5.5SE6MT

iTrader: (1)

What should my maintenance include before having her dropped in my '02 6 speed?

Other than:

Both '08 valve covers
NGKs
Hitachi coils
crank pulley and front main seal?
rear main seal?

Thank you, I'm trying to save myself some headaches and cash, and do as much maintenance/refreshing to her as I can.

Maximeltman

iTrader: (11)

Prime the engine before first start by cranking it over without spark plugs installed and fuel pump fuse pulled. And if you are replacing the front and rear seals then i would wet the crank and journals with oil as well.
silly question, but are the 02 valve covers bad or something? Are they prone to leakage?

5.5SE6MT

iTrader: (1)

Thank you
yeah, they have some sort of defect in the design of the seals around the tubes, the 6th gen Valve covers are an updated design. Apparently a much more effective and Long lasting design.

nestorlugo

iTrader: (11)

If the car has been sitting that long then I'll advice you drop the pan and clean the !tihs out of it .....look here oil change (shocking) after sitting for 50 years …: http://youtu.be/AhVo7-gzJo4

I'll expect 10% of the amount of sludge probably if that,but still it's just some 10mm bolts and rtv

5.5SE6MT

iTrader: (1)

yeahh this motors been sitting for a while. oh lord that model T's ridiculous!
thanks for the tip man.
By the way, no gasket on an '02 oil pan? I thought rtv was just to touch up the corners after applying a dry gasket?

nestorlugo

iTrader: (11)

I think felpro sell a gasket, buy on my dek its all goo baby....(rtv)

02pearlmax

iTrader: (8)

VQ35DE's come from the factory with no lower oil pan gasket, just a bead of RTV around the whole pan. Like nestorlugo said, Felpro makes a gasket that you can use instead. You can find the gasket at most auto parts stores.

Also, if you have the engine out of the car, I would recommend gutting the pre-cats or installing headers if you haven't already.

5.5SE6MT

iTrader: (1)

thank you for the confirmation.
Headers are going on. This is an engine that's been sitting by itself for 5+ years.

I'm trying to figure out what gaskets, wear parts, etc I should be looking to replace after this Lon of a stationary period.

02pearlmax

iTrader: (8)

What year/model is the engine from? If it's from another 5.5 gen, there are a few other things I can think of.

If you're doing the rear main, I would replace all the upper oil pan gaskets too. The upper oil pan has half-moon seals that are prone to leak. I believe they are located near the rear main seal, so you can replace them both at the same time. Felpro sells "bottom end" gasket kits that include all the extra gaskets required to change the rear main, these should include all the gaskets for the upper oil pan.

If you feel like taking the timing cover off, now would be a good time check the timing chain and tensioners. The plastic tensioners are prone to fail on the older VQ35's.

Water pump and thermostat would be a good idea, since they are easier to change with the engine out.

This isn't on the engine, but I would check the power steering pressure hose for leaks as well, since failures on those are common with 5.5gens and you'll have more room to work with the engine out. Same thing with motor mounts, etc.

5.5SE6MT

iTrader: (1)

Thank you, very helpful!that "bottom end" gasket set should do the trick nicely.
btw, on the timing chain kit: one from Nissan is sooo pricey. Any experience with eBay kits by chance? I hesitate to trust such a crucial system to some random manufacturer butttt. ..

This engine is from an 02 max as well, VIN confirmed to have 25k miles on it. I'm just praying I didn't get an oil burner, and that any overly comploxated to get to gaskets or seals haven't completely lost their integrity from sitting for so Long. Is that even a possibility? I'm thinking of the head gasket specifically. Lol.

02pearlmax

iTrader: (8)

Timing chain kit: All the threads I've seen have used the Nissan kit, I've never heard anything about the eBay kits. Personally, I would play it safe and get the Nissan kit.

Gasket kits: I believe Felpro actually just calls them "gasket kits". See the Amazon link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Nissan-Maxima-.../dp/B005GWEFUS

That link is for a 3.0 not 3.5, but you get the idea. That one is pricey because it includes the gasket, but I believe you can also order kits that include everything except the head gasket, which will save you some money.

As far as the gasket deterioration, I wouldn't worry about it too much if I was you. Motor oil and coolant aren't highly corrosive, so I would take a bet and say most of the gaskets are probably still in decent shape. It's still a good idea to replace some of them if you can, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. However, gasoline is highly corrosive, so you might want to look over the fuel system for any signs of deterioration (fuel lines, injector o-rings, etc.).

Also, if the engine legitimately has only 25k miles, putting headers on right away will probably lower your chances of oil burning issues. If you search the forums, there are a few threads that mention members with over 100k on their cars without burning any oil. The theory is that since these members put headers on very early (before 50k miles), the pre-cats never got the chance to start deteriorating, which is why their cars don't burn any oil at over 100k miles.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

thousand on gutting the pre cats.

Also, regarding the timing chain, you only need to replace the tensioners, not the chain itself.
If you read all the stories of chain failure it's because the chained jumped, and that's because the tensioners didn't hold the chain in place. I've never heard of a chain actually breaking.