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Inspiring info! Gonna be doing this real soon. I dread the removal twice and install once thing, because of having two cars and one turbo motor. But It will have to be. I figure getting things out of the first car to install in the second, will not require much organization. But the removal of the second (to sell) motor will have to be more exact and consist of bagging of bolts and parts.
Again, excellent thread for what I am getting ready to do. And to know it should take about half a day is fantastic!
You have no idea how happy your post made me today. To know that I am still inspiring people to step out of their comfort zone and do things like this is truly a blessing. I wish you all the best in your project and hope you achieve all you desire.
For those who ask "How long does it take to remove a VQ35DE?" I offer my personal time:
It took almost exactly 10 hours from start to finish to get this engine out of a 2003 350z. That's including the time it took to strip the engine down to the bare long block (all manifolds, wiring, brackets, etc. off), load all the parts boxes and clean up my mess. At the 6 hour point we had the motor attached to the engine hoist and started moving it out. You could probably get to that point faster if you leave most of the accessories on the engine and transmission. For example, I disconnected most of the connectors from the block before I learned that you can just remove three plugs from the fuse box and then strip the wiring harness from the engine and transmission after they are out of the car. If I was going to pull a motor from a donor vehicle for transplant I'm pretty sure that I could do it in around 5 hours.
As rrmedicx said, you just need the confidence to go for it. Honestly, the only "special" tools I used were hose pliers to remove cooling lines, a refrigerant recovery system for the air conditioning, and a rolling engine hoist with a leveler (gotta have that leveler). I am not a mechanic, but I had one nearby to help with the difficult parts, like how to uncouple 20 different types of electrical connectors and where to attach the engine hoist, so I cheated a bit. Still, if I can do this then you can too.
We'll see how long it takes to get this bad boy back into the car after the rebuild...
Years later from OP. Just want you, OP, that your DIY helped me courage up and just do it. Not as simple as its made out to be but it never is.
Tips if i did it again:
Have the right tools. I can not emphasize this enough. I could have saved 2 days by having an engine leveler.
Pull your Tranny either with the engine or drop it and reinstall after engine is replaced.
Have a hoist, if possible, it will make this job much more pleasant and you wont curl up into a sad ball because you have spent a week on your back with cold concrete.
Inspect for a MT pilot bushing!!!! Save yourself a lot of time by doing this. Dont be me. My engine, and most JDM motors, come from AT cars and will not have the MT bushing. Check and replace if needed (it will be dont fool yourself). If you plan on having or installing headers now is the time. Buy them now and install them before you put the motor back in. This will save you at least 5 hours in the future.
Bolt everything down and have someone else review your work. Only applicable if this is your first swap or you have a lack of experience.
Thats about it.
Again my sincere thanks to the OP for doing the groundwork which gave us, me at least, the confidence to do this with no prior experience. Although i am not new to engine swaps. Its these forums that keep the community alive, even years later, so pardon my necromancing the post.
Who says forums are dead?
Cheers.
If you want to save some time and not have to disconnect your a/c, you can leave the front end on. Took me 1 hour to pull the trans and 1.5 hours to pull the engine. There was plenty of room as long as you are patient and don't force anything. I didn't use a leveler even though it would have made it a little easier. Trans jack makes installing the trans easy and a 36" extension for installing/removing the trans bolts a breeze.
If you want to save some time and not have to disconnect your a/c, you can leave the front end on. Took me 1 hour to pull the trans and 1.5 hours to pull the engine. There was plenty of room as long as you are patient and don't force anything. I didn't use a leveler even though it would have made it a little easier. Trans jack makes installing the trans easy and a 36" extension for installing/removing the trans bolts a breeze.
For sure would be easier. Yours looks a lot less bruised than my bay did after reinstalling. I assume you removed the condenser as a unit leaving everything connected? I removed the front clip so different approaches. Also didnt remove the tranny at all...the first time....getting the spline shaft into the tranny was a wh**e. I would do it your way if i had to do it again TBH. Or at least drop the tranny. In your travels have you heard of engine reinstall causing complete hydraulic clutch system failure?? My pedal went right to the floor after reinstall and no amount of bleeding brought it back. No pressure at all i could blow the pedal to the floor. Engine started fine but no hydraulic pressure. Ended up replacing master and slave cylinders to get hydraulics back. Any ideas?
If you want to save some time and not have to disconnect your a/c, you can leave the front end on. Took me 1 hour to pull the trans and 1.5 hours to pull the engine. There was plenty of room as long as you are patient and don't force anything. I didn't use a leveler even though it would have made it a little easier. Trans jack makes installing the trans easy and a 36" extension for installing/removing the trans bolts a breeze.
Dont know how i missed the AC sitting there. I see it now.
For sure would be easier. Yours looks a lot less bruised than my bay did after reinstalling. I assume you removed the condenser as a unit leaving everything connected? I removed the front clip so different approaches. Also didnt remove the tranny at all...the first time....getting the spline shaft into the tranny was a wh**e. I would do it your way if i had to do it again TBH. Or at least drop the tranny. In your travels have you heard of engine reinstall causing complete hydraulic clutch system failure?? My pedal went right to the floor after reinstall and no amount of bleeding brought it back. No pressure at all i could blow the pedal to the floor. Engine started fine but no hydraulic pressure. Ended up replacing master and slave cylinders to get hydraulics back. Any ideas?
May want to double check for a leak, since you left the tranny in you may have kinked the clutch line and put a pin hole in it. Would also check the nearby hard line as well. Did replacing the slave and master fix the issue permanently?
May want to double check for a leak, since you left the tranny in you may have kinked the clutch line and put a pin hole in it. Would also check the nearby hard line as well. Did replacing the slave and master fix the issue permanently?
No hard-line or soft line leaks. Double and triple checked spacing and clearance before sealing trans to the engine. Double and triple checked again after sealed and torqued. Nothing. Yes the issue was fixed with a new master and slave cylinder + bleeding. Bled fine also and have driven on it half a season now no issues. Slave was toast and that was obvious at a glance but replaced that and still no bleed. Replaced Master and bam! Bled. It took a while but it bled. Also put a solid mass flywheel flywheel, clutch and TOB on while the engine was off so it grabs well.
Must have been purely coincidental then. Since you did the new clutch while you were at it, the pressure plate spring rate was more than likely heavier and just finished off the system sooner due to being already weak.
