vq35

driver side valve cover off fuel rail and lower intake off - best way to access valve covers ONLY way to access KNOCK SENSOR KNOCK SENSOR AND DIRTY GUTS EXPOSED Will post more later but NO MORE LEAK for now - boy, this was more babysitting than brain surgery .........Prayed the last and 3rd time I went back in .....it helped, matter of fact, I thank God for this .....

I am getting pass gasket from dealer and i will post pix going in ...... no time to dive back in now but will post results asap also, I initially just put the silicone on the corners (all four) but the second round, i was a little more liberal with it although still not covering the whole of the head. That had an affect on the initial leak, although it might have been the more thorough cleaning of the surface, as it stopped leaking in the corner, I am now inclined to cover the whole area (lightly but more thoroughly) once I get the new gasket .... the other thing is that the drivers side has no leaks although I only cleaned it and put new gasket in - no leak at all but also no silicone, so inclined to redo that before it ends up leaking also ....

ok folks so here are the results went back to the valve cover and took it off - new gasket I put in got torn on its way out so luckily i had the old gasket....thoroughly cleaned the valve cover with brake cleaner ...... applied a little bit of silicone to the gasket grooves next cleaned the head thoroughly and ensured it was smooth and clean slapped everything together and old leak area cured but now leaking in the centre.....pretty frustrated will go to dealer tomorrow to get a new gasket and new cover bolts and redo everything for the third time - any suggestions welcome and encouraged .....tricks tips etc much appreciated - driverside is leak free from first round of cleaning and replacing gasket (without silicone) ......

yeah ..... sadistic but yeah ..... really enjoyed it though

that I did when I first went in - but the big issue was when it was put back together and I saw the smoke, it was ACTUALLY dripping from the valve cover gasket as the engine was running i thought it was just in need of burning off, but upon further inspection with a light, you could actually see the dripping of oil onto the mani.... @!*% was pretty scary and i am scared it might be something else, but your point seems the most logical as i did not clean the exposed head and something must have also went in ..... wow, this at least reduced my 'lap' times going in from 3 to 1.5 hours ...... I am going in tonight

have break cleaner thank god on a frkn sunday ....... hope this solves the problem, but now that it has leaked, does this mean I have to re use my old gaskets (which I have saved), could they have been damaged I wonder ....anyway, will post results hey thanks for the guidance slinger......

I cleaned the valve cover - didnt do anything as I did with the intake plenum/manifold (light sanding of residue), but the actual head I just covered with a rag while I replaced the gaskets on the cover .....I dont know, may have dropped some specs of dirt but nothing I could see.... what should I do because this sounds like I am going back in and taking a small shower with the fuel rail?? once I take the valve cover off, what like just wipe it down some more>>>>????

Howdy folks heres a little update on my little nightmare..... started with a repeating knock sensor code, after trying everything else, decided to take the plunge ....literally, as this thing is under the fuel rail fast forward a few hours and all new gaskets (including valve cover since i was there) came back out and went for a spin. SMOKE, lotsa smoke.....looked and oil was dripping onto passenger side manifold followed tightening sequence on the fsm ...... frustrated, went back in but had access to the valve cover without removing fuel rail and retightened thinking I didnt tighten it enough...same leak, same smoke any special procedure with valve cover/gaskets??? any direction appreciated ps the gasket fits into a groove in the valve/rocker cover, would it not show if it was not placed properly, I was pretty thorough .....

So anyone know if you need a reflash if all 4 o2 sensors are changed??

ok sounds good still have exhaust leak to tackle though and replacement of o2 sensors = reflash at dealer?? guy at service said that as long as there are no 02 sensor codes, there 'should' be no problems.........

Ok so here is the update to this and I will repost questions. I did not get to the knock sensor because the fuel rail was in the way and I was not sure about its removal. I re used old gaskets which seemed intact and wear free. Now I bought the following to go back in and conquer the knock sensor replacement. 12 rubber rings (upper and lower) for the actual fuel injectors, once off 4 o rings on the way to the pressure regulator and damper (new engine oil on hand) 4 poly insulators that the rail sits on 6 injector clips and since I am down there, will do the valve cover gasket also and all the way back up to throttle body did the sequence for tighteing last round but not torqued to spec (yes, I guessed!) this time will use torque wrench knock sensor WILL NOT be oe though as they are around $50-100 aftermarket (anyone bought knock sensor aftermarket???) any information on performance or experience with aftermarket KS?? appreciated couple of questions 1 the maxima maf i replaced about 1.5-2 yrs ago but am worried it might go again, any experience with aftermarket MAF?? 2 if there are no codes or issues with the o2 sensors, can I simply replace all four, I have a leak on the top portion of the cat so I got all the exhaust gaskets (aftermarket cat back exhaust is pretty new) and since I am there, wanted to change the o2 sensors without the dealer reflash ...is this possible??? 3 how do I check the voltages for all the sensors?? where can I get the spec/parameters of peak voltage for the sensors in the engine?? what tool do I need?? 4 when I remove the fuel rail (will remove the fuel pump fuse and use as much fuel as is in the system, the car shuts off then this will decrease the amount of fuel that will shoot into my eyes...anyone have any tips for this particular situation, will there be damage fro the spilled fuel on sensors parts etc? thanks folks I dont care until I get my power back, I will keep at it, one way or another last question, I scanned repeatedly after cycling the car and the knock sensor code keeps coming back 0325, so this means either the physical sensor is broken or the harness is damaged, are these things common as the mechanic went that far and actually reached the knock sensor (so could have damaged or broken the knock sensor) but the worse scenario is the harness, as I would have no idea how to check or fix it, any insights appreciated on inspecting and potentially fixing a broken harness¨????!!!!! thanks

late reply - kinda not related but running Xterra 17" w 275 60 17 - just enough I'd say....nice pix in this thread

Ok so managed to change the pcv and grommet - could not get past fuel rail but noticed there were 2 rubber insulators (they were just disregarded) that the bracket holding the fuel regulator and fuel damper sit on. I placed them in their proper places and there seems to be an improvement to my surge (upon accelerating). Does anyone know if the misalignment of the regulator and damper will have an affect on acceleration..........

managed to get at the pcv and the rear thermostat was what started this whole process (rear coolant leak) - then towncivilian pointed out the grommet that the pcv goes into (waiting for the dealer to stock it) my main problem is the fuel rail/lines, does anyone have a step by step of this??? the rail is in the way of the knock sensor and I need some guidance to re/re the fuel rail and what I will need to replace when I do so?? any more grommets or similar ?? once I have the rail off, should I have them cleaned and by whom? any help appreciated

LoL.... I was picturing that very scenario but rationalized my way out of it by calling meself a BIG OLE SISSY ..... that got me all angry and rev'd up ..... then it turned to I just dont want to do it anymore after reading your post. Thanks for the heads up though!