J37A1 into a 7th gen AV6

[NVA-AV6]

As the title states I am putting a J37A1 into a 04 AV6 AT and converting it to MT. The engine is a rebuilt J37A1 with new block and rotating assembly as well as ported heads.





Transmission from a 08 TL.




Clutch also from 07-08 TL.



And bolt up.....




Now to the wiring while waiting on the starter since I was sent the wrong one 

[Pascal]

Please take some pictures of the conversion, how you made the pedals brackets and stuff ! It will help me a LOT in the future when I do mine. I have a 03 K24 auto, but i guess the firewall is similar to the V6

[ikethegreat]

I like the blue powercoat job.  Looks nice

[NVA-AV6]

Thanks, that is a 2 pass color (bit of a pita), first pre heating the part to 325F then laying down a base coat of "Chrome" aka shiny silver and baking that for 10mins at 375F, then laying the Hawaiian Blue Translucent over top and baking the whole mess for 20min at 400F.

[ikethegreat]

I guess the chrome base coat is what gives the color such "pop". 

[NVA-AV6]

Engine harness completed, now on the the engine bay to ecu harness....

[NVA-AV6]

Double swap harness completed, what a pita, both hondata and AT/MT swap into this one.....

[Pascal]

Do you relocate the hole where the harness goes thru the firewall ? Because on my k24 AT there is a harness in the clutch master hole.
Is this the purpose of the harness ?

[NVA-AV6]

No, the harness above goes from inside the bay to the ECU and goes thru the pass side/middle of the fire wall. For the chassis harness, yes that has to be relocated. I put another hole higher and towards the drivers side of the fire wall, cut betwee the clutch hold anf the new hole, bend the fire wall, remove the stock rubber grommet, move it to the new hole , unbend the firewall and weld it back together, put a new grommet around the harness, seal the outside of the firwall with a coat of silicone. Make a pair of plates out of 1/8 and 1/4 aluminum to stregthen and space the clutch pedal.

[Pascal]

Damn that looks like a pita to do... You're doing all of this from inside the car, without removing the dash ? looked up before and it is really tight to work up there

[NVA-AV6]

Yup it is tight, I do remove the drivers MICU and having a lift helps.....

[Pascal]

Having a lift would make things so much easier for all repairs. The MICU is the relay box and control unit un the driver side ? is it hard to remove or it has connectors so it can be removed without cutting any wires?

[NVA-AV6]

Well, she is a runner. Ran into one gotcha with the front engine mount casting, modified mine to work for now and ordered in the one from the 07 TLS. Also the oil pressure sensor from the MDX as well as other newer vehicles works reverse to the 3rd gen TL/ 7th gen AV6. In our vehicles it is a "Normally Open Switch", the new design is a "Normally Closed Switch". So as you can imagine this made for interesting times when first starting her and seeing the OP indicator still on on the cluster and I don't like my life that interesting.....

Anyways after the first 50 miles, one word, TORQUE. Just effortless driving, 1st gear is useless unless you are starting out on a incline.

[Rich01]

Nice! It's tricky getting off the line with the J36, I can't even imagine the J37 in our cars. Great job man.


And yes, I can attest to the fact that NC/NO switches have cost hours of debug. Sensors and solenoids Sinking/Sourcing a signal is next in line

Glad you got it figured out and she's up n running