All Activity

Yeah used O.E.M junkyard parts are better than crappy new aftermarket parts any day. My ALTERNATOR recently gave up the ghost and I replaced it with a used O.E.M one from the junkyard and all is well again. Now at least when he swaps the fuel injectors around and the misfire moves he will know what to do from there. The con is having to tear things down again. Chris.

Ok so that rules out the MAF then. Chris.

Yeah, I hear you on not wanting to throw expensive parts at it on a hunch. I don't know how good aftermarket VQ injectors are/aren't, but I remember Cuong Nguyen had a hell of a runaround with cheap injectors causing problems on his VG. I think he ended up getting a set of OE ones from the wreckers. Being a cheapskate myself, I'd probably try and swap the injectors from hole to hole before buying new ones, but I also understand not wanting to have to take it apart a third time if it turns out the injector is the problem. I would be tempted to also check under the valve cover while it's torn down, but that's mostly because I just opened up a misfiring Dodge where the roller decided it was done and ate the cam lobe. I haven't heard of a VQ doing that either, and I imagine the noise would've tipped you off if yours somehow had. Hopefully it ends up being something simple. Good luck!

I'm with you in that I've never really come across head gasket issues on a VQ, and I've had a few myself with higher mileage. Definitely not losing coolant, but I agree that it might be worth doing a leakdown at some point. I don't remember specifics on when I pulled that plug but I do remember thinking that it was an unburnt fuel situation. I'm finding very strong spark every time I test, which is frustrating. Figured that could also indicate that the injector was dumping too much fuel into that hole, which led to the pulling and cleaning of those. I did not swap that injector to a different location when putting them back in, and now I'm rather regretting that decision. Also no flow test, but from what I saw the flow shouldn't have been TOO far off from the rest. If I go back in that deep, I'm probably just going to end up replacing all 6 injectors this time around. Speaking of which, how much trust should I put into aftermarket injectors? It's hard to stomach spending OEM money on something that may not even be needed, ya know? What I'm seeing come out of the exhaust is definitely fuel and not oil. I'm all too familiar with the sights and smells of both. As far as the power valves go, I'd like to believe I would have spotted an issue there when I had the intake apart but I didn't check those specifically and I'm far from perfect. I'm thinking at this point my next steps might need to be leakdown, then pull the intake back off to check those and swap out injectors just to eliminate some of the more pain-in-the-ass possibilities. Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the response! I also somehow completely forgot that I tested out swapping the MAF a while back and that didn't fix the issue either. For good measure, I checked on my scan tool and am getting reads of around 3.6gs so should be good there. Haven't had a chance to give the video a watch but will do so after work, so thank you for linking that.

The MAF is a good thought, and an easy one to check if you've got a half-decent scanner. Could explain the hard starting, too. That said, I wouldn't expect it to only cause problems on one cylinder. The service manual offers a little troubleshooting for misfire codes. Might be worth a read. Looks like you've tried most of what they suggest, though. I would follow the compression test with a leakdown test. When the head gasket let go on my neighbor's Toyota, the compression still tested fine, but when I applied shop air to #4, it bubbled out of the radiator. (I didn't have a leakdown tester at the time, so I stripped the compression tester down to just the hose, and stuck the air nozzle in the end.) It's probably not the head gasket--I don't remember anyone else on here having a head gasket let go on a VQ, and I imagine you would've mentioned if it was losing coolant--but it's still worth ruling out. When you replaced the plugs, did #1 stand out from the others? Color, deposits? Might give a clue if it's a mixture issue. When you installed the injectors, did they all go back in the same holes they came from? And did you flow-test them after cleaning them? If #1 has its original injector, untested, I would not rule it completely out yet. Are you sure what you're seeing in the exhaust is fuel? My dad's '03 burned an alarming amount of oil, especially on warm starts, though I don't remember it throwing misfire codes. Have you checked your your power valve screws? Long shot, but if one of the butterfly plates fell in, I can imagine it getting stuck in front of an intake valve or something.

If your scan tool reads live data take a look at your Mas airflow sensor and make sure it's reading at least 3.5gs as I had a very similar issue and just like your self once the engine was warmed up when ever I came to a stop at a red light I would experience a bit of a stumbling idle. Turned out to be a bad Mas airflow sensor that was under reporting data 2.97gs to be exact. Oh and I have a video you can checkout on said issue as well. Here's a link. Chris.

Ok the title may be a bit dramatic, but I definitely need help. I've been around here for years since I got my first R50, but I honestly don't remember if I have ever posted. I have mostly just read and absorbed until I've come across an issue that I can't seem to figure out. Thought I might see if anyone has an ideas for me that I haven't tried already. I'm on my second R50 now, which is a 2003 with the VQ35 and about 135k miles. A while back I started feeling a little roughness in the idle but only once the engine was fully up to temp and at its lowest idle (in gear). At the time there were no codes aside from one regarding the key chip not being recognized some of the time (I forget the acronym) because I'm using some cheap aftermarket key. Regardless, I figured that shouldn't have any effect on anything once the engine is running. Time goes on, the roughness in the idle gets a bit worse and I finally pull a Cylinder 1 Misfire code (probably P0301 but I'll have to confirm later). Started with replacing plugs then swapping coils around to see if it followed, it didn't. Compression test showed within a few percent of the other 5 cylinders' PSI. Injectors were all pulled, tested, and cleaned on a little homemade rig I made out of a 12v battery, some spare hose, and a can of carb clean. Fresh o-rings and those went back in. Aside from maybe running slightly better overall, the same idle issue and Cyl 1 Misfire code remains. No apparent vacuum leaks, and the one leak I did find with the "spray carb cleaner around the engine bay while running" test was a huge crack in the underside of the intake hose/pipe which has since been replaced and apparently wasn't the problem, despite my excitement in thinking I had found the issue. One other likely important detail that I forgot about until this point in the post is that sometimes I'll have to crank the starter for 3-5 seconds to get it to start, and when that happens it seems to dump quite a bit of fuel out the exhaust immediately after start. I'm assuming this is fuel that is being passed through Cyl 1 without being ignited while cranking. This hard start also seems to only happen if the engine is warm but has been shut off for greater than a couple minutes. If it's cold or was just shut off, it usually starts just fine. Any tips or help would be massively appreciated, as this has been keeping me up at night quite a bit. I'm usually fairly decent at diagnosing things like this but apparently I'm missing something. I know there is a ton of experience rolling around in these forums, so I'm hoping one of you knows exactly what's going on so I can feel dumb and have a smooth idle again.

A friend and I did that on his Blazer. Got a bucket with measurements on it and poured in the same amount that came out each time. It would've worked better if we'd kept better track of the level in the bucket between rounds, but we got there in the end, and we didn't overfill it like I did mine. I did a bunch of work to the truck right after I got it, including the trans fluid, so I never really got a baseline for how it shifted before. After the flush, it shifts pretty well, apart from a lazy 1>2 shift under load. It hasn't gotten worse over the last 26k miles, and the transmission is still alive at 257k miles, so I'm not complaining. While you're in there, consider adding an external cooler, especially if you wheel or tow (the hotter the fluid, the faster it degrades). I also plumbed in a Magnefine external filter while I was in there. I don't know that it's doing much, but there was a little metallic shimmer in the old fluid, so I figured adding an actual filter was a good idea.

just thought I would let you know I ended up finding Transfer Case Module with the same part number as mine for $189 a lot better then paying $2000 from Nissan,thanks are bunch for your help Slartibartfast hopefully it's just plug and play and no reprogramming needed.

Definitely. With the enlisting of the old man we’ll get it done.

And here's what they look like with a bed resting on them when the in-tank fuel temp sensor is throwing codes and emission tests are due soon...

General topic, maybe off-topic, but still PF love! I've been hoarding LE wheels (9 of them so far) for a while and finally got around to slapping a set of them on my 98 Frontier. Had a shop in town strip them down, repair all scrapes and curb rashes, then powder coat them in "wet charcoal with satin finish". The results came out great so I thought I'd share the journey. Started out with 17x7 4Runner wheels shown below. Tires were old (Fall 2016, installed early 2017) with only 4,100 miles and tons of tread left, but showing their age. I started a new job at the beginning of April which has me commuting again, so it was time to change them. TownDawg helped me visualize (a la Photoshop) what the LEs would look like on it... And with a little bit more drop (only 1" in the pic above)... Truck's been undergoing a slow restoration for a while (body, paint, and glass done 2022, new tint and interior around the corner) so the plan was to get a set repaired and put new tires on them. All the ones I had have varying issues, but fortunately no major ones. As much as I like the factory silver on the T4Rs and the LEs (both similar color as the original wheels), the color has always been out of place in my opinion. And for what it was going to cost to refinish each wheel (5 of them), it was actually more expensive to go with a factory finish than a powder coat ($275/ea vs $225/ea). So, bought 5 new tires and took my 5 crustiest wheels to the shop to scope color options. Was looking specifically for something that keyed off of the inset of the grille. Found a pretty good match... The results... I also stripped down a set of center caps so they could be paint matched...not too bad! Cut new adhesive for the emblems as best as I could... Installed... Just the right amount of stick-out, no spacers... Kinda gray, kinda charcoal, kinda black...depends on the light I suppose. But they came out great! New lugs and lock nuts seal the deal. LEs are 17x8 and the 235/55R17 tire is supposed to be about 27.2" diameter, but according to GPS speed it's much closer to a 26" (stock size). 27.4" tires should have offset the H233B w/ 3.9 gears (stock 3.7) according to my calculator, but I still needed to use the 18-tooth speedo pinion gear (stock 17) I had previously installed. Speedo's spot on now.

Been eyeing this for a while but can never find any good completed pics. So, pics please!

Perfect thanks so much for the info, I will give this method a try! Maybe I should measure how much actually comes out and try to refill the same amount. Think I won't bother with the filter either then. Did you notice any difference in trans performance?

If neither CV spins when the driveshaft spins, something is very wrong with the front diff. That said, it's an open diff, so if one hub is locked, it'll spin up the CV on the other side rather than doing anything useful. The diffs are also hell for stout on these, and surrounded by weaker components, so, unlikely failure. The fuel gauge knowing about the outside temperature is weird. Not sure which way to send you on that one. I'd probably check under the access plate in the back first (under the rear carpet), see if there's a bunch of mud around the wiring connections that's shorting them out when it's wet or something.

lol right? I stopped asking my self similar questions when I found this is how they spell optional throughout the instructions.

Nice find! It's been too long since I built a model kit. Funny that the box lists the engine specs like they're something special. I'm also wondering what mistranslation led to it having a "fog roof."

Anyone have a source for smoothie wheels for our trucks?

Oh, and I only replaced the parts that were broken. I think I re-tapped a few threads also, just in case.

Interesting. I never looked closely enough, but that seems like it. That's what my cats looked like. I intended to replace them, but the kit I bought was total @!*% and effectively non-returnable. Lost a few hundred bucks in the process and just slapped my OEMs back on. Maybe one day when I'm not sour about the purchase I'll try replacing them again.

@hawairish so I figured out why you couldn’t find the ring gasket and wire mesh gasket. In the attached photo is the inside of the cat looking from the outlet. Where the honeycomb starts is where mesh gasket and ring gasket are weirdly enough. That would suggest the entire honeycomb structure is pressed into the cat body from the inlet. Also might mean back in the day you could get the cat actually rebuilt instead of replacing the whole thing. No idea why you would need a gasket though in that location still. The photo below is the inlet side of my cat. Some chunks missing and melted, what do you think, doneski? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I think that's the same knob that's on the US trucks with the all-mode. Anyone here with the all-mode box want to check the numbers on your module? Long shot that the US-spec computer would be the same.

I have considered converting my vehicle to a manual transfer, but the amount of work involved is overwhelming. Unfortunately, I am not skilled enough to do it myself and there are no shops near me that would take on the task. I am hoping to find the right transfer case module, but it seems like a long shot. It might be best to cut my losses and replace my vehicle, even though I really don't want to. It's starting to look like one of those 'if all the stars align' situations