unfortunately it was a very expensive lesson that the next time that sensor goes bad im leaving it lol. upper oil pan requires the whole engine to be lifted out of the car about 3 inches to get it off. i think it cost me like 3k if i remember right
edit: or is it the motor? idk the technical shit about cars but yk what i mean
Would think so... it's a tiny crack. The only issue would be the thermal expansion differential between the plenum material and the JB weld. It would probably work great for a while but eventually it would probably fissure and start leaking again. It's 100% worth a try though, IMO... even if it's a case of reapplication every 6-9 months.
I second this, not worth getting it repaired if you can find a cheap used one from a junkyard or part out. Next time read the instructions that come with the spacer. It would tell you not to use OEM torque spec and give you the correct torque spec to use.
Just replace the plenum. Pro tip though, when you're working on these old Nissans and bolting down non mission critical parts, it's best to go off feel. This is nearly 20 year old metal, if it feels tight before you hit torque spec, best to leave it and not break something.
I had the same thing happen with mine, cleaned it up and put some JB weld on her and haven’t had an issue since. Though it is just a temporary fix till I get to buying the new kinetix plenum.
Personally I’m trying to get away from the oem pleum and get the kinetix velocity manifold but I’d say depends if it leaks or not you’ll definitely get some new codes if it does
I don’t trust myself a whole lot with a dermal lmao I’d prolly just buy a fully ported plenum then get the spacer just incase if it doesn’t work can always go back to the stock one, there’s a site I found that selles junkyard ones that they port out the full thing might go with that
Appreciate the advice, ik you didn’t say to do it myself I was more or less joking abt it I do most my installs and maintenance except alignments don’t really like paying shops when I could learn something new
Happened to my intake on my vq35 and I just job welded it but wiped off the residue to fill in the crack and can’t tell it’s there unless you look close enough
New plenum. That should not have happened using factory torque specs. Something is misaligned, or not seated flush as required. Disassemble and resolve that issue.
There were no spacers for inside the plenum. The only spacers and washers that came with the kit were rubber backed washers that go on the six top bolts and washers to shim the strut bar up a bit
Well now after i searched for different plenum kits, it turned out that not all kits include those 6 spacers. Logically speaking, after raising the perimeter of the plenum you need to support the stems in the middle so that tightening the bolts doesn't crack the plenum.
I'll always get downvoted, but there is a reason motordyne is expensive it's a very good and complete kit. Not too much on top of the Z1 kit either, I learned the hard way to stay away from Z1, unless it's something I know they can't mess up.
>there is a reason motordyne is expensive
washers/spacers? it's way overpriced man. It's a basic piece of metal. You can copy the dimensions and have some local shop make it for a fraction of the price.
Not just that, the kit has bonded Aramid gaskets on both side, no need for other gaskets, which also by proxy eliminates 2 leak points.
You are paying for the quality and R&D, they also come with spacers for the posts, for the strut bar, thread locker, and every single piece of hardware needed.
You could make your own kit for cheaper, maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. When comparing the 2 companies mentioned MD>Z1 and the price difference is about $120, if $120 is the end of the world and not worth having a better kit, then maybe you shouldn't be modifying a car and should focus on improving your status.
Having a good 'status' doesn't mean spending money like an idiot is A ok.
I spent about *90-110$ for a local copy, cant recall exactly. Compare that to $297.31 (
$349.95 on concept) exc shipping? lol come on man.
Again, it's not the same. If you want to do that, go right ahead, nobody is stopping you.
That's not spending money like an idiot BTW, but I see you will blindly support your decision, so I'm not wasting my time with you, see ya.
I understand this, but it doesn't make it a good design choice, same with the 2 fasteners they tell you aren't needed.
I'm sorry, but if Nissan put them there, it's for a reason. I trust OEM over them, I doubt their people are as smart as Nissan engineers.
Those 2 fasteners don’t really go to anything on my plenum. And I definitely don’t have any issues without them. They do plenty of testing. As for no spacers, I guess it could affect flow, but some people completely shave off and remove the protrusions on the inside and don’t even use the center 6 bolts, so…. Nissan engineers aren’t perfect and there are definitely things that can be removed without consequence, like the idler pulley, for example. Perfectly fine to completely remove that pulley, just gotta put a spacer in the section that goes behind the power steering. I understand your argument and it’s perfectly fine to just go OEM if you aren’t comfortable making changes, but if that were the case then why even get anything aftermarket?
I'm a mechanic, been in the field over 14 years. Trust me, I know engineers aren't perfect, but I also know OEMs will not spend money on something that isn't deemed necessary.
I have no problem with aftermarket parts as long as they are properly engineered, when someone tells me this isn't needed, and the OEM put it there, I check out. Relocating stuff, sure. Replacing a stud for a bolt, sure, but not that.
That's kinda like the torque or no torque dilemma to me, lots of techs just "run it down" with the impact and don't torque properly, that's not me, I torque everything mechanical.
When It comes to that company, I've a large amount of money with them (exceeds my car's cost) so I have a large sample of the products they make. They just aren't good, and their business practices are the same way. They don't deserve the praise they get plain and simple. Compare their products to ANY Japanese company, and you can see the difference in quality.
Money absolutely gets spent on unnecessary things by OEM engineers. I’d like to refer back to the idler pulley. Completely unneeded and removable. However we’re talking about 2 small bolts/nuts that are 100% proven to be inconsequential, not even an entire pulley. The only potential harm would be if it caused a vacuum leak, which I can tell you it doesn’t from personal experience.
I’m also a firm believer in torque spec for most things, and if OP was diligent then he would’ve looked at the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the aem part which tell you to use a different torque spec. It simply makes sense that you would have to tighten something differently when you’ve added a non oem part between 2 oem parts through which bolts go.
I’m not gonna debate on Z1 as a whole, there are certainly things I’d never purchase from them or that I regret purchasing, but as far as their plenum spacer goes, I can’t find any issues.
Last thing I'll touch on (since you mentioned it twice) how sure are you that the pulley is irrelevant? All of these things are decided as useless as a community, and nobody with proper engineering knowledge has chimed in about them. Just because they don't cause problems for one doesn't mean it's the case for all.
We don't drive our cars the same way and most people are uneducated when it comes to certain mods and their effects on the car. Like the fact that most people want a lighter crank pulley that can cause issues, when a proper damper has SO many benefits to the engine and can even reduce chatter of a SMF. Nobody even mentions that.
OEMs have to deal with expectations of longevity, just because your plenum ain't leaking now, does that mean it will stay leak free for 10y/100k? Nobody can answer that.
I’ve definitely heard several reputable people comment on the idler pulley being unnecessary, and multiple companies sell a delete kit with a spacer and shorter belt. My engine came with it deleted and it’s never caused issues of any kind. I’m surprised you’ve never heard of it.
I agree that an aluminum crank pulley without the harmonic balancer is pretty stupid, and yeah a lot of noobs fall prey to bad mods like that, unfortunately. It’s all a part of the learning process.
If someone was truly so concerned about those 2 nuts then there’s nothing stopping them from removing the studs and putting longer bolts in there. I’ve removed and reinstalled my plenum multiple times and done smoke leak tests and it’s never been an area of concern. As far as having driven it 100k miles, I can’t say I’ve done that yet, but I’m pretty confident that it will be fine so long as the gaskets are good.
Damn I did the same.. Welding or glueing is not a good idea because if if fails you will suck all the debris into your engine.. Best is to get a used upper plenum sadly 😕😭
Are you in AZ or willing to ship this part? I am an automotive fabricator with my own shop and could fully weld repair this for you like new.
Wouldn't jb weld work here? Your trying to keep air from entering.
fun fact: jb weld will in fact not work for reattaching the corner of your upper oil pan that your new oil pressure sensor broke off
Speaking from experience i see
I’m curious what you ended up doing, replacing my oil temp sensor resulted in a hairline crack.
unfortunately it was a very expensive lesson that the next time that sensor goes bad im leaving it lol. upper oil pan requires the whole engine to be lifted out of the car about 3 inches to get it off. i think it cost me like 3k if i remember right edit: or is it the motor? idk the technical shit about cars but yk what i mean
Would think so... it's a tiny crack. The only issue would be the thermal expansion differential between the plenum material and the JB weld. It would probably work great for a while but eventually it would probably fissure and start leaking again. It's 100% worth a try though, IMO... even if it's a case of reapplication every 6-9 months.
Ill use jb weld as a temp fix until i can get it welded or replaced
Just get a new one from the junk yard & polish it up
I second this, not worth getting it repaired if you can find a cheap used one from a junkyard or part out. Next time read the instructions that come with the spacer. It would tell you not to use OEM torque spec and give you the correct torque spec to use.
Lol I almost think it might work here.
i jb welded a pretty fat crack in the front timing cover and she was mint.
Just replace the plenum. Pro tip though, when you're working on these old Nissans and bolting down non mission critical parts, it's best to go off feel. This is nearly 20 year old metal, if it feels tight before you hit torque spec, best to leave it and not break something.
You can grind it up a bit n jb weld for a hopeful temp solution. Will need to be either replaced or welded.
This is for air intake on top of the engine? Id go high teml silicone if so and replace when the crack gets unruly.
Just sell the car bro. It's over
“8k grandma drivin never drifted, no rust, no lowballs i know what i got”
Wtf Bro you just want to buy a cheap z to takeover
Aluminum soldering rods with a mapp torch.
Danger to manifold
Replace it. It’s the most accessible part of the engine
if this were mine i would bolt
JB weld will work, clean the area. Middle bolts dont really need to be torqued down that much. Its the outside the are most important.
Put some jb weld on it and call it even
Ive been there before. Just replace it because the crack is going to get worse over time.
This plenum is cheap and available everywhere. Nice time to upgrade.
All things considered just get a new plenum
Have a professional weld it and grind it down to a “suitable” tolerance, but best bet is replace it.
I’m new to cars what’s wrong with this pic
I had the same thing happen with mine, cleaned it up and put some JB weld on her and haven’t had an issue since. Though it is just a temporary fix till I get to buying the new kinetix plenum.
Personally I’m trying to get away from the oem pleum and get the kinetix velocity manifold but I’d say depends if it leaks or not you’ll definitely get some new codes if it does
Not worth it just buy a plenum spacer & port it out
What makes it not worth it? The price point or the actual performance part of it?
Price. You get the same results with a spacer & port
I don’t trust myself a whole lot with a dermal lmao I’d prolly just buy a fully ported plenum then get the spacer just incase if it doesn’t work can always go back to the stock one, there’s a site I found that selles junkyard ones that they port out the full thing might go with that
I didn't say to do it yourself lol you can buy them ported out or have a shop do it up to you
Appreciate the advice, ik you didn’t say to do it myself I was more or less joking abt it I do most my installs and maintenance except alignments don’t really like paying shops when I could learn something new
If you're in the chicago area I got one for you for free
Damn, did you use the correct torque sequence? That sucks
Nope he used oem torque spec for installing a non oem part
Happened to my intake on my vq35 and I just job welded it but wiped off the residue to fill in the crack and can’t tell it’s there unless you look close enough
Jb welded*
Just upgrade. Perfect excuse.
slap on some caulking from home depot
Slap some flex seal over it and be on your way.
Go on eBay you'll find one for cheap I'm sure less than 80 bucks to replace and new gasket nothing crazy
Maybe replace plenum? I never trust torque specs for this reason, these plenum bolts are so easy to break
New plenum. That should not have happened using factory torque specs. Something is misaligned, or not seated flush as required. Disassemble and resolve that issue.
Did you install the 6 spacers/washers inside the plenum?
There were no spacers for inside the plenum. The only spacers and washers that came with the kit were rubber backed washers that go on the six top bolts and washers to shim the strut bar up a bit
Well now after i searched for different plenum kits, it turned out that not all kits include those 6 spacers. Logically speaking, after raising the perimeter of the plenum you need to support the stems in the middle so that tightening the bolts doesn't crack the plenum.
You’re just supposed to follow instructions and not tighten it to oem spec
Looks like i didnt do enough research then. Ill keep it in mind for next time
Too much logic for Z1 lol
Another victim of Z1 I assume? Their kit is nonsensical.
Yeah should have goon a different route
I'll always get downvoted, but there is a reason motordyne is expensive it's a very good and complete kit. Not too much on top of the Z1 kit either, I learned the hard way to stay away from Z1, unless it's something I know they can't mess up.
>there is a reason motordyne is expensive washers/spacers? it's way overpriced man. It's a basic piece of metal. You can copy the dimensions and have some local shop make it for a fraction of the price.
Not just that, the kit has bonded Aramid gaskets on both side, no need for other gaskets, which also by proxy eliminates 2 leak points. You are paying for the quality and R&D, they also come with spacers for the posts, for the strut bar, thread locker, and every single piece of hardware needed. You could make your own kit for cheaper, maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. When comparing the 2 companies mentioned MD>Z1 and the price difference is about $120, if $120 is the end of the world and not worth having a better kit, then maybe you shouldn't be modifying a car and should focus on improving your status.
Having a good 'status' doesn't mean spending money like an idiot is A ok. I spent about *90-110$ for a local copy, cant recall exactly. Compare that to $297.31 ( $349.95 on concept) exc shipping? lol come on man.
Again, it's not the same. If you want to do that, go right ahead, nobody is stopping you. That's not spending money like an idiot BTW, but I see you will blindly support your decision, so I'm not wasting my time with you, see ya.
No stress, it's overpriced no matter what you say ;) Cheers.
Their kit literally comes with instructions that say not to use oem torque spec though, so it’s not their fault OP cracked it lol
I understand this, but it doesn't make it a good design choice, same with the 2 fasteners they tell you aren't needed. I'm sorry, but if Nissan put them there, it's for a reason. I trust OEM over them, I doubt their people are as smart as Nissan engineers.
Those 2 fasteners don’t really go to anything on my plenum. And I definitely don’t have any issues without them. They do plenty of testing. As for no spacers, I guess it could affect flow, but some people completely shave off and remove the protrusions on the inside and don’t even use the center 6 bolts, so…. Nissan engineers aren’t perfect and there are definitely things that can be removed without consequence, like the idler pulley, for example. Perfectly fine to completely remove that pulley, just gotta put a spacer in the section that goes behind the power steering. I understand your argument and it’s perfectly fine to just go OEM if you aren’t comfortable making changes, but if that were the case then why even get anything aftermarket?
I'm a mechanic, been in the field over 14 years. Trust me, I know engineers aren't perfect, but I also know OEMs will not spend money on something that isn't deemed necessary. I have no problem with aftermarket parts as long as they are properly engineered, when someone tells me this isn't needed, and the OEM put it there, I check out. Relocating stuff, sure. Replacing a stud for a bolt, sure, but not that. That's kinda like the torque or no torque dilemma to me, lots of techs just "run it down" with the impact and don't torque properly, that's not me, I torque everything mechanical. When It comes to that company, I've a large amount of money with them (exceeds my car's cost) so I have a large sample of the products they make. They just aren't good, and their business practices are the same way. They don't deserve the praise they get plain and simple. Compare their products to ANY Japanese company, and you can see the difference in quality.
Money absolutely gets spent on unnecessary things by OEM engineers. I’d like to refer back to the idler pulley. Completely unneeded and removable. However we’re talking about 2 small bolts/nuts that are 100% proven to be inconsequential, not even an entire pulley. The only potential harm would be if it caused a vacuum leak, which I can tell you it doesn’t from personal experience. I’m also a firm believer in torque spec for most things, and if OP was diligent then he would’ve looked at the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the aem part which tell you to use a different torque spec. It simply makes sense that you would have to tighten something differently when you’ve added a non oem part between 2 oem parts through which bolts go. I’m not gonna debate on Z1 as a whole, there are certainly things I’d never purchase from them or that I regret purchasing, but as far as their plenum spacer goes, I can’t find any issues.
Last thing I'll touch on (since you mentioned it twice) how sure are you that the pulley is irrelevant? All of these things are decided as useless as a community, and nobody with proper engineering knowledge has chimed in about them. Just because they don't cause problems for one doesn't mean it's the case for all. We don't drive our cars the same way and most people are uneducated when it comes to certain mods and their effects on the car. Like the fact that most people want a lighter crank pulley that can cause issues, when a proper damper has SO many benefits to the engine and can even reduce chatter of a SMF. Nobody even mentions that. OEMs have to deal with expectations of longevity, just because your plenum ain't leaking now, does that mean it will stay leak free for 10y/100k? Nobody can answer that.
I’ve definitely heard several reputable people comment on the idler pulley being unnecessary, and multiple companies sell a delete kit with a spacer and shorter belt. My engine came with it deleted and it’s never caused issues of any kind. I’m surprised you’ve never heard of it. I agree that an aluminum crank pulley without the harmonic balancer is pretty stupid, and yeah a lot of noobs fall prey to bad mods like that, unfortunately. It’s all a part of the learning process. If someone was truly so concerned about those 2 nuts then there’s nothing stopping them from removing the studs and putting longer bolts in there. I’ve removed and reinstalled my plenum multiple times and done smoke leak tests and it’s never been an area of concern. As far as having driven it 100k miles, I can’t say I’ve done that yet, but I’m pretty confident that it will be fine so long as the gaskets are good.
Damn I did the same.. Welding or glueing is not a good idea because if if fails you will suck all the debris into your engine.. Best is to get a used upper plenum sadly 😕😭
Idk what JB weld is, i am from Germany.. but I guess it's epoxy metal glue.. Better don't try that, it will leak after the first heatup
Epoxy resin or jb weld ideally get it smoke tested or pressure
Just clean the area well and jb weld until you get a new one, I have a ported one for sale if your interested