Originally Posted by upshift

I did this swap a few months back, and I elected to keep the 3.0 pump and turbo on the motor when I installed it. I used the head from the 3.5 because it was a newer #20 or 21 head.

The main reason for my decision was that the 3.0 has a redline that's about 1,000rpm higher than the 3.5, so I wanted to use the 3.0's injection pump. I think the 3.0 would be a real dog if you lost the top 1,000rpm.

I also kept the 3.0 transmission because the shift points were correct for the 3.0 engine. I've read comments from people who have kept the 3.5 transmission and they say that it works, but feels just a bit off, apparently. I find this rather surprising; I'd think it would be a direct swap, but I'm just repeating what I had read.

The 3.5 that I removed ran pretty well but it was going through a TON of oil. I've driven a number of 3.0 cars and two 3.5's. The increased low end torque is very noticeable off the line in the 3.5, but once the car is moving I really don't see many differences.

While I was doing the swap, I deleted the EGR and did a number of other maintenance items. It's a nice car to drive and I'd do it again- it really wasn't that hard. The car is sitting in the driveway right now awaiting a new crank seal- I replaced pretty much every seal but forgot this one. Sure enough, it started spraying oil last week. Oh well.