@@arisonperez1974 my Z has 2 cylinders with 120 or so PSI of compression. That’s pretty low compared to how they come from the factory. Under 130 is when they recommend a rebuild if I recall correctly. However, did you try to add a drop of oil in the spark plug hole and try again? If your compression goes up when you do that, it indicates that you need new rings

Hey, it ended up being my camber arms. I had solid bushings and I guess they twisted in the subframe so they weren’t making good contact. I swapped to some poly Godspeed ones and it was right as rain

@@iraj9884 I have exact issue, what do you suggest to do so this can be fixed ?

I did it eventually. I had it on order but didn’t have another car to use until it came in, so I worked with what I had. It’s got a brand new pan on it now :)

@@iraj9884 damn bro 3 years later and still replying to comments. Hope your cars are running smooth!

Hopefully it can be of help to you one day! Pray that day never comes though. I’ve had to tear the front cover off a few more times since then (once for head gaskets, once for a water pump o-ring failing, and once more for an oil leak) and it’s not a fun job 😶 all those fluids and the timing components make it a really long job. Finally got good at it and I can have it torn down and fixed in a night lol

@@iraj9884 you should definitely make a living off of that lol !!

If it has no oil pressure at all, I would not drive it until you can get an analog gauge hooked up to it

@@iraj9884 i conclude some other things. I don't trust those oil readings, they were just too bad, i really think that gauge is broken. Aside from that, the engine looked neglected (burned oil stains in the heads) and the chain sync was off by 60 degrees according my calculations (scope tested). I haven't seen the car again, it seems the owner understood the problems were too expensive.

@@RGV2300 there was definitely something going on with it then. Likely jumped timing and overheated in separate or maybe in the same instance

@@iraj9884 yep, those poor engines, they just ask for right scheduled oil changes.

@@RGV2300 sure wish Nissan and Infiniti put in a service engine light 😵‍💫 people generally don’t track their oil changes

Glad I could help!

Did you mark your chains at all? If you marked your primary chains along the sprockets and chain simply remove valve cover use a 24mm to rotate cam to proper position. Worst case scenario you didnt and you must restart timing by putting the crank in tdc and then the cam sprockets seperately making sure not to damage or slap a piston, Some people reccomend a rag between the intake variable valve timing and the cam shaft to prevent scratching.

Hey, sorry I saw this so late. I would pull the cams, get it to TDC and redo the timing in this situation :/

Glad to hear!

Thank you! I definitely signed up for way more than I bargained with but it was a great learning experiment 😂

Unfortunately, the front timing cover has to come off to change the water pump. You're basically going to have to do the entire process shown in the video.

@@iraj9884 Yes, figured as much. i took the car to my mechanic and he said my water pump is good... the issue is i have a slightly blown head gasket which is causing air pockets in my cooling systema dn not letting the coolant back from the reservoir to the rad.

@@DTUFINOPhotography that sucks to hear man. Swapping a head gasket is not only expensive, but super time consuming as well. Honestly, if my head gasket was going out (at least with the mileage on my car)m I would just motor swap tbh

@@iraj9884 Yeah sucks big time. I had a friend swap out his engine for another and the head gasket on his other one was blown as well... i'm going to call a few places and see what the price would be for a new head gasket replacement.

Unfortunately, I don't :/ I'd recommend asking a forum or consulting the FSM for the car. Hope you can find help in one of those two places!

Definitely don’t have to do one before or after unless you’ve reached 3,500 miles on that oil :)

Luckily, no, no need for any of that!

Glad you found it helpful!

You *could* get a misfire if it’s not TDC but only if it’s off my one or two teeth. If it’s any more than that, chances are that the valves will hit the piston. I’d turn the motor over my hand. If it stops at all, you have a valve hitting a piston (pull the plugs when you do this. Makes it easier) Hope this helps

@@iraj9884 I am almost %100 sure it’s just by one tooth.

@@Carlos_350z still, turn it over by hand and see. The block will blow if a valve is hitting a piston. I’d honestly recommend pulling it apart and redoing it for peace of mind

@@iraj9884 I was afraid you’d say that lol I don’t want to but I might have to. Luckily my cars at a shop that specializes on Japanese cars so I’ll ask them and try to spin it tomorrow.

@@Carlos_350z best of luck to you🤞🏽

There’s a chance you have a leak (could be really small, like pinhole sized), a large pocket of air that needs to be bled out, or a leaking head gasket. Let it bleed for a half hour and if there are still bubbles, do a radiator pressure tests and listen for air release and pressure drops. Pull your oil dipstick and see if the oil is kind of murky or thick. That indicates a head gasket issue. Best of luck

@@iraj9884 I've used 3 gallons of antifreeze /coolant 5050 mix The thermostat and hoses are completely closed and well installed but when I turn the car off the coolant settles in and its less than halfway full on the reservoir

@@sneakerguy2430 did you replace a radiator or something? Or is this just your 3-5 year coolant maintenance that you’re doing?

@@sneakerguy2430 I’d definitely recommend checking your oil if this is the case though

@@iraj9884 i had a oil change done last week and I haven't replaced anything of the radiator. I just replaced the thermostat yesterday and it didn't have a sensor in it it was bare metal.

You can, but I prefer not to so I can avoid getting debris in the engine as much as possible

​@@iraj9884 all spark plugs must be removed or you will have low readings.

Nope. A motor swap is not really in the cards for me right now. Hence the lack of content

@@iraj9884 does it drive fine? doesnt seem like a big issue if the car runs okay, or will it just slowly get worse until its undrivable?

@@iraj9884 and im glad to hear that, hope the swap goes well, how much you think a new motor is gonna be?

@@levicoger4849 runs and drives just fine. There’s this guy here on RU-vid and other social medias, Lowtek, he thrashed on his low compression HR for a solid 2 years before swapping. His old motor ran just fine and continued to run until he swapped

@@levicoger4849 “new” motor is running around $2200 bucks or so if I buy from JDM of California. If I do the swap myself, it’ll just be a few days of pulling things off, borrowing an engine crane from a friend, and doing the swap. I’m actually hoping to buy a wrecked manual HR with similar mileage for the swap

Motor has lower than optimal compression as well. 120 PSI in a few cylinders and 145 PSI in others. It needs a swap sooner or later but she’s still running strong 💪

@@iraj9884 im asking about oil pressure lol

@@levicoger4849 if it’s been “starved” of oil due to low oil pressure, there’s a chance the rings made contact with the cylinder walls due to improper lubrication. The oil pressure isn’t really a reason to swap but the low compression and age of the motor are

Thank you! I remember talking to someone about a cam swap and he told me that you definitely need to pull the timing cover so you can swap the cam gears however I’m not 100% sure. I believe HudiniVQ did a video on cam installs like 4 years ago. It’s on a DE, but the process should be the same

@@iraj9884 Thx brother

Luckily I did not. Still have them on the car and the only “issue” is the hyper blinking

@@iraj9884 I actually just fixed that, all u need is a load resistor and ur good. Hardest part is finding a place to mount it

@@edgarchavez7799 would love to make a video on it if you don’t mind sending me pictures of how you did it and links for stuff you bought!

@@edgarchavez7799 what wires did you hook up the resistor to and where at?

@@bishoppp8678 u hook it up to the wires that come out of the Blinker. I did it like 3 months ago i believe there was a green wire blck and white and i dont remember exactly which ones i hooked it up to.

You mentioned it happens at stop lights or signs, is that when slowing/stopping or when sitting at the sign/light? Assuming that the sending unit works fine, I think you may either be low on oil or have a clogged oil pickup. That is, of course, if you're facing the low oil pressure issue when stopping or slowing. If at idle, it's 30 PSI when the engine is warm/hot, that means that it's not the gallery gaskets. When the oil pressure is less than 15 PSI at idle (this is for the HR but I assume it's the same for the DE), that's when you need new gallery gaskets.

@@iraj9884 so I have an 04 DE, the oil pressure at warm idle is wicked low, but driving it’s around spec (2k RPMS is like 29psi from the gauge in the car). Do you think the oil pickup is the problem? Maybe a clogged filter?

@@stupidfuhk1705 seems like it could be a clogged pickup but the sure shot way of knowing if it’s the gallery gaskets is by pulling off the left (passenger side) cam phaser and inspecting the gallery gaskets. However, if I recall correctly, the gallery gaskets aren’t really an issue for the DE. Maybe drain the oil and get a snake camera up in the oil pan to look at the pickup?

I don’t believe these cars come with a bleeder valve

@@iraj9884 it does

@@iraj9884 Even though this an old comment, but yeah there is one on the driver side. But the way he did it in this video it wouldn't even matter because he's doing the same thing, getting air out the system, just doing it the old traditional way.

@@bman409 where’s it on the driver side?

@@koookiiie Standing in front of the car, with the hood open, it's right above the right throttle body. You'll see it, it looks like a plus sign with 2 hoses connected to it. This is only for HR models. DE models it's on the left side.

Is there another way I can do it because I did a by pass on the the heater hose because the connector broke where it has the cap to bleed it

I did since it was my first time doing it. I’m pretty sure that I state that you don’t need to remove more than the radiator if you’ve done the job before. I, personally, removed it all so I could clearly see what needed to be removed and what could stay without having to stick my head under the car every few minutes

it only takes 10-20 mins to remove the bumper, radiator, fan, and move condensor over on its pivot points to do this job, theres no reason to do it with all that stuff in place, makes it 10x harder. anyone who has worked on these cars knows that.

The lens is completely ruined. Didn’t show it too well I think but the lens and housing are burnt

From eBay. A company called GlowShift if the only one who makes the adapter. Will check my purchase history and reply with the full name of the product! Edit: The pressure tester was bought from Harbor Freight. Granted it may not be the most accurate, but I needed it for a rough idea of where the oil pressure was.

Sorry it took so long, but the adapter is called "1/8-27 NPT Female to 1/8 BSPT Male Gauge Sensor Sender Thread Adapter Reducer" by GlowShift

Everything was bought through Z1 motorsports. I can try to look for the invoice later to see exactly which parts I used but from memory they were the: OEM HR water pump, gallery gaskets with upgraded hardware, front timing cover seal kit (didn’t use most of the kit), and the cam phaser gaskets

Checked my parts list and aside from a few miscellaneous things I ordered, that was the full list. Hope it helps!

Thanks for supporting the channel! Congratulations on picking up a Z! More videos to come in the near future :)

The gauge in the car read somewhere in the 4-10 PSI range. It’s kind of hard to see on camera but it wasn’t pegged out on 0. The gauge in the Z’s aren’t known for being terribly accurate, which is why I bought the analog gauge and to test the pressure. After replacing the gallery gaskets, the internal gauge reads about 30 psi at hot idle. I haven’t checked it with an analog gauge, but maybe I will during my next oil change :) I hope I answered your questions! If not, leave a reply.

Personally didn’t have to. You don’t even have to pull off the front end of the car (rad support and bumper) but I did it since it was my first time and it made it easy to find all the bolts

@@iraj9884 ok thank you doing the water pump soon and the ac had me worried along side of making sure I get timing right

This issue is not as common on DE’s as far as I know. The process is about the same, but you don’t have to remove the timing chain it seems. The gaskets are built into the timing chain cover if memory serves so you will have to do maybe half the work. I would, however, check the oil pressure with an analog gauge (if you haven’t done so) to check if the sensor reading correctly. If it’s under the “low spec” of 14 (per the FSM), definitely consider replacing the gaskets :)

@@iraj9884 appreciate the response! Yeah I've removed the timing cover like 3 times on previous Z's, I just don't have the time or space to do it now lol (z1 wants 2.2k). I swapped out the oil and ordered a new sensor, so I'll also check with a gauge in the next couple of days.

@@6feetoveryou of course! They’re a pain to replace but it saves you a ton of money doing it yourself. Definitely call some local shops. I’m sure someone will tackle the job for less than a grand 😂 if you REALLY want to test your luck, go for a thicker oil. It’ll keep your oil pressure higher overall but it’s not highly recommended. I run 5-40 or 10-40 (per the recommendation of a local VQ shop) and I pushed up my oil pressure a few PSI when my gaskets were blown.

I would guess that your car is burning oil so check to see if it’s full on oil. If not, check your radiator. It might be low on coolant. If there isn’t a code, I wouldn’t expect it to be the thermostat, but that’s a possibility as well. If it’s only on for a split second, it could be starved of oil if you’re parked at an angle, but the chances of that are low. The higher possibility is a blocked oil pickup, but if you had the gallery gaskets replaced, then the shop would’ve taken a look at the pickup. Maybe try the things stated before, one at a time, and see if it fixes your issue. I hope it helps! :)

@@iraj9884 Yeah i checked my oil level and it seems okay right in between the 2 notches on the dipstick so i made sure i didnt overfill or underfull it and i change it every 3k miles. My coolant level is also good in the radiator and in the overflow tank so im not too sure what it could be tbh. The oil light only turns on for a split-second but the car shows 30 psi everytime i turn it on when hot at idle. And it only does this this after ive been driving for a while like 1 hour+ but my oil pressure still says perfect and never goes below 30 psi at idle. I am about to change the oil again on the car because this oil is almost at 3k and looks a little dirty already so gonna change it and see if it still happens. But that oil light should only ever come on when their is low oil pressure right? Even when i drive if my rpms go past 2800 rpms my oil pressure shoots up past 90+ and at 120 psi when at full throttle so i doubt its anything related with the gallery gaskets the previous owner had them replaced at the dealer with the updated Gallery gaskets instead of the faulty ones.

@@DaytonaBlueHr it could be a short in the harness to be honest. I don’t know the wiring diagrams too well for the Z, but check the FSM and see if you can find what causes the light to illuminate. Chances are that something chewed through the a wire or a wire is getting grounded occasionally. I haven’t started my Z in weeks since my upper oil pan cracked (video coming soon 😂) so I can’t even check my Z to see if it does the same thing :/

I had the fuel pump turned off so I could let the oil cycle through the motor so it didn’t run dry when I first started it. I flicked the switch back on and she started right up :)

Thank you! Glad to hear it :)

Hi! Definitely not a stupid question, but it’s completely unnecessary for this DIY. I just have a kill switch hooked up to the fuel pump relay that’s under the dash. There is also fuse behind the battery that you can pull to turn off the power to the fuel pump. This isn’t the fuse box that’s in front of the battery though. You’d have to remove the battery cover and the cowl around it to get the box off of this fuse panel. Once you pull the pin, check to see if you got the right one by turning the key to the ‘on’ position and listening for the fuel pump priming. It sounds like a hum behind the passenger seat 🙂 Here is a link to the forum that I used to figure out which fuse is for the pump :) Cheers! my350z.com/forum/engine-and-drivetrain/229940-fuel-pump-fuse.html

@@iraj9884 do you think it is an indispensable procedure? Or could we even do without it?

@@multiverso93 You could most definitely do this without turning off the fuel pump. I just feel like it is better to do this way so you can get the oil circulating before starting the engine. There are many people and shops who do not do it this way, however, be weary of starving your motor of oil for the first few seconds after the first start.

@@iraj9884 I understand ... it is definitely a precaution that can only do him good. Since you have the same engine as mine, may I ask if you remember approximately how much distance there is between the Pickup and the oil pan?

@@multiverso93 I would guess that it’s about an inch? It’s kind of hard to tell when the pan is off the car but somewhere in the half inch to inch range would be my guess

Gonna need a new motor :/ if they’re the same on all cylinders, it could be the tester, but since the range is that huge, I would highly recommend considering a motor swap 😢

@@iraj9884 yeah sadly the we’re not all the same it was also a running test so it would likely be lower but I have a ls in the garage so if it happens oh well

@@skinard5028 did you warm up your car beforehand? Low engine temps can ruin a compression reading

@@iraj9884 yeah

Thank you for the watching the videos and supporting the channel! As for the car, I’m sorry that happened 😢 i have to go in and replace my upper oil pan eventually as well. As for things that you should consider replacing, maybe do the rod bearings if you have a really high mileage motor (150k+ is high IMO). Other than that, the motor should hold up for the foreseeable future. I’m not too familiar with the procedure to replace the upper pan, but if you have to pull the front cover, consider doing the water pump and oil pump :)

Bro the same thing happened to my Z as well 😭😭😭

If the pressure is under 15 psi at a warm idle, that’s when you should replace the gaskets. I’m in the neighborhood of 30 psi at a warm idle with a 5w-40 oil. From what I’ve been told, you’re correct about the gaskets and the mileage, but some people have theirs go out even earlier, but that’s only if the car sits or is abused.

I've tried to reply to this a couple of times now but for some reason, the comment keeps getting deleted... Anyways, I didn't have to discharge it. I didn't even need to remove the whole front end of the car to be honest, but since it was my first time doing this job, I wanted to be able to see everything. Realistically, you only need to remove the radiator and all the accessories (power steering pump, ac compressor, etc). Just make sure you get all the bolts off of the AC compressor. I thought there were only 2 bolts but there were 3 or 4. so the compressor wouldn't come off. Reach behind the compressor and you'll feel the one or two bolts behind it (12 or 14mm if memory serves). If you get all the bolts, the compressor should slip right off. Just set it on the front sway bar and maybe tie it down with a bungee cord or something so it doesn't fall and bend a line :)

@@iraj9884 Sounds good, thanks for the great info! Hoping everything goes to plan when I do it this week

@@chrisrogich6180 best of luck! Shoot me a message on any social if you need help

Even at the maximum height, they are an inch lower than stock. I wouldn’t recommend having them at the maximum height though. The shocks could snap under excessive loads

@@iraj9884 Really ,wow. I didnt know that. Now ill have to figure it out when they come in. Thanks for the advice.

@@matthewsetzer5251 are you worried about scraping or something else?

@@iraj9884 not so much scraping as I am running over small animals and jacking up the car to change the oil or a flat. Maybe a little worried about messing up the tires.

@@matthewsetzer5251 aah I see. With how stiff the coilovers are, you won't have issues with tires. As far as the oil change and flats are concerned, I can't say much since I always have to jack my car up :/

Luckily, no misfires for me since my gallery gaskets were not completely blown out. I've heard that misfires and low oil pressure at idle are just two of the many symptoms of bad gallery gaskets.

Ok cool so that’s probably my issue random misfire oil light on idle oil pressure is about 5psi right now

@@sixtyfourdroptop1207 try pulling off the left cam phaser and try to see if the gallery gaskets are both intact

Ok👌

Thnx for the shout out at the end haha

Oh yuuup lol I think this was the day before I dropped it off

Luckily haven’t had to yet. I’m waiting for the engine to grenade itself or I’ll wait until I can do a stroker

So you were able to tun the engine after doing the gallery gasket?

@@350zprojects8 tune it?

Sorry I meant run

@@350zprojects8 no worries! I’ve been driving it just fine for the last few months

Thanks my man! I’m out in Southern Cali. In the San Bernardino County area :) As for the experience, it’s just been trial and error for me. Luckily we have 12 cars, so I get all the experience I need working on them