Greetings everyone. I recently ordered a Motordyne Basic Plenum 5/16 spacer from g35parts.com (dba Infiniti of Scottsdale) and need some troubleshoothing assistance.

Situation: After my 3rd install attempt (2 without a torque wrench and 1 with a newly acquired inch per pound torque wrench), I am ready to throw in the towel and forget about the plenum spacer mod for now.

Problem: After installing the Motordyne Plenum Spacer and reinstalling all the hoses and connections back up, I am getting a loud whistling sound from the back left hand side of the plenum. I also installed a JWT Pop charger. At first I thought it was the whistling sound that some members have reported on this forum from the JWT Pop charger install. However, I don't think my issues are with the pop charger because you can here this whistling noise a mile away.

Things that I have tried so far:

• Re-installing the plenum spacer, re-applying the RTV silicone to form better gasket and re-torquing the spacer to recommended specs;
• Making sure that the oil rubber fill spout is not stuck between the plenum and the spacer (also checked the stock gasket as well)

Below are some scans of the Motordyne Plenum spacer that I ordered online from www.g35parts.com. I checked the parts list and everything appears to be in order. Am I missing anything? Please help or point me in the right direction.




Thanks,
Marco10729

 

Looks like the spacer is missing the pre-applied gasket.

 

Good eye Sean. OP you shouldn't have to use RTV either.

Did you torque all bolts to the recommended specs? Did you remove the throttle body and re-install? Are you having any issues with idle or did you throw a CEL?

I've helped a few people install these and have never heard of the issue you're describing.

 

Since when did MD spacers have a seam?

 

Calvin, do you think it might be one of the first edition aluminum MD spacers, like this one. https://g35driver.com/forums/marketp...um-spacer.html

It would definitely be bizarre to see a vendor selling these though. I also don't know if the aluminum spacer was offered in a 5/16" version. I'd like to see what Tony at MD says about this. I'm gonna PM him right now.

 

Strange, I don't believe what you're installing is a Motordyne spacer. Looks much different than what I installed 5 years ago and what Calvin showed a pic of. Spacer and even the color of the bolts is totally different. I'd love to hear what Tony has to say....
Gary

 

For what it's worth, it looks like you may have been deceived.

Is this what you bought?

http://www.g35parts.com/G35-Plenum-S.../516spacer.htm

Notice that it does not say "Motordyne" anywhere on that page. And for that matter, take a look at all of the spacers they have.

http://www.g35parts.com/Infiniti-G35...Parts-s/63.htm

None of them mention Motordyne. However, they are using MD's pictures...which is where the confusion may be stemming from.

 

Dang dude..
Thats why i usually buy things from vendors here because its safer and i know what im getting.
If not then im really catious when buying from other websites.

 

I've never had a problem with everythingg35.com. They didnt advertise their spacers as Motordyne but the photos are very misleading.

 

Thanks fellas for your kind advice and chimming in. Prior to placing my order online with g35parts.com, I did contact them directly and inquired about their non-branded spacers and confirmed that it would be a Motordyne one, hence I took the plunge and placed my order online.

Perhaps it was my ignorance (or just being a newbie) that I didn't question what I received in the mail from the online vendor. I figured if all the packaging said Motordyne on it and if I paid for the more expensive unit that I would be receiving what I ordered (they were offering another unit for about $50 less than list price). There were no preapplied gaskets included with my order just a tube of gray RTV silicone (that was a pain in the *** to apply uniformly around the spacer)!

In answer to "Blue Dream's" questions, yes I did torque everything to exact specs after visiting 4 different local hardware stores and finally tracking down an inchers per pound torque wrench. During my install attempts, I just removed the whole unit (plenum + throttle body). I tried not to mess with the throttle body but when everything was back up, I did notice very rough and jumpy idle (sounded like the car was going to die on me). I also performed all of the resetting procedures for ECU, accelerator pedal, throttle valve and idle air volume without any resolution to the jumpy, erratic idle.

I will do some more investigating with the online vendor this week. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

Vacuum leak will give you erratic idle. I have one of the original MD 3/8" spacers and I don't remember the seam to be as noticeable as in your picture. You should have two upper plenum gaskets for use on each side of the spacer. The new MD's have them pre-applied to the spacer. RTV should not be needed, and is likely a big part of your problem.
I understand how frustrated you must be but get the gaskets and you should be fine unless the spacer is grossly deformed.

hope it works out for you as the spacer is a worthwhile mod, and should have been a simple addition.

 

.


That spacer was NOT made by Motordyne.

I do see they are using copyrighted Motordyne part names, descriptions and pictures on their website. But at the same time, they are not calling them Motordyne spacers. ...This could be a serious problem.

Marco, you are not the first person to have contacted me with this problem from this vendor.

NOTICE TO EVERYONE:

If you purchased what you thought was a Motordyne product from this vendor (or any other) and you aren't sure if its a genuine Motordyne product, please take pictures and contact me.

If you were sold a counterfeit part, Motordyne will send you a new and genuine replacement for FREE.

Please contact me for details.

Thank you,
Tony Colette
Motordyne



.

 

Wow, Authentic MD FTW!!! way to look out Tony!!!

 

Right, the product sold is not a Motordyne product, as verified by Tony, but they are using Motordyne pictures for their ad. Also, if the op's picture in his first post is what he received from them, notice that the bag that has the strut bar spacers is labeled "Motordyne Engineering".

That would likely amount to copyright/trademark violations and most definetly deceptive trade practices as there are pictures of the wrong merchandise in their ads (Motordyne spacers) trying to sell some other item (their knock-offs) that imply the picture is of the item being sold.

Kudos to Tony for setting the record straight and coming through for persons deceived like the OP.

 

Motordyne FTW! FREE spacer!

Hey HKS, I bought a counterfit HKS exhaust, will you replace mine with an authentic product as above?

Oh wait, they're not on the forums.