alexclabbs Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Hi Guys, Before i take my car to a specialist and sign my life away i thought i'd reach out to the knowledgeable members on here to see if this issue can be fixed with ease. I took my car in to my local garage to get the clutch replaced last week, when i returned to pick it up the clutch seemed to be engaging so that was great but for some reason the car was seriously sluggish like it's in limp mode. There were no engine lights flashing up so that puzzled me even more, the mechanic stated that is was like this after the clutch replacement and i was baffled since the engine area shouldn't even need to be touched when replacing a clutch. So i drove it home and just about got it onto the drive, after parking it I didn't have a clue what to do with the thing, i take it to the garage to fix one problem and come out with another . So i called the mechanic to let him know that its still in a sluggish state and he arrived at my house with a diagnostics machine to try and identify the issue, we discovered these two codes when scanning the car P0011 and P0021. These both relate to camshaft timing issues and the passenger side VTC solenoid not performing properly, that baffled me even more due to the fact that the car was running perfectly engine wise when i dropped it off for its clutch change. After finding out about these codes I checked that both plugs were on both of the solenoids completely and they were, i then discovered that the oil was rather low on the dipstick so i topped it up but not to the point where it was completely empty. I also discovered that after getting the clutch replaced a crack somehow appeared behind the back box where it connects to the midpipe where the o ring gasket sits and it now sounds terrible when the car is running idle or if its going down the road, but cant see that causing the whole engine to be sluggish. Before i invest in a new VTC unit are there any tips and tricks you guys know that i could try to fix this or is it a case of a straight swap on the solenoid? Thanks in advance, Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Alex, Is sounds yet another case of the garage fitting the flywheel in the wrong position as it has to mate up with the crank position sensor. The remedy is to remove the gearbox and fit the flywheel in the correct position. Also check that they have not damaged the crank position sensor. Alex. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclabbs Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Hi Alex, This makes sense as the issue cropped up after the new clutch and flywheel was fitted, will be giving the mechanic a call today then Thanks, Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 does the flywheel have a tooth missing by design? now for the garage, how would they know in what position to refit the new flywheel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclabbs Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Looks like this is the problem, the mechanic wasn't aware about this when he fitted it but has now found out online that alignment needs to be done when fitting the new flywheel... The earliest it can be rectified is next week so another week with the poor thing sitting on the drive . Will update as soon as its in the garage (fingers crossed) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 odd that it can even be put on wrong.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclabbs Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Yeah have been reading up about it and apparently it it is possible to fit the flywheel without it aligned and that's when the crankshaft sensor will pick up that its not aligned and put the car into limp mode. http://www.advancedclutch.com/blog/technical-bulletin-act-flywheel-on-a-nissan-350z-and-infiniti-g35/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro85 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 The exact same happened to me a few weeks ago, almost pulled out a perfectly good engine because of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PageyUK Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Sounds like your mechanic is a good one. Coming out to do diagnostics and offering to rectify the fault is not common. Obviously as a consumer we would expect this but it is often not the case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Sounds like your mechanic is a good one. Coming out to do diagnostics and offering to rectify the fault is not common. Obviously as a consumer we would expect this but it is often not the case! ......when you've just billed out the thick end of a grand and delivered an I operative car you better belive you'll be headed out with a diagnostic! Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclabbs Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 Good news!!! Picked the car up yesterday after work and found out it was the flywheel that wasn't aligned properly, she now runs perfectly again . The only thing i have discovered is that the windscreen heater is constantly on now and i cant control it via the climate control dials as it does nothing at all. I pulled out the fascia and checked the ribbon cable and that was plugged in so I think i'm going to purchase another heater control unit and see if that's the culprit. Appreciate all your help guys, you saved me from going to replace the solenoids and pulling my hair out! Cheers, Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Glad to hear that the issue is sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Good news!!! Picked the car up yesterday after work and found out it was the flywheel that wasn't aligned properly, she now runs perfectly again . The only thing i have discovered is that the windscreen heater is constantly on now and i cant control it via the climate control dials as it does nothing at all. I pulled out the fascia and checked the ribbon cable and that was plugged in so I think i'm going to purchase another heater control unit and see if that's the culprit. Appreciate all your help guys, you saved me from going to replace the solenoids and pulling my hair out! Cheers, Alex check the interior air temp sensor is connected as well this is on the back of the drivers side under dash, also check the ribbon wire is pushed in correctly best way is to dis-connect inspect re-connect an refit then battery off to reset everything and re-connect and try, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclabbs Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 Hi Mark, Is that one of the cables by the OBD port? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclabbs Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 I'm guessing something has been damaged behind the heater control unit within the dash since that was removed for the clutch and flywheel install. The lights on the climate control dials light up but it just pumps out air to the windscreen regardless of the settings on the dials. Been killing me these past few days since its been hitting 30 degrees down here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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