My stock, daily '09 G37 Sedan 7AT transmission has slipped in first gear ever since the dealer totally borked a transmission flush. I've lived with it for years now, but after a mild scare when making a left turn the other day, I'm casually looking into a transmission swap as one potential route of consideration.

I came across a youtube video where someone swapped a Q60 Red Sport VR transmission into their boosted G37. Has anyone else tried this swap? My impetuous thinking would be that even a non-spore Q60 transmission could be a good upgrade for me?

 

I believe the its the same 7at trans nissan/infiniti has in the g37/g25
and 1st gen q40 q50 and q60.
One of the big gripes with the VR is that it got the old 7at trans and no dual clutch trans.

 

Check out the 370z forum. There's a discussion going on about this

VR transmission swap - Nissan 370Z Forum

 

There have been multiple people that have done it including me. It might look like the old trans that's been in the g37/370z but it's NOT. This trans has more clutches and the torque converter is about 1.5 times the size of the old torque converter. The swap isn't plug n play but it's fairly close. Most people are doing the swap on RWD Gs/Zs and the driveshaft ends up being too long so they have either been cutting them down or going with a different driveshaft. My G is AWD so my driveshaft ended up being too short, had to make a custom spacer to make up for it. The Q60 has been doing great so far on my car. It will be a much cheaper option than building your trans, which really is a waste of your money but that's a story for another day. You can find these transmissions online for as cheap as $600 and sometimes even cheaper.

 

msonbolg37x,

How did you solve the bottom bolt holes mismatch issue when you did it? Did you simply leave those unbolted, or did you cut holes and weld in support or some such?

My car is RWD. Do you know just how much the driveshaft needs to be cut down? Is it precisely 1/2" or some such for every RWD G37 i.e. I blindly bring my driveshaft to a shop, provided the per-determined length to be shortened and be all good? (I can't think of a reason why the amount to be shortened would be specific to each individual car, but I'd rather ask the noobish question and avoid any unpleasant surprises.)

Edit: Additional question: If I go this route, my plans was going with a non-RedSport transmission since my G37 is stock. Presumably the dimensions would be the same between RedSport and non-RedSport transmissions? Would only the Red Sport transmission have the additional clutches and bigger torque converter vs the G37's transmission?

And yeah, I'm concerned rebuilding my early (09') G37 transmission would indeed be a waste of resources. I'm going to be doing something due to slippage, and the VR route seems the most sensible despite the hurdles. I just really want to be sure I know what this all entails as this is my daily.

Main aspects not plug and play, it seems:
- bell housing's bottom bolt holes mis-matching
- driveshaft length issue.

Minor aspects:
- swapping the TCM (but keeping newer solenoids, it appears?)
- cutting the needed groove in the bell housing

 

DanG37,

1. I left them unbolted as there is already plenty of support
2. What I was told is 1/2" exactly from the first rwd guy that did it. You should measure yourself and verify and go from there.
3. All the 3.0 motors should have the same transmission, I've heard that the 2.0 is different which I highly doubt but I'd just make sure it's from a 3.0 to be safe.
4. Totally agree, no one has really been reliable with building these trans and it costs a ton of money. I originally had L10 build my trans and it failed 3 times....
5. I have seen someone on youtube swapping the solenoids and it seemed to work fine. I swapped my entire old TCM without messing with the solenoids to not run into the possibility of having to pull the trans again.

 

Super helpful, many thanks.

How did you handle the transmission fluid aspect? Ensure the new-to-you transmission was fully drained, and after TCM swap but before reinstalling the pan, pour in x quarts, install the pan, and then flip it right-side-up for installation? (Edit: And then after installation do a normal drainfill to top it off?)

 

Boosting it? If so, 6MT swap time. If not, I'd buy a used low mileage one and call it a day. The Infiniti autos are trash but that would be the easiest and cheapest route. CJM is making a BMW DCT trans conversion package currently for the VQ.

Cwizza on IG is selling his car now. Car has GTR TT kit and he broke the stock trans, and just blew the VR30 one that he swapped in. So he's selling it now with another VR30 trans. So all that work and it still couldn't handle the power. I know you're not boosted just thought I'd mention it.

 

That's one situation with the blown VR30, I wouldn't judge the whole swap based on one incident. From what I heard, that guy was probably making 600+ torque since his car was spinning on the dyno. There are plenty of boosted cars running the VR30 and had no problems so far including me.

 

Not boosting it, so not an issue for me. I just don't want to put time and money into an inferior 7AT.

I got my wheel cribs built. Was about to buy everything... but the day before found my work situation may take me to a snowy climate and therefore potentially induce a vehicle change. So sufficing with status quo for now.

 

If anyone who’s done the swap thus far can check the bolt pattern for the bolts that hold the bell housing up to the older 3.7 trans and see if it directly bolts up to the 3.0t trans then that problem is gone.. in regards to the other commenters stating the vr can’t handle high boost, just get a built tq converter and valve body for the new trans and call it a day, I’ve heard IPT is L10’s direct competition, I have a L10 tq converter in my 2011 trans swapped 2010 coupe and its worked wonders for ab 10 months until it slipped two days ago and I abuse the crap out of my car.. maybe I just need a trans flush but but I have a feeling I should just go ahead with this swap since I want to use 14$ a bottle atf and ruining 7 quarts in my current trans would be a kick right in the nads.

 

It is my understanding that the VR transmission's torque converter is too large for the 7AT's bell housing. It's my understanding the VR's larger torque converter is an attractive upgrade, rather than using one that will fit the 7AT's bell housing e.g. the torque converter from the 7AT that's being swapped out. Hence using the VR's bell housing and living with not being able to completely bolt it up.

 

hey I have a g37x and I was wondering what you needed exsctly for the swap, it sounds like I’ll need a custom extension but for what shaft the front output or the rear ? And did you need to purchase the bell housing separately when you purchased the vr30 trans ? And how has your car been holding up with the few missing bolts ? I’ve been looking into this swap for a while but I want to make sure I purchase everything I need at the same time.

 

I have a g37xS coupe and I was looking to do a Vr tranny swap. What exactly do you have to do to awd models to make that happen?

 

I am interested in a breakdown of what’s needed as well! TY