[pboglio]

So I’ve seen a few post and I just want confirmation on this, best way to pull the motor on these is to remove everything from the front and come out through the top? I plan on leaving the CVT attached and coming out all together. I’m sourcing the motor now and possibly a CVT. Thinking in the next month or two, that will give me time to go through the replacement motor and put some new components on while there are easier to access. Hoping to get 80k miles out of this before I have to do anything else.

The front/top approach with the engine & trans out together is what I would favor with jackstands or a lowrise lift. That's how I did mine. Couple tricks to load leveling that setup. I used an additional 2 mounting points on the trans directly with some brackets/chains and then mounted another hoist bracket near the front near the motor mount area/engine side where it's beefy. If you can get the OEM Nissan engine slinger brackets this makes it easier and the trans mount becomes unnecessary, otherwise I did it that way. I used chains, some folks use nylon lift straps but it's not that heavy anyway. Also used an HF load leveler to balance everything out. If you pull the radiator core and condensor, everything can slide out forwards without having to remove the hood. With the upper & lower radiator saddle removed & crash beam it's wide open. There's more work/hassle in pulling the axles than anything else, slide hammer helps. The rest is easy TBH but takes a bit of time. Maybe 12-16 hours max but it's rather easy labor if you pace yourself it's almost fun. If you can have a shop evacuate the refrigerant first then you can avoid venting it to atmosphere when you remove the A/C condensor core, worth the extra cost.

As to buying a used motor or transmission, your call. You could find out quickly how bad the motor is with a compression test (dry/wet) and leakdown. These Juke engines are rather tough but requires maintenance by the owner. Oil in the intercooler is likely the turbo failing. Noisy valves could be carbon deposits or valve lash out of spec. Timing chain & supporting parts I would simply replace it as it sounds like the tensioner is on the way out. I'd avoid any engines out of a frontal impact, the seller should show the donor vehicle it's coming out of. CVT transmission not a chance I'd buy a used one unless it was like <30k miles or something like that.