Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

Knio · 01-14-2020, 12:17 AM

This has been by far the biggest job I've done. I've been working slowly over the last two weekends and now have everything removed and am ready for replacements.

There's a few tricky bits I struggled with before buying special tools. Here's my notes, hopefully they're helpful to someone:

Getting the crankshaft pulley bolt off was the hardest. Put the car in 6th gear, make sure the parking brake is tight, and get a BIG breaker bar. my 24" 1/2 drive breaker bar was bending... so I ended up buying a 40" 3/4 drive bar and socket, and that did it. Make sure you don't pull the car off the jack stands..
NST Pulley Install - Crankshaft bolt stuck?

Removing the power steering bracket, there's not much clearance and you may need a *shallow* 14mm socket and/or a universal joint.

Removing the AC compressor, the far bolt also is also awkward and you may need some short extensions.

Removing the oil pan seemed impossible without the right tools, but once I got a strong putty knife (one you can hammer on) and the nissan recommended "oil pan separator tool" it was easy.
DIY: Oil Pan Spacer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5735ycX1JhE
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NXVDP9X
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LCPOPGC

Removing the front timing cover seal took a while even with the right tools. Only the drivers side pry notch worked at all, and there's not much room on the sides to get a tool in to cut the seal. I didn't find any tricks here, just takes some time.

Everything would probably be easier if you can just remove the whole front bumper, but to do this you need to disconnect the AC refrigerant lines. This requires a special tool and the fluid would all boil off and is pretty bad. You could get an HVAC specialist to evacuate the system for you, but I didn't do this and just worked around the front bumper. You can undo the radiator assembly bolts and pull it a few inches out without disconnecting the lines, and this is sometimes enough to get a power tool onto the front of the engine.

Also regarding the complaints I've seen about the phillips head screws on the oil gallery covers torquing out - I tried a pozidrive #2 bit and it was much more stable than the philips bit. (I also bought the CZP hex replacement screws)

Some of the wiring harness zip tie/clips seem to be impossible to remove properly, so I just cut them and will replace them (still looking for the part number)

01-14-2020, 12:17 AM	#21 (permalink)
Knio Base Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Palo Alto, CA Posts: 141 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 14	This has been by far the biggest job I've done. I've been working slowly over the last two weekends and now have everything removed and am ready for replacements. There's a few tricky bits I struggled with before buying special tools. Here's my notes, hopefully they're helpful to someone: Getting the crankshaft pulley bolt off was the hardest. Put the car in 6th gear, make sure the parking brake is tight, and get a BIG breaker bar. my 24" 1/2 drive breaker bar was bending... so I ended up buying a 40" 3/4 drive bar and socket, and that did it. Make sure you don't pull the car off the jack stands.. NST Pulley Install - Crankshaft bolt stuck? Removing the power steering bracket, there's not much clearance and you may need a shallow 14mm socket and/or a universal joint. Removing the AC compressor, the far bolt also is also awkward and you may need some short extensions. Removing the oil pan seemed impossible without the right tools, but once I got a strong putty knife (one you can hammer on) and the nissan recommended "oil pan separator tool" it was easy. DIY: Oil Pan Spacer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5735ycX1JhE https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NXVDP9X https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LCPOPGC Removing the front timing cover seal took a while even with the right tools. Only the drivers side pry notch worked at all, and there's not much room on the sides to get a tool in to cut the seal. I didn't find any tricks here, just takes some time. Everything would probably be easier if you can just remove the whole front bumper, but to do this you need to disconnect the AC refrigerant lines. This requires a special tool and the fluid would all boil off and is pretty bad. You could get an HVAC specialist to evacuate the system for you, but I didn't do this and just worked around the front bumper. You can undo the radiator assembly bolts and pull it a few inches out without disconnecting the lines, and this is sometimes enough to get a power tool onto the front of the engine. Also regarding the complaints I've seen about the phillips head screws on the oil gallery covers torquing out - I tried a pozidrive #2 bit and it was much more stable than the philips bit. (I also bought the CZP hex replacement screws) Some of the wiring harness zip tie/clips seem to be impossible to remove properly, so I just cut them and will replace them (still looking for the part number)