Whats up ya'll.......decided to save my G35X but I have engine codes that need to be addressed. I decided to go the easy route and change the magnetic retarder instead of the whole VTC cover. Now I just started this job and see that bolt #8 is hidden behind what appears to be the serpentine belt tensioner. So my question to the crew is what needs to come off to get to bolt #8. Appreciate any help. I raced a Tesla today and the outcome was strange. He got me off the line but I recovered until the VQ35HR stumbled and then regained attention at which point either he let off or I had more horses and pulled ahead. No doubt this dam POO14 ECL is affecting hard performance. Help me fix it please!!!

 

I thought I would add that before I decided to change the retarder, I tested my oil pressure as the car has 118,000 miles on it. Hope this helps for reference. The harbor freight oil pressure test kit rocks. I would recommend it. No galley gasket issues yet.
@178F engine temp idle of 680 rpm 32 psi
@178F engine temp 2000 rpm 76 psi

 

Bolt #8 is behind the serpentine belt tensioner bracket. To get the bracket off, it looks like I will have to take off the power steering pump. To get the lower bolt from the steering pump out I will have to take off the bank 1 radiator fan. Oh boy this gets more interesting at the turn of every bolt and I still haven't got the cover off. Wow.

 

Just to verify you're trying to replace this part right?

 

Yes, that is the devil I am wrestling with. Any advice for the removal of bolt #8. I am going to take off the power steering pump and then the iron mounting bracket because the pulley tensioning bracket is mounted behind that iron bracket and covering bolt #8. I sure could use some advice on this. Thanks for responding. To make matters worse the lower bolt mounting on the power steering pump is so long that it cannot be removed without pulling the fans. Ugh. It doesn't look like I can get to the two bolts holding the iron bracket to the block.

 

Fortunately the fans are easy to remove. I have very little experience working on the HR motor so maybe someone else can chime in with tips on removing that piece.

 

Do the fans come out as an assembly or individually? Thanks for a light of encouragement. Saving a buck and learning at the same time. I looked all over for removal procedures but came up empty.

 

Fans are an assembly, here's a link to the FSM, everything starts at the FWD - Forward.

https://www.nicoclub.com/infiniti-service-manuals

Fan removal is under CL - Cooling

 

Thank you!!

 

Thanks again for linking the manual. I kept second guessing myself about whether bolt #8 existed because it seemed very stupid to hide one bolt under the tensioner bracket. Sure enough it was there and now I have access to all the cover bolts. Cheers!!

 

Curious about the outcome of this. I've got a p0014 code on mine as well

 

Outcome was successful. I had P0014 and P0024 DTC’s. I replaced the bank 1 retarder only and did the manual relearn. P0014 cleared and has not returned in 400 miles of driving. Strangely enough P0024 also cleared and has not come back. What did come back was the annoying hesitation when accelerating from a stop. Heading into the dealer for an ECU update in two weeks. If you take on the job, I would be Happy to share what I learned. Good luck. FYI....the retarder cost me $180 and the gasket cost $11.00. Took me a weekend of on and off work. I could do the job in a few hours now. As you know from this thread bolt #8 is hidden behind the belt tensioner bracket. Disassembly to remove the tensioner bracket to get to that bolt is what took me so long.

 

I actually have a tested good complete vtc cover off a spare engine. Gonna try it out. Ordered the gasket and new cam seals for it. Just waiting for them to arrive. The retarder currently on the car ohmed out at 15-16 ohms on passenger side. Driver side was only at 10.2 ohms, which matched both on the spare engine. Got my fingers crossed

 

Cool! Follow the service manual for removal and you’ll be good. DO NOT Over torque the cover bolts. I would advise buying a inch lb torque wrench in the proper range otherwise you’ll be relying on feel. Service manual has the torque spec. Good luck and don’t get frustrated. It’s tight in there:-)

 

Tekton makes a decent 1/4" drive torque wrench for less than $40.


Get the 1/4 female to 3/8 male adapter and you can use all your 3/8 drive sockets. This little $8 kit will let you adapt from anything to anything.