Frontier VK swap

sirnixalot · 08-28-2020, 10:19 AM

Being familiar with the D40 chassis I decided I wanted another. I had a Thailand model 2008 with the YD25DDTi turbo diesel engine, GT2860RS turbo upgrade, custom 3" exhaust, alcohol injection, DTE injector and rail pressure chips along with a PRG advanced lift kit and a 2" body lift on 33's. It was around 200whp and 270wtq, not fast but it could tow anything I needed. For some reason I sold that and bought the Z.

So I got my hands on a 2012 Frontier at auction thanks to Husam (BTWTuning).

My criteria was basically to find a not too banged up 09+ king cab Pro-4x since they have the newer AC controls, white gauges and factory E-locker. The one I found is a little rough around the edges and has 230k miles. The mileage didn't really concern me since it's getting a VK56.

Naturally it will get all the general repairs and maintenance done, it needs a new front bumper, some light body work to the passenger rear and a drivers side airbag.

The plan is as follows:

Ebay 4" intake meant for an 09 Cobra (replacing the shitty ebay filter with a Vibrant velocity stack & filter)
JBA Long tube headers 1 7/8" primaries & 3" collector
Diamond Eye 3.5" exhaust (Meant for the Titan so will need a little modding)
370z injectors
AEM 340lph fuel pump
Maybe JWT cams & valve springs
Uprev tune from BTWTuning
CSF radiator
Derale dual 11" fans & shroud
New OEM transmission cooler
Level 10 torque converter & valve body upgrades
PRG engine & transmission mounts

If the suspension is good I will leave that alone while it's still in the US but I do plan to put the PRG advanced lift it on it at some point.

So far we've sourced a 30k mile transmission, 2012 Titan donor engine wiring harness and possibly a 43k mile 2015 engine. That was the last year before they went to the VVEL version and with my recent issues in the Z, **** VVEL.

The engine wiring harness will be sent to Driven Desire for a few pins to be swapped around for it to be a plug and play swap.

All in all it's a pretty straightforward and well documented swap. When it's done I'll fly up and drive it down to Miami, not the cheapest way to do that but who doesn't love a good road trip.

seymore4 · 08-28-2020, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirnixalot

The engine wiring harness will be sent to Driven Desire for a few pins to be swapped around for it to be a plug and play swap.

You're in good hands with Brennan. He's done a ton of these swaps

cv129 · 08-28-2020, 12:43 PM

This swap never even occurred to me, now I want one lol

FL 4Motion · 08-30-2020, 08:25 PM

Cool project.

Are you going to titan swap the front ifs and diff as well to get the better m205? Better yet, sas the front and drop a jk d44 in there and then Currie sells upgraded rear ends for nissans.

All this work under the hood if it ends up sitting on 33s that just would be anticlimactic, at least go 35s.

Pls keep us posted, good luck with this build.

sirnixalot · 08-31-2020, 09:04 AM

Nah I'm not going that wild with it. Where I live there are no real off road areas. I just want a reasonably fast truck and be able to use the 4WD to launch a boat on whatever slippery launch ramp I end up at. Most of the 180 diff failures are when one wheel finds sudden traction after slipping and shatters the spider gears.

The m205 up front would be nice but I can regear the current diffs to 3.69 for a fraction of the price compared to going 3.73's on the m205 and get a little more acceleration out of it as well.

We got the 43k mile 2015 engine so the big ticket items are bought. Will get the level 10 stuff sorted next

FL 4Motion · 08-31-2020, 05:06 PM

Cool. That’s true about the r180 diff failures. Plus if you’re staying on 33s, much less stressful on drivetrain parts. ARB, iirc, makes an air locker for the r180, the benefit besides traction is it replaces the stock carrier so you get stronger spider gears, and I’m pretty sure RCV sells upgraded front shafts too. I mean, you’re in this deep already, what’s a couple more parts.

I’m sure you’re already aware, but Nisstec carries all of the above plus a large catalogue of suspension parts, bumpers etc.

Rusty · 08-31-2020, 06:03 PM

I have the RCV axles in the front of my Power Wagon.

sirnixalot · 08-31-2020, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FL 4Motion

Cool. That’s true about the r180 diff failures. Plus if you’re staying on 33s, much less stressful on drivetrain parts. ARB, iirc, makes an air locker for the r180, the benefit besides traction is it replaces the stock carrier so you get stronger spider gears, and I’m pretty sure RCV sells upgraded front shafts too. I mean, you’re in this deep already, what’s a couple more parts.

I’m sure you’re already aware, but Nisstec carries all of the above plus a large catalogue of suspension parts, bumpers etc.

I actually had one of the Lokka front lockers but never installed it on my Navara. Supposedly that addresses the weakness of the spider gears.

Mod wise I'm TRYING to focus on ones that are difficult to do here on island, while it's up there. The transmission stuff makes sense since there's already "down time" now and possibly the rear ring and pinion since that dark art wasn't passed down around these parts.

Either way I'm in good hands and I know the truck will be awesome

sirnixalot · 09-07-2020, 05:23 PM

Ordered the engine & transmission mounts from PRG today. The motor should be showing up this week, the converter and valve body should head out to level 10 next weekish.

Next up are any accessories that the engine didn't come with and a bunch of boring **** from rock auto.

Desert Rat · 09-08-2020, 05:37 PM

weak link on the R180 is the housing itself. Still, if you don't bang on it too bad, it should be fine. The drivetrain worked in the Pathfinders.

sirnixalot · 09-08-2020, 06:17 PM

Yeah it would be a waste of effort to be honest. The most offroady thing I could do is either air down to go on sand or go mess around in a quarry.

No mountains or even hills here. Don't tell the Jeep crowd that though.

sirnixalot · 09-09-2020, 10:05 AM

Found some old pics of me messing around trying to drive through a flooded hole in the ground. It did not end well

I ended up pulling the interior out and electrical cleaning and dielectric greasing all the connectors.

JARblue · 09-09-2020, 10:14 AM

As Joby would say...

sirnixalot · 09-15-2020, 10:03 AM

Issa VK

sirnixalot · 10-20-2020, 09:47 AM

I orderd the CFS radiator and a sheet of 1/8 aluminum to fab the fan shroud to be sent here to Cayman. I wanted to fab SOMETHING for it and I can just bring it with me when I go up for the truck.

Got the frame and mounts for the shroud done.

I still have to finish welding and profiling the the upper mounting tabs.

Thinking about plating one side of the lower mounting tabs for extra strength as well.

The sheet is getting cut to shape today.

Unfortunately the Derale fans don't reach for another 2 weeks so I have to wait until then to plasma out the holes for them. I ordered a rivnut gun and some metric rivnuts for attachment points for the fans to simplify installation.

https://derale.com/product-footer/el...-14-718-detail
2000cfm each, not so much worried about engine cooling as I am worried about the A/C

Since they are such high current fans I went with their PWM controller as well. I'm guessing they won't ever hit 100% duty cycle.
https://derale.com/product-footer/el...r/16796-detail

08-28-2020, 10:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	Frontier VK swap Being familiar with the D40 chassis I decided I wanted another. I had a Thailand model 2008 with the YD25DDTi turbo diesel engine, GT2860RS turbo upgrade, custom 3" exhaust, alcohol injection, DTE injector and rail pressure chips along with a PRG advanced lift kit and a 2" body lift on 33's. It was around 200whp and 270wtq, not fast but it could tow anything I needed. For some reason I sold that and bought the Z. So I got my hands on a 2012 Frontier at auction thanks to Husam (BTWTuning). My criteria was basically to find a not too banged up 09+ king cab Pro-4x since they have the newer AC controls, white gauges and factory E-locker. The one I found is a little rough around the edges and has 230k miles. The mileage didn't really concern me since it's getting a VK56. Naturally it will get all the general repairs and maintenance done, it needs a new front bumper, some light body work to the passenger rear and a drivers side airbag. The plan is as follows: Ebay 4" intake meant for an 09 Cobra (replacing the shitty ebay filter with a Vibrant velocity stack & filter) JBA Long tube headers 1 7/8" primaries & 3" collector Diamond Eye 3.5" exhaust (Meant for the Titan so will need a little modding) 370z injectors AEM 340lph fuel pump Maybe JWT cams & valve springs Uprev tune from BTWTuning CSF radiator Derale dual 11" fans & shroud New OEM transmission cooler Level 10 torque converter & valve body upgrades PRG engine & transmission mounts If the suspension is good I will leave that alone while it's still in the US but I do plan to put the PRG advanced lift it on it at some point. So far we've sourced a 30k mile transmission, 2012 Titan donor engine wiring harness and possibly a 43k mile 2015 engine. That was the last year before they went to the VVEL version and with my recent issues in the Z, **** VVEL. The engine wiring harness will be sent to Driven Desire for a few pins to be swapped around for it to be a plug and play swap. All in all it's a pretty straightforward and well documented swap. When it's done I'll fly up and drive it down to Miami, not the cheapest way to do that but who doesn't love a good road trip. FL 4Motion, JARblue, cv129 and 5 others like this. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap Last edited by sirnixalot; 08-28-2020 at 10:24 AM.

08-28-2020, 12:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
cv129 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,222 Drives: 09 Nismo, 16 Nismo Rep Power: 163995	This swap never even occurred to me, now I want one lol JARblue, Chuck33079 and sirnixalot like this. __________________ Setrab \| RE-71 \| SPL \| JRZ \| Nismo \| ARK \| Whiteline \| RacingBrake \| CJM Oil Pan \| Ti shield

08-30-2020, 08:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
FL 4Motion A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: FL Posts: 4,776 Drives: Baby Shark Rep Power: 701615	Cool project. Are you going to titan swap the front ifs and diff as well to get the better m205? Better yet, sas the front and drop a jk d44 in there and then Currie sells upgraded rear ends for nissans. All this work under the hood if it ends up sitting on 33s that just would be anticlimactic, at least go 35s. Pls keep us posted, good luck with this build. sirnixalot likes this.

08-31-2020, 09:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	Nah I'm not going that wild with it. Where I live there are no real off road areas. I just want a reasonably fast truck and be able to use the 4WD to launch a boat on whatever slippery launch ramp I end up at. Most of the 180 diff failures are when one wheel finds sudden traction after slipping and shatters the spider gears. The m205 up front would be nice but I can regear the current diffs to 3.69 for a fraction of the price compared to going 3.73's on the m205 and get a little more acceleration out of it as well. We got the 43k mile 2015 engine so the big ticket items are bought. Will get the level 10 stuff sorted next FL 4Motion and ZontheRocks like this. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap

08-31-2020, 05:06 PM	#6 (permalink)
FL 4Motion A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: FL Posts: 4,776 Drives: Baby Shark Rep Power: 701615	Cool. That’s true about the r180 diff failures. Plus if you’re staying on 33s, much less stressful on drivetrain parts. ARB, iirc, makes an air locker for the r180, the benefit besides traction is it replaces the stock carrier so you get stronger spider gears, and I’m pretty sure RCV sells upgraded front shafts too. I mean, you’re in this deep already, what’s a couple more parts. I’m sure you’re already aware, but Nisstec carries all of the above plus a large catalogue of suspension parts, bumpers etc. sirnixalot likes this.

08-31-2020, 06:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 35,185 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684437	I have the RCV axles in the front of my Power Wagon. FL 4Motion and sirnixalot like this. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

09-07-2020, 05:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	Ordered the engine & transmission mounts from PRG today. The motor should be showing up this week, the converter and valve body should head out to level 10 next weekish. Next up are any accessories that the engine didn't come with and a bunch of boring **** from rock auto. FL 4Motion and Rusty like this. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap

09-08-2020, 05:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
Desert Rat Base Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 189 Drives: 2014 370Z M6 Base Rep Power: 3365	weak link on the R180 is the housing itself. Still, if you don't bang on it too bad, it should be fine. The drivetrain worked in the Pathfinders.

09-08-2020, 06:17 PM	#11 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	Yeah it would be a waste of effort to be honest. The most offroady thing I could do is either air down to go on sand or go mess around in a quarry. No mountains or even hills here. Don't tell the Jeep crowd that though. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap

09-09-2020, 10:05 AM	#12 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	Found some old pics of me messing around trying to drive through a flooded hole in the ground. It did not end well I ended up pulling the interior out and electrical cleaning and dielectric greasing all the connectors. FL 4Motion, JARblue, Rusty and 3 others like this. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap

09-09-2020, 10:14 AM	#13 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,450 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	As Joby would say... FL 4Motion, Rusty, johnxxx and 4 others like this. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

09-15-2020, 10:03 AM	#14 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	Issa VK FL 4Motion, JARblue, cv129 and 2 others like this. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap

10-20-2020, 09:47 AM	#15 (permalink)
sirnixalot Track Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Cayman Islands Posts: 685 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 57454	I orderd the CFS radiator and a sheet of 1/8 aluminum to fab the fan shroud to be sent here to Cayman. I wanted to fab SOMETHING for it and I can just bring it with me when I go up for the truck. Got the frame and mounts for the shroud done. I still have to finish welding and profiling the the upper mounting tabs. Thinking about plating one side of the lower mounting tabs for extra strength as well. The sheet is getting cut to shape today. Unfortunately the Derale fans don't reach for another 2 weeks so I have to wait until then to plasma out the holes for them. I ordered a rivnut gun and some metric rivnuts for attachment points for the fans to simplify installation. https://derale.com/product-footer/el...-14-718-detail 2000cfm each, not so much worried about engine cooling as I am worried about the A/C Since they are such high current fans I went with their PWM controller as well. I'm guessing they won't ever hit 100% duty cycle. https://derale.com/product-footer/el...r/16796-detail FL 4Motion, JARblue, cv129 and 3 others like this. __________________ 2010 Sport - LS3 swap loading 2012 Frontier - BTWTuning VK56DE swap

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