Announcing PROJECT INFINITI!

Infiniti I35

The NMS squad has gained experience in driving cars, competing in autocross/racing/time trials, working on cars, and managed to meet a lot of great folks and have a lot of fun along the way. While we'd like to pretend we're signing for a big NASCAR team or going to drive the next Mars Rover (on Mars of course) the truth is that now we're taking on an entirely different car project. 

The oil pan is messy, and our first step was to change the valve cover gaskets above, since we're thinking that's where most of this oil is coming from. If we have a leaky oil pan here, we'll fix that too. 

Rumor has it that this project is code-named PROJECT INFINITI. What is this project INFINITI? Is is a mission to put another car into space? Is it top secret double probation classified? Will it put a man on the moon? To moon a man? To extend life to INFINITI? And if it goes to INFINITI, will it go BEYOND?

Rear suspension detail. 

With help from our automotive friends in South Carolina, we're fixing up a 2002 Infiniti I35. The car was having problems from an owner that just gave up on it and gave it to our friends Justin and Shelley (AKA: Shellie's House of Speed) down in Charleston. Around the same time, Brian Nixon decided he wanted to help out a young relative that is going to be getting their driver's license soon. Justin and Shelley donated the car to Brian's project, and brought the car up to NMS-South HQ. At that point, we had a car that needed some work; trouble steering, and it stalled out a lot. Time to get the car up on a lift and see what was what. Our diagnosis certainly confirmed all those issues, and a few more. 

Thanks to Adam Powlas for his help, and allowing us to use his shop. Like Brian, he also races a Nissan 350Z, and is familiar with the same 3.5 liter motor in this Infiniti. 

Thanks to Adam, he offered the use of his home shop with a lift, and one fine Saturday we congregated to inspect the Infiniti. Oh wait, before we got there, the car stalled about a quarter mile from Adam's house, so yes, we confirmed that complaint very easily. During the drive, Brian also noted that yes, the steering was terrible, so again, another complaint easily verified!

Valve cover removed, so while it's not brand new shiny, I've seen much worse. 

At first glance, the exterior of the car looks nice for a 2002, with no major body damage, it had all four wheels, and there were seats inside. OK, the front seats show a lot of wear, but probably average for a car with 160,000 miles or so. Cosmetic stuff is one thing, but our main concern was mechanical and safe operation, so we started looking around and under the rest of the car. 

New valve covers and new gaskets, done!

The biggest discovery was a right front wheel that was WAAAY loose, as in, no-more-rubber-in-the-control-arm-bushing LOOSE with a bad CV axle shaft. That explained the steering problem, and would be an easy fix with a new control arm and axle. All four struts were looking bad, so replacing those wouldn't be too hard either. Turning to the engine...

It might be missing the numeral "5" on the back, but it's a 2002 I35. 

There was a lot of oil and some coolant leaking all over, so we decided we'd have to clean most of it up, run the engine, and then see where the leaks were causing problems. As far as the stalling issue, this is a common issue with the Nissan/Infiniti 3.5 engines of this era, and luckily we have guys like Jason and Brian that own 350Z cars with the same engine, so they are familiar with some of the issues. The stalling produces codes pointing to the cam and crank sensors, so that's a good clue that we can start with replacing those sensors. 

This model Infiniti is basically a Nissan Maxima, and it's good to know you can find parts at the local Pick-N-Pull. Thanks to Pick-N-Pull Columbia SC for free admission for military! I went there to get a specific bolt and a windshield washer fluid reservoir cap, and they let me have them for free too!

Without going into ALL the details, we knew we'd also want to update all the engine fluids, replace the must-haves on the suspension, and then see how the car ran and find out more about the exact leak locations. Other cosmetic items like new seats or seat covers, polishing the car, or de-hazing the headlights could wait for a bit. 

New two-piece cabin air filter, (and the old one) done!

One weekend later we spent a good chunk of two days working on the car. We were glad to have another automotive friend on hand when Phillip jumped in and did a lot of work too. A couple of easy things we replaced were a new radiator cap (old one had torn rubber), new air and cabin air filters, new spark plugs (the six old spark plugs included at least 3 different brands), and topped off the coolant and oil before running the engine and checking for leaks. 

Four new struts, done!

At the end of the weekend, we had these new items on the car: four struts, cam sensors, various vacuum and coolant hoses, passenger front CV axle, two belts, six spark plugs, coil boots, radiator cap, washer fluid reservoir cap, valve covers, valve cover gaskets, air filter, cabin air filter, vacuum reservoir,  and we bled the brakes. We made a small adjustment where it looked like the parking brake cable was rubbing, and Brian had previously fixed a sticking sun roof motor. 

While most of our new parts came online from Rock Auto, we did visit our local Auto Zone and O'Reilly Auto Parts too. 

I'd say we're off to a good start, and big thanks to Justin and Shelly, Brian, Adam, and Phillip. Stay tuned for more on PROJECT INFINITI!