OK, today at my school, one of my friends offered to sell me a complete VG30DETT engine for very, very cheap. 141,000 miles, no transmission, no wiring. What I want to know is how much work would it be to get the wiring, and what's good milage to get out of a VG30DETT? I've figured that the tranny in the car will hold up for now, and I think it will bolt right up. However, if it needs a rebuild, and I cannot get the ECU and wiring, I might have to hold off on it. What is everyone's opinion on it?
So cheap, it's almost free...
This thread was saved without dates. "Around Sep 2004" is estimated from neighbouring threads.
just take it!! you know you want too! ;-)
just give in to peer pressure!!
No doubt I'll take it, just working part time and going to college I can afford it without thinking twice. I was just wondering how much work it will need to be installed. I'll probably go to the dealer and price pistons, and find some prices for the top end, as I understand that the valve trains on those engines aren't all that great. The valve train will probably be the most expensive part of it all.
well i dont know if you saw the thread on the old forum bout the guy in australia that put a VG30DETT into his S12.. but it seemed like he needed to basically clear out the whole engine bay to do it, and relocate a lot of stuff,.. it is def. doable.. but seems to take some time and effort
Actually, I bought a junkyard VG30DETT with intentions to put it into my S12. However, after looking at what it would take, I decided to buy a Z32 with a blown motor and put the junkyard motor in it. The motor will physically fit in the engine bay (it's a very wide motor). However, you would have to do some major firewall massaging, and you would need to relocate the turbos on both sides. The driver's side turbo hits the steering shaft, and the passenger side turbo hits the starter if you try to use your stock tranny. The 300ZX tranny's starter sits backwards on the bellhousing, as opposed to ours sitting forward. The oil pan will need to be modified as it won't fit because of our front crossmember. Also, the height of the motor is a problem. It won't physically fit under the hood. You can still buy new wiring harnesses for them. Just make sure you know what year Z32 the VG30DETT came from. You can find them on twinturbo.net in the classifieds section. A guy by the name of Coz sells them. Nissan is starting to discontinue them, so you better hurry and get one if you need it. They go for about $350. As for the computer, you can find one in a wrecking yard, or from someone parting out a Z in the classifieds section of twinturbo.net. Basically, you'll be looking at A LOT of custom work to make this thing go together. Also, with that many miles, you can pretty much be sure that the turbos are shot. Honestly, I wouldn't put the motor in without rebuilding it anyway. In the end, it's all about how much money and time you have to put into the project. Either way, I would pick the motor up if it's that cheap. You can always make money on it parting it out.