SnowKat

Hey Guys, Traded it for a Sentra... well a small fraction of the price of the Sentra.... My plan was to keep it till it died especially 'cause of all the stuff I wrestled on to it and since I could fix 'n maintain it blind folded.... But, on to new trucks and new bits and new headaches... Yea, shipping is one of my concerns too .... but the stuff fits into one big box, how bad can it be? The 'Q was a 2001. The TCM is the Transmission Control Module .... Nissan changed the shift points / smoothness in 2003 I believe.... - made the 'Q search for gears less and got rid of the dreaded 'shift flair and jam into gear' especially noticeable when cold. Thanks for the kind words. Markus

Hey Guys.... I'm really sad to say that the '4 is gone... I wanted to post my eternal thanks to this motley crew in helping me maintain and upgrade the QX4. It was traded in for what feels like 5 bux... but not without pulling most of the good bits. I'll be posting the used performance bits in the parts section soon ... when I have some time to take some pics. - summary - uprated TCM, K&N intake, Missing link, trailer wiring kit, P1140 sensor.... that's all I can think of right now.... You guys were an integral part in the my enjoyment of owning the QX4. Thank you very much! Markus

lol Howie, If it was huge and for a short distance I could would give it a tug with the QX4 no problem. I just find that for longer distances the brick of a travel trailer we have would be better towed by a bigger engine.... like a VK56......mmmmm Vee Kay fifty six.... Markus

Hi All, Long time no chat.... After much consternation I going to be selling the QX4...unfortunatly we need 2 more cylinders. You guys have been a wealth of knowlege and I was wondering if I could call upon the collective to let me know if I missed anything in getting the Q' ready for sale to get the best buck possible. The suv: 2001 Infinity QX4 - VQ35DE The goods: Clarion head unit Replaced the MAF OME suspension Missing Link TCM 2003 + (Transmission Control Module) - no shift flairs Amsoil in and on everything K&N intake Snow's 7 pin Trailer connector - Prodige P3 brake controler with custom removable mount I think thats all. I haven't had the butterfly valve screws inspected but i will assume they are still there. So.... is there any obvious things that I have missed? Like maybe topping up the headlight fluid etc.... Thanks again guy's for all your help and info over the years. If it wasn't for the extra umph required I'd keep the Q' on the road for another 10 yrs. Markus Wieland

Threw mine on today and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! ..... and that's just in a 5km test drive...... Right off the hop it took the judder out of the front on braking(chassis flex and stiffer suspension did weird things to the front), the front end is much more planted and precise on turn-in, steering feels lighter, and now the 'Q has become a point and squirt Rhinoceros.... hehehe. Thank you John at Jackson Autosport for enabling my expensive rally tendencies with my wife's truck. And, also thanks for your time and your vast knowlege of Japanese sports cars. Markus

Hi Guys, I've had the OME medium setup for 2yrs now on the QX4 and can say with out a doubt the are the best suspension I've ever had on a vehicle. I went with the medium setup because its technically my wifes truck and I fancy my self as a rally driver so speed and durability is my primary concern. It does look a little like a tow truck (easily and cheeply remedied) but the handling is second to none even after 110, 000km on them. I've done some exceptionally silly things with them.... usu too fast on very rough terrain and they've stood-up to the abuse better than the suppos'ed works suspension on my rally'ish car.... Install was fairly straight forward get replacement front end links before you start (you'll know when you get there.... and you put your shoulder and elbow out) and just grind em off..... also when you install the new ones triple check their tightness and flushness to the mounts (I had to replace one because it was loose or it had loosened).... last tip.... be very carefull when the rear bumper is 4' off the ground to get the rear springs out and in, I had the front on 2 jack stands and the rear diff balancing on a jack (upon reflection not a goood idea I was very close to being a red-nek statistic). Hope this helps. Markus

I have been in contact with Skunk2 about this and they don't know if it would fit and didn't seem to care much either. The intake on a 350Z is different but I don't think the the dimensions where it mates with the actual intake runners are different. Thanks for looking into this would be nice to know if it works as this mod is near the top of the miscellaneous pile. Markus

01 QX4 with 220K km, hard driving Only problems: Hole in exhaust,and replaced the big hanger. Upgraded TCM - just because the shift flair drove me nuts when cold. Replaced stereo - the common CD Player problem K&N air intake - sounds good Replaced AFM - bad O2 deltas, intermittent SES Replaced suspension - a must do on all my vehicles The Q' has been vunderbar.... Markus

Hi all y'all... Long time no chat. I just replaced the gaskets on the oil cooler and found a mangled little gasket from some far off part of vq35 land..... judging from its shape and general hardness it has been living in the cooler since inception. I swear my Q'b'fer was built on the friday before a long weekend or maybe it was a trainer .... with this gasket thing, the passenger side strut top installed backwards, and a few other odd things that I can't think of at the moment the folks at Nissan are really trying to wreck the "Best engine in the world". Good thing I haden't installed the APS twin-turbo system with 600hp's oil flow could have damaged the system... Has any one else found foregin objects in odd places or parts installed wrong? Q of the day... Markus

I'll post an after pic as soon as I can. It's a 3.5 ton Michelin Jack, I don't know who the mfg is. Thank god it goes up about 22" the rear springs were a pain in the a$$. A real "don't try this at home" moment with the rear bumper above waist high and wrestling with the springs..... Markus

Hey all, Life and dial-up make for long gaps in posts..... So, I finally installed my Old Man Emu headlight adjusters... About 12 hours of wrestling but they are soooooooooo worth it. They are the just the comfort level suspension as I am a rally guy and the 'Q is my wifes first then mine. The truck handles amazingly well (don't ask how I inadvertantly tested them.... ) with little roll and now the headlights are straight.... The 'Q is now 18" front and 20" rear flat... from 17" FL, 17.5 FR, 18.5 RR, and 19.25 LR - measured from the bottom of the fender to the center of the wheel. Also, of note the factory installed the pasenger front spring cap backwards which made me freak for a bit because I did the drivers side first and thought I did it wrong...... the passenger side showed more wear in general and some bolts were harder to remove. Now the truck tracks perfectally straight at any speed. Unfortunatly, now I have the occasional urge to bash over curbs and offroad through peoples yards and farms. Also, managed to install a new deck without losing the steering wheel controls...... the install kits and converters cost more than the deck..... music finaly doesn't sound like its being played under water. I'll say it again, I hope to be back sooner next time. Markus

My appoligies to your wallet..... Actually they have a discount program..... that I keep forgetting to ask for... It's 10% off or more with no obligations, should have something similar in the States. I should have got it before I bought $200 Bux worth of it in one shot (a la xplorx4)....ohh the pain of impatients. Markus

I use Amsoil only in all my vehicles.. Long windy baggy reply..... Over the years I've tested many synthetics..... I won a few crates of Castrol Syntech years ago and and swore by it. Didn't notice much of a difference in the engine, but hey it was free. I found out not too long after I ran out that Castrol Syntech isn't or wasn't full synthetic but a blend of both conventional and synthetic. Castrol apparently had to go to court to defend the name as it is quite missleading (Info from an ELF race lubricants rep.)... still the commercials don't seem to have syntec compared to other synthetic oils, they are carefull to say it beats the crap out of leading conventional oils....hmmmm. Its just a really expensive blended oil, or was... dunno anymore. Then I got the Celica 4WD Turbo...... aka The f'ing hot, coking, sludge forming 3SGTE powered rocket. Now engine fluids are a real concern.... my engine builder swore by Amsoil, easy for him when you buy in bulk wholesale. I used everything else but.... 'cause I didn't want to pay $12 a quart.... after about 10 000km of Mobil 1, Valvoline, and others I was in for a another checkup and he showed me the sludge that forms under the oil cap as an indication of how your oil is doing and urged me to try Amsoil. As you can tell from the first line I tryed it (5w-30) and loved it..... there was less of a rolling resistance that could be felt right away (it was wierd to be in the same trafic as before and have to get off the gass sooner 'cause you sneek up on people faster). After about 100 000km on the built engine I used some M1 (10w30) for a while and shortly there after my valve cover gasket started leaking..... Common problem on the 3sgte but my car for some reason my car just doesn't like M1. It seems to find its way out of the engine some how and its just not as silky as Amsoil (I know, I know, I'm used to people looking at me strange....). Anyway, now at 200 000km and back to Amsoil exclusively I desided to change my own valve cover gasket this time as I was there doing other stuff. Learned from the interweb that the 3sgte head accumulates alot of sludge and goo around the cams over time ... so expecting the worst I opened the top and saw...... that it was absolutely, clean brand new, wow. One real good reason to use Amsoil for me, no worries in the oil department now, if the sludgiest part of the 3sgte is clean then the super hot turbo bits that create particulate ought to be clean too..... I use Amsoil in all the parts of the QX4. 5w-30: engine 75W-90 Sever gear: in diffs Slip-lock: rear diff ATF: Transfer case and Tranny I'd put in the glove box if they had a synthetic fluid for it...... For me the 'Q is much smoother all round now esp. noticable when the tranny modulator gets confused and shifts hard. I am biased and your milage may vary. Amsoil 5-30 is $8.40CDN here so I'm not complaining. P.S. There is a sticker on the engine of my ECHO that says only use 5x30 as it promotes much better fuel efficiency.... yes, I put Amsoil in it also...... and got an extra 60-80km distance out of one tank.

Yea I seen yous guys and I was jelous...... I was sneekin' around in my stealth bubble Echo RS "The Gas Camel". That looked like alot of fun especially while I was on the job..... As for the K&N the butt dyno says it accelerates faster (It just seems to get to cruzing speed faster but in that I find I'm hoping in and out of O/D to get better use of the rev range.... the Q' seems to shift into cruise gears early (I also updated the Tranny Control Modulator last year so it might be a unique situation) ) There is a little interference with the butt dyno as the suspension is becomming saggy and rolly-polly. The VQ definatly comes stock with a sinus problem in that there was such a noticable difference between the stock intake and the K&N. I've put intakes on many other vehicals but this "bang for buck" has been the biggest yet. And the sound......... It roars around, but you dont have to, and my favorite is that you can make it "chuff" if you blip the throttle and it sounds like an old 70's V8 or a turbo bov.... no HWY drone... maybe better gas milage but I can't stay off it long enough to tell..... Ultimately you can probably achieve the same thing if you take the resonator off the intake (its big...) but I'm a mod junky <hangs head in shame> and the Echo RS has made it on the mod list....... ugh I need two more jobs...... The ScanGuage I got off of Ebay for about $200CDN at my door but that was before the dollar got really good. It's a little gimicky but I like the info and with the silly codes the Q' throws its nice to see and clear them without going home first..... Which is one of the main reasons I got it as I was getting alot of random SES lights for the emissions system last summer and just my luck the Q' would throw a code on my way to getting it e-tested. The only thing that annoying about it is the Km range feature is way off but it does say that in the manual. Good to hear from you guys. Markus

Hi ya'll Long time no post... New job, another car, and life in general getting in the way. First..... On my way back from a site survey north of Kinmount 2 fridays ago I followed a convoy of Pathys, X's and few jeeps they turned off of 49 on to White Valley Rd. I think I saw Pezzy's green Pathy in there..... Was anybody here in the group? It was so good to see more nissans than domestics off roading 'round here.... So mods to the Q'..... K&N intake ..... I love it was easy to install and sounds great. As for milage I don't think it changed it either way but its taking me a while to keep my foot out of it 'cause I like scaring women and small children. Its funny to roar by people on full load (ie. up a hill) and see the confused look on their faces when they see a luxury truck go by...A bit jeuvenille I know but its great fun to make this engine come alive. It barks, growles, and snorts now.... I can see why the 350z guys have sooo much fun moding this engine. As for driveability it accelerates quicker and I feel more connected to the road with speed changes. Only problems, the heat shield was a bit low and with the engine rocking back and forth it knocked filter off the MAF and the left and right bank go lean from time to time but no pinging..... still analysing with my next mod..... ScanGuage II..... neat little computer still a bit pricey but well worth it. 15L/100Km is the consistant average for the Q' but I got it for lower grade petrol testing (Haven't started yet). OME Suspension on the way soon ..... front struts leaking.... woooo hooo..'er ummmm hehem thats terrible honey let me take care of it it'll be better than new soon. And new radio this week..... Thats it hopefully it won't be another 6-8months of quick lurking... Markus

Hi there, Did it on the 01 Q' 2 months ago. Its really easy, the pannels pop right off all you have to watch is the 12v socket on the rear pass side if you have one (disconnect first.) Other than that the harness (from Hidden Hitch) plugs in on both sides into the tail light plugs. The HH harness goes on with the control box on the drivers side and wires feed across trunk bed to the control box on the other side.... this sux alot because of the space taken up by the rear wiper controler and I have handy storage on the pass side. So... I plugged it in backwards and velcroed the control box to the frame behind the storage and snipped the reversed blinker wires (Yellow and brown I think...) and crossed them over also with this the wire feeds sorta well into the the box (ie. nooo grinding needed). Now the wire is neatly tucked away 'till I need it. My 2c's Markus

Got it.. Thanks

Yup, Teccibal like Vengful said its a VQ. My tranny would slip almost always when cold excellerating at 1/3 throttle or just ho-him driving. The 'Q just felt ungainly in general, it handled well and was comfortable but it would shift stoopidly and sometimes you wouldn't have the exceleration when you needed it. I unfortunatly had it checked out by a dealership where they said that I only needed the TCM and not a solonoid replacement. Which I took with a grain of salt because when I started asking questions about why it took so long to come up with this the mechanic gave the blank stare and re-read what was on the sheet. Soo, I thought I'd change the TCM and see what happened as I was going to change the tranny fluid shortly after so I would know how much of the tranny I would have to take apart....ugh! Why do I have to know/learn more than a paid profesional mechanic just to get an estimate on repairs!!!!!! Anyway there was a discrepancy with what TCM would work with what year of pathy but in the end all you can get is the newest version which is the 3'rd redesign and it works really well. I was worried because this version is for '02 mfg tranny's and my 'Q is an '00 mfg and there is no DOA policy on electrical parts from Infinity so if it didn't work I'd be out $200 and return to the crap shifting. Anyway Steve(Parts) at Agincourt(sp?) Infinity/Nissan was very healpfull and gave a verbal agreement that if it didn't work I could exchange it...... Wha???? sombody at a dealership that will stand behind their knowledge and parts...cool!!! All in all It was a great switch and at first it felt almost the same untill I realised the tranny, instead of slipping stayed in the lower gear until it figured out what the idiot driver was trying to do and then shift up. I just feel better now that the tranny transitions better 'cause its my wifes DD and she isn't silly like me and enjoys upsetting the vehical's balance just to drift corners. Markus

Hi all long time no post. Two new mods I'm really happy with on the QB'fer. 1. Hercules Terra trac A/T's are excellent with thier REVO tread variant. So far so good in rain, snow/ice, and wet gravel their very predictable, grippy, and best of all they look meaty without the wife disturbing milage and noise probs. I needed a tire that was the same size as stock 'cause we had a perfectly good spare and the less I have to worry about the 'Q the better (My GT4 is the one that needs the patients). I was dead set on the Perelli Scorpion ATR's but there aren't any in NA right now..... sooo then I wanted the REVO's but no exact fit arrrggggggg!!! Was sugested the Herc's (Made by Cooper Tire) were good and had my size..... long story pointless I'm really, really happy with these and they were $40 cheeper a tire then the Pirellis and Bridgstones..... win/win. 2. Swaped out the Transmission Control Module as per a TSB on InfinityHelp 'cause the tranny would flair going into 2nd and 3rd esp when cold. The 'Q was still quite drivable but frustating when it slipped. The new version of TCM, while expensive, was a Night and Day difference in control. Now I can't outwit the tranny when tooling around like flooring it when its about to shift which always suked when merging into traffic etc. Also, you get a really connected feeling when drifting around with the O/D off..... the tires helped too but it just drives so much better and has smoother power transfer which is always good in the snow. Anyway thats my story.... Questions and comments always welcome. Markus

Hey all, Thanks for the picks and info I have been looking into HID conversions for a looooong time on the Celica esp. after we got the 'Q ....mmmmmmm white light. But, in the interem I installed a headlight switch bypass harness and now use 55/100 and find it pretty awsome (finally got to test it for real the other night). Good light, much brighter than usuall on low beam and with the old pitted windshield I feel much safer driving at night almost like the rally setup I had on. This may be a cheaper solution fer ya's all.... I got them at here http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/He...#OnLineOrdering They ain't HID's but for now I dont mind. Markus

Hey Adam, I forget where I saw this.... I think Mythbusters..... But they proved that it didn't produce enough negative ions to stop rusting in general. The principal is sound but all the individual steel bits on vehicals are insulated from each other by paint so the protection would never cover anything more than the area its mounted to. How I wish something like this worked...... we don't need salt on our roads anyway. Between the salt and e-tests they want us buying new vehicals every 4 years... ugh. My 2c's. Markus

I may be a day late and a buck short on this one but..... I found this, I know its for an '01/'02 but it sounds sorta close to your problem..... http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Bull...4/ITB04-029.htm I appologize if I'm way off the mark but thats my 2 c's. Markus

In the manuals I've read anything from 87 and up octane for the VQ35 and since we seem to have cleared up the SES prob I thought we could give her a shot and save some money..... What was I thinking? The one thing I've noticed in this area (Ontario) is that we get the worst/least refined gas in the developed world. Sunoco is the only company supplying 94 Octane, Pioneer used to sell it under the 93 Magnum lable but it got too expensive for them, Esso went from 92 to 91 octane in their top fuel but Esso also has a super high sulfer content that beats up cats. In short tours through the states or out west and I was in gas heaven all stations offered at least 94 octane.... Why not here???? On a sidenote you don't always get what you pay for here in the Peterborough area. I have a A/F meter in my Celica and you can see when you get bad gas (hehehe... bad gas!). I only use premium and on the meter good gas in pinned at the last few bars of rich, I get good milage and everyone is happy..... when the crap goes through the meter moves into the stoic range and the ECU overcompensates and over fuels and I lose about 100km of range.... good for passing e-tests when the car idles in a leaner condition but crap for milage...... I don't think the A/F meter is calibrated right but it gives me a colourfull approximation of what is going on and gets the cops to ask "Whats that?" when it bounces around between open and closed loop. I think we had been driving around on a few tanks of less than stellar 87 octane if the wildly inconsistant premium quality is any indication..... How do you return bad gas??? Markus

Eye yam an eediot..... -thnkboutit- In the 6 years of seriously abusing a turbo car I have never heard it...... worried about it.... but never heard it..... stupid over-fueling ECU wreckin' my millage(I guess "Thats a good thing....") After our great tour of the North Eastern States we haven't had a problem with the SES light and with the high gas prices lately we have been running 87 octane in the "Goat". Bad idea..... apparentely there is a lean condition at about 2K RPM and there is mild (God, I hope so....) pinging. Not enough to set off the knock sensor or even the SES light but it kinda sounds like running over a grate...... hmmmmmm. So when I had this brain fart I rushed over to my wifes work and dumped 13BUX worth of octain boost in and gave her strict instructions to listen. Once the boost cycled in there hasn't been any noise.... I still have to do some checking but I think we got it. Anyone else found a lean condition around 2K RPM on a VQ35? I may be unique as I have reciently installed Iridium plugs 25 000 Km ago...... Markus

Thanks for the replys...... sorry its taken soooo long to get back. yea.... Navyqz19, whats been done with my type of car many times is to just pull the check engine light bulb...... "No light, No problem!" The "Goat" is still running great and on cheep gas too..... go figure. Markus