Ted_Deits

My son recently bought a 2006 350Z base. What a great car, except shortly after bringing it home, it thew a code P0345. No biggie we thought. We bought a new after market sensor and installed it. Well, this is where it gets interesting. We replaced the bank 2 sensor Bank 1 sensor and the code returned the next day. Then the car started stalling and had a low idle of about 500 RPMs. Then it progressed to where it would randomly die. Additionally, the codes started to expand showing three sensors not working. Huh? I do have a fairly strong mechanical background, but this was throwing me. BTW, the sensors were all replaced, including the crank sensor. However, he bought some cheap aftermarket parts from Amazon. Those were suspect. So....I went O'riellys and bought all new sensors, while my son returned the Amazon sensors. We replaced all the sensors and the problem persisted. The code thrown was again P0345. Still stalling, along with the addition of the slip lights coming on now. We also received additional codes P0178 and P0184. Fuel temp sensors. Huh??

I had read on some other forums that you should only use factory sensors, however they were about $140 each, vs around $50 for aftermarket sensors. I bit the bullet and bought only the bank 2 factory sensor. However, even at the dealership, they tried to give me the angled sensor, when the drivers side (left hand drive) was the straight connector. However, on some of the forums, they say the drivers side takes the angled sensor. Well, it turns out, even the Nissan documents and factory schematics are wrong, or the are referring to a right hand drive. Very confusing.

My son installed the factory sensor today (straight connector, US drivers side) and the results were instant. RPM's at about 700, running smoothly as it should. No codes at all. Clean and fast once again. We will no doubt go through and replace all the after market sensors as funds allow.

The moral of the story; Cheap is not necessarily "Inexpensive."

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

Yes! When it comes to cam and crank sensors on these cars, always use OEM. I'm sure some people have had luck with aftermarket sensors, but I view that as the exception and not the rule. Sorry to hear you had to learn this the hard way, but at least you got things sorted now.
-Icer

Desert Z

iTrader: (1)

I would never buy anything from O'reillys. They are extremely cheap chinese parts. I worked at AutoZone and their parts are much better (while still being asian parts but built to a higher standard) just don't get their ValueCraft stuff. ValueCraft is the stuff you buy to sell the car to some fool as you skip town.

Ted_Deits

Yep. Lesson learned. Next we need to replace the clutch and flywheel. Not really looking forward to doing that as we don't have access to a lift. Replacing the clutch while laying on your back is not my favorite thing.

ajpasa

Thanks for sharing this. The 350Z is a younger's no money in the wallet kind of car. Since I got mine, I've tried to spend reasonably when changing parts; and always trying to put OEM.
Next owner is going to love it.

My example was the window motor. I bought the Reman one from AdvanceAuto. No luck; I even thought the reman could be better than the alternative, but no. Ended up buying the original, and didn't even had to mess with window/motor reset procedure.

Br,
Al

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

Hey Ted,

I've done the clutch without a lift, as have many others. I suggest cutting up some 2"x4"s and making a stack-able support system to raise the car up. My buddy and I did this, it's certainly more time consuming, having to jack the car up bit by bit (front and back) in stages. But by the end we had the car 3 feet off the ground and it was very stable and safe. Since we were supporting the wheels and not using jack stands on the frame, we had a lot more working room. Even with all that, I still had to jack up the front of the car further when it came time to get the transmission out to properly clean the bell housing, swap throwout bearings, re-grease, etc. The trans/bell-housing is just huge, and if you add in a jack or cradle for it, additional clearance is required.

Long story short, it can be done, and its not nearly as bad or hard as I thought it would be. My back did suffer a little, but if you work smart you can really minimize the amount of time under the car.
-Icer