Rb25det Neo Conversion Into Fairmont

[fordman351]

Hey guys and gals, you may have seen my plea for help in the WA For Sale section, but i'm after an RB25DET Neo for my EL Fairmont. "Nissan engine in a Ford"!? i hear you say? Yes, that is correct!

The 4.0L engine in my Fairmont at the moment is getting extremely tired and after 240000kms of solid spirited driving, its getting a tad worn out. So what better way to stir the bees but to do something (i don't think) has ever been done before to an Australian Ford.

I have a feeling the conversion won't be that hard, due to the MASSIVE ammount of aftermarket gear available for imports, the only thing i really have to worry about will be the engine and gearbox mounting, tailshaft and electrics. I do, unfortunately, have to keep the standard Ford EEC5 (ECU) as it controls all the body electrics, like the instrument cluster ETC. Maybe there would be some way i can 'tie-in' the standard ECU with the Skyline ECU (this is going to be fun!)

I intend to use a Skyline automatic gearbox, as coupling the engine to the standard Ford BTR will be an absolute nightmare, and it is waaaaay to expensive to have a new input shaft made up to suit. So i guess one of my questions will be, can the Skyline auto be fully manualised? Or will i have to use the Skyline ECU to control it all? I will have to put in some sort of aftermarket shifter (ie: B&M), as it would be too hard to make custom linkages to the gearbox.

Does anyone have any pictures of an RB25DET engine and/or gearbox (on a stand)? It would be handy to see where all the engine mounts are located and what shape the sump is so i can take into account for modifying the Ford 'K' frame for the engine to fit.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated, and i hope to make this a happening thing if i can get all the relevant information together. Anyway, enough talk, i'm out of here for now ('till tomorrow ), and again, thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Cheers - Matty

Edited January 9, 2007 by fordman351

[thrtytwo]

sounds different, good luck with it all mate

[R33NT]

WASTE OF TIME

Have a look at a VH45DE which is a 4.5ltr Nissan V8 with a 4sp auto.

I am guessing it would fit perfectly in the ol' fairmont and at the same time it would have enough torque to move a large fairmont which would have to weigh over 1800kg.

You are aware that the RB25DET is a "revvy" motor and is not as lazy as the ford 4L six.

I think you will find a RB25DET front cut is more expensive than a VH45DE. If not you can buy all the gear out of my skyline (1995 RB25DET, 5sp gearbox, pfc, custom plenum,fmic etc) because i want to sell it and get one of these V8s in my skyline.

Edited November 21, 2006 by R33NT

[666DAN]

Get hold of the gearshift ECU from an R34 25GT, it's seperate from the main ECU unlike the turbo models and will be easier to fit, it will control the tiptronic just fine.

Also you'd be better off not fitting the NEO it has a 1000 and 1 sensor inputs unlike previous models which make it a pain to fit, just go for a standard RB25DET.

If it's any help, putting a NEO RB25DET into an R34 25GT is enough of a pain, it looks for traction control inputs, ABS, boost sensor inputs, different speedo signal etc etc etc

[djr81]

Matt,

One minor problem is that Ford build their sixes arse about, ie with the exhaust on the driver's side. Nissan put it on the passenger side.

Silly question, by why dont you just turbo the Ford six? A 4.0 litre turbo will destroy any RB25, not to mention your trannie & diff. There are bucket loads of bits for turbo Fords nowadays, thanks to the XR6 turbo.

Also, try talking to Sean out at Adrenaline if your are from Bunno.

[AlphA]

IMAGE I JUST DUG UP IN GOOGLE:

RB25DET

Would be an interesting mission me thinks..

Like djr81 said the exhaust would need considering..

[Boostzor]

I had heard that the Toyota 3.0l TT fit easily into the vt, im wondering if its the same with the falcon. Plus you get that sweet getrag 6spd box as well. Though a 2JZ will be more expensive than a RB25

[bubba]

those getrag 6spds aren't that flash, my mate snapped 3rd in his doing a standstill (could have just been his driving tho ) but getting parts for it was insane, toyota don't support it as it's a getrag box made by BMW so everything was ex-germany O_0

[Boostzor]

But its got like..... 6 gears

[bubba]

Only 5 after you snap one

[StuiE]

I'd go for the XR6T motor too.

getting an RB25 to run with the Ford computer would be an utter headf**k, you could probably run the RB25 computer/loom, but keep the EECV in there (just not controlling the engine) getting the instruments to work would still be a pain mayh have to wire them individually or something.

[fr0st]

You know what would be faster than a Fairmont with a Skyline engine.... a Skyline with a Skyline engine

Come to the dark side

Just remember your engine is making its peak torque at something like 2500rpm, you'll be driving on boost just to get the Fairmont moving due to its weight. I'd be turbo'ing another 4L i6 ford engine, you'll have enough torque to get around and have some top end power to go with it, not to mention it would cost less.

Whats the fascination with the RB25? There are alot of other engines more suited to what you want to achieve

Your going to be paying out the ass for all the mods to get it to fit. No dout it would be cool to have but you'd probably get spanked by V8's still

[Kaido_RR]

frost, a fairmont doesnt weight that much more than an r33

sounds really interesting if u end up doing it post up pics as i wanna see it and im sure alot of another people would too

[mitchy_]

go a 3 ltr.

ford holden nissan crossbreed

[Kaido_RR]

go a 3 ltr.

ford holden nissan crossbreed

a 3lt is a waste of time and money....

he is better just using an rb25 as it will be cheaper

[play r 32]

after seeing the work that went in to putting the rb26 in my car, which is considered a relatively easy swap, i can see this as being a hugely exspensive excercise and as some one mentioned a massive head F**k.

Im think its awesome to have something unique, but for the kinda money this is gonna cost i just cant see it being worth it. i dont think it would even drive that well. would still handle like a big heavy family car.

dont forget you can buy an xr6 turbo in the low 20's these days and it would be so much more modern.

If you decide to go through with it, best of luck and i'd still be keen to see it done.

[mitchy_]

' date='22 Nov 2006, 09:02 PM' post='2696046']

a 3lt is a waste of time and money....

he is better just using an rb25 as it will be cheaper

jealous

the 3ltr torque might just push it along

[MMM]

turbo the ford engine its been done and can/will run good numbers! look into that it will be alot cheaper

[fr0st]

' date='22 Nov 2006, 09:00 PM' post='2696038']

frost, a fairmont doesnt weight that much more than an r33

Yeh your right... get an R32 instead

Seriously, fairmonts weight what? 1800kg?

R33's are more like 1400-1500kg

R32 are 1300-1400kg

Plus he wants to use an auto which will only make it worse

[SoFreshSoClean]

Turboing the ford six results in MASSIVE gains in both torque and horsepower. Don't ever expect it to rev like a Skyline, but it will most likely be just as fast, in a straight line anyway.

Forget the RB25, I have an auto Skyline and I find even that torqueless at low revs, it will be worse in the ford.