i'm almost positive thats the problem with the turbos...

'95 Path (POS though)
'85 Yota Std Cab

nissan doesent make crap engines. And dont get me wrong here, i like seeing any make of a badass offroad rig even if it is a jeep. I also have no plans of making my truck some super extreme rock crawler. if i wanted that i'd go buy a samurai and beef it up. all my point was is that once you swap out the engine, especially from a nice jap truck to a american engine it isnt much of a jap truck anymore..

True, but you do get hp and torque out of the deal for next to nothing in price. The torque that the Ford 302 in my patrol has is unbelievable compared to the 3L in the Pathy.

It all depends what you want to do with the truck.. With the Nissan Patrol, which is what this thread was originally about, if you are planning on seriously *using* the truck, ANYTHING is better than the original drivetrain. It was nice for its time (1960s), but due to lack of parts support and the expense of getting minor repair parts for it, its best to go with something else. If you are building one for show, or just want to putter around town, the original drivetrain would probably be fine.

At that point on any truck, engine swaps are necessary.

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"I'm just a bill... on Capitol Hill.."

yeah i see why you would do it on a older vehicle, especially the patrol with no available parts. And like your 510, didnt you put in a newer 3.0? thats cool. another thing though with the trucks is why swap in a v-6, if your going to go, go all out. put a 350 or 351 in it..

4.3 litre Chevy Vortec V-6 engines put at around 210 hp stock at the flywheel (or is 197 hp?) anyway, way more than our little engines. It weighs less than the average V-8 (the Corvette LS1 weighs less, but has so much power, you'd better run at least a 1 ton drivetrain!), and put out enough torque to let you know it's there (making the 1-ton+ drivetrains almost optional, depending on what tire size you plan on running), but typically not enough to cause a lot of damage (if any). They're fuel injected, and if you want V-8 pwoer/torque, there are tons of upgrades (though I wouldn't go this route, because that would be a moot point now owuldn't it!? ). Anyway, this is why I'll be going to a 4.3 after my Nissan engine dies (it's got a while to go yet). Also, the 4.3 has the same block as the 350, and 305, just 2 pistons less. There are a slew of tranny,s X-fer cases, and adapters available for this engine, and is one of the more reliable American engines on the market.

______________________________


Isaac

1993 Nissan Hardbody 4x4
Too many mods to list

(Click Link for Small Picture Gallery)

what year of trucks are you getting the 4.3's from?

only one i can remember off the top of my head is the 92+ (?) s-10...

'95 Path (POS though)
'85 Yota Std Cab

just wondering cause the older 4.3 didnt have that much power if i remember right. if you got a newer one it should have the 210hp er whatever it is..

also you could try a ford 4.0. theyre pretty peppy and you can get a bolt on supercharger that promises 5.0 like performance.

The 4.3 Vortec is a great engine.. really cant beat it for the power and price. Plus you should be able to find a good tranny to bolt up to it. If you can, try to find a manual tranny and that way you should have room for a dual T case or doubler arrangement without making the rear driveshaft too short.

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"I'm just a bill... on Capitol Hill.."

What is the torque output of a 4.3? The reason I ask is because I was always told that torque is what four wheelers need more than hp. There is no substitute for cubic inches. For the amount of work that you have to do to swap in a v6 would be comparable to doing a v8. By the way, I think you can achieve 210 hp out of some Nissan engines cheaper than swapping in a 4.3. Just my thoughts.
Lator......

4.3 TBI fuel injected engines started in the S trucks back in '87 at 165 hp and something like 225 lb ft of torque. That stayed the same through '95. Despite low HP numbers, the 4.3 I had in a 4wd '93 Sonoma was very powerful compared to the Nissans I have, probably because the torque was made at fairly low RPM's. In '96 Chevy went to OBDII and there was a TBI 170 HP version, which I had in a '96 2wd S10. Also a good engine. ZR2 versions of the S10 since '94 had the multiport and were rated at 190 HP, and I believe that's still what they're rated at today.


1998 Frontier 4x4 seriously built
2002 Xterra 4x4 still stock
"Conjunction Junction, what's your Dysfunction?"

The 4.3s put out more than enough torque.. They are MUCH more powerful than our 3L v6s.

For a truck as lightweight as the Patrol, a 4.3L would work really well. The V8 in mine is actually overkill for it. But, on the other hand, it sure does accelerate quickly on the road when the secondaries of the 600cfm Carter AFB kick in. Even turning 36" swampers, its actually MUCH faster than the Pathfinder.

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"I'm just a bill... on Capitol Hill.."

quote:

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Originally posted by datz510:
The 4.3s put out more than enough torque.. They are MUCH more powerful than our 3L v6s.

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yup, they're actually one of the more common swaps on yota mini's....i'm considering it

'95 Path (POS though)
'85 Yota Std Cab

Sorry, didn't mean to abandon this thread. The Vortec option does sound like a good one (maybe for the HB?). I'm still looking at Nissan engine options, though. I have pretty much been convinced that going with Dana44's front and rear is the way I'll go... Thanks for all the input. It's supposed to be above freezing during the day for a few days later this week and my goal is to get it inside this weekend so I can at least start taking it apart. It's been sitting for much too long!

-Greg

'90 D21 4Cyl Man - VerMonster Patrol in the works...