it and broke the puller; got a new one and after a few tries it came right out. everytime they unplugged a hose on the old motor, water came out.

TJ, i still think you should line the interior for future water. maybe a snork too, or just maybe remember to close the airbox next time.

ETA: also, when dropping the tranny, dont lay under or close to it when lowering it. when they dropped it, it fell off the jack.

Yeah - that's why I went to PepBoys and borrowed that Pilot Bearing Puller...which took it right out.

did you ever get that back to them? thats a very nice slide hammer set.

Yeah - I returned it last night so I could get some groceries.

Good luck with the swap. Be sure to change that back plug while its easy to get to.

we checked all the plugs. they look almost brand new. no need to change just yet, but would be nice while its out.

It was funny to see the acursed #6 plug in its native habitat, w/o the firewall blocking a direct view.

The engine only had 15K on it...so the plugs should be good for a while yet.

Passenger side


Drivers side


up at oil filter area


Along oil filter to rear

Hope that helps!

thanks a bunch.. Damn those things are up there.. I would prob have to drop the front diff and the cross member just go to to them..

I'm sure... but dropping the diff isn't really a big deal. There are only 4 bolts that hold the two crossmembers in place that the diff sits on - and then the bolts to undo the half shafts from the diff (6 per side?). You should be able to get it down in about a half hour.

Just be careful and use a jack (and jack stands to support the vehicle)... the diff is too heavy for you to hold/control without a jack.

The accursed number 666 spark plug in its natural habitat, w/o the fire wall in the way, etc.



Well, the engine is in the bay, and, pretty much all hooked up.

I need a flywheel...the one off the '03 is for an automatic, and the one on the '01 was scored due to a bad installation job of the clutch...and I'm replacing the clutch when I get the flywheel.

The exhaust from the cat's back, to where the cross over goes, is on.

The front shaft slides in/out like a champ, and the rear is itching to go back in as well.

The tranny is still laying on the driveway pending said flywheel/clutch install.

I also baked my old ECU in the oven for a while...just in case.

The '03 ECU I ordered never showed up.

I'm thinking of Heculining the interior given the microbial impact to the sound deadening materials in the OEM floor carpeting, etc....maybe stripping off the insulation, and reinstalling the carpeting over the Herculiner?

I STILL haven't gotten the damn LCA off...and when I was burning out the bolt last saturday, and it still was stuck (Bad angles...), I just decided to screw it, so I'm replacing the whole thing with either the one I got before I started at the junkyard, or a spare LCA/knuckle assembly.

:rolleyes:

So - Another Saturday mod party.



The optimal performance ratio seems to be 5:1, about 30 beers for every 6 pizzas.

By the way, TJ, that formula you gave me worked well. In almost a year, I have no odor or problems at all. Even in the hot summer heat.

No problem...its what I do for a living.

nice to see someone who know how to turn a wrench doing their own work. Good luck with the flywheel, clutch etc. i think i would have paid a shop!

Thank god I have freinds who know how to do this, its more work than I would have taken on myself...too much down time, and not enough experience with the new engine crapola....and, oh, yeah, not enough money to fix it...so I would have had to quit wheeling.















I don't have pics with everyone so far...but there's a good sized cast....Great people.

yea I've been helping a friend with his toyota engine rebuild and we just put the engine in last week.. now we are having trouble figuring out where the hell all the vacuum lines go.. I would definitely be nervous about doing an engine rebuild by myself.. Especially with all the electronics...

It helps to:

Take pics of both engines, before yanking the old one out, to see what ran from where

Put the engines side by side on engine stands, and do a connection by connection comparison...for example, I had a few more connections hanging off the '03 engine than the '01 had.

Swap the parts on the old one onto those missing from the new one (Used engine, some paerts had been sold off by the yard already, etc...)

If you do it one at a time, methodically, one for one, its harder to lose track of what a harness was for/went to, etc.

Have help from people who actually KNOW what those pesky hoses and wires are SUPPOSED to do, so you can find the equivalent version on the other engine, as they move them around from time to time.

So do we have an update?? Is she running yet?

Nope.



I need a new flywheel...so I can finish the clutch, so I can install the tranny, so I can put the rest of the exahust back in, etc...

I might have it on sat though...

The damn ECU never arrived either...might get here today.

Once the flywheel is in, at least I can test start it.

I will feel much better when I hear that engine roar to life.

I feel your pain.



I hope you get it working soon. The feeling you get when it starts for the first time is fun.

LOL

Yeah, that's some fun I could use about now.



It seems flywheels are an endangered species or something...the damn thing won't arrive until next week...and the ECU was sent to the wrong address, so now IT won't arrive until next week either.

Great pic btw!

Good luck. Hope you have it done today. Hopefully you have less troubles than I had with the headgasket change. I'm chasing an intermittant PO300 that only occurs at idle.

Hopefully your ECU is good because I still say that since you have made the new engine back to the 01 specs you should use an 01 ECM.

Yeah - the ECU thing bugged the hell out of me.

My initial thought was the same as your's, the engine is just a hunk of metal that a computer tells what to do, and as the 00-04's all have the same engine, it should not matter what ECU, other than for manual or automatic, 4wd/2wd, 4 cyl or V6, etc.

Nissan told me no, the SENSORS on the engine that TELL THE ECU what's going on have different resistance ranges and so forth, and if I use my '01 ECU on the '03 engine, it would throw codes at me all the time, or not even run.

So, I baked the old one in the oven in case I might need it...but ordered the new one for a manual '03 V6...and will drop that one in.

I MIGHT try to use the '01 ECU first, just to see if it works or not, as I'm into the experimenting thing...if I have the time.

Before you throw your old ECU in the trash if it doesn't work try soaking it in buckets of distilled water. Now that it's been baked this may take several long soakings. Change the water each time.

This is what we were told to do if we dropped electronic instruments in the dirty water that accumulates in the bottom of manholes.

isopropal alcohol also works great. it'll bond with other liquids (unless its oil) & help them evaporate. they also can be used to wash dirt & other crud out. dries up pretty fast. thats what we do when our avionics gets to much salt build up or exaust carbon & oil deposits when under way