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In an effort to mitigate oil usage, I'm considering these aluminum valve covers and a good catch can with filter in the PCV line to catch blow-by residue:
While I'm already paying for having the top of the engine dismantled, I figured new spark plugs and ignition coils are in order, at least for the back of the engine.
What is the difference between these other than the extreme price difference?:
Be careful of those covers. They may have screws that could fall out into the valve train. There is a thread covering this.
As for coils, stay away from the cheap off brand stuff and watch out for counterfeits. Quality and life expectancy is questionable. If the dealer is too expensive, buy coils with a lifetime warranty from your local parts store.
Be careful of those covers. They may have screws that could fall out into the valve train. There is a thread covering this.
As for coils, stay away from the cheap off brand stuff and watch out for counterfeits. Quality and life expectancy is questionable. If the dealer is too expensive, buy coils with a lifetime warranty from your local parts store.
I completely disassembled the covers to see what was going on. Each of the screw holes is tapped with M4 x 0.7 threads, yet they drove in sheet metal screws instead of machine screws. Amazing. Also, the plastic covers for the spark plug tube seals are countersunk but the sheet metal screws have button heads. Brilliant. If you look on the listing for these covers, the picture of the underside shows exactly what I found, sheet metal screws, so I'm pretty sure this is a problem with all of these covers. On a positive note, the spark plug tube seals look pretty nice and they are independent of the surrounding plastic cover. If there is a source for these seals you could replace them if they started to leak. When I brought this to the attention of the seller it was clear they aren't interested in correcting any of these issues.
In order to use these with any confidence, I would want to chase all of the threads with an M4 X 0.7 tap, get correct flat head screws and use some sort of thread locker.
Last edited by 2002SEMT; May 13, 2022 at 12:16 PM.
Be careful of those covers. They may have screws that could fall out into the valve train. There is a thread covering this.
As for coils, stay away from the cheap off brand stuff and watch out for counterfeits. Quality and life expectancy is questionable. If the dealer is too expensive, buy coils with a lifetime warranty from your local parts store.
I must have gotten lucky then because I bought all 6 coils on eBay 4 months ago for $45 so I replaced coils and installed NGK plugs and noticed a major improvement on startup and idle.
stay away from Amazon and eBay when it comes to engine electronics, you never know what your getting. I get everything from Rockauto so I know what I'm actually getting. I'm running Ultra Power coils from Rockauto and they work great.
as for the valve covers I would tighten the inner baffle screws and put some thread lock on them. from my experience never use the cheap black valve cover gaskets that come with VQ35 valve covers. they will harden real fast and start leaking quick.
I had picked up a set of those valve covers but never got to use them cause I swapped in a 2014 engine. my neighbor has a VQ40 Pathfinder so I gave them to him..
Last edited by uptownsamcv; Feb 19, 2024 at 10:40 AM.
For coils, I'm running Hitachi and like them. They are the official OEM supplier and are about $33 each on RockAuto.
Agreed … many have purchased these and will attest to their quality.
… and for the purposes of your shopping, I believe that Hanshin and Mitsubishi are the OE brands. So if you run across those, you’d be quite good-to-go.
stay away from Amazon when it comes to engine electronics, you never know what your getting. I get everything from Rockauto so I know what I'm actually getting. I'm running Ultra Power coils from Rockauto and they work great.
as for the valve covers I would tighten the inner baffle screws and put some thread lock on them. from my experience never use the cheap black valve cover gaskets that come with VQ35 valve covers. they will harden real fast and start leaking quick.
I had picked up a set of those valve covers but never got to use them cause I swapped in a 2014 engine. my neighbor has a VQ40 Pathfinder so I gave them to him..
Nice! I like Rock Auto I recently purchased a gas tank for my 01 Maxima since I am getting rust chips in the fuel sender assembly and my fuel Guage is always on E that part is next. I am planning on using the existing gas tank straps it has now. I need to see if there is a write up but honestly will prob just have the shop do it as I was quoted a really good price.
I must have gotten lucky then because I bought all 6 coils on eBay 4 months ago for $45 so I replaced coils and installed NGK plugs and noticed a major improvement on startup and idle.
I think what coil pack to buy will depend on your budget and your level of DIY skill. If you can afford OEM or Hitachi’s, then go for it. These definitely have the quality reputation.
If you are on a tight budget like myself, I have had success with Amazon cheapies. In my car, I had Amazon coil packs lasting 60,000+ miles. I also can replace coil packs with ease because I have worked on my car often (I actually enjoy it). So having to repeat the procedure is not a big deal to me.
If you want a one and done solution (and price is not an issue), buy OEM or Hitachi.
it's also a good idea to have 3 new coils on deck. I like to change all three rear bank coils when I pull off the intake manifold to get to a bad coil...
it's also a good idea to have 3 new coils on deck. I like to change all three rear bank coils when I pull off the intake manifold to get to a bad coil...
Totally agree. I learned the same lesson. The front coils can be replaced in minutes because they are exposed. The rear coils are covered by the intake manifold. So it requires removing the manifold plus a bunch of vacuum tubes. That could take hours depending on your skill level. If you are going to replace one coil pack there, you might as well replace them all. Once one coil pack goes bad, it is common for others to follow soon.
I wouldn't say it takes hours to remove the upper intake manifold. when I removed mine the first time I set it up so it would be easier the next time I had to remove it. I didn't reinstall the support bracket on the back of the intake manifold as well as the bracket that held the rear bank harness. VIAS delete with the canister tossed out and solenoid hidden under the fuel rail helped also on the original engine. when I did my swap I actually moved the service port for the evap system on to the transmission. not having the stock intake tube and resonator also makes it easier..
if you bought them for an 03 and you have an 03 engine theyre right. for the rest of your questions youre going to have to contact hitachi engineering department.
any chance youre an engineer of some sort as a profession?
....I tend to over-analyze everything. Just a bad habit. I suffer from a mental disorder and severe ocd....
There's lots of us afflicted in the same way, and I've learned that these qualities cause something called Analysis Paralysis. You overanalyze some issue and it freezes you up because you get stuck in wanting everything to be perfectly planned, executed and with perfect parts and so forth.
I too have a whole set of the Rock Auto ignition modules and have 8,000~ miles on them. Maybe it's a gamble because they're not original OEM manufacture, but it'll be fine.
Harquebus, you 'nailed' it! That's exactly how it is. God bless you brother! I can finally take pics now to show the Hitachi coils that I bought from RockAuto. There's no interchangeable numbers on the coil packs anywhere, except these numbers on the bottom that say 4620 3102N and then (2) numbers to the very bottom 'right' that say '10'. Not sure what these numbers mean, but if anyone can explain what they mean, I would greatly appreciate it! IGC0006 is definitely the correct p/n for 2002-2008 Nissan Maximas, Altimas, Infiniti I35 etc. (all trims). These ignition coils came in 'brand new' Hitachi boxes and look legit. And came neatly wrapped.
Never got a call or email back from Hitachi automotive America technical support about what the 'bottom' numbers with 'N' at the end mean. Whether they may be a batch # or date code, or even a manufacturing number. I cross-referenced these parts with the oem Nissan packs and these are interchangeable with oem Nissan p/n 22448-8J115, 22433-8J115 etc. for future reference. God bless you everyone, and have a Merry Christmas! --- VQ
those are the right coils, I just did all 6 coils on my 07 (which take the same ones as your 03) because I had a miss and found out one was bad on the rear. As stated, its easy to remove the intake, I can probably do it in 10 minutes now, just be careful while removing those hoses as most of mines were hard and dried up, ended cracking a couple and just taped it together for now, as for coils, I used some cheap ones off Amazon and so far so good, car accelerates faster to speed with less pedal, and thats even before the old coil started missing, so I would say not all aftermarket coils are bad, but tome will tell.
those are the right coils, I just did all 6 coils on my 07 (which take the same ones as your 03) because I had a miss and found out one was bad on the rear. As stated, its easy to remove the intake, I can probably do it in 10 minutes now, just be careful while removing those hoses as most of mines were hard and dried up, ended cracking a couple and just taped it together for now, as for coils, I used some cheap ones off Amazon and so far so good, car accelerates faster to speed with less pedal, and thats even before the old coil started missing, so I would say not all aftermarket coils are bad, but tome will tell.
And like a previous poster stated, I also DID NOT reinstall the useless brackets on the back of the manifold while putting everything back together.
That useless bracket supports the intake so you don't get a damaged gasket and get an intake leak! The VQ35DE isn't as bad with eating up intake gaskets like the 1997-2000 Nissan Altima KA24DE was, especially when get that infamous Misfire code.
You overanalyze some issue and it freezes you up because you get stuck in wanting everything to be perfectly planned, executed and with perfect parts and so forth. 
