laytonanthony

Hi guys. A few of you may have been following my thread regarding my engine rebuild due to oil starvation. I eventually got the car back on the road and decided to sell my coupe and convertible. Today I became the proud owner of an Audi R8 magride. I must say I'm glad u went for the r8 over the GTR. Pics to follow!

Tbh my patience is wearing very thin now lol. Tonight I've even been scouring the net for another engine. Few us companies got back to me and are able to ship so should be able to get a 30k mileage engine for 2.5k. I will pull mine and send it back to the engine builders and get them to rebuild it AGAIN! Really not confident in the builders having seen the sealant in the oil galleries, leaking sump, leaking coolant due to pinched o-ring. This time I'll be over seeing the build and checking it to the manual. Tbh I'm confident I could rebuild it myself but haven't the time. Hopefully all goes well tomorrow! ☺ Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

UPDATE! OK so today I managed to align the actuators manually by pulling and pushing on the shaft. The actuator arm has 1x locator and 2x bolts which attach it to the VVEL control shaft. The easiest possible way I found to align everything was to set the actuator arm roughly in the centre of the shaft. Then set your control shaft at 5.5 degree of the small lift. Now move your angle gauge to another part of the shaft and zero it with the shaft set at 5.5degree. Any movement then you can move shaft back to zero. Offer the actuator up on the mounting plate onto the locators, then push your hands in in the back of the actuator push the actuator arm onto the control shaft. It will go on but now your working blind as you wont be able to see the 2x holes to screw alen key bolts in. Luckily bank 2 I hit first time . Took me 3x attempts on bank 1 though . Once everything is aligned up remove the actuators, seal them and put then back on. I did one bank at a time, as its important to monitor the angle gauge as your tightening the 2x bolts into the control shaft. Obviously you need to hold the shaft with a spanner whilst you tighten. Any movement then its a case of turning the gauge to zero So now everything has been put back and I am waiting on the consult cable to align the sensors to 0.500mv. Apperntly you MUST set the sensors before any initial attemot to start the engine once shafts are set. If you attempt to start without doing this it will throw your timing all over the place on the VVEL. Obviosuly mine was cranked alot when first put the engine back in without knowing anything about the VVEL sensors and the setting of the control shaft!. Even if the engine builder set the control shaft the engine was still cranked before we set the sensors. The sensors were set after we had cranked, which ultimatley timed the control shaft in enough to fire the engine. Tomorrow hopefully i will have an update and the engine will be runing. If it doesnt work then it has to be an internal problem the engine builder has done! which i hope isnt the case!

UPDATE!! So today I stripped the top end and exposed both VVEL control shafts on bank 1 & 2. Was pretty straight forward and only took about. 1.5 hours. Once rear plastics were removed the actuators were quite accessible which mad my life easier. First thing I noticed once the actuator unit was removed was the amount of sealant the engine builder had used. one of the oil galleries were pretty much blocked which really hasn't give me much confidence in them one bit! Pic below. Also the central part of the sealed face should not have any sealant at all!!!!!! My nest task was to clean up the actuator surfaces and the surfaces on the engine itself! Now everything was clean I had to adjust the control shaft to the correct position. looking at the engine from the front to back the low lift side is all the way to the LEFT! I turned the control shafts until they hit the stoppers. Set my magnetic angle gauge on the actuator arm and zeroed it. Them turned the control shaft RIGHT towards the large lift side until the gauge read 5.5 degree. Pic below I've now managed to align the actuators up manually, but before I put it all back together I'm waiting on confirmation to where the actuator shaft needs to be positioned. The internal actuator shaft comes pre-set from Nissan with a jig setting the angle and position on the shaft. ATM my actuators have moved and although lined up still maybe in the wrong place on the shaft itself. pic below Will post update once everything is set. But so far its pretty straight forward procedure! I think lol

I got gun metal grey aswell :-) Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

No. I blew the blue one up and currently in the process of being repaired. I bought the grey one as I missed my zed lol. Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Link to every section of the manual if the 370z. http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/nissan-370z-factory-service-manuals.html Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

When I first looked at the task ahead it looked very daunting I was in no rush to get the car back as I bought another (convertible). For me now the obvious choice would of been to replace the engine, but they were 5k plus at the time and so far the rebuild has been around the 3k mark. Obviously its a learning curve as well. I think after I finally get it running there will be not a part of the VQ37VHR engine I haven't covered, making me very clued up on the 370's lol. Also I have been given a contact for someone in the US about getting hold of the actuator holding jiggs. Fingers crossed i can get my hand on a pair which will make my life sooo much easier!

Its relativity straight forward but if I could just locate those 2x plastic holding jigs and adjust the actuator to them its literally just a case of turning the shaft back from the small lift to line up and bolt it up!!!! Cant find them for sh%$!!! posted on the American forum to see if anybody has any lying around lol. I've come this far though on my own so I wont let it beat me! Another way is to pull a set of a scrap engine, remove rocker cover, set the shaft to the right position then lock of the actuator and remove it! :wacko:

UPDATE!! So having literally stripped the car down for the 3rd time! YES 3RD TIME!! i have now managed to remove the dreaded P011 and P021 codes by replacing both oil gallery gaskets and a new Oil pump. Re-timed the engine and put her back together. Car fired fist time but again STILL in limp mode and cannot rev past 3500 rpm. Throttle very unresponsive as-well. Put my code reader back on the car and come back with no fault codes. Now this got me scratching my head. I have been in touch with a Nissan technician in the states via a forum. He read my thread from start to finish and asked if my engine builder "timed" my VVEL actuators in? I said I wasn't aware. Basically the VVEL actuator that controls the VVEL control shaft come pre-set at 5.5 degree from the small lift. new actuators have a plastic stop which is pre-set at that angle then its just a case of turning the control shaft to the small lift then back 5.5 degree to line up. EASY!! Problem is that my actuators have been removed and disturbed and put back any old how! One could be at 4 degree and an other at 7 degree (who knows). Called Nissan up for a price on the actuators to make my life a little easier and they quoted me £1,700.13p + VAT!!! I think if were there id of chinned the guy lol! so a grand total of £4,080.00!!! Looks I am manually adjusting them! So basically now I need to set the control shaft manually with a digital angle gauge, zero it and move towards the big lift side 5.5 degree. Once shaft is locked in place I now need to manually adjust the actuator the line up with the shaft, in stead of the opposite way round. Once aligned then adjust the actuator sensors closes to 0.500v on consult to fine tune them. Been told by the technician there is a certain way to do the first fire up to not disturbed the alignment. This is apparently in the manual but i am yet to find it. Just waiting on this information before I begin the procedure. I will document the entire procedure for future reference on 370's as no doubt when the high mileage zeds start coming along this with be vital information! Stay tuned! ;)

I have one aswell...

I got both convertible and coupe and I prefer my convertible 😂😂

Information from infinity tech. Number: 548509 Vehicle Application: 2008 G37 3.7 Customer Concern: Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) is on. Bank 1 Intake Valve Timing (IVT) control code P0011. Has a low power complaint. The engine will not rev higher than 2400 RPM. Scan data shows the bank 1 IVT at -14 degrees and the bank 2 IVT at 0 degrees at idle. Can manually operate the IVT control solenoids on each bank and get the engine speed to drop the engine to run rough. Average Reported Mileage: 50000 Tests/Procedures: 1. Scope the Camshaft Position (CMP) sensors and the Crankshaft Position (CKP) sensor and check for good square wave signals and check the phasing (sync) of the signals. 2. Remove the bank 1 intake valve timing cover from the front of the timing chain cover and use a 3 mm allen wrench in the front holes in the center of the bank 1 intake camshaft sprocket - it should only go in about 3/8 inch. The back holes should allow the allen wrench to go in over 3/4 inch. 3. If the front holes only let the allen go in 3/8 inch, then the intake camshaft sprocket is at 0 degrees. So then either the timing chain is off, or the camshaft sensor reluctor fingers on the front of the camshaft sprocket may have turned on the sprocket. 4. Can see if the reluctor will turn on the front of the intake camshaft sprocket. See related document for position of the reluctor fingers on the front of the camshaft sprocket. Tech Tips: We have been seeing cases of the reluctor fingers for the CMP sensor, turning on the intake camshaft sprockets. The reluctor fingers are press fit onto the front of the sprockets. The related document shows the known good (new sprocket) CMP sensor reluctor position on the intake camshaft sprocket, along with one where the reluctor had turned on the sprocket. See if the reluctor is loose and if you are able to turn it, and also if it is in the correct position. The photo is from a 2012 but both are 3.7 Nissan engines so I would expect them to be the same. The pictures are not straight on but hopefully they will give you an idea if that is the issue with the vehicle you are working on. His reply ts most likely timing related, hope this helps! ^ PM me, ill send you some more info off identifix, theres some other comfirmed fixes aswell. "I have a feeling its related to your timing, The sprocket/chain might have been installed wrong,"

Adrian I'm not 100 percent and would rather have someone cast their eye over it to make sure it's correct. Still not convinced the engine builders have done it right. I just have to be sure it's spot on before it all goes back then I can write that part of the problem off! Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Before gaskets removed Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Front end removed Timing chain and gaskets exposed Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

It took me about 2.5 hours to access the gaskets. Although I've already removed the engine and put it back in so the front end come off pretty quick. You need to loosen the one left tensioner to get access to 2 of the screws. There is one screw behind one of the cam sprockets but you can access it with a thin screw driver. Rest is straight forward!

Is there anyone local that could check my timing? I'm not confident in the engine builders having timed it up right. I'm replacing the oil pump aswell so before I put it all back I would like the timing checked to be 100% sure. Obviously I will pay for the mechanics time! Ant

No you can remove front end and timing cover to access gaskets. Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Searched low oil pressure on the 370z and found nothing relating to my error codes. Perhaps I didn't dig deep enough. Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Again this is for a 350z. There isn't any direct threads which relate to a 370z. After digging and speaking to some forum members in the states they assured me the early 370z are the same and use the same gasket. Regardless if this thread is common knowledge or not it's to help other members to search it easier and make them aware. I've spent over a week trying to figure this problem out and with no help of any of the UK Forum members. If it were that common knowledge somebody would of piped up and suggested it. This should be made a sticky to warn zed owners about the inevitable.

I searched the forum or the 370z with the related P0011, P0021 and I could not find anything that relates to these gaskets. I thought I'd start the thread with all the corresponding codes and parts so if anyone in the near future searched the error codes it would find this thread. Sipar69 In regards to your question, one guy sourced the change in the gaskets from stockist and said basically after 2012 they pretty much used the uprated gasket but there is still no guarantees. Nissan dealers will always say to change the complete rear plate with the gaskets prefatory sealed as they do not have the torque settings for the plates. Infinity further then released a note to all technicians to just replace the gaskets. I'll attach this pdf shortly. Some nissan garages are seing on average 50 a year with this problem. Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Hi Guys I'm starting this thread to document my problems purely for Zed owners who will inevitably have this problem I have. As some of you may be aware my engine got starved of oil and I had to have a full engine re-build. I was ALWAYS concerned to where the oil went in the first place but now its all making sense! Basically after re-installing my re-built VQ37VHR engine, managed to get it running (idling) the car was in limp mode an threw up these two codes (P0011, P0021). These codes are related to LOW Oil pressure in the engine. These codes automatically put the engine into LIMP mode to protect itself from any further damage. This results in the engine not being allowed rev over 3000RPM. After spending hours exchanging emails to various forum members and technicians in America, I have finally managed to source my problems! These codes are common on all VQ's. 3.5 and 3.7L. Maxima, Altima, Z, G, etc, engines due to a failed Oil gallery gasket within the timing case. These gaskets are made of a paper like material and basically blow, allowing oil into the timing case (loosing oil without any signs!!!) I was told that its not as common on the VQ37 engines atm due to the mileage of the cars about. Basically being a newer engine and most haven't done that many miles, but they can go at any time regardless of mileage. When they do blow in some cases you will not notice straight away and the only way of knowing is to do an oil pressure test or install an oil pressure gauge! First signs can be slight drops in revs when car is idle (mine did this before the rebuild!!) Many G37 owners in America had no symptoms and their cars engines were fine (well seemed to be). After reading the forum posts alot got their engines oil pressure tested and alot shown signs of drop in Oil pressure. When they had this gasket inspected by nissan with their Warranty they found that the gasket had blown!!! Nissan have now revised the 2x Oil gallery gaskets (T shape & L shape) which have a metal compound within them to prevent future fails. Here is a few Pictures of the failed gaskets:- HERE HERE HERE HERE and HERE is a picture of the engine timing cover removed, which shows the 2x parts which need to be removed to replace the gaskets. Again HEREis the bigger of the 2 Oil Gallery plates removed with a failed gasket. Also if you remove the cam covers its advised to replace the oil seals as pictured below. You will need a total of 6! HERE The part Numbers for these Gaskets are listed below! They are the Same for both the VQ35 and VQ37 Engines. OIL Galley Gaskets Part Numbers: 13533-JK21A 13533-JK21B Cam cover oil Seals Part Number: 13042-3HD0A I will be performing replacing these gaskets within the next few days with a full DIY walk trough with photos. Unfortunately this WILL happen to ALL pre-2012 Zeds. Every car is different so mileage doesn't really come in to it. Only way to check is by checking your oil pressure. Hope this post is informative enough and can save zed owners ALOT of money! Ant

http://www.myg37.com/forums/g37-coupe/256290-infiniti-consumer-affairs-poor-experience-10.html#post3773774

UPDATE, OK I think I've found the problem. 2 gaskets which fail. Not to be reused once removed. Clearly my engine builder did. The gaskets blow cause drop in oil pressure. Common on early Zeds with high mileage. Mine were disturbed hence the problems. Post here