The Grackle

General_Tarfun

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Atlanta, GA
I thought I'd make the X fancy by having navigation show up in the head unit so I bought an overpriced adapter from Apple to let me output video from my phone. Good news, it works. Bad news, the screen quality sucks. I'm too cheap to throw away a perfectly good head unit so I guess I'll use my phone until that thing dies.
 

General_Tarfun

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Atlanta, GA
We had our first semi-hot day last week in the upper 80's and the X started with the intermittent AC not blowing cold again at low speed and rising coolant temps that seemed excessive for the temp and driving conditions. It started after I installed the bodylift last spring and seems like it might be an airflow issue with the grill or the electric fan since I checked the coolant system pressure and it checked out. I thought it might be the air mixer door sticking but the coolant temps make me think it's something else. I might try pulling the lightbar out of the intake for a few weeks or changing the fan wiring to always-on and see if that helps.
 

General_Tarfun

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Atlanta, GA
I think I've found the problem, I pulled the lightbar yesterday and took it on a test drive. No change. Parked it today and opened the hood to check out the fans and the AC condenser fan isn't working for some reason. Once it cools off I'm going to pull the harness and supply power directly and see if that gets it going again, if not I guess it's new fan time.
 

General_Tarfun

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Atlanta, GA
Just finished bench testing the fan, it only powers on intermittently with 12V direct. If I spin the fan by hand that will jump start it to power up but I'm assuming this means the fan is a goner.

Update: I was playing around with the fan this morning after I ordered the replacement just to see if I could get it going in the meantime. I sprayed the windings with a bunch of CRC 2-26 electrical lubricant and then rewired it to connect both the low and high speed wires together since low speed seems to be the part that died on it. Wired together it kicks on/off without issue. It's stuck on max obviously but good to know if I ever end up in jam with overheating.

Update 2: I reinstalled the fan and it still wouldn't turn on for me so I figured the issue must be multiple failures. I have a few IPDM relay spares lying around so I replaced both the high and low relays. The low relay must have welded itself to the IPDM because it wouldn't budge and came out in pieces. Not long after starting the truck I heard the relay click and the fan power on. I don't know if the fan failure took out the relay or vice versa but I think it's been broken for a while now, once I heard the fan roaring it made me think oh yeah, forgot how loud that thing is.

Anyway, new fan is on the way from Courtesy Parts along with some Matic S in case the fluid has been running hot without the fan working. I can only imagine how hot it was last year driving through Texas in mid summer with the X fully loaded.
 
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I pulled the plastic air intake thing this morning to clean it up since it was in the way and found what I think is an air leak that let in coolant back when my radiator blew a gasket last year. It appears to be getting in through the drain hole Nissan put in at the bottom of the cavity between the intake tube and the rear section with the Nissan logo. I cleaned it up with acetone and filled the hole with some ultra black, I'd rather it fill up with water/coolant than leak into the intake. This explains why when the radiator went out the engine started sputtering which I couldn't figure out at the time. Hopefully it didn't hurt the engine too much. Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 12.03.01 PM.png
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
The new condenser fan arrived yesterday and I got it installed. Had to go to lowe's for some lumber so that was a good test drive, coolant temps were noticeably lower. Since i was already working on the X I went ahead and changed the rear diff and transmission fluid since those were due.

I've been looking at awnings for a while now but decided I'd probably get more use out of something that didn't have to be attached to the truck. Last summer I was camping and saw a guy with a pop up that looked awesome so I made a note of the brand and finally bought one, it's a Gazelle G6 12'x12'. They claim it can be set up in 60 seconds but we'll see, I doubt that time was recorded with two dogs jumping all over the place. Annoyingly you have to buy the rain covers for the walls separately and they only come in packs of 3 (it has 6 walls) but I bought one pack for now, probably will have to get another at some point.

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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I randomly decided to check for any pending codes with the Bullydog and saw a P0328 Sensor 1 Circuit High code. No check engine light at the moment and I'm really hoping the sensor isn't bad since they're pricey and also seem to be buried under the manifold in the FSM. The BD timing is 1 degree advanced and I'm wondering if for some reason that's too much, I've been only using mid-grade from the same gas station but I've never had an issue with those sensors before.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Well, we went camping this weekend at the lake which was nice. Then on the drive home something hit the windshield directly in front of the driver's seat and took a nice chunk out of the glass. I'm guessing it isn't repairable but I might try to have someone look at it, the OE windshield is pricey and aftermarket part quality has been crap lately although I don't know if glass is any different.

On the plus side that gazebo I bought worked great, they didn't exaggerate the setup time. It takes longer to carry it from the truck to where you want it than it does to set up.

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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Holy shiat! That's super broke.

I had to replace the OE windshield a few years back. Insurance would only spring for aftermarket. Whatever. I can't tell the difference.


Usually I'll see whatever flies up and hits it but this time I didn't see a thing, just bam out of nowhere. That's good to know about aftermarket, did you use a chain for it?
 

westslope

Wheeling
Had the windshield replaced about a month and half ago with an aftermarket one. I don't bother insuring for them. Cracked this past winter when temperatures dipped to -22C.

Beautiful. What a difference. It is like looking at a super high-definition quality monitor. Now the British Columbia outdoors look like a glossy magazine picture.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
This knock sensor code is confusing me. When I clear it with the BD it does the clearing message, scans for new codes automatically and the knock code is back immediately. I’ve never heard any knocking and I’m running premium for the last few tanks to see if it made a difference.

I have zero experience with the KS so I’m wondering if it’s like the oil pressure sensor in that when it goes bad it just dies and that’s it. I wish the sensor were easier to get to, I have a spare I picked up a few years ago but it’s been in the hundred degree range outside here lately so I’m in no rush. Wonder if I could track the harness back out of the engine and just get a new plug to install the replacement in a different location until the fall.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I thought about it more and decided I'm tired of thinking about it so pulled the trigger on just replacing both knock sensors and being done with it. I think I got all the parts I need on the way, I went with Nissan gaskets for the manifold, plenum, and the VVT solenoids since they're leaking again and easy to change. I also ordered a sub harness for the KS wiring just in case I get in there and it's degraded from heat over the years. For the sensors I ordered two NTK ID0252's from Rock Auto. I'd normally go with OE but NTK is a good brand and the OE's are a little over $300 for both. All in I'm at $261 for parts.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Seems the same on the 2nd gen, aside from the code the only change I've noticed is my mpg's seem to have taken a hit since it started showing up.
In 2nd Gen, it kills the timing tables to prevent knock and damage to the engine.

Is it a failed sensor or just showing high knock count?
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
In 2nd Gen, it kills the timing tables to prevent knock and damage to the engine.

Is it a failed sensor or just showing high knock count?


Makes sense.

Is there a way to see the knock count or is that what this code means? All I'm seeing every time I check is P0328 Knock Sensor Circuit 1 High. Normally I'd take a look at the sensor and its wiring harness but it's so buried I can't see anything. So far I've only checked the body grounds per the FSM.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Ahhh, that's a high voltage. IIRC they send a frequency back to the ecm when they sense knock so it seems shorted or the harness shorted. Probably have to probe the wires at the ecm with it plugged in and unplugged to see if the voltage back to the ecm drops.

But do not quote me on that because I'm not 100% on how the circuit functions. If you need help, I'll take a look at the manual and see if I can figure out the wiring.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Ahhh, that's a high voltage. IIRC they send a frequency back to the ecm when they sense knock so it seems shorted or the harness shorted. Probably have to probe the wires at the ecm with it plugged in and unplugged to see if the voltage back to the ecm drops.

But do not quote me on that because I'm not 100% on how the circuit functions. If you need help, I'll take a look at the manual and see if I can figure out the wiring.

That sounds right based on what I've read. It could see the harness coming apart after that many years of heat, the location they put it in seems terrible for that.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
It's done, knock sensors replaced! That job is terrible to do even if you have all the right tools, man they buried those sensors down there. It took me 4 hours total, an hour of that was spent cleaning a ton of thick tar-like oil residue out of the lower manifold ports. Not sure why that built up over the years but it was like glue stuck to the sides. Thankfully nothing acetone and some elbow grease can't remove. I cleaned up the fuel injectors while I was in there since the rails have to come out as well, they actually looked fine but figured why not.

I'm glad I also ordered a new connecting harness, the original one was extremely brittle from the heat, I haven't tested it yet but it could have been the reason for the code, it's a terrible location for a harness to sit in so I'm not overly surprised. I replaced all the gaskets getting down to the KS's and also replaced the timing solenoid gaskets since one side started a slow leak again and also threw in a new air filter so I won't need to open the hood for a bit while I recover from all the scratches and bruises.

I get now why Nissan charges a ton for this job.


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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I haven't driven very much since the repair but I finally did some city driving this morning. It's running nice and smooth, on the Bullydog my mileage has improved a few mpg's on the same tank of gas as before the repair which is nice. Usually I'd get around 14 and today it was at 17 on the same drive.

Update:
I finally went on a longer trip up to the mountains so got in some highway miles. I'm still playing around with the timing settings to get a feel for any difference and I'm still unsure of what's better honestly. On a full tank of premium, timing advanced 1 degree the highway mileage was 16 average. Retarded 2 degrees mileage was also 16 mpg average.

Off highway on the trails is where I noticed a difference on the BD, with advanced timing when I let off the gas the instant mpg reading would read around 25-30. When I pulled it back to -2 degrees that number would jump to the max of 99 mpg. Assuming the BD is correct the only mileage improvement comes when you let off the gas which isn't going to do much overall so I might just advance it some and call it a day.
 
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Found rat poop all over my cabin air filter which is pretty gross. Some quick googling revealed there are two drain ports below the wiper cowling on each side by the fender so I pulled it off and shoved some chicken wire into the holes to block entry. Hopefully that works pretty well, I did the same on our gutter downspouts last year to keep chipmunks out so our coonhound would stop chasing them in there and then rip the entire tube off the downspout.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
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Denver Adjacent
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I use snakes.

Haha I was scrolling through hoping for a pic of one peeking out of the air vents.

I wish we had more snakes around here, all I have is one stray cat and the laziest hawk I've ever seen. I think the rats are coming from neighbors houses, I've only killed two in the crawlspace all year but around 25 outside. My coonhound gets credit for two that she's killed in the backyard and my german shepherd is useless. All she wants to hunt are cicadas and not to kill, but to toss in the air and pounce on until she gets bored with it lol.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
After our last camping trip and one more experience of cramming as much stuff into the X as possible I've had my eye out for a roof box to make my life easier. New prices are insanely high for something I'll use only a few times a year so I set a Facebook Marketplace alert on roof boxes to get a feel for pricing on lightly used boxes for sale.

I found a lady selling an almost new Mercedes Benz box + the OE roof crossbars she had to buy to fit her car and pulled the trigger on it this weekend. I paid $250 which was way lower than the newish Thule/Yakima boxes I saw, probably because they are sold as only fitting mercedes models but I think I can fab a mount for it without too much effort.

The box uses a bolt in a T slot in the crossbar to attach instead of a clamp. It's a shame I can't use the Mercedes crossbars, they have a sweet quick release and a keyed lock on each attachment point but they are designed to clamp to a much wider roof rack. The actual metal crossbar material looks like it might be a close match to the metal on the X crossbar shape, if that's the case I might try to swap the metal in and cut the length to fit, otherwise I'll just sell them.

My backup plan is to drill a hole in the X crossbar and just put the bolt through it whenever I need to attach the box.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I finished up the mounting points for the box, it was easier than I thought it would be but the tradeoff is I don't think I'll be able to keep the crossbars on without the box mounted unless I buy a wrench to fit the crossbar clamp bolt when mounted upside down since the bolts for the rack are permanently in the bar. I suppose I could just leave the bolts facing up and exposed but I don't want to shear them off if the roof doesn't clear a parking garage or something.

I debated using the metal from the mercedes crossbar until I googled what they were selling for. Even if I sell them at the lower end of the price range I'll make my money back for the whole thing plus some. It really surprised me how much wider they are than the X factory bars.

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Other than that I replaced the rear hatch struts since it's getting colder now and last winter the were getting weak. And I also finally installed a hood strut kit, Amazon had one for $23 and that was too cheap to pass up.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I finally had a chance to look closer at the old knock sensor harness, and found what I think was the problem. It's one of the of the few places I've seen on the X where they didn't make the wiring the exact length needed, the connector closest to the firewall has the same length of wire as the long one, it's just looped back and taped in. On mine the plastic wire protector melted over time since it sits directly on the block and once that melted, one of the wire coatings melted and it was shorting against the block. I probably could have just replaced the harness but that job takes so long to do I'm glad I just replaced the sensors too so I don't need to pull it apart again.

Next up I need to pull the rear wheels and adjust the parking brake, there's zero adjustment left in the cab and the handle doesn't hold the truck at all now. I'd think the cable snapped but there's a tiny bit of hold, just not enough to be functional.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Over the weekend I pulled off the rear rotors to adjust the parking brakes since on both sides I didn't bother tightening up the shoes and loosening the handle last time I replaced the rotors.

The first thing that went wrong was the key for the locking lug nuts that came with the X when it was new broke immediately, I'd been meaning to trash those for a long time anyway so I hammered on a spare 19mm socket and got those off the hard way.

Then I noticed that the adjustment nut under the cup holders won't back off or even tighten. The bolt doesn't move but the nut just sits in place spinning, no idea how this happened unless I massively over-tightened it at some point but I don't see why I can't get it to move. I even tried wedging a flat tip under it while trying to get it off but it still sits in the same place spinning. I ended up tightening the brakes at the rear hubs as much as I could but even now the brake barely holds so I'm going to have to get that nut off somehow.

Update: I removed the nut finally, I tried everything and finally went and got my butane torch and some aluminum scrap to use as a heat shield around the area. I torched it for a few minutes and then pulled the handle up as much as it would go and used a ratcheting 10mm flex wrench on it and it started moving. Huge PIA but I'm glad it's out finally. Lesson learned on not over torquing that nut.
 
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
We drove up to Cincinnati to visit family for Christmas with the roof box on, now I wish I had bought one years ago. We had tons of extra space in the X for once and mileage was barely affected by it. At 80mph I lost 1-2 mpg and with the cruise set at 60 we got 20 mpg.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Finally rewired my front light bar on a switched ground circuit. Since I already had the fog stalk wired into a relay so I can control them independently from the headlights I put the light bar on the same circuit with the ground connected to a rocker switch next to the power window controls. Turning the switch on connects the ground and the light bar is on, otherwise it's just normal fog light operation.

I finally bought a ton of 2 and 3 wire connector plugs so I can stop having to cut and resolder everytime I change something along with some spools of wire that's already in a plastic sheathing, it really cleaned up my in-dash wiring. Wish I'd started out that way when I first started modding the electronics.

I have couple of new codes popping up though, P2A00 and P2A03. I've reset them a few times and they come back quickly so it's definitely something. The code comes back to the bank 1/2 O2 sensors which I replaced not too long ago so I'm leaning towards an air leak somewhere based on the FSM. I'm really hoping it's not the fuel injectors because when I replaced the knock sensors those were the only thing I didn't put new gasket/o-rings on and that job was a PIA.

I'm due for new plugs soon and I wanted to replace the valve covers so I might wait until then so I can knock it all out at once.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Finally rewired my front light bar on a switched ground circuit. Since I already had the fog stalk wired into a relay so I can control them independently from the headlights I put the light bar on the same circuit with the ground connected to a rocker switch next to the power window controls. Turning the switch on connects the ground and the light bar is on, otherwise it's just normal fog light operation.

I finally bought a ton of 2 and 3 wire connector plugs so I can stop having to cut and resolder everytime I change something along with some spools of wire that's already in a plastic sheathing, it really cleaned up my in-dash wiring. Wish I'd started out that way when I first started modding the electronics.

I have couple of new codes popping up though, P2A00 and P2A03. I've reset them a few times and they come back quickly so it's definitely something. The code comes back to the bank 1/2 O2 sensors which I replaced not too long ago so I'm leaning towards an air leak somewhere based on the FSM. I'm really hoping it's not the fuel injectors because when I replaced the knock sensors those were the only thing I didn't put new gasket/o-rings on and that job was a PIA.

I'm due for new plugs soon and I wanted to replace the valve covers so I might wait until then so I can knock it all out at once.
Check all the boots on your intake tract if you're getting lean/performance codes.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Check all the boots on your intake tract if you're getting lean/performance codes.

That's a good idea and an easy place to start. I remember replacing those a few years ago but they were aftermarket boots so I could see them having developed a leak by now. I hope it's not the plastic manifold, last year I found a small leak in it after my radiator cracked and sprayed fluid everywhere.
 
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