Reference photo of the VQ35DE Engine Firing Order for the Infiniti. Very helpful when it comes to diagnosing P030x CEL Codes.
If you have a CEL for random misfire, below the common codes.
Community Member Credit: R&D Factory
Here are DIY instructions on how to replace the OEM seals on your Nissan VQ engine.
At R&D Factory, we service many Nissans and Infiniti’s daily and run into the same valve cover/spark plug o-ring leak. About 75% of the vehicles that we serve have the same problems. Even though it’s money out of customer’s pocket after spending so much money on these valve covers we were thinking there has to be a way to cut the cost so here we are. R&D has come out the kit will come with both driver and passenger side valve cover gasket, six o-ring gaskets, and simple instructions on how to replace them. Your warranty should and will cover leaking valve cover o-rings grommets. we do advise you to check for a leak before your warranty is over…. the whole idea of us making these o-rings grommets were for those who have leaking o-rings grommets yet their warranty is already over. We do drill out the old o-ring grommets with the hole saw size 2 inch. It is slightly bigger than the existing hole and slightly smaller than the o-ring
$75 for 6 Grommets (O-ring gasket)
$120 for 6 Grommets (O-ring gasket) and OEM valve cover gaskets (both side), PCV Valve o-ring
1- THIS IS A SIMPLE HOLE SAW (SIZE 1 7/8 INCH) THAT YOU CAN BUY FROM MOST HARDWARE STORE. WE GOT OURS FROM ACE HARDWARE AND IT WAS $7-11
2- THIS IS HOW YOUR VALVE COVER LOOKS WHEN YOU TAKE IT OFF OF YOUR ENGINE
NOTE PICTURE SHOWN MOST LEFT SPARK PLUG HOLE DRILLED.
3- WARNING “PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE BAFFLE PLATE” WARNING
4- POSITION THE HOLE-SAW CONCENTRIC TO SPARKPLUG HOLE AND DRILL BAFFLE PLATE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY.
5- YOU WILL ONLY NEED TO DRILL JUST ENOUGH TO DRILL THROUGH THE BAFFLE PLATE (WE CLEANED UP ALL THE DEBRIS TO SHOW YOU CLEAR PICTURE DRILL ALL 6 POSITIONS AND CLEAN OFF DEBRIS WHEN DONE.
6- NOW YOU WILL BE ABLE TO POP OUT THE OLD O-RING GROMMET OUT OF THE VALVE COVER. PLEASE REPEAT 6 TIMES.
7- THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE WITH THE O-RING GROMMET OUT
8- USE BLACK RTV SILICONE ON TOP SIDE OF THE NEW O-RING GROMMET (WE USED CLEAR ON OUR DEMO PICTURE SO YOU CAN SEE BETTER)
9- PLACE THE NEW O-RING GASKET IN TO THE HOLE. NOW YOU ARE READY TO RE-INSTALL YOUR VALVE COVER GASKET TO YOUR ENGINE.
Community Member Credit: BULL
Hello everyone, I put this together to help others out when doing timing in these engines. As great as this engine is, internally it has some life-threatening issues that will decrease it longevity if not addressed.
These are in the timing chain area: Gallery gasket, Chain tensioners and guides
Note: Most will adopt the mentality of marking the removal and repeat the install and this is a great idea. Unfortunately this wont work for all. Turning the engine until all marks are aligned can be a waste of time due to the many times it might require and removal and resetting might just be the easiest.
Here are some simple picture explicit ways of how to double check your work. You can start by aligning the damper with this timing mark in the cover, if doubtful about the crank cog you can use the this method as confirmation
Once timing cover is loosened and removed you’ll be left with this view. As you all can see my gasket has broken.
Then after everything comes off
To make sure your cams are aligned the pin need will align with the indentation in the cam girdle like so:
I learned that even that it had 120k miles this had happened: I had no suspicion of this nor heard any noise.
This job can be expensive to do. How expensive is entirely up to you.
to fix these the proper way OEM tensioners are a $120 + option that requires the removal of the camshafts girdle and removal of the VVEL Eccentric shaft that I had no interest in doing. With the VQ40 nissan sells replacement cam shoes but not for the VQ37 . The plunger part of the tensioner does not go bad so soon.
The plunger/Shoe from a VQ35 DE is the same part and can interchange. These parts are $27 for the pair. The shoe appears to be made from the same material of the OEM one so I’ll check it again in 100k miles
I painted the marks and between the FSM and other pictures I was able to find I confirmed. Final result was the start.
Remember:
Circle dots are for Bank 1
Oval dots are for Bank 2
These you will align with the two orange links on the cam chain, the single chain link with meet the oval mark on the VTC for bank 2 and circle on the VTC for bank 1
There are 3 ways to verify the crank, with the Damper like the first pic showed, aligning the crank tooth with the mark on the pump and with the chain’s orange link and the mark at 5 o clock on the cog.
Make sure you leave NO tension on the untensioned sides of the chain as any looseness can alter timing.
The last tension you should pull the pin from is the main cam, check tension and if it’s too loose use a bar to click the tensioner over one click
LOCK MODE FUNCTION
When the starting operation is carried out five or more times consecutively under the following conditions, IVIS
(NATS) will shift the mode to one which prevents the engine from being started.
– Unregistered ignition key is used.
– IMMU or ECM’s malfunctioning.
ESCAPE FROM LOCK MODE
1. Turn ignition switch OFF.
2. Turn ignition switch ON with registered key. (Do not start engine.) Wait 5 seconds.
3. Return the key to OFF position.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 twice (total of three cycles).
5. Start the engine.
Community Member Credit: Eddy
My recline and power seat move button stopped working. Seems like they were stuck. I’m sure I could have taken it off and tried to prepare it but I found a better solution that worked for me. I bought two Dorman 85919 toggle switches and swapped the button with that. The switches fit great and work 100%. A good option for those who don’t want to pay $100 bucks for a new one. This costs less than $10 bucks to do.
Community Member Credit: Eddy
Out of nowhere, I noticed that the trunk on my FX35 was not fully closing. Initially, I thought the actuator was toast and I would need to replace it. When you get the lock, you should be able to hear the trunk latch engage. I wasn’t hearing.
I did some research and found a quick solution. I removed the 15A – BACK DOOR fuse for 30 seconds and plugged it back in. After that, the trunk was opening and closing fine. I may have to replace the actuator soon but at least the trunk is closing. I was worried someone could just randomly open it and take stuff from the trunk.
Hope this helps anyone who has the same issue.
If you need to replace the actual, I found the following information. Adding it here for future reference.
