Replacing knock sensors soon

A Q45 forum / Cima forum for the President of Infiniti's lineup. Brought to you by Infiniti Parts USA, your OEM source for Q45 parts!
240RB1
Posts: 992
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:10 pm
Car: 03 Infiniti G35
92 Nissan 300ZX Z32
95 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ
Location: Kansas City Kansas

Post

Well as the maintenance continues it seems that the knock sensors are the next stop-reason being is that the car seems to have no "balls" till past 3k and it shifts funny at times lol.

Since il be replacing knock sensors i guess il be replacing every hose underneath the plenum-question,i have been searching and have come to find that Joe @ infiniti sells a under plenum hose kit for about 250$

i cant see myself paying that much for hoses-can most of these hoses be sourced locally in bulk?

what else should i check/go through while im there.im gonna start gathering parts but like to do research on anything before tackling something.

List of things to do/check
clean plenum
clean aicv
clean egr ports
get new gaskets-throttle body, aicv,egr,plenum
ohm test the injectors
new knock sensors
refurbish the ks harness' if applicable
both oxygen sensors
replace all hoses
replace clutch fan-no resistance regardless of temp :squint:


Thats all i can think of for now.....oh yea look

drove this far
Image

going this fast
Image

for this
Image

on its new home
Image
Image

Also today i got a little present from the ups man today
Mike-awesome job at wrapping the items
Image


OwnerCS
Posts: 1771
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 4:34 am

Post

Congratulations on your hood and spoiler.

I'm putting some "under plenum" pictures in this post as there are a couple of small tricks that I learned that may help with this operation.

The first picture shows how close the cross bank water hoses are connected. I found I could put some hose lubricant on those cross bank coolant hoses, them measure the clearance needed between the heads to RTV seal the hoses bases to the heads.

Note that I left the hose clamps loose until after the RTV or (Gaskets for a Phase II G50?) have been sealed when the hose base is secured to the head. Some hose "rubber lubricant" will allow the hose to move at the connection ares to get the closest adjustment.

Image

The next picture shows the hose bases completely secured and cross head hose clamps are tightened for completion. Also in this picture you can see where the heater hoses connect to the under plenum coolant delivery pipes. Once the hose bases were fully connected to the heads and bolts torqued according to spec, the hose clamps were then fully tightened.

Image

At this point, I had started a hose for coolant that connects to the throttle body. For the intake runner to plenum seals, I had a challenge getting all of the seals in place while trying to install the plenum with minimal help. I found a small drop of rubber to metal adhesive on the bottom side of the seal was just enough to keep it in place while the plenum was being seated. While it makes the seals stay put -- it is not so much to prevent the seals from being removed at some future date with minimal effort.

Image

The next picture shows the plenum all ready for installation as a complete assembly. The tricky part of installing the plenum as an assembly is connecting the 3-way rubber hose that connects to the under plenum pipe, the IACV, and the "vacuum pipe to nowhere". I call this the "vacuum pipe to nowhere" because it just dead ends under the plenum. I understand the pipe is for arresting vacuum pressure fluctuations that could occur between the other two connections connections on the 3-way hose.

Image

Connecting the 3-way vacuum hose to the "vacuum pipe to nowhere" was one of the more challenging parts of the plenum installation. Since it is a vacuum line, I used an OEM style vacuum hose clamp that I could pinch the clamp open with my bare fingers for fitting the bottom part of the 3-way hose to the black "vacuum tube to nowhere" as shown in the following picture.

Image

Note: I see O2 sensors are listed in the opening post. The engine compartment O2 sensors will be the easiest to replace with the plenum removed. Also I would consider leaving the hood off until you finished the under plenum job. There are some connections at the rear of the engine compartment like the 3-way vacuum hose and O2 sensors that I believe will be easier to access if the hood has been removed. Though I didn't remove the hood when I performed the maintenance job, I could see how removing it will improve access. You can see the new O2 sensor plugs resting on the right and left sides just above the silver duct tape that I used to cover the intake ports in the picture below.

qship96
Posts: 6624
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 11:31 am
Car: 1996 Infiniti Q45

Post

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the complete under-plenum hose kit is just under $1000 from IOS, not $205 :confused:

User avatar
Lokim
Posts: 681
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 12:47 am
Car: 1994 Infiniti Q45 acquired 4/25/10 w/192K
Now at 222K and going strong!
Location: Seattle, WA
Contact:

Post

I can get you genuine Nissan knock sensors for $75 each shipped. PM for details...

OwnerCS
Posts: 1771
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 4:34 am

Post

qship96 wrote:Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the complete under-plenum hose kit is just under $1000 from IOS, not $205 :confused:
Ya'll care to take a guess at the amount of money I spent last year under the plenum of my 91 model?

Bring all the hoses and sensors up to "like new" condition is NOT a low cost endeavor.

User avatar
goody90q45
Posts: 3679
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:07 pm
Car: 1992 Infiniti Q45 (sold)
Location: Orangevale, CA

Post

240RB1 wrote:.....List of things to do/check

ohm test the injectors
new knock sensors.....
Before you go through the headache of pulling the plenum ohm test the injectors and the KS to make sure they need replacement. It will only take about 5 minutes and will tell you a lot about the health of the engine.

Is the CEL on? Have you pulled the ECU codes?

Image
240RB1 wrote:........Also today i got a little present from the ups man today
Mike-awesome job at wrapping the items
Image
I put a lot of extra padding in the package it so you'd get it without any damage. Good to hear you got OK.

240RB1
Posts: 992
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:10 pm
Car: 03 Infiniti G35
92 Nissan 300ZX Z32
95 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ
Location: Kansas City Kansas

Post

OwnerCS wrote:Congratulations on your hood and spoiler.

I'm putting some "under plenum" pictures in this post as there are a couple of small tricks that I learned that may help with this operation.

The first picture shows how close the cross bank water hoses are connected. I found I could put some hose lubricant on those cross bank coolant hoses, them measure the clearance needed between the heads to RTV seal the hoses bases to the heads.

Note that I left the hose clamps loose until after the RTV or (Gaskets for a Phase II G50?) have been sealed when the hose base is secured to the head. Some hose "rubber lubricant" will allow the hose to move at the connection ares to get the closest adjustment.

Image

The next picture shows the hose bases completely secured and cross head hose clamps are tightened for completion. Also in this picture you can see where the heater hoses connect to the under plenum coolant delivery pipes. Once the hose bases were fully connected to the heads and bolts torqued according to spec, the hose clamps were then fully tightened.

Image

At this point, I had started a hose for coolant that connects to the throttle body. For the intake runner to plenum seals, I had a challenge getting all of the seals in place while trying to install the plenum with minimal help. I found a small drop of rubber to metal adhesive on the bottom side of the seal was just enough to keep it in place while the plenum was being seated. While it makes the seals stay put -- it is not so much to prevent the seals from being removed at some future date with minimal effort.

Image

The next picture shows the plenum all ready for installation as a complete assembly. The tricky part of installing the plenum as an assembly is connecting the 3-way rubber hose that connects to the under plenum pipe, the IACV, and the "vacuum pipe to nowhere". I call this the "vacuum pipe to nowhere" because it just dead ends under the plenum. I understand the pipe is for arresting vacuum pressure fluctuations that could occur between the other two connections connections on the 3-way hose.

Image

Connecting the 3-way vacuum hose to the "vacuum pipe to nowhere" was one of the more challenging parts of the plenum installation. Since it is a vacuum line, I used an OEM style vacuum hose clamp that I could pinch the clamp open with my bare fingers for fitting the bottom part of the 3-way hose to the black "vacuum tube to nowhere" as shown in the following picture.

Image

Note: I see O2 sensors are listed in the opening post. The engine compartment O2 sensors will be the easiest to replace with the plenum removed. Also I would consider leaving the hood off until you finished the under plenum job. There are some connections at the rear of the engine compartment like the 3-way vacuum hose and O2 sensors that I believe will be easier to access if the hood has been removed. Though I didn't remove the hood when I performed the maintenance job, I could see how removing it will improve access. You can see the new O2 sensor plugs resting on the right and left sides just above the silver duct tape that I used to cover the intake ports in the picture below.

Let me start off by saying.....wow your engine looks immaculate lol,thanks for sharing thos pictures and tips with me,they will really help me once i start tackling this.
goody90q45 wrote:
240RB1 wrote:.....List of things to do/check

ohm test the injectors
new knock sensors.....
Before you go through the headache of pulling the plenum ohm test the injectors and the KS to make sure they need replacement. It will only take about 5 minutes and will tell you a lot about the health of the engine.

Is the CEL on? Have you pulled the ECU codes?

Image
240RB1 wrote:........Also today i got a little present from the ups man today
Mike-awesome job at wrapping the items
Image
I put a lot of extra padding in the package it so you'd get it without any damage. Good to hear you got OK.
I guess it wouldn't hurt to test them before tackling all of this,but ive learned from my 240 days that knock sensors really kill performance when kaput.
Lokim wrote:I can get you genuine Nissan knock sensors for $75 each shipped. PM for details...

I will pm you broski :biggrin:

ukatfan4
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 3:51 pm
Car: 2000 Infinity Q45 AE
Location: Louisville, KY

Post

Lokim wrote:I can get you genuine Nissan knock sensors for $75 each shipped. PM for details...
i'll take 2 please :) not sure how to contact you tho. if you could start contact i'd appreciate it. [email protected]


Return to “Q45 Forum / Cima Forum”