Copper 2007 FX35 AWD build thread!

[95maxrider]

Hi everyone! My name is Nick and my wife just bought a 2007 FX35 AWD! I've been a big Nissan/Infiniti fan since I was a kid, and have owned a very modified I30 since 2003. I've never liked SUVs, but I have always loved the FX. While on vacation at the beach a month ago we spotted a slightly modified burnt copper 1st gen FX parked, and I commented on how much I've always liked them, and she said she thought it was pretty cool looking. It probably helped that orange is one of her favorite colors! We weren't in the market for a new car for her, but her 2001 Escape was tired and I was tired of working on it. While I recovered from getting sunburned, I checked out FXs for sale. I was only interested in the burnt copper color, and I wanted one of the refreshed models, 2006-2008. I also had to have the cool brown interior, and would have preferred RWD. However, here in the DC area, most are AWD. Turns out finding a burnt copper 35 with the brown interior and RWD was pretty much impossible, but I did find one 10 miles from my house that was AWD. It had about 120k on it, the guy was the second owner, and he had ALL service done at the dealer! The car was in great shape aside from some scratches on the PS rear door, with none of that seat leather tearing like I saw on so many other ones for sale. The dash had been replaced under warranty, the tires were relatively new, and he had just spent $3,000+ having the 120k service done. We paid $7,000 for our FX, and we couldn't be happier! My wife is only 5'-2", so visibility leaves a little to be desired, but she's getting used to it. Even for me, it's tough to tell where the corners of the hood are! The car is pretty well loaded with Touring, hands-free, Technology, and LDW packages.

Here's a list of things I need to fix or do:
-Buy an OEM rubber cargo floor mat ($65 at local dealer)
-Install a new rear wiper motor (going to use aftermarket, current one is dead)
-Remove FX35 rear badge
-Repair/replace front PS door speaker, no sound
-Repair Bose amp, sub cuts out
-Figure out good way to install aux cable for stereo
-Tint front windows 50% (legal for VA)
-Remove roof rails
-Adjust parking brake
-Detail the crap out of the whole car
-Clean up all grounds in engine bay

Eventual mods will likely include:
-BC coilovers to replace the original 120k shocks/struts
-Some 20-25mm wheel spacers. I want to replace the weak stock studs with longer ARP studs and non-bolt-on spacers. What are my options?
-OEM 20s when it needs new tires
-Sport package pedals?

Pics! It's absolutely filthy, but not for long!











More to come soon!

 

[95maxrider]

Well it didn't take long for the FX to need its first repair! We spent most of Saturday morning vacuuming out the car, which of course meant leaving the doors open. I'm not sure if the FX's interior lights have an auto-off timer, but maybe we were just opening and closing the doors enough for it not to trigger. A few hours later as I was cleaning the windows I noticed how dim the overhead lights had become. I tested the battery and was down to something around 8 volts! I hooked up my more powerful battery charger, but it wouldn't accept a charge. Digging through the maintenance records of the car, the most recent battery replacement was way back in 2013, so I figured it was just time to buy a new one. $160 later at Autozone and we had a new "Gold" battery with 750 CCA, versus the 575 of the OEM battery.

Old battery:



The installation process was pretty simple, as I didn't use anything to keep the memory alive. But I couldn't help myself and cleaned things up as I went along. The first thing I noticed was a pool of murky water at the bottom of the battery tray:



The bolt at the very bottom (in the water) broke loose, but wouldn't come out, so I couldn't drain and clean the tray out of the car, I just had to stick a rag down there to absorb all the water. Is it common on the FXs for water to accumulate here?

I then got busy cleaning up the negative battery cable.



I cleaned up the terminal, ground plate, and both bolts to make sure the car had a solid main ground point:







I also cleaned up the threads for the hold downs and the bracket:





I also chased the threads for the two bolts on the car to make sure they were clean and made good contact:



New battery, specially for cars with the intelligent key:



installed with corrosion-preventing spray on top of everything:



And with that, the FX has a nice new battery and we should be ready for winter!

 

[95maxrider]

One of the first things I would like to do to the car is to install an aux audio input, but the threads I found about doing that over on InfinitiFX.org were all very old with outdated info. I did my best to dig through them and tried to find some new products not listed, and here's what I found. I could really use some advice on how to proceed!

So the PAC AAI-NIS2 auxiliary input adapter is no longer available for sale on Crutchfield or Amazon:

PAC AAI-NIS2 Auxiliary Input Adapter

https://www.amazon.com/AAI-NIS2-Aux...65L0C6?_encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

The PAC Turbo-1 line driver signal amplifier IS still available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/PAC-TURBO-1-Variable-Line-Driver/dp/B000CEDZBU

But the reviews are terrible. I'm thinking this JL Audio version is probably better:
JL Audio CL-RLC (clrlc) Fully Active 2-Channel Remote Level

To top it off, the reviews for the GROM unit are awful:
https://www.amazon.com/GROM-Audio-Bluetooth-adapter-SAT-EMULATION/dp/B00PXFCH8A

There's no way I'm going to the trouble of installing that just to deal with those problems.

I called up the local Infiniti dealership and was informed that the OEM iPod adapter is really just an iPod 4 adapter and is not a regular universal AUX/3.5mm cable. So that option is out the window.

Earlier in this thread someone mentioned that the PAC model is discontinued, but that the PAC ISNI571 ($189) model should work:
iSimple GateWay Kit for Select Nissan shop now

But that model is more geared for someone using an actual iPod- I just want a universal 3.5mm aux input.

PAC offers three other products, apparently for the FX:

The TranzIt for $89:
iSimple TranzIt shop now

The TranzIt USB for $89:
iSimple TranzIt USB shop now

And the DuaLink for $129:
iSimple DuaLink Kit for Select Nissan Vehicles shop now

Of those, only the DuaLink appears to have Nissan/Infiniti-specific plugs on it. It's not clear how the two cheaper model would get wired up to the back of the head unit.

I found what appears to be a derivative of the DuaLink kit, a kit by iSimple, on Amazon for a lot less ($75):
https://www.amazon.com/iSimple-ISNI531-Automotive-Auxiliary-Infiniti/dp/B0072L7W7O

It gets good reviews and appears to just plug right into the back of the head unit. To me, this appears to be the best option.

As far as ground loop isolators go, I found two that get good reviews:

Radio Shack for $16:
https://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-S..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=9KV5R5FXMNX1E6PBDPTM

And Mpow for $9:
https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Ground-...ons&keywords=audio+ground+loop+isolator&psc=1

But those should only be necessary if you're also charging the device at the same time, right?

So, to me right now, I'm thinking a complete setup would include the $75 iSimple DuaLink kit on Amazon, the $60 JL Audio line level controller, and the $16 Radio Shack ground loop isolator, for about $150 total.

Can anyone verify if this is all accurate? Are there other products out there that I don't know about? I'm picky about audio quality, and don't have much patience for junk parts. I need this to be a reliable mod that won't introduce problems down the line.

Thanks in advance!

 

[onthemove]

Hi everyone! My name is Nick and my wife just bought a 2007 FX35 AWD! I've been a big Nissan/Infiniti fan since I was a kid, and have owned a very modified I30 since 2003. I've never liked SUVs, but I have always loved the FX. While on vacation at the beach a month ago we spotted a slightly modified burnt copper 1st gen FX parked, and I commented on how much I've always liked them, and she said she thought it was pretty cool looking. It probably helped that orange is one of her favorite colors! We weren't in the market for a new car for her, but her 2001 Escape was tired and I was tired of working on it. While I recovered from getting sunburned, I checked out FXs for sale. I was only interested in the burnt copper color, and I wanted one of the refreshed models, 2006-2008. I also had to have the cool brown interior, and would have preferred RWD. However, here in the DC area, most are AWD. Turns out finding a burnt copper 35 with the brown interior and RWD was pretty much impossible, but I did find one 10 miles from my house that was AWD. It had about 120k on it, the guy was the second owner, and he had ALL service done at the dealer! The car was in great shape aside from some scratches on the PS rear door, with none of that seat leather tearing like I saw on so many other ones for sale. The dash had been replaced under warranty, the tires were relatively new, and he had just spent $3,000+ having the 120k service done. We paid $7,000 for our FX, and we couldn't be happier! My wife is only 5'-2", so visibility leaves a little to be desired, but she's getting used to it. Even for me, it's tough to tell where the corners of the hood are! The car is pretty well loaded with Touring, hands-free, Technology, and LDW packages.

Here's a list of things I need to fix or do:
-Buy an OEM rubber cargo floor mat ($65 at local dealer)
-Install a new rear wiper motor (going to use aftermarket, current one is dead)
-Remove FX35 rear badge
-Repair/replace front PS door speaker, no sound
-Repair Bose amp, sub cuts out
-Figure out good way to install aux cable for stereo
-Tint front windows 50% (legal for VA)
-Remove roof rails
-Adjust parking brake
-Detail the crap out of the whole car
-Clean up all grounds in engine bay

Eventual mods will likely include:
-BC coilovers to replace the original 120k shocks/struts
-Some 20-25mm wheel spacers. I want to replace the weak stock studs with longer ARP studs and non-bolt-on spacers. What are my options?
-OEM 20s when it needs new tires
-Sport package pedals?

Pics! It's absolutely filthy, but not for long!

View attachment 598162

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View attachment 598164

View attachment 598165

View attachment 598166

More to come soon!

It's fine that you never liked suv's cause the FX is a crossover. The epa refers to it as a wagon, auto parts stores call it a truck and the local tax collector calls it an suv or some order like that. Morons, all of'em!
Put some h&r drop springs or coil overs on that thing and the old ball and ch....I mean the wife will be much more comfortable. The front end sits high, as if Infiniti designed it to be an off-road vehicle which is ironic as the FX, being the first crossover imo and perhaps not just my opinion but the first actual cross over, the first of it's kind sitting on a car platform with no intentions of it ever being an off-road vehicle, which then of coarse brings what I've written here full circle. It's a crossover.

 

[onthemove]

"The bolt at the very bottom (in the water) broke loose, but wouldn't come out, so I couldn't drain and clean the tray out of the car, I just had to stick a rag down there to absorb all the water. Is it common on the FXs for water to accumulate here?"
Yes.

"I also chased the threads for the two bolts on the car to make sure they were clean and made good contact:"
It would go well with you to remove paint from the surface of said panel-to-ground connection. Infiniti relying on threads as the basis for a good, long lasting ground was a mistake. Use vaseline in between or dielectric grease on top after it's bolted in place to prevent corrosion.

 

[95maxrider]

It's fine that you never liked suv's cause the FX is a crossover. The epa refers to it as a wagon, auto parts stores call it a truck and the local tax collector calls it an suv or some order like that. Morons, all of'em!
Put some h&r drop springs or coil overs on that thing and the old ball and ch....I mean the wife will be much more comfortable. The front end sits high, as if Infiniti designed it to be an off-road vehicle which is ironic as the FX, being the first crossover imo and perhaps not just my opinion but the first actual cross over, the first of it's kind sitting on a car platform with no intentions of it ever being an off-road vehicle, which then of coarse brings what I've written here full circle. It's a crossover.

From what I've read, the BC Racing coilovers seem to be preferred over simple lowering springs, assuming you can afford them. Many people say the BCs ride even better than stock while also handling better. Is this really accurate?

"The bolt at the very bottom (in the water) broke loose, but wouldn't come out, so I couldn't drain and clean the tray out of the car, I just had to stick a rag down there to absorb all the water. Is it common on the FXs for water to accumulate here?"
Yes.

"I also chased the threads for the two bolts on the car to make sure they were clean and made good contact:"
It would go well with you to remove paint from the surface of said panel-to-ground connection. Infiniti relying on threads as the basis for a goo,long lasting ground was a mistake. Use vaseline in between or dielectric grease on top after it's bolted in place to prevent corrosion.

Regarding the battery tray, I thought afterwards that drilling a few holes in the bottom of the tray to let it drain water might not be a bad idea. Has anyone done that before?

Regarding the ground bolts- I actually called my local Infiniti dealer today to order the OEM cargo mat, and decided to order all new ground bolts for the engine bay as well. The sales guy put a tech on the line, who said that while replacing the bolts was a good start, the real gains come from chasing the threads in the body. Apparently voltage drops are common enough in these cars, so I feel vindicated in my urge to clean up all the grounds prematurely. I too was curious about sanding off paint for a better ground, and the tech responded that while it makes good initial contact, the unpainted surface quickly starts to rust, wiping away all the gains and making the problem that much worse. From what I've seen on my other car, I totally believe that. Sure, slathering dielectric grease on it would slow it down, but it wouldn't be enough long term.

Got any thoughts on installing an aux in properly?

 

[onthemove]

Coil overs are great. I've read about failure but the BC's seem to be your best bet if you're wanting to "put it in the weeds" so to speak. I replaced the stock shocks/struts with KYB's which iirc were the stock brand. I like the ride & height of the H&R's, the reliability of the stock-like set up and have no intentions on making my crossover ride at a cars height, but to each his/her own.


I re-grounded all my grounds and added several. 0 corrosion since having done this a year ago. Mechanics, even those at the dealer aren't exactly one's best source for good information. Never slather, it's too messy.

 

[95maxrider]

Coil overs are great. I've read about failure but the BC's seem to be your best bet if you're wanting to "put it in the weeds" so to speak. I replaced the stock shocks/struts with KYB's which iirc were the stock brand. I like the ride & height of the H&R's, the reliability of the stock-like set up and have no intentions on making my crossover ride at a cars height, but to each his/her own.

I re-grounded all my grounds and added several. 0 corrosion since having done this a year ago. Mechanics, even those at the dealer aren't exactly one's best source for good information.

Oh, I don't want to lower it much more than an inch. But I either need to lower it about 1.5" or add about 1.5" in track width before I can auto-x this legally with SCCA. Maybe I'll do both And no, I'm not trying to make a racecar out of this, it's more so the wife can attend auto-x schools and learn how to drive this thing. I do my auto-x and rally-x in my cars!

So for your grounds, you sanded away the paint to the bare metal? You say there's no corrosion, have you actually taken them apart a year after the job and looked at the metal?

 

[onthemove]

The H&R's will drop it 1.25 or more once they settle.
After tucking the bay, only 2 grounds are exposed now, the chassis ground under the power steering pump and the exhaust (muffler) ground. The chassis ground has been removed twice and 0 corrosion was found. There was little to no visible corrosion on any of the grounds prior to my work, save for the exhaust ground. Tarnished brass and corroded bolts/threads were the issue but now there's vaseline between the bolts and threads and between the ground and body surfaces where grounds are found.
The manufacturer isn't going to spend the time to do what I did. Bolts and threads were apparently enough to at least get through the warranty period. People living in cold climates where roads are salted probably have more electrical issues, though not solely a result of shitty grounds.
On my throttle body you can see three grounds bolted to the top. One to the transmission, one to the timing chain cover at the same location the chassis ground comes into play and one directly to the - battery terminal.
I cut the plastic at the bottom of the battery tray around the rusted bolt (thanks Infiniti) with a hot soldering iron while tucking the bay. There are two more bolts that hold the tray in place anyway. Water doesn't get into the battery box anymore but if it did, it will drain. You're idea to drill a hole is good.

 

[gto]

Welcome to IS

 

[95maxrider]

The H&R's will drop it 1.25 or more once they settle.
After tucking the bay, only 2 grounds are exposed now, the chassis ground under the power steering pump and the exhaust (muffler) ground. The chassis ground has been removed twice and 0 corrosion was found. There was little to no visible corrosion on any of the grounds prior to my work, save for the exhaust ground. Tarnished brass and corroded bolts/threads were the issue but now there's vaseline between the bolts and threads and between the ground and body surfaces where grounds are found.
The manufacturer isn't going to spend the time to do what I did. Bolts and threads were apparently enough to at least get through the warranty period. People living in cold climates where roads are salted probably have more electrical issues, though not solely a result of shitty grounds.
On my throttle body you can see three grounds bolted to the top. One to the transmission, one to the timing chain cover at the same location the chassis ground comes into play and one directly to the - battery terminal.
I cut the plastic at the bottom of the battery tray around the rusted bolt (thanks Infiniti) with a hot soldering iron while tucking the bay. There are two more bolts that hold the tray in place anyway. Water doesn't get into the battery box anymore but if it did, it will drain. You're idea to drill a hole is good.

Do you have a build thread with pics of your tucking and ground cleanup? What is this exhaust ground you speak of? How does water get to the battery tray, and what did you do to prevent it from happening? Is it safe to drain the water from the tray beneath it? I couldn't tell what exactly was down there, but it looked like a bunch of wires.

 

[onthemove]

Do you have a build thread with pics of your tucking and ground cleanup?
FX35 - onthemove MOD's
What is this exhaust ground you speak of?
Under the hatch and above the muffler.
How does water get to the battery tray, and what did you do to prevent it from happening?
Don't know. Don't drive much in the rain though could be from washing the bay with too much water.
Is it safe to drain the water from the tray beneath it? I couldn't tell what exactly was down there, but it looked like a bunch of wires.
Just more body paneling. Gotta be a weep hole or open seem down there somewhere.

 

[95maxrider]

I've been tied up getting my beater '93 Maxima ready to sell, so the FX hasn't gotten much attention yet, but I did some initial cleaning of the engine bay and ground points. The engine bay was so nasty that I couldn't even check the oil level without contaminating the dipstick on all the surrounding filthy bits, so I knew some cleaning was in order.

Here's what I started with:







With the engine cover off I was able to clean up the oil filler neck area:



This is the guide for the dipstick:



And after cleaning:





I must say that this is by far the worst dipstick I have ever seen on a car. It has so many bends in it that it's pretty much impossible to pull it out without it rubbing up against the intake tube. I hate it!

Then it was on to the grounds. I bought all new bolts from the dealer to make things easy. In all locations I used my tap and die set to chase the threads in the body to make sure they had good conductivity and cleaned up the terminals with sand paper or a wire wheel. This FX lived up in Mass. for two years so there's a fair amount of rust and corrosion going on.



















New bolts vs. old:



Chasing threads:



Cleaning terminals:



While I was in there I cleaned up as much as I could reach with some rags and Purple Power. It's so much nicer now!







































I also removed most of the intake and found the parts in front of the filter to be pretty well caked with grime on the inside, so I cleaned them out with more rags and Purple Power. I need to pull the intake again so I can clean the MAF and TB, but that's for another day!

 

[dadmobile919]

Great color combo!!!

 

[1bad_fx45]

you have too much corrosion. it probably saw a lot of snow or got flooded. i wonder what's the undercarriage is looking like..

 

[Leeohfx35]

You and me are in the same
Boat. Lol I started to clean the engine compartment a few days ago. Good luck with all the corrosion it’s a bitch.

 

[95maxrider]

you have too much corrosion. it probably saw a lot of snow or got flooded. i wonder what's the undercarriage is looking like..

Yup, it's been in the east coast its whole life, and spent two years up in Massachusetts, so yeah, there's some rust and corrosion. I'll be fixing it when possible!

 

[95maxrider]

You and me are in the same boat. Lol I started to clean the engine compartment a few days ago. Good luck with all the corrosion it’s a bitch.

Yup, I can't wait to see what I find when I get it up on the lift!

 

[95maxrider]

Work on the FX came to a halt while I worked on my cars, but with them in good shape it was finally time to detail the FX! I used to detail cars as a side job, so I've got all the goodies to do full paint restoration. Here's the process I went through:

-Power washed the car
-Bug/tar remover to remove all the dried sap
-Wash
-Clay car
-Wash
-Polish (2 rounds of Menzerna Intensive Polish with firm cutting pad) with Flex 3401 buffer
-One coat of Klasse Sealant Glaze

Since there isn't much to show from power washing, let's get to the sap removal. I used Stoners Bug and Tar Remover to dissolve all of the old dried tree sap. The previous owner had tried to remove the sap, but clearly didn't know how, and scratched the hell out of the paint in the process. It took a while, but it all eventually melted away.























Then after washing the car, I clay barred it.





During the process, I was greeted by a little rain shower and a rainbow:

 

[95maxrider]

Then it was on to the fun stuff- paint correction! Buffing paint is a PITA, but the results are always worth the effort. I started by removing the FX35 badging:



Here's the amount of scratches and bird dropping marks I had to deal with:













Scratches plus bird marks!





You can see the scratches from the PO trying to remove the sap here:









The PS rear door had been scraped against something by the PO, and I wanted to minimize the appearance since doing touch up paint in this color is very difficult. Infiniti no longer offers those little cans of touch up paint, and aftermarket paint shops only offer spray cans.



Upper scratch:



Lower scratch:



Rear scratch:





After getting the car clean enough to actually see the finish, I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. The C pillar area on the PS looks like it was resprayed at some point. There was a noticeable transition in the finish as it met the roof, with the lower portion looking pretty poor and not glossy:





And here's some minor scratching on the DS front fender:



Even after power washing and clay barring there was still plenty of bird and bug markings on the front bumper:





I didn't get any good pics of the muffler tips before getting started, but they were nasty. Clay barring helped a lot, but I had to whip out the metal polish to finish the job. Here's what it looks like with the clay bar residue still on it:



Before getting started, I masked off all of the black trim with painters tape so the polish wouldn't mess it up. It took some time, but it was worth it!