Did the spark plugs on my 5.5 today. (PICS) Also some fun misc stuff...
03-13-2010, 06:16 PM
#1
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Location: London, ON, Canada
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Did the spark plugs on my 5.5 today. (PICS) Also some fun misc stuff...
So I finally got around to getting all the stuff together to do the plugs.
I was trying to find my best deal on the OEM NGK Platinums and I ended up getting them from Napa. Holy inflation on the intake manifold gasket from Nissan. it was $62 Cdn, and the spark plugs were actually competitively priced (comparing to regular retail) at $20.59 a piece (CDN) from the dealer, but I got a better price through my normal guy at Napa.
I am going to add some pics of my headlight restoration wetsanding with the 3M kit. WORKS SO AWESOME. they look literally new like now. (You can see one pic below the intake mani at how bad my lights were)
Also put a new battery in the car, again Napa.... it was half price. $62 Cdn is a wicked price for a battery for this car. Cranks faster now, the old battery was tired.
If anyone was ever wondering if the VQ30 coils would work on a VQ35 or vice versa. The pic below of the 2 coils side by side is a 2K coil vs a 2K2 coil. The plugs are the same, but the VQ30 coil is about 1/2 or 3/4" longer.
The throttle body didnt look too bad to me... I didn't clean it (knowing the DBW system could be goofy)
Thanks to greghome.com for showing me that you do not have to disconnect everything to remove the mani.
I was trying to find my best deal on the OEM NGK Platinums and I ended up getting them from Napa. Holy inflation on the intake manifold gasket from Nissan. it was $62 Cdn, and the spark plugs were actually competitively priced (comparing to regular retail) at $20.59 a piece (CDN) from the dealer, but I got a better price through my normal guy at Napa.
I am going to add some pics of my headlight restoration wetsanding with the 3M kit. WORKS SO AWESOME. they look literally new like now. (You can see one pic below the intake mani at how bad my lights were)
Also put a new battery in the car, again Napa.... it was half price. $62 Cdn is a wicked price for a battery for this car. Cranks faster now, the old battery was tired.
If anyone was ever wondering if the VQ30 coils would work on a VQ35 or vice versa. The pic below of the 2 coils side by side is a 2K coil vs a 2K2 coil. The plugs are the same, but the VQ30 coil is about 1/2 or 3/4" longer.
The throttle body didnt look too bad to me... I didn't clean it (knowing the DBW system could be goofy)
Thanks to greghome.com for showing me that you do not have to disconnect everything to remove the mani.
03-13-2010, 06:24 PM
#5
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PS the Redline MT-90 is awesome.
03-13-2010, 08:31 PM
#6
Yep best stuff you will ever find.
Here's my experiance with it. In a former life I was a mechanic on a off-road racing team. One race, a 400 miler (6 laps of roughly 65 miles) the tranny case got busted on a rather large rock on lap 2. Since we were in the points race the driver/owner decided to complete as many laps as we could. We ended up first in class. After tearing down the car we sent the tranny out to get salvaged since we figured it was toast. To our surprise the tranny showed 0 wear even with going 4 laps without oil.
Here's my experiance with it. In a former life I was a mechanic on a off-road racing team. One race, a 400 miler (6 laps of roughly 65 miles) the tranny case got busted on a rather large rock on lap 2. Since we were in the points race the driver/owner decided to complete as many laps as we could. We ended up first in class. After tearing down the car we sent the tranny out to get salvaged since we figured it was toast. To our surprise the tranny showed 0 wear even with going 4 laps without oil.
03-13-2010, 10:38 PM
#7
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Yep best stuff you will ever find.
Here's my experiance with it. In a former life I was a mechanic on a off-road racing team. One race, a 400 miler (6 laps of roughly 65 miles) the tranny case got busted on a rather large rock on lap 2. Since we were in the points race the driver/owner decided to complete as many laps as we could. We ended up first in class. After tearing down the car we sent the tranny out to get salvaged since we figured it was toast. To our surprise the tranny showed 0 wear even with going 4 laps without oil.
Here's my experiance with it. In a former life I was a mechanic on a off-road racing team. One race, a 400 miler (6 laps of roughly 65 miles) the tranny case got busted on a rather large rock on lap 2. Since we were in the points race the driver/owner decided to complete as many laps as we could. We ended up first in class. After tearing down the car we sent the tranny out to get salvaged since we figured it was toast. To our surprise the tranny showed 0 wear even with going 4 laps without oil.
Honestly, my car has dino oil in the crankcase, but synthetic in the trans.
Why? Synthetic in the trans you can actually feel. The engine runs fine on dino, and you're not going to "feel" a difference with syn, but the trans is worth every penny. I have Amsoil in my other car. Same story. I love a good shifting manual.
03-13-2010, 11:25 PM
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The joys of buying a car from the 2nd owner of it..
I love cars, but most other people just use them as tools. I'll clean it up in due time. Infact, I will probably end up doing this job again because I want to put the spacers in there and VIAS delete. I also plan on possibly swapping to 04 valve covers, but I haven't decided on that yet. (Mine are in good shape considering - just dir-tay!)
I was in the garage most of the day, but I was doing a lot of tinkering.
- Removed the mani, making note of where everything went
- Remove each coil, cleaned it up, made sure each plug was gapped, inserted one by one, put anti-seize (tiny dab) on each of the coil retaining bolts.
- Removed and cleaned the PCV valve with brake cleaner (Nissan does not stock this, they claim they never need to change them)
- Cleaned up the UIM, and LIM and put the gasket on, slapped it all together
- Installed my new Napa Gold air filter
- Installed my new Napa POWER battery (way faster cranking now)
- Topped up my oil, topped up my washer fluid
- Started it up and let it run til the fan came on
- Did the 3M wetsand kit to my headlights (dramatic results, I should have taken pics, but it was much later)
Tomorrow I am tackling the interior bulbs. The HVAC is partially out, and my drivers side heated seat switch is out.
All said and done I spent around 5 hours in the garage. I love working on my car!
03-13-2010, 11:29 PM
#11
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I'm no stranger to cars. I've been driving old beaters now for a couple years and sometimes I'm repairing them 3 or 4 times a month to keep them going.
Knowing how to do anything you need to do on your own car is a life saver... I hate the thought of spending $ on car payments, but if you cant fix your own car, and its more than a few years old, you might as well shell out for something with warranty.
03-14-2010, 09:18 AM
#13
A couple tips:
1) Before changing your MDF, drive your car around for 5-10 min to get the tranny fluid warm/hot so that it flows out easy.
2) Before draining it out, loosen the fill plug so you know you'll be able to get fluid back in the tranny.
3) Finally, for the MT-90 or whatever you are using, put the bottles in some hot water for 5 min so it flows more easily through the funnel/tubing into the tranny.
Pete
1) Before changing your MDF, drive your car around for 5-10 min to get the tranny fluid warm/hot so that it flows out easy.
2) Before draining it out, loosen the fill plug so you know you'll be able to get fluid back in the tranny.
3) Finally, for the MT-90 or whatever you are using, put the bottles in some hot water for 5 min so it flows more easily through the funnel/tubing into the tranny.
Pete
03-14-2010, 01:06 PM
#16
A couple tips:
1) Before changing your MDF, drive your car around for 5-10 min to get the tranny fluid warm/hot so that it flows out easy.
2) Before draining it out, loosen the fill plug so you know you'll be able to get fluid back in the tranny.
3) Finally, for the MT-90 or whatever you are using, put the bottles in some hot water for 5 min so it flows more easily through the funnel/tubing into the tranny.
Pete
1) Before changing your MDF, drive your car around for 5-10 min to get the tranny fluid warm/hot so that it flows out easy.
2) Before draining it out, loosen the fill plug so you know you'll be able to get fluid back in the tranny.
3) Finally, for the MT-90 or whatever you are using, put the bottles in some hot water for 5 min so it flows more easily through the funnel/tubing into the tranny.
Pete
03-14-2010, 03:52 PM
#20
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I had a shop fix my exhaust, I don't have a torch.
I also take it in for an alignment because I dont have a rack :P
03-14-2010, 08:35 PM
#23
It was a brand new tranny at the time 10/07 when this picture was taken. Part of the deal in buying the car was that they replace the grinding tranny under their warranty. It still grinds a tiny bit in 2nd/3rd. Ok back on topic
p.s. Make sure you dont take the fill plug for granted when you tighten it. Mine actually came loose and dripped a little before I noticed a puddle.
Last edited by crazy97; 03-14-2010 at 08:38 PM.
03-14-2010, 09:12 PM
#24
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They didn't tell me there isn't a replacement, they just told me they don't stock it. I called every parts place in town. I could not get a new PCV valve. I would have to order it in and it would several days or a week. I may order one and just change it still. I did clean mine and got it rattling though. (It was stuck, prior to cleaning)
03-15-2010, 07:45 AM
#25
It was a brand new tranny at the time 10/07 when this picture was taken. Part of the deal in buying the car was that they replace the grinding tranny under their warranty. It still grinds a tiny bit in 2nd/3rd. Ok back on topic
p.s. Make sure you dont take the fill plug for granted when you tighten it. Mine actually came loose and dripped a little before I noticed a puddle.
p.s. Make sure you dont take the fill plug for granted when you tighten it. Mine actually came loose and dripped a little before I noticed a puddle.
03-15-2010, 05:18 PM
#26
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03-15-2010, 05:52 PM
#27
i wanted to do my plugs too but i heard you can go 100k mile on the vq35 and i heard its a pain in the *** to do as well...im about to hit 60k but like to keep a maintained car knowing what was done being im the 2nd owner too....
03-15-2010, 06:01 PM
#28
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It's not a hard job, if you do decide to do it though. Just make sure you take some extra steps while in there like inspecting things while you can see them (PCV valve for example)
03-16-2010, 09:48 AM
#31
03-16-2010, 10:15 AM
#32
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Watch soon for pics of my rear disc brake service. (I got new calipers, pads, and rotors to put on this weekend)
03-16-2010, 11:57 AM
#33
what about the more important part though. . . the front?
07-31-2010, 09:36 AM
#35
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Posts: 28
Well, not QUITE...
Technically, on the 2002 at least, you can change the rear one on the driver side end without removing the intake manifold (I just did it, but cannot finish the job since I'm awaiting my gasket shipment for the intake manifold). I @ least had 4 of the 6 new ones in for my smog check(!) Thankfully, passed (California, the toughest) emissions test no sweat, notwithstanding my 108,000 miles!
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