Well it’s not much of a how-to really, and it’s not much of an upgrade either.
But nonetheless, a Reman from AZ done by the same company is $160 for a ’96 I30 (125 amp stock w/125 and 110 amp options, 110 = $130’ish IIRC) vs $210 for a ’04 I35 (110amp stock w/no 125 amp aftmrkt option listed)
I30/GLE = $160 125amp 5.5 Gen = $210 110amp
There’s really nothing to it. the pulleys all line up the same and everything, you just need to use a hammer to tap the bushing until it lines up with the location of the 5.5 gen one. If you lay them both on the table with the pulley facing down, you will see that they are nearly identical and what needs to be changed.
Hold the aluminum casing nearest the bushing between the edge of the table and your stomach, than tap, you don’t want to be tapping the bushing on that mount while resting the alternator on the pulley, you could snap the case or do damage to the alty, this will all become apparent and if you can handle replacing your alternator you are smart enough that this will be common-sense to you.
So for anyone else that falls in this position you will need a 7-rib serpentine belt at no less than 53 inches no more than 53 3/4 routing the belt the same way just instead of going around the AC pully from the idler pulley go straight from the idler pulley to alternator pully and so on.
I used a Duralast 535kk7 and I still had a tension pully from when I replaced all pulleys a year ago and I used it in the place of the OEM idler pulley it is just a little smaller than the idler pulley and everything fit perfectly no problems at all. So hopefully this helps someone as much as it would have helped me.
Option 2 via Danblueheron
Just completed this project. I used a 540K6 belt. It’d 6 rib not 7, but works fine. I also replaced the upper idler pulley with a factory tensioner pulley because it is a little smaller. You need a little extra clearance if the belt isn’t going around the ac. Hope this helps someone!
Applies to 1995-1999 and 2000-2003 Nissan Maxima. The cross-member bolts show up as two different part numbers but they are the same exact bolt. You can enter the part numbers online and order from whichever site you prefer.
1995-2003 Nissan Maxima Engine Crossmember Bolt:
Part Number: 11298-40U01 / 11298-40U06
Price: $10.00-12.00
1995-2003 Nissan Maxima Engine Crossmember Mount Bushing:
Just a lil knowledge share on VQ engine Info for Nissan Maxima’s. I know many probably never new what the “K” stands for. VQ30DE, VQ30DE-K, VQ30DE-T, VQ35DE.
VQ –– Engine Family 3.0/3.5 –– Liter Displacement D –– DOHC (Dual Overhead Camshafts) E–– Multi Point Fuel Injection
————————– K –– Kaizen (Japanese word which translates to “improvement”. It was only applicable to 00/01 5thgens. Basically an improvement over the 1995-1998 VQ30DE. The firewall plates did not specify the “K” in the name plate. So you will still see VQ30DE.)
————————– T–– Turbo Version of Engine. Mostly JDM vehicles.
There has been a lot of discussion in the Nissan Maxima community around the crankshaft pulley and whether it’s a dampener or balancer. Despite how often people get them confused, a crank pulley, a vibration damper, and a harmonic balancer are three different things. Kind of like they’re, their, and there. The crank pulley on a VQ acts as a vibration damper, but it is not a harmonic balancer. The VQ is internally balanced.
What is often called Harmonic Balancer is really a Harmonic Damper. Nissan doesn’t use either term. The factory service manual identifies the part as Crankshaft Pulley. The main purpose of a harmonic damper is to control harmonic vibration, not to balance the engine’s rotating assembly. It has nothing to do with engine balance. That’s the elastomer ring that binds the outer pulley to the inner pulley. Just about every car manufacturer uses a thin rubber ring between two concentric pieces of a crankshaft pulley. The amount of damping can be varied by how thick the ring is.
Additional Info:
As for the underdrive pulley vs. light-weight stock pulley… the light-weight stock size pulley will help you rev faster and may free up some horsepower because it is lighter than the stock pulley. An underdrive pulley (UDP) will do the same things, but it will do them a little better because it is smaller and even lighter, and, due to its smaller size, also takes less power away from your engine to drive your alternator and air conditioning compressor. Most people don’t really notice the loss in electrical power or AC efficiency unless they have big audio systems.
It’s important to note that both pulleys are solid and do not have vibration dampers. Also, the UDP will require you to use a smaller accessory belt. Take those as you will.
Most UDP failures have been the pulley itself due to cheap quality. The majority of VQ owners have never had an issue with “upgraded” pulleys.
I noticed the 5th gen injectors are 4 hole, and the 5.5 gen are 18 hole. The flow rates are slightly different 306cm/min – 5th gen 294cm/min – 5.5 gen. Besides that, they looked identical.
The article talks about how more holes help atomization. So my thought was, why not try some 18 hole injectors in my 5th gen LIM and see if it helps.
Here is a pic of the 5.5 gen injectors (missing the pintle cap. Many of the caps were stuck in the LIM. I had to pry them out and pop them back on.
First a little back story on my 00VI swap:
August of last year I completed the 00VI swap with the 4th gen LIM and IACV. 5th gen TB, UIM (obviously), and EGR delete.
June of this year I swapped the the 4th gen LIM with the 5th gen LIM. (I had no way to tune at the time of my initial 00VI. I added a Emanage Blue in the spring) I felt a little bit of improvement over the 4th gen LIM. Not a big boost, but every little bit helps. Tuning is not my strong spot, so I’m running on a basic street tune. I’ll work on getting the map fine tuned when I get around to it. WOT runs 10-12 AFR.
I took a quick trip to the junkyard and picked up 6 5.5 gen injectors. They fit right in, no issues at all with the install, even the plugs are the same. It was more of a pain to take the UIM off for the third time in a year. I cleaned them first, just as I did with the 5th gen 4 hole injectors.
I didn’t touch the tune, I figured the difference was small enough I could take on the task of tuning later.
My first impression is WOW. These new injectors are great!!! I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this on the .org
Mid throttle low RPM made the most improvement. Not a lot of gain at high RPM, but no losses. The best gains are below 3500 rpm at mid throttle. Idle seems a little smoother to boot. This is a great mod, especially if you are doing an 00VI with the 5th gen LIM. I can’t get over how much more power I have below 3000rpms. Without touching the tune from the 5th gen injectors, I’m running 12-12.7 at WOT. SO that problem seemed to take care of itself.
It’s too early to tell, but I’m hoping my gas mileage might go up slightly also. You know the spot your used to resting your foot to keep a certain speed (25mph, 55mph, etc.) I had to re-learn my position, I found myself slowly accelerating with my current foot position.
So I’ve had my “new” 5th gen Maxima (actually same as an i30 here in new Zealand) since last Thursday and based on the information on this forum I’ve attempted the ECM protective measures that many of you discovered with considerable time and effort (pain?), for which I am very grateful.
I am not sure if I have done it correctly, but the car seems to be running fine with no leaks. I couldn’t reuse any of the old hoses (or couldn’t figure out how to do it) so I just got a new section of coolant tube and cut it to length and just connected it to where the lines lead back to from the IACV , though I am a little concerned about whether the bend is too tight, being a piece of straight tube and all. I damaged the old hoses anyway, I hate those clips that are used to secure them and it took me quite a while and a few expletives to get them off, in the end I just cut the line directly under the IACV it was damned near impossible to get pliers on the clips in that section.
I disconnected the electronic engine mounts (I think I got the right ones) and taped over the connectors so no friendly mechanic can do me a “favor” later on, then replaced the 15A fuse with a 7.5A in “ENG CONT1”, so hopefully I’ve reduced my exposure to the cooked ECM issue. I will get an IACV replacement at some point, but they are horrifically expensive, an Australian company is selling them in NZ (OEM) for a cool $500.00.
I also replaced the drive belt which was pretty stuffed and noisy, then attempted the power steering pump belt which was not a success, I think I might have stripped the adjuster screw trying to get it off, I realized too late that there is a pivot bolt that must be released first and no amount of trying could get my hand and a spanner in there, so I just tightened the adjuster as best I could and locked it down again, hopefully it holds! that one might be for the mechanic.
After I put it all back together the car runs very quiet (I didn’t realize how noisy a worn belt can be) and at lower idle than before, I think that is because the airbox was not firmly secured/tightened to the throttle body and there may have been an air leak, so that is a bonus.
The car has done 161,000km (100,000 miles) and is exceptionally tidy for it’s age, so I think I’ll plan on keeping it for a while, but I’ll be sad to see my 4th gen go, I’ll have to find a good home for her.
Some pics of what I did below, sing out if I’ve done something wrong, there are many more knowledgeable people here than myself and I’d rather be called an idiot and learn something than kill my car with kindness.
Photos of coolant bypass (and circled engine mounts connectors) and a pic of the car that the previous owner sent me, I could post some more pics if anyone is interested in what the NZ version of these cars is like.
The DTC ODBII trouble code P0335 on a VQ35, found in a Nissan 350Z, Infiniti G35, and many others is a Crank Position Sensor fault, or CKP for short. For this particular write-up we will be showing you How to Service a VQ35 Crank Position Sensor in a Infiniti G35. This sensor is a hall effect-magnetic style sensor that picks up the high and low parts of the flywheel to determine what position the crank is in.
The differences in the teeth of the flywheel provide changes in the voltage feedback given to the PCM from the crank position sensor. The P0335 DTC can be triggered by a few conditions in your VQ35, and needless to say your car will not operate correctly or even start with this DTC.
Here are the detecting condition of the DTC P0335 error code.
Where is my Crank Position sensor?
Easily the most commonly asked question in our How to Service a VQ35 Crank Position Sensor guide. The VQ35 has it’s Crank Position Sensor ( CKP ) located on the bellhousing of the transmission, and it reads the position of the crank by reading the teeth on the flywheel.
How do I know my crank position sensor is bad?
To test your crank position sensor, first raise the vehicle and locate the crank position sensor and the plug leading to it.
Now that you have located the sensor, unplug the sensor and take a look at the 3 prong weatherproof connector. Don’t forget if you need the how to on servicing your camshaft position sensor, we’ve got you covered.
First you should check the continuity of the wiring by placing the negative terminal on a ground, and then putting the lead to pin 3.
Continuity should exist here, so move on to the next step of our How to Service a VQ35 Crank Position Sensor writeup.
You can test this sensor using a voltmeter with one end connected to a chassis ground and the positive lead going to the 1 pin on the weatherproof connector.
If these 2 wires have continuity your part is more than likely damaged, as the 2nd pin is the signal wire to the PCM.
Why does my car not start?
The crankshaft position sensor is not transmitting any information to the PCM when trying to crank over your motor, without this sensor the PCM will not know how to operate the engine. This is when you will absolutely need our How to Service a VQ35 Crank Position Sensor article to get your car back on the road.
Where is the Crank Position Sensor pin on my VQ ECU?
Pin 13 is the Crankshaft Position Sensor on your VQ PCM, here is a diagram to help you test continuity should you need it.
This magnetic crank position sensor can be tested by measuring the resistance between terminal 1-2, terminal 1-3, and terminal 2 and 3.
All 3 of these combinations must measure resistance at 0 Ω or ∞, if your measurements are outside of this reading your sensor must be replaced.
Once you have the unit replaced, plug in your favorite ODDII scanner and clear the code P0335 and you are ready to rock and roll!
You have now serviced your VQ35 crank position sensor and saved yourself a lot of money in dealer labor.
