VG33 Swap in `94 Pathy Hi Y`all, I just wanted to - CSC

VG33 Swap in ’94 Pathy
Hi Y’all,
I just wanted to share my experience in performing this swap. I fired it up yesterday and it is running
beautifully. My goal was to use as much stock hardware as I could yet get the oil filter relocated to the
front. I used NissanNut’s rebuild/swap as a template, which was a huge help, and then went my own
way with it. If you’re ever in the Seattle area NissanNut, let me know; I owe you a beer or something!
I needed to do something to my engine as the rear main was leaking and had fouled up the clutch pretty
bad. When I blew the head gasket (leaking coolant onto the block instead of into the piston, so it was
not a dire emergency but still…), that was it for the VG30, I knew I was going to have to do some serious
work. I also think that the cam seal was leaking on one of the heads, I didn’t bother to check very
thoroughly as I’m just gonna sell that engine block as-is for like $50. PM me if you’re interested!
So, I started with an engine from a 1999 pathfinder that I picked up from a friend who runs a local
wrecking yard with under 100,000 miles on it. Below is the engine I started with:
I decided that since I got such a good engine I would try to keep the crank in it and use the engine as it
is. After some careful measurements I realized that the crank pulley from a VG30 pathfinder could be
machined to fit the crank snout of the VG33 I had. So I went back to the junkyard and bought a pulley
for $20 and took it in to a machine shop and had it modified to fit the new crank using the pulley from
the VG33 as a template. I did have to shave a bit off of the flare on the timing cover to make the pulley
fit properly, it was just about 1/8” too wide. Here is the VG33 with the customized VG30 pulley on it:
The next thing I realized was that the oil filter bracket was not going to work as it was in the way of the
alternator and bracket, so I pulled it off and set about finding something that would work.
This was where I realized NissanNut had already solved this issue and he gave me the part numbers for a
few oil filter mounts that might work. I chose to use one off of a ’02 Xterra and it did the job almost
perfectly. The only issue I have is that the alternator belt tensioner will not let the belt loose enough to
get it on and off without removing the fan pulley, which is not a big deal to me.
Last major issue was the water pump, it is different between the two in the length of the snout and the
length of the timing-cover flange on the left side of the engine. A grinder and a couple of try’s got that
modified to fit perfectly (and no leaks as of yet). Note the “taller” VG33 pump on the workbench next to
the one I’m modifying.
The actual install went a bit rockier than I had hoped; I did transfer the rocker-arm covers over but
thought I’d be able to get away with the oil pan as it was almost the same dimensions. I got the tranny
bolted on before I realized it hit the front differential in several places. So I had to take it back out. I
wanted to keep the stock oil pickup tube so I just took a hammer and dented out the bottom of the
front of the oil pan about ¼” where it was hitting (I used an old boat-racing trick of using toothpaste on
the tube to see where it hit the pan) and it fit like a glove! Bolted the engine back on to the tranny and
put the motor mounts back in. Then it was just putting the jigsaw puzzle back together. I used the
upper and lower intake from the VG30 as well as the exhaust manifolds, fuel rail and all other
accessories. I decided to take the fan from the VG33 as it had a more modern blade design and would
be a bit quieter. I just mounted it onto the fan clutch from the VG30. I did have to modify the power
steering pump bracket as the VG33 oil pump has a timing-cover bolt in the way, but it was not a big
issue:
Below is the final product!
I was amazed when it fired right up, I did not have to fight with the computer or anything, oil pressure
took a second to come up and the lifters took a while to quiet down, but it runs like a top. I set the
timing to 15 degrees BTDC and have been driving all over to see what the difference in power is. And
what a difference it made! For one example, I can now climb the HWY 18 hill in 5th and even slowly
accelerate while doing it. Couldn’t even hold 60 in 5th before!
In all, it was a great project! I’d be happy to answer any other questions anyone has (though it may take
me a bit to get back to you). I hope that this helps out the next guy who decides to try this! I am not a
mechanic by any means, actually I am a computer geek! It pushed me to my limits, but was worth all
the effort! Below is a final pic of the truck ready to roll and some others that I took during the process:
This was the half-way point with the VG33 on the stand and the VG30 on the floor. It called for a
celebratory Mikes just having gotten the darn thing out of the truck!
This is the new clutch then the dirty bellhousing. No wonder my old clutch didn't work! The black is all
oily grime that was so thick it took a putty knife to get off...
Lastly, a bit of creative engineering to keep the engine at the proper angle to get the clutch off (and back
on) the splines.