Hello J forum, long time participant first time owner.Now with Pics

[SteveTheTech]

I have been participating in the board for about as long as I have been a Nico member. This is a very diverse board and no matter what your personal tastes I see more interaction and willingness to help out as compared to other boards here. I have learned from lurking here that owning a Classic Infiniti can in deed be done on a practical budget, and can be a fun project. Not many people know the J, I have always liked the Modern for the Day styling of the early to mid 90s J30 line.Parts are another story as an employee of an Infiniti dealer and I know how to find my own parts I would take this car over something newer with a payment and no challenges, what fun is that???

I wanted to share my J story with the other members here.

Recently I had the good fortune to come into a J that was discarded by it's previous owner. This car is a true mechanics special, won't pass emissions and no one knows exactly why. The car seems like it was a money pit for some unlucky guy. I am now looking at getting about a grand of parts and a weekends worth of free work to get this car up to the condition to where I would be comfortable having my wife take to work, and pass Va's tough emissions laws.

I spent several hours testing and disassembling and doing more testing outside in the 20* sunshine on a Friday trying to figure out why cylinders 1 and 3 were hydrolocking, and shooting gas 5' from the passenger side fender. Pulling the plugs out confirmed my suspicions of injector failure. All of the plugs on Bank 1 (passenger side) were soaked in fuel. I hooked up a noide light to verify injector pulse (to see if it was an injector sticking or a ground signal failure). I found cyl #1 was grounded all the time(noide light on steady with battery power even with the key out of the ignition), this confirmed the fatal diagnosis of an Engine Control Module. I resolved this issue and found the reason the #3 cyl had a broken injector cap, once I pulled the injector out (I spent a good 45 minutes getting the injector cap out (w/o taking the plenum off) why not pull the injector to allow for further testing) I found that the lower seal was ripped, which was causing the hydrolock, I replaced the $12 seal (yeah that's the price with a discount, wtf) and it fired right up. Then proceeded to leak antifreeze from the water pump. That's where I left it at 5:30 on Friday. I have a few details to work out before actually taking ownership of this diamond in the rough, so hopefully next week it will actually be mine, I'm just pretty excited. Ultimately I want to build something that is as if not more reliable than a newer car I could get for the same price. I want to return this car to as close to what a J would be if they were on sale now. I have no desire to make a race car, add horsepower, I want a clean classic that runs like it did when it was new. That's not too much to ask for I think. My list of improvements includes;

-Timing belt, water pump (leaking), tensioners (noisy), seals (while I'm in there might as well). All of this needs to be done immediately, because I have a leak.

- All filters, and every fluid will be returned to factory, and I am thinking of running ester oil (150K+ miles). The OE fluids are not cheap, but I want to do this the correct way and I will just have to accept the cost as the price of doing business and the only way to respect the J, I'm hoping it will return the favor.

-Either replace or change the color of every possible light on the inside of the car. I cannot stand burned out interior lights. More than that I hate the color green (reminds me of an ancient Honda) I'm either thinking the blue (02+ Q45 interior lights) or white (no little condom over the bulb). I also really hate the simple black gauge face so I want to either add the white (as some of the members here have had luck with) if I can make the indicators red. I also plan on adding new interior light bulbs in the vanity lights. I'm thinking of going with the hyper white looking ones (Lexus IS license plate lights). - Replace every possible bushing I can find in the parts system, I am most likely going to do it the old school (using a press), to save some cash.

-O2 sensors, like all parts they have a serviceable life and in the not so distant past these were replaced at ~100K intervals and I am looking to get the most consistent performance from this car so I am going to do my best to replace everything that can effect engine operation and factory performance, while restoring a classic luxury car on a budget. I cannot say that I will be going totally factory on all these components, I know the MAF is almost $600, and I am not paying that. I plan to find out who makes the parts I need and buying them direct.

-HIDs- more likely than not the first and only "Mod" I plan on doing, I think halogen lights are seriously outdated. I have been stock piling old headlights from newer models and I am going to see what will work either putting the projector (adjustable height ) but the lenses are pricey and I want to keep it stock looking so I might try to see how they work without having to bake the only set of lenses I have. I have seen a few members here do something similar using the readily available kits, I'm going to make mine using stuff I already have so well see how that goes.

-Undercoating- This car has very little to no rust (must have been a Southern car at some point in its life) and I plan on keeping it that way. I have been looking into getting a spray on undercoating setup to DIMyself and save yet more cash while also making the car quieter. I would like to go with the Eastwood under coat sealing, I would like to remove the rear subframe and spray everything under the car to prevent future cancer and cost.

-Fix the Dash- Although 90% of the interior is in great shape there is a very annoying crack on top of the combination meter and theh defroster vents are popping up. I think the damage may be able to be repaired but I don't know if it will look right. The vents should be easy but the crack I have a feeling will never blend correctly. Da*m lack of using Armorall and solar abuse.

-Working Audio-Some other Nissan radio that will work with the factory cd changer (if that still works), there is no power button and I have yet to invest the time into assesing the current audio situation, but it's not looking promising. Again I want to keep it pretty stock looking, with the simple interface.

-Window viewability-I really do not want to tint the windows (or at least more than 10-15%). I'm not looking to make a "cruiser" that is going to set off red flags with the numerous authorities in this area that are eager to stop and question me. When I was younger I had a large red Bonneville that was red with 5% tint and I was stopped several times to question me, I'm grown now and I am not looking to give them a reason to slow me down.

-Audio-I think adding a double DIN nav enabled audio unit is out of the question (I really do not want a break in). I am thinking of mounting something like this mounted in the headliner or drivers sunshade depending on space allowances and ease of view ability. I am looking to comply with the industry wide standard of <30 degrees of eye movement needed for full visability without mounting something in plain site.

-Wheels???- I really don't want to make something VIP or custom looking I would like to get rid of the factory BBS wheels (I know these are highly sought after) but I want to get something like the 07 G35 Journey wheels, nothing fancy just simple and stock off something else. I don't know if that will ever come to fruition though. Unless I can find someone to repair the clear coat in at a price the wife may agree too. (Ahh the joys of adulthood, lol)

-Speakers- I like my music clear and loud (when I drive alone) so I think speakers from a 14 y/o car will not last me long. Boston Acoustic FTW.

-Interior carpet- The rear parcel shelf has faded from black to a very interesting blue, while I really like the color blue it doesn't really match so I think I will need to re-upholster the parcel shelf and any other faded fabrics. This is not a huge job but given the age the integrity of sun beaten parts is hit or miss.

-Leather Treatment- The leather in most of these old cars is stiff and faily rigid (in comparison to the new cars I drive all the time) I am going to look into a treatment to either repair this or chemically convert the seat surfaces to be more comfortable. I have always wanted to do upholstery work like that.

-LED tails???- I really like the look of the FX/G tail lights I want to add this feature in a factory looking manner to my car. If they come apart in a practacle fashion I want to add LED circuits to illuminate the rear. I am not going for a ricey look, I am thinking more like a Caddy center illumination design (lights up but you cannot see the lights), I want to accentuate the Infiniti design in a tasteful manner.

Well now that I read over this I realize that it's an awful lot for an introduction, I have to admit I am excited I have not had my own car for a few years (no need, given my location, and the saving are well worth the ego shot that was required). If any of you have made it through this long rant and dream session I applaud you.

If you guys have any other suggestions or need photos of anything or you can give me some advise (always gladly welcomed) I would great appreciate being able to help a community I feel like I have just joined. I will post pics once she's clean and web worthy.

Thanks for reading Steve

[driverdriver]

Steve welcome to the J part of the world!

[GerryO]

Hi Steve,

Pull/clean the radiator and the plenum, do the TB by-pass, replace the PCV valves, remove and clean the EGR tubes, remove and clean the IAC unit, replace assorted vaccum lines and maybe all six injectors/seals/o-rings, some fuel lines, fuel filter, make sure the KS is working, convert to synthetic blend oil, pull and clean the oil pan, new camshaft and crankshaft front oil seals, ...

And let me know if you ever run across a black auto-dimming rear view mirror in excellent condition.

Good luck!

[yodawill2000]

I have the same issue with my defroster vents.My J has been here in DFW all its life and I'm thinking the entire dash is warped from the 100+ Summer heat.If you figure a way to pop them back down please let me know !!!

Glad to have you here !!!I envy your access to a shop ..I do all my work in a driveway

[puck]

Agree with the defrost vents. Anyone has a way to fix that, I'm all ears.

[J30Sos]

Hi Steve

Welcome to the J forum from a fellow Virginian. It sounds like you have some very good plans for it. I would like to do the same for mine but parts are so rare and expensive plus I just bought a house so mine is going to be really slow. I have a lot of plans for mine but I also have a Jeep project that will take a long time to fix. Good luck with yours.

[Sentientbydesign]

Congrats Steve!!!

Sounds like a great plan for the J.

A few suggestions:

Do some research into how the VG30s do on synthetic/semi-synthetic. I'm not trying to start an oil debate and I'm asking everyone (nicely) to refrain from doing so as well, but I'm starting to feel that my G likes eating synthetic more than a synthetic blend or conventional.

As for the Audio, I absolutely LOVED L O V E D the Bose system in my I30. If you go that route, look for a rebuilt head unit from the 96. The 97 and later had digital Bass/Treble and sounded nothing like the 96 unit (I made the unfortunate mistake of swapping and never enjoyed my audio from that point onward).

[SteveTheTech]

So I had a few hours of boredom during work today and I decided to pull the J in and start into it. I decided it was a little to late to start the timing belt at 3pm since I really was not planning on staying past 5:30, so I will save that for tomorrow afternoon (I assume I will have nothing to do since the weather is supposed to suck here) I really do not like starting something like that then going home, the clean up guys tend to accidentally throw away something crucial everytime I do that.

So I took the interior apart to find about a buck in change, and some older gentlemans government issue ID under the ashtray that has developed some kind of funk over it permanently adhering it to the center hump. As many of you have found on your cars the sunroof seal is torn at the rear section. I am going to bite the bullet and buy the $150 seal. I will be damned if I am removing the headliner in a car of this age, everything is on the edge of breaking and I am not going to chance my luck. I am going to see if it can be done by tilting the panel up and maneuvering it into place with the least amount of work possible. lol

As a side note to the other guys out there who have experienced this issue. My right front drain clogged/backed up somehow and damaged many of the components on the right side "A" pillar. I found some advanced corrosion on almost every connector I inspected. If you have had or been putting off this repair check the corner drains and any nearby electrical connections. The leak apparently was so bad in the RF A pillar that it rotted a seam on the lower floor pan, for the short term I plan on cleaning as much of the effected area as I can access and undercoating it (the rust does not seem to go all the way through...yet). As a more long term plan I will remove the passenger seat and welding a panel to totally seal any damage that will occur.

I also took the combination meter out and HVAC controller and radio to remove and trace of green lighting. I detest green lighting. So I was unable to get another color immediately so I took the covers off of the 194A bulbs in the combination meter and the covers off the tiny bulbs in the heater unit and I took the face off my radio and removed the covers from the LEDS on the face. At some point in the future I might do something else I did replace the tiny ambient light in the over head map light.

In the future I want to get a combination meter off ebay with less miles (I'm going to drive the car till it's dead) and I do not want to stare at 150 grand again. lol. I also tried replacing the needles with late model M45 gauge needles, to no avail. The stem is a little too short to work properly but the look of the red gauges with the white illumination will be worth a second attempt.

Tomorrow for the timing belt, then I plan to condition the leather, the car has been sitting for some time and I really want to make it soft and feel more like a newer car and replace every fluid I can find with OE fluids. Since there is no actual transmission filter I am going to for go doing trans pan gasket at this time since it is not leaking. I have the timing belt setup sitting the back seat waiting for boredom. I am sincerely hoping this helps with my rich running condition, I think the tensioner noise is indicative or belt slippage and I think once I replace the filters,belts,oil and clean the intake plenums and set my base parameters. Although I did also learn today that the DLC is not working correctly, and using the Consult II I could not activate any of the computer systems, I am not really stressing this now, there are no CELs and I fixed the ABS light (missing wiring harness to the rear speed sensor, IDK how that happened).

After that and a thorough cleaning I am hoping the J is ready for it's introduction to it's new family.

I have to say I am trying to find a set of OE floor mats for this car, I want NIB mats and I cannot find them anywhere, is there somewhere you guys have found to make custom mats (maybe someone with the specs already). I know this seems like allot for a car of this age but I am trying to work on a slight restoration and I want it to look new.

Also, to continue this rant a little, I fixed the dash vents popping up. After staring at the center vents for ten minutes I took my knife and cut the edges, (yeah I had to do it quick before I thought about taking a knife to the dash of a classic) I cut the bowed up edges and re-inserted the vents, and applied some butyl gum and some more trimming to get it to sit flush.

Thanks again for reading. I will keep you updated (if anyone is still interested, lol) as I go through this car and let you know what I find and actual replace.

Does anyone know where I can buy a new/refurbished face plate for my radio? everything works except the damn display and the Power is missing. This doesn't bother me right now but I am not driving this car everyday yet. I really do not like aftermarket and want to keep the stock look.

Steve

[SteveTheTech]

Congrats Steve!!!

Sounds like a great plan for the J.

A few suggestions:

Do some research into how the VG30s do on synthetic/semi-synthetic. I'm not trying to start an oil debate and I'm asking everyone (nicely) to refrain from doing so as well, but I'm starting to feel that my G likes eating synthetic more than a synthetic blend or conventional.

As for the Audio, I absolutely LOVED L O V E D the Bose system in my I30. If you go that route, look for a rebuilt head unit from the 96. The 97 and later had digital Bass/Treble and sounded nothing like the 96 unit (I made the unfortunate mistake of swapping and never enjoyed my audio from that point onward).

Thanks for the advise Nate,

I know of all of the older cars I have owned and put synthetic (perk of the job) into I have noticed that the Japanese tend to leak it out pretty significantly with the older engines. I do not think I am going to chance it with this one, being the first old car I have owned since growing up a bit, I think I will be using a 60/40ish semi-blend and changing it at a 2k interval. Now I will have to get my parts manager to order me a case of -53J00 oil filters, lol stupid J an old Nissan pickups.

The audio sounds a bit choppy on mine right now, I do not know how much I will be able to get from this aged setup, and I do not know if my wife will let me replace every speaker in the car, anytime soon. I suspect more corrosion somewhere that has yet to be found, also I found that the radio is connected to a CD changer yet I have not found a changer. I guess that means I get to strip the trunk to find out what the hell happened to the changer.... Eh sounds like an excuse to pull the fuel pump and replace the strainer, or at least clean it out.

Thanks for the interest in my thread,

Your G is still going through oil??? It should not be doing that, how much are you loosing?

[Sentientbydesign]

Your G is still going through oil??? It should not be doing that, how much are you loosing?

That's for a thread unto itself. The short...Used Mobil 1 5w-30 from Walmart. The jug is 5 qts exactly. I used the whole thing. 2k later, I check the dip stick per the TSB specs (warmed up, level ground, at least 20 mins sitting...etc) and I'm down 15mm from the H mark. Take it in the next day and the Service Advisor measures 18mm. I leave it there and the tech...DUM DUM DUM...only measures 12 mm (I don't think he followed the TSB procedure and just let it sit for a couple of minutes).

Now I'm on another oil consumption test, but the holidays and my last minute wisdom teeth removal have pushed me to 2k since the oil was changed. I'll probably go in tomorrow and pay for another oil change (they comped the last one) and start another test.

[SteveTheTech]

That's tough call, only having a variance of <5mm is not too much. Since you have the updated long block I doubt you are consuming sufficient oil to warrant another motor.

There's no signs of leaking?

Are you getting any blue smoke on startup?

[Sentientbydesign]

6mm of variance in 30 mins is cause for concern in my book.

I haven't noticed any blue smoke and I haven't seen any leaks either. I told the service advisor that I have no motivation to lie about the oil consumption because I already have a new engine.

[GerryO]

That's for a thread unto itself. The short...Used Mobil 1 5w-30 from Walmart. The jug is 5 qts exactly. I used the whole thing. 2k later, I check the dip stick per the TSB specs (warmed up, level ground, at least 20 mins sitting...etc) and I'm down 15mm from the H mark. Take it in the next day and the Service Advisor measures 18mm. I leave it there and the tech...DUM DUM DUM...only measures 12 mm (I don't think he followed the TSB procedure and just let it sit for a couple of minutes).

Now I'm on another oil consumption test, but the holidays and my last minute wisdom teeth removal have pushed me to 2k since the oil was changed. I'll probably go in tomorrow and pay for another oil change (they comped the last one) and start another test.

Wouldn't count on your total system volume and dipstick being as accurate and exact as the volume on the container label, and did you also change the oil filter? Oil level will drop after the first start-up (filling the filter and not draining back into the oil pan) after installing a new filter and will need to be topped-up, unless things were filled to above the mark in the first place. 12/18/15mm readings are all close depending on how long the engine has been sitting and how much oil originally was in the system.

A longer wait after shutting the engine OFF should actually result in a higher dip-stick level (to a point), giving oil that's been spread/circulated all through the engine time to drain back into the pan where it can be measured, and I don't think oil expands that much when heated either.

[SteveTheTech]

6mm of variance in 30 mins is cause for concern in my book.

Not in mine, depending on the mileage driven and total amount lost. Gerry O made a great point. Nissans dipsticks are notoriously inaccurate. In all honesty when I am monitoring a consumption issue on vehicles other than the six speed late model Gs. I drain the oil into a measured container to get a more accurate reading.

[Sentientbydesign]

The 6mm of variation was from the service waiting area to the service bay. 500ft?

I agree that they are inaccurate. Especially the VQ35DE Gs, but that was a little fishy to me.

Sorry for thread jacking. I might split this thread.

[swimshark]

i actually have a auto dimming mirror if anyone is interested just pm me or email me at [email protected]. came off of a 97 J30

[GerryO]

i actually have a auto dimming mirror if anyone is interested just pm me or email me at [email protected]. came off of a 97 J30

E-mail sent. From/for a black interior?

Thanks!

[Gerardjg]

You do not have to remove the headliner to remove the moon roof panel, I copied this procedure from this forum a while back and had it saved on my hard drive. Not sure who posted , but it worked on both my J's

Open sunroof about half-way. You want to open it just enough to fit your head in the opening. Kneel on the driver seat (facing rear of car) and look between the outer lid (the outer metal part) and the felt lined part. On the right and left sides, you'll see two black spring loaded plastic clips that you have to unhook. I used a couple putty-knives for this. The trick is to push the felt liner towards the back of the car as you pull up on the spring loaded clips.

Basically you're trying to separate the liner from the sunroof lid to expose the six bolts that attach the lid to the sunroof rail. Anyway, as the felt-lined half starts to slide back close the sunroof a little more, this will allow the felt piece to slide further. You'll need to keep doing this until the sunroof is completely closed and the felt liner half is basically slid all the way back. Don't worry, it can't slide too far back (there's a metal bracket in the back of the assembly that keeps the felt from going too far back).

Anyway, once the 6 bolts are exposed, you can easily remove the lid and replace the seal/weatherstipping. Put the lid back on and reattach the 6 bolts.

Once finished, open the lid all the way. Opening the lid all the way will make the metal lid slip back over the felt-lined half and you'll hear the spring-loaded clips re-engage. Close the sunroof and both halves will close like the always have.

[SteveTheTech]

That is great information, thank you very much. When I do this I will take some pictures and use your description to make an article on this. I probably should have used the search function I tell other people to use. lol

In all honesty I have never removed one. By the time most Js come to me a leaky sunroof is not their primary concern. I have to say I have owned cars with glass sunroofs and I think I prefer the carpeted body panel, I always kept the shade shut.

[SteveTheTech]

Ok so after some time and a few hundred bucks I am now the proud owner of a J.

I replaced the timing belt and set the car up to run correctly and changed all the fluids, machined the rotor and "freshened" the brakes. While it was all apart I balanced even with a ton of miles I was able to get every wheel to balance out to <2 total grams of in balance.

The interior has been treated and deep cleaned. I started a 6 month procedure for bringing the leather back to the luster it originally was. Cleaning and re applying the essential oils and massaging the leather (yes I have that much free time). The interior cleaned up very well the leather surfaces are in ideal condition. The dash is the only thing that drives me nuts about the interior and the rear parcel shelf has faded from black to an interesting blue, I kind of think it looks ok, but I plan on refinished the rear deck lid (If anyone else has interest let me know and I will make an article on it).

The only "modification" that I plan on doing at all was replacing the interior bulbs and removed the little green condoms off all but one of the interior lights (temperature knob). The radio is from a '97 and I may add an Ipod integration kit if I can find something that will use the CD changer input. That's down the road though.

This afternoon we did a dyno run, I wanted to see what my baseline emissions numbers were and in VA you have to have a new inspection and emissions test run before you register it. It passed with flying colors, I was impressed at the actual numbers (see the last pic) Doing a little tune up and driving the hell out of it for a week cleaned the carbon build up out (that and the extreme service I performed on it). The J is a great car when everything works like it should, I wouldn't get rid of it for anything.

The little glow is the ambient light that is in the sunroof controller, I have been working on these cars for years and I did not know they had that. Plus the middle visor that covers the gap between the roof and the rearview mirror is something I love about this car. That's almost a ULEV standard out of a car with almost 200K

Thanks for looking.

[zozoka1212]

Looking really good Steve. Congrats on your ride bro.

zozo

[nsrZ32]

Very nice! Congrats on the score

I've been waiting for a J30 to get traded in that I can snag for cheap as well

[yodawill2000]

That's a Beaut' Steve !!!

Nice job.

The paint on these old J's is amazing.I suppose all the older Infiniti's are the same.A little work and a blinding polish will prevail !!

[colincliff2]

Beautiful J Steve. The black on black color combo is my all time favorite.