Posts in Year 2021

Installing Brake Pads and Bleed Brakes

In a previous post, we had replaced the rotors and brake calipers in the Miata, and this one describes changing the brake pads and bleeding the brakes. You need to bleed the brakes if you change the calipers. You must buy DOT-3 brake fluid, 2-3 cans just in case, from your local parts store.

Details on the front brake pads change can also be found in an earlier post.

Installing New Rotors and Brake Calipers

In an earlier post, we had done a front brake pads change in the Miata, but while doing that change realized that one of the bolts slipped because the threading in the calipers was damaged. So we ended up doing a complete front and rear caliper replacement using remanufactured stock calipers from RockAuto. The good thing about these new calipers was that they were painted red which would look great on our car. In this post, we demonstrate how to go about removing and installing calipers. This work was done in August 2020, but we only found time a year later to write this post. I spent hours editing the photos.

This post outlines the installation of new rotors and brake calipers for both front and rear of the car, and it has a lot of pictures. You may find that installation of the front calipers may have been demonstrated on Youtube but it has not been done for rear calipers.

The next post outlines how to do the brake pads, and bleed the brakes.

Plastidip Front Grille & Emblem on Infiniti G35 Coupe

The silver front grille and emblem of the Infiniti G35 Coupe was looking worn out and ugly. So I removed it using a trim removal tool from Harbor Freight (blue tool in Figure 1) and purchased a $7 black Plastidip spray can (Figure 2) from Home Depot to paint it. The process of doing this is very simple and can be done in under 20 minutes for the first coat, and every other coat can be applied every 30-40 minutes.

Fuel Pump Replacement on Infiniti G35 Coupe

In the end of the previous post, I ended up fixing the fuel leak on the 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe, by using new bolts and O-rings. Since I had damaged the fuel gauge sensors on both the fuel pump and the secondary fuel gauge sensor, I purchased an after-market replacement fuel pump (Figure 1), made by UltraPower (Figure 2), and secondary fuel sensor (Figure 3), made by Autotecnica, from RockAuto.

Installation follows the same procedure as outlined in the earlier post, but be very careful while installing the pump back in, since you need to avoid damaging the fuel level sensor. Remember to remove both the fuel hoses from the old pump first, as shown in Figure 4, and then attach them to the new pump before install.

Unique Subaru Robin EX21 7HP Engine with EFI

While looking for not running cars on Craigslist, I came across this Subaru Robin EX21 engine that claimed to have 7HP and had Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI). The seller said it was not running and had fuel injector problems and wanted $50 for it. I offered the seller $30 and got it for myself. The goal is to see if I can fix it up and learn something in the process. Cheap education !

Two years ago I acquired a Briggs & Stratton engine which still does not run as I have not disassembled it yet 😞 and not had time to. The plan is to fix both these engines by the end of the year, hopefully. Then I will try to make a go-cart with them.

These Subaru Robin EX21 engines are rarer than the Briggs & Stratton or the Predator engines found in lawn mowers and pressure washers. I think this is from a generator, but cannot be sure. Either way, 7HP is nearly as powerful as those 80cc two-wheelers being used in various Asian countries, so should be interesting.

Fuel Leak Fixed on Infiniti G35 Coupe

In the end of the previous post, we ended up with a fuel leak on the 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe after trying to fix the fuel sensor issue. The car was towed to the dealer, who after keeping it for 10 days and quoting an exorbitant price of over $3000 to fix the fuel leak, did nothing to the car besides fixing a seat belt recall. I ended up losing $200 on the whole and got the car towed back home. Then with help from the g35driver.com forum post and the service manual’s Fuel System section I diagnosed the problem to be loose fuel pump cover bolts and bad O-rings.

Once I purchased the replacement parts from a local Infiniti dealership, I was able to fix the leak. This post describes what I did wrong, and what one should take care of when handling the fuel sensors.

Fuel Level Sensor Issues on Infiniti G35 Coupe

The 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe came with a check engine light (CEL) code of P0462 (Figure 1). The fuel gauge always showed empty and I watched a few Youtube videos on how to clean the two fuel level sensors below the rear seats in the car to fix the problem. Apparently, after a while the fuel level sensors tend to collect grime over themselves that leads to the fuel gauge reading a zero value.

This post describes that process to clean it out. However, it turns out that the previous owner did try the same process, as the fuel level sensors were already clean. So this meant that the issue was probably the sensor electrical connection or the dashboard fuel gauge itself. I did the fuel level sensor cleaning/checking on August 3rd, and on August 10th (today) I filled up the tank fully. But it was a disaster. The fuel tank was leaking non-stop (Figures 25 and 26) and so I had to accept my limited abilities at this point and got the car towed to the dealer. The dealer wants me to install a new fuel tank since the current one is dented and has too much rust. 😞

Anyway, this post still describes the fuel level sensor cleaning in case you may benefit from it.

Replacing Air and Cabin Filter on the Boxster

Since buying the Porsche Boxster S, I had driven it for at least a 1000 miles in the last 2 years. However, I had never changed the air filter or the cabin filter. The Boxster was sitting for a few weeks in a dusty area in Texas before I got it, so I decided to do this change and reduce the smelliness in the cabin as well.

This is one of the easier changes to do in the Boxster and requires no tools. I recommend purchasing the Hengst Air Filter E458L (Figure 14) and Hengst Cabin Filter E951LC (Figure 17) for this task. These are the OEM filters that Porsche uses on the 986 model cars and it is best to stick to OEM versions for a perfect fit.

Aluminum Skidplate Install on the Infiniti G35 Coupe

While doing the oil change on the G35 Coupe, I realized like several other folks on the internet, that the plastic skidplate or undershroud gets in the way of taking off the oil filter (Figure 1a). The plastic skidplate breaks after a while and mine was cracked and damaged. The bolts holding it were rusted too. I saw someone on reddit install an aluminum skidplate, so I bought one on eBay for $115 and decided to install it. The installation is really easy.

New tires for the Porsche Boxster S

While swapping the winter wheels and tires back to summer wheels, I discovered my rear tires were really bald (Figure 1) on the inside portion. This meant the car had a bad alignment and it needed new tires.

I ended up getting new tires for the car as I had a TireRack gift card, and the prices of tires there were much cheaper.

For the Boxster with stock OEM wheels you need 205/50ZR17 (Figure 3) for the front wheels and 255/40ZR17 (Figure 4). I purchased the Riken Raptor ZR A/S (all season) tires with these specifications.

Oil Change on the Infiniti G35 Coupe

Getting a stock G35 Coupe ready for the track and/or drifting, requires a lot of preparation. Given the time constraints, I plan to do the most important things first. The most important thing is to make sure that the engine has fresh engine oil. Doing an oil change on the G35 is quite easy, and I outline the steps here.

Infiniti G35 Coupe Resources

It has been two weeks since I have had the G35 Coupe but I have not even begun fixing its issues and performing basic maintenance. However, I have driven it about a 100 miles locally and it is a blast to drive. Last weekend, I went to a local autocross with my Miata, so could not spend time on the G35. However, I have taken Friday off this week to try fixing some issues.

But first, I needed to do research on the maintenance needed and am documenting it for myself here.

Bought an Infiniti G35 Coupe

For a few weeks, I had been browsing the /r/drifting subreddit. I am very interested in drifting, and even though the Miata is a great car for drifting, I wanted to keep it stock for Autocross. The Miata is not powerful enough for being a good drift car, so I started looking for Nissan 350Zs and their luxury version, the Infiniti G35 Coupe.

I ended up buying the G35 Coupe with a 6-speed manual transmission for $4000. The 350Zs are very expensive as there is a drift tax on them. Even salvage titles go for $2500 or more on Copart.

Rebuilding the Shifter

The Miata’s shifter was getting worse as time progressed, so I decided to perform a shifter rebuild. I purchased the 5-speed transmission shifter rebuild kit from Flyin’ Miata, which you can also get from 5X Racing. In addition to the shifter, I also wanted to replace the center console boot which is the exterior boot, part number NC-10-64-331A which I ended up purchasing from Tasca Parts.

The process for the shifter rebuild is outlined in this post. This post has several pictures, so may take some time to load.

Patching the Vinyl Window on the Porsche Boxster S

The previous owner had used packaging tape on the 4 inch size tear in the vinyl window on the soft top (Figure 1). When I had washed the car in August 2019, I had taped it further with silver 3M duct tape which stayed on for quite a while. I decided to fix the vinyl window using Lamin-x transparent vinyl tape from Amazon for $14.

I also purchased a full replacement vinyl window and stitching kit for $99 from EMiata. Even though their website looks 20 years old, they do sell Boxster replacement windows and a full stitching kit. But this post is for the temporary fix, as the stitching requires about 4-5 hours of serious work. And it is still winter and too cold to be doing that outside.

Winter Wheels on the Porsche Boxster S

From the 986forum.com, where you can find me as username vkmotorsports, I found a post (now removed) selling used Boxster 17” wheels with brand new Dunlop WinterMaxx tires (Figures 4 and 5) for $500 in Brooklyn, NY. This was a great deal considering the wheels had some scuffs but the tires were brand new and unused. The seller wanted to buy a Boxster, but did not end up buying one. He instead bought a 911. However, he had purchased these wheels and tires before he even bought the Boxster !!! Hilarious! That made it easy for me to get the whole package for $400 cash.

Patching Torn Seats on the Porsche Boxster S

The Porsche Boxster S I purchased had a torn driver’s seat in the left bolster (Figure 1) and on the seating area (Figure 2). After spending a lot of days looking at used seats and sports/racing seats online, I decided to save money and buy leather tape from Amazon.

Fixing Dents on the Porsche Boxster S

The Porsche Boxster S I purchased had a salvage title because it had a massive dent in the left rear quarterpanel, as shown in Figure 1, and a broken tail light. Fixing dents on a car requires real talent and experience, neither of which I had. Nevertheless, I gave it a try in late 2019 by buying a hammer and dolly, and a stud welder set. However, I failed to achieve a good result so ended up giving up after some effort. About 14 months later, in 2021, I decided to hire a cheap body shop guy off CraigsList to get it fixed up so I could make the Boxster my daily driver going forward. I had sold my actual daily driver, a 6-speed manual transmission 2017 VW GTI S, since I was not driving it due to the pandemic.

To make the Boxster my daily driver and to get the salvage title converted to rebuilt title in NJ, I needed the dent fixed. Below is my experience trying to fix the dent myself and then hiring a profesional.