Looking to do some upgrades...

[smartbeatz]

Okay so I'm new to forums but spent about an hour looking through here and decided to give it a try.

I just got a 1994 J30 and was looking to add some more power to it. Saw the JWT pop charger but want my engine to last. I'm not a dragger but just want more power to get around through traffic. I really love the ride in my J but it sits so high as well and doesn't take corners very well. I'd like to lower it about 2 inches and was wondering if the kits that compress the springs would work without affecting the ride or what I could do to sustain better dynamics and grip to the road. Saw an idea on Car Domain for the front lip so I might try that. Figured trash the old exhaust and run duals down the sides like the car I saw on Car Domain. Thinking of going with 17 by what everyone is saying too. I love to work on cars but this is my first V6. Mostly had SUVs and lowriders. Any suggestions would be much appreciated and thanks in advance.

[GerryO]

A good way to get to know your J30 better is to pull/clean the radiator, replace the timing and accessory belts, the water pump, a few hoses, idler pulleys, front oil seals and the tensioner.

Then pull the plenum to clean/replace numerous EGR/vacuum related things, replace the spark plugs and possibly the fuel injectors, depending on how many miles they have on them.

New struts, along with springs and sway bars from a J30t should stiffen up the suspension some, but you should probably first check/freshen up the transmission, if you plan on pushing the car harder.

Dropping and cleaning out the oil pan is something I'd like to do, but haven't done yet.

[smartbeatz]

Then pull the plenum to clean/replace numerous EGR/vacuum related things, replace the spark plugs and possibly the fuel injectors, depending on how many miles they have on them.

New struts, along with springs and sway bars from a J30t should stiffen up the suspension some, but you should probably first check/freshen up the transmission, if you plan on pushing the car harder.

Dropping and cleaning out the oil pan is something I'd like to do, but haven't done yet.

I might sound stupid here but what is the plenum? I usually buy Chilton or haynes but couldn't find one for my J so I purchased a pdf off ebay. Much harder to read if you ask me. With less pictures too. I did have to take my baby into the shop because I heard air escaping and I was loosing some power to her. They said someone crossed threads when replacing the EGR valve and it would cost me around $420 to get it fixed. They did a temp fix and it hasn't come loose again but I don't want to give it the chance. I'm a fast learner and love to get my hands dirty but don't know my way around this engine yet. What, if any, other pieces could I pull off a T? and what's the best way to check out the transmission? More of a custom interior guy but love to learn new things. BTW I have 159K miles on her. Where to start?

[yodawill2000]

As GerryO said.Before you add any power do the Timing and accessory belts.Replace ALL fluids. (transmission, Brake, Pwr steering and the rear end as well as the obvious oil/filter change.I would also drop the transmission pan and replace the filter and O ring and put on a new pan gasket.Then there's the NKG Sparkplugs FYI The plenum is the intake .Not an easy task to pull but you will know your engine well if you pull it to replace all thats under it and also replace the Timing belt and TStat , water pump and camshaft oil seals.

Not trying to scare ya but you need to get the basic stuff up to spec before you think about HP Mods.

[smartbeatz]

As GerryO said.Before you add any power do the Timing and accessory belts.Replace ALL fluids. (transmission, Brake, Pwr steering and the rear end as well as the obvious oil/filter change.I would also drop the transmission pan and replace the filter and O ring and put on a new pan gasket.Then there's the NKG Sparkplugs FYI The plenum is the intake .Not an easy task to pull but you will know your engine well if you pull it to replace all thats under it and also replace the Timing belt and TStat , water pump and camshaft oil seals.

Not trying to scare ya but you need to get the basic stuff up to spec before you think about HP Mods.

Cool. Thanks and I appreciate all your suggestions. I'll be sure to do an overhaul of all the basic stuff before I jump into the mods. I really want to do it right and I've seen the feedback you guys have been doing on here so I know where you all are coming from. The only problem is this is an everyday car so whatever I do has to be done on the weekend or after work and can't last more then a day or two. How long does it take to do the timing? I don't know anyone around here really so I'd be doing everything myself. I have no problem doing that just need to know what's most important to start off with. Sorry to be asking so much but like I said I want to do it right and in a proper order. Thanks again for all your help. Guess I need to start getting a list together for the store LOL.

[GerryO]

I might sound stupid here but what is the plenum? I usually buy Chilton or haynes but couldn't find one for my J so I purchased a pdf off ebay. Much harder to read if you ask me. With less pictures too. I did have to take my baby into the shop because I heard air escaping and I was loosing some power to her. They said someone crossed threads when replacing the EGR valve and it would cost me around $420 to get it fixed. They did a temp fix and it hasn't come loose again but I don't want to give it the chance. I'm a fast learner and love to get my hands dirty but don't know my way around this engine yet. What, if any, other pieces could I pull off a T? and what's the best way to check out the transmission? More of a custom interior guy but love to learn new things. BTW I have 159K miles on her. Where to start?

The factory manual is the only one that's available and it leaves a lot to be desired, in both its' small (every J30 came with one in the trunk compartment) and jumbo sizes. Good news is that the J30 engine is in many ways same as the 300ZX engine, and those guys are more hands-on, so there are quite a number of related how-to write-ups that can be found on-line. Learn how to pull codes too.

Pulling the EGR valve isn't easy, even with the plenum off. There's a 27mm nut that's really difficult to access. Hopefully the timing belt was changed at 120K miles and my first injector failed at around 170K.

Allow yourself plenty of time, use OEM parts (Nico member discount), don't force anything and take it slow.

[smartbeatz]

As GerryO said.Before you add any power do the Timing and accessory belts.Replace ALL fluids. (transmission, Brake, Pwr steering and the rear end as well as the obvious oil/filter change.I would also drop the transmission pan and replace the filter and O ring and put on a new pan gasket.Then there's the NKG Sparkplugs FYI The plenum is the intake .Not an easy task to pull but you will know your engine well if you pull it to replace all thats under it and also replace the Timing belt and TStat , water pump and camshaft oil seals.

Not trying to scare ya but you need to get the basic stuff up to spec before you think about HP Mods.

Any suggestions on where to get a kit to do my timing? Is this something I can do by myself? and can I trust ebay for a kit?

Figured I'd start there first and do the tstat while I'm at it. Should I do the camshaft oil seals at the same time as well? and what else needs to be done while attending to the timing? Trying to prepare for my weekend. I'm excited to get started. Thanks for all your help BTW.

[smartbeatz]

Where can I find the 12. new struts along with springs and sway bars from a J30t?

I'm making my list and checking it twice...

Time to get dirty and my baby is done being nice...

Here is what I have gathered from you guys so far so correct me if I'm wrong.

List of things needed to be done to my car

1. pull/clean the radiator2. replace the timing and accessory belts - $268.20 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItem3. TStat – Stant $21.31 http://www.car-stuff.com/carpa....html4. camshaft oil seals - $9 http://autoparts.cardomain.com...4+j305. water pump - see #26. hoses Heater hose $43 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...A1318 ------ Radiator hose $50 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItem7. idler pulleys – see #28. tensioner – see #29. pull the plenum (intake) to clean/replace numerous EGR/vacuum related things $114 http://www.autopartsworld.com/...valve10. NKG Sparkplugs $10 ech? (6needed) http://www.autopartsworld.com/....aspx 11. fuel injectors - $102.42 ech (6 needed) http://www.autopartsworld.com/...ector12. New struts along with springs and sway bars from a J30t?13. check/freshen up the transmission - plan to take into shop to get checked out14. Dropping and cleaning out the oil pan 15. drop the transmission pan and replace the filter and O ring and put on a new pan gasket http://www.partsgeek.com/gbpro...+Base16. Replace ALL fluids. (transmission, Brake, Pwr steering and the rear end as well as the obvious oil/filter change - synthetic don't use Fram filter

Is that about it?

[yodawill2000]

http://www.everythinginfiniti.com Is the best place to order OEM parts from.Call and ask for Joe and make sure he knows your a Nico forum member.He will do you right !!

I took my time doing the Timing belt and got it done over the weekend.Here's the How too.zerothread?id=198122

While your in there as GerryO mentioned you should replaced the water pump, T-stat , tensioner pully and oil seals

Here's a link to Joe's place showing all the J30 Kits.

http://www.trademotion.com/par...34382

[GerryO]

Wow! You are really intent on doing things right.

Add front crankshaft oil seal (same part as the camshaft oil seals). New crankshaft timing belt pulley. Water pump gasket (a Z32 engine part number). Don't over-tighten any spacers behind the timing belt covers (one set of on-line instructions lists too high a torque setting).

Add PCV valves, when doing the plenum and maybe a new EGR valve too, since something associated with your's is stripped. Don't know if it's possible to replace the KS and it's sub-harness with only the plenum off and without removing the intake manifold. Gently snug up the valve cover gasket screws while you are under there and watch out for/remove sharp edges on the plenum.

New fuel filter and short length of fuel line under the plenum. New PS hoses (the small diameter ones). Clean the throttle bodies, IAC valve and the MAF. Top and bottom o-rings for the injectors.

Springs and sway bars would be used, from a rust-free car and struts, new OEM (big bucks).

Adding new O2 sensors (2), and while you have the plenum off.

And try to line up a good helper and a back-up ride, as you are talking about some very long hours. I asked for and got free shipping (ground) with my orders.
Modified by GerryO at 1:24 PM 12/24/2008

[coolyun_98]

I have done ALL the things that you want to do. All OEM parts. Very expensive but worth it. My J is driving like a BMW and riding like a lexus now. MAke sure you have all the TOOLS.

From my experience, after markets parts will NOT provide the same performance/warranty/reliability as the OEM parts. If you are going to spend the labout, you might as well pay a little more to use the best parts available.

By the way, for mods, I think JWT cams are really decent! You WILL feel that the engine BEGS you to rev. Just like integra type R. Your engine will rev hard till redline.

HOWEVER, BE AWARE OF JWT'S STUPID CORE REFUND POLICY, THEY TEND TO REJECT EVERY CORE YOU SEND. SO, DON'T COUNT ON GETTING ANY CORE REFUND.

[J30Sos]

I'm seeing a lot of good info in here. When I get my Jeep fixed and my new garage I will have to start some of this. When I took my J to a mechanic to replace the front and rear trans seals he pointed out that my engine is leaking oil from both valve covers and the front engine seal (basically he was looking to get quite a bit of money from me).

[smartbeatz]

Got a quick question...

How do you fix the trunk so it will stay up? Oh and when I bought my car it still had the factory alarm with the key chain but I can't seem to get it to work. The light comes on the remote but nothing happens. How can I check to see if it's still good? I tried the whole lock the door and insert the key in and out 9-10 times thing but it didn't do anything. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance...