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mel.d

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Everything posted by mel.d

  1. You might want to check the thermostats too. There's two on the VQ.
  2. I used a long handle 10mm or 12mm combo wrench. It sucked having to turn the wrench a quarter at a time, but with little room, it was the only thing that would fit. The three tubes you mentioned I believe are breather tubes for the differentials and tranny. If I remember correctly, they are attached to a mounting plate that is tack welded to the firewall. There was no way to remove them without breaker the weld. Since they are brass tubes, I carefully bent them out of the way and then bent them back in place when I was done. I don't remember the surface being too dirty, but I do remember using a small metal putty knife to scrape the surface smooth.
  3. I had the very same symptoms you were experiencing with the coolant leak. I could smell it at times and found coolant dripping down the back side of the block to the bell housing. I had done this repair roughly 3 years ago. I did not have to drop the transmission, just removed the top and bottom intake manifold. It was very difficult to do and I think I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out a way to clear the firewall. If memory serves me correctly, I had unbolted the crossover pipe and disconnected the hose from the secondary t-stat in order to get it loose. I wiggled it until it hit the firewall, but it would still not clear the mounting bolts. Using a pry bar, I pushed the pipe out while rotating it up and down, I was able to clear the top bolt by a few millimeters which allowed me to slide one side of the gasket on. I then did the same prying and rotating to allow it to clear the bottom bolt by a few millimeters which allowed me to put the bottom part of the gasket on. Looking at the last photo in your post, the head of the bolt looks like they could be removed with a special female star socket. Or you could put two nuts on the bolt, tighten them together and then use the bottom nut to remove the bolt. It would be more difficult to do with the little working room available. It may seem impossible to do, but I personally was able to do it. However my back was not happy with the several hours spent bent over on the engine. It's been a few years since I did the repair and it is holding up just fine. BTW, I don't recommend using Bar's leak or any other pour-in-the-radiator type repair. If left in the cooling system too long, it can clog your radiator passage ways and then you'll have overheating problems. Good luck.
  4. Factory thermostats do not fail open. It's been over 4 years since I replaced the water control valve, so I don't remember the brand I bought. Since your original water control valve lasted this long, just buy OEM and you'll be good-to-go for another 14 years.
  5. The water control valve is just another thermostat. If it fails in the closed position, then no coolant will flow through the block/cylinder walls. However you will still get coolant flowing through the heads since the first thermostat is working properly. The heater core pulls coolant from the heads not the block. In reviewing the cooling circuit in the repair manual, If in fact the water control valve is the root-cause, then your cooling system is probably only running at 70%. Since the water control valve is a pain to get to, I made sure I replaced mine with one that is designed to fail in the open state.
  6. Did you check/replace the second thermostat? It's located under the intake manifold in the rear of the engine (it's a pain to get to), If I remember correctly, Nissan calls it a water control valve and allows coolant to flow through the block. Does it overheat at idle? I'm wondering if you have a blockage or collapsed radiator hose.
  7. The fan control amp failed. Its an easy fix, but the part is a little pricey. If you have electronic experience, you can replace the mosfet.
  8. You should look into an electric impact gun. I have a Rigid R6300 heavy duty corded electric impact wrench that is rated for 450ft/lbs of torque. I've done about 8 timing belt changes and it never had a problem breaking free the crankshaft bolts. I've also used it to break free the bolts on my trailing arms with no problems. I've had it for 10 years and it's the best tool I've ever owned.
  9. Well the alignment shop said they could have fixed my camber issues even without the camber bolts. Another guy I wheeled with also had an AC lift and he got an alignment without the need of camber bolts. You should be fine.
  10. The auto climate uses a fan control amp. The FCA consists of a thermal fuse, MOSFET, and heatsink.
  11. Most of them only offer +/- 1-3/4. That was more than enough to get my alignment within spec with my AC lift.
  12. I just checked O'Reillys website and they are 28.99. They come as a pair. You will use one camber bolt per strut. If you were closer to me, I'd sell you my extra set.
  13. I bought my camber bolts from my local O'Reillys. I think the were around 17 bucks.
  14. I watch this show too. This and Street Outlaws are on my DVR.
  15. I agree with what hawairish said. You should remove the shaft and verify the ticking noise is gone. BUT before removing it, use a marker to mark the position of the flange on both ends so that you can put it back the same way. If after removal the sound is no longer present, then just take the shaft to a mechanic and have them replace both u-joints (journals).
  16. That is likely the u-joints. Mine were ticking as well. I could here them ticking when driving next to a barrier or wall. The ticking sound would bounce off the wall which made it more noticeable. After replacing both ujoints, the sound went away.
  17. Yes, the front propeller shaft spins when in 2WD. This is because of the auto-locking hubs. Getting manual hubs (Warn, etc.) would work, but it is only a band-aid fix. I would look at replacing the U-joints as they are much cheaper than buying a full shaft. Two u-joints are $30 and labor to replace them should be no more than $200. If you are mechanically inclined, you can do it yourself and save on labor cost. It's really easy to do, just need to mark the shaft position prior to removal so that it is installed back the same way. Removal of the shaft is only 4 bolts on each side of the shaft. The u-joints will need to be pressed out. If I remember correctly, I used a 3 arm jaw puller to press them out. Total time was about 1.5-2 hours.
  18. Check all ignition coils. If it is good and still no spark, then you need to check the ECM for a signal. The ECM sends a signal that then gets amplified by the power transistor that is built into each ignition coils. Troubleshooting of the circuit can be found in section EC, pg 677 of the factory service manual.
  19. My 4WD light turns on as well with the hubs unlocked. However it only turns on during long drives at highway speeds. As soon as the car is turned off and turned back on, the 4WD light stays off.
  20. My truck has 140k miles and burns roughly 1/2 a quart max every 1k miles. However it's not consistent. I've noticed that it will burn oil at a faster rate with highway miles versus city miles.
  21. Dean - I'll meet you guys around noon at the picnic area and tag along on the easy trails. Once you decide to go off on the more difficult trails (I take it you'll make a trip to Hector Heights Overlook), I'll break off and do some exploring back on the easy trails. Mel
  22. I'll be there tomorrow. However you guys go ahead and start without me. I'm going to explore the park this time around starting with all the easy trails. Maybe we can meet later in the day at the obstacle course or some other predetermined spot.
  23. As good as Amsoil is, I still wouldn't trust running it to 25k miles unless it is OK'd by the auto manufacturer.
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