VH41/VH45 Engine Swap

[XLR8]

G'day all,
I Have 1990 GQ with a TB42S which has spat the dummy and looking at V8 options. I'm particularly interested in the Nissan VH41/VH45 but can't seem to find a lot of info on the web for the conversion (plenty of pics available of them). Has anyone here done the conversion and what are the pros & cons?

Cheers

[bogged]

theres a stack of threads on here about it.

Some love it, some hate it, and theres a heap of photos.
Hazard had one on here. Twin turbo.
few NZ guys have them, and get some great HP out of them.

have a search around the forum.

[drakan69]

G'day all,
I Have 1990 GQ with a TB42S which has spat the dummy and looking at V8 options. I'm particularly interested in the Nissan VH41/VH45 but can't seem to find a lot of info on the web for the conversion (plenty of pics available of them). Has anyone here done the conversion and what are the pros & cons?

Cheers

the VH41/45s are big motors with there 90 degree V's and Quad cam heads mean there about 30% bigger than your GM v8's also no-one will do a engine mount "kit" for them. The auto tranny that came in the Q45's is very similar to the patrol auto box, so it's "just a matter" of getting an adapter from the output shaft on the Q45's auto box to the patrol transfer case, the Q45 auto is also controlled by an ecu, so you'll have to get all the loom and crap for it too if you want to run it. If you want to run a manual gearbox i believe using the 300zxtt 5 speed is the go, good luck finding info on that though.

That said they were an amazing motor back in 1989, knowing this motor's technology is 20 years old is amazing and really says a lot for nissan. The only problem that comes to mind is the vh45's had plastic timing belt guides that use to wear, the 41's didn't have this problem.

If you really want to put a japenese quad cam motor into your patrol, i'd do the 1uz, there just as good and there is more support.

If it was me, i'd buy a 302 holden, stroke it to 355 and put that in. Not as flashy as a vh, more power, less hassle, and in the end, probably cost just as much as getting a vh45 put in.

even though i sound a little negative, i do love the vh41s and vh45s

[bogged]

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/ft ... light=vh45
see it works

[XLR8]

Cheers for the reply guys.

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/ft ... light=vh45
see it works

Yep seen that one and that is what spawned the idea. I had a read of the threads already posted but not huge amounts of info as to the actual fitment. Mine has the auto box already so curious to know if the motor would bolt up to my box or whether my existing computer would run the infiniti box.

If it was me, i'd buy a 302 holden, stroke it to 355 and put that in. Not as flashy as a vh, more power, less hassle, and in the end, probably cost just as much as getting a vh45 put in.

After doing a fair bit of pricing and phoning around the VH conversion will be a few $K cheaper with half cuts available for around the $2K mark and most of the work I will do myself. It will cost more than that just to by the kit from Mark's for the Holden/Chev option then you have the purchase of the engine.

Fabbing mounts etc is of no real concern, its what I do. It's the finer details that concern me such as wiring it all up, why the need to move everything forward, is this done with a spacer between the engine & box or is the whole lot moved meaning new drive shafts, crossmembers etc.

[drakan69]

Fabbing mounts etc is of no real concern, its what I do. It's the finer details that concern me such as wiring it all up, why the need to move everything forward, is this done with a spacer between the engine & box or is the whole lot moved meaning new drive shafts, crossmembers etc.

If you were moving anything forward it should just mean a change in length of the shaft that would go between your auto output and input to your transfer case...i think.
I also don't think the patrol auto box electronics would talk with the infinity ecu.

[turps]

reason for moving it all forwards is that the engine bay is designed for a inline6, not for a V8. So the V8 want sit in the firewall, like the rear of a TB/TD42 does.
But due to the VH41/45 being much shorter in length it is possible to move the engine forward alot without it touching the radiator.
This does give you the problem of also moving you gearbox and transfer case forwards. When I was thinking about putting one in my Shorty. I was going to use a marks dual case kit to extend the drivtrain length. I roughly worked out that this would at least put the transfercase back to almost its original spot.
And with the auto I don't think its as critical to have the selector in the same spot relative to the auto. Thats correct isnt it? Haven't crawled under my shorty that much to check.

[steel]

G'day all,
I Have 1990 GQ with a TB42S which has spat the dummy and looking at V8 options. I'm particularly interested in the Nissan VH41/VH45 but can't seem to find a lot of info on the web for the conversion (plenty of pics available of them). Has anyone here done the conversion and what are the pros & cons?

Cheers

hey mate , would be worth you giving Matt a call at Perth 4wd centre.
he's done a couple of VH45 conversions in Patrols ( both manuals though )

Ph. 9470 1755


You say fabbing mounts is what you do?, do you have a buisness here in Perth?

[XLR8]

I have a fabrication business doing rock sliders & tube bars etc. so I have all the gear for fabricating mounts and the like.

[nzdarin]

G'day all,
I Have 1990 GQ with a TB42S which has spat the dummy and looking at V8 options. I'm particularly interested in the Nissan VH41/VH45 but can't seem to find a lot of info on the web for the conversion (plenty of pics available of them). Has anyone here done the conversion and what are the pros & cons?

Cheers

The Patrol auto and the Q45 auto are basically the same. The big difference is the torque convertor length. This means the input shafts must be changed and then it will all just bolt together. I'm using a Patrol auto behind my VH45 with a Wholesale Automatic manual valve body.
If you want to use you Patrol auto and computer then all you need to do is ensure you have a TPS input as everything else works independant of the motor. This is the same for the Q45 as well so making them work together is very easy.
The biggest thing I would do (and is on my list of things to do) is incease the stall speed. In the Q45 it is very low, lower than a Patrol so i causes the engine to bog a bit. I know someone who has the same torque convertor on an Ls1 and he has the same problem so is increasing it on this motor as well.
They are a very very big motor and you will have to ge manifolds made as none are available to suit.
There are option coming available now for different gearbox and auto conversions but they are all from the states. 300ZX is the normal 5 speed but there are also 6 speed and comon auto kits out now as well. ie turbo 400 etc.
I shifted the cab to clear the firewall. 75mm. This means that all driveshafts etc are the same and changing the linkages is a very simple thing to do.
Here's a link to a feature on my truck for some more info.
http://www.nicoclub.com/ROTM/rotmfeb09.shtml

[XLR8]

Q45 front cut arrived today so the fun begins. will put pics up when its all done

[XLR8]

It's been a while since I've been on the forum but the VH conversion is now complete. Bonus is I did almost everything myself except the aircon piping, tailshafts and Radiator. Fits like a glove and goes like the clappers.

[sir_142]

Unreal mate, love your work. How did you find the conversion? Issues?