Well, that's apparently a point of some contention between different dealerships. Some will go ahead and replace the two (discrete) gallery gaskets instead of removing all the rest of the timing parts to get down to the rear timing cover and then replace it. Similarly, some will replace the cam cover seals discretely as well, while other will replace the entire cam cover units (approx $600 ea.) instead.

The dealership that worked on my car had a policy of replacing the major components instead of the discrete parts. I did not care though, as it was all covered under my extended warranty, but it does drive the cost well into the thousands to do it this way. The thing that's troubling with your invoice is that they don't show having used either method for replacing the cam cover seals; they obvious implication being they reused them (which is a big NO NO).

If this was performed under an Infiniti warranty, and you can't get satisfaction out of the dealership, then I'd call Infiniti's Corporate Customer Relations and file a complaint. They should have some sway on the dealership to make sure they perform repairs to a minimum standard.

 

Yes, for 2007's I think the Infiniti recommended procedure is to replace both entire cam timing covers/controls, just for lack of 3 small sealing rings on each. That's what my dealer told me when I went to purchase the seals alone, anyway.

However, my recommendation is that you not be overly concerned about it. When I did the oil gallery gasket repair on my '07 G35 myself, I simply replaced the original covers with the original seals in place. With nearly 10K miles on it since repair, no problems whatsoever. And I figger if they do fail, I'll know it pretty quickly by the codes & characteristic poor running due to cam advance/retard failure. Then it's a simple 20-minute job to pull both covers & replace the seals.

Just drive the damn thing, & don't spend your time hand-wringing!

 

I'd agree with this if it weren't for the fact that this was done under a warranty repair that he made a co-payment for. Essentially, he's already paid for it, and it should have been done right the first time, so the more time that passes, the less likely they are to make good on their mistake. No?

 

Sorry for the potentially stupid question, but I am having trouble understanding something regarding this problem with the paper oil gallery gaskets. I have looked all over this thread, but I can't seem to find any info about the actual effects of this problem. Can someone explain where the oil leaks from and to like I don't know much about cars???

 

The effects are noted in the fault code descriptions:

http://infinitihelp.com/diy/obd_code..._infiniti.html

http://infinitihelp.com/diy/obd_code..._infiniti.html

Basically, the valve timing is controlled hydraulically with oil pressure. When there is a leak in the oil passages that provide (and hold) that oil pressure, then the result is that oil pressure drops and is no longer adequate to perform the function of advancing the valve timing which ultimately causes severe engine performance issues.

The oil leaks from two narrow channels (galleries) cast into the aluminum rear timing cover assembly and covered by a simple cover plate and gasket. When those gaskets under the gallery covers fail, the oil exits the gallery under pressure, but is contained by the front timing cover assembly, and drips harmlessly back down and into the oil pan so there is no external indication of oil leakage (other than potential low oil pressure indications/symptoms).

This post has pics of the gasket poking out from under the cover over the oil gallery on my car: https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...ml#post6947622

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I've had my 08 sedan for a year now and I just now stumbled upon all of the threads about this issue. It's a little disheartening to hear about such a terrible design flaw on what seems to be otherwise a wonderful engine. The fact that it seems like more of a WHEN and not IF makes me rethink my decision to keep this car for an extended period of time. Maybe I am over thinking the issue and it's not that big of a deal but when one of my top reasons for buying this car in particular was long term reliability, my confidence in the vehicle gets shaken.

I guess I need to check my oil pressure now...

 

That's really the best (and only) thing you can do.

 

Had it checked and it was 5 PSI at idle...

The infiniti tech at my dealership told me that he wouldn't worry about it unless it started to affect performance or a CEL came on. I've only got 59k miles on my 08...

 

UGHH, I'm truly sorry to hear that.

I must say, that it is all well and good for the 'nice' tech at the dealership (who does not own the car!!) to hold such an (obviously calming) opinion, but unfortunately the team of engineers at Nissan who designed the engine and specified its safe and proper operating specifications held a rather different opinion on the matter, so it is completely ludicrous that he/they should try and pacify you like that.

The measured oil pressure IS TOO LOW, plain and simple. I suspect your car is experiencing the exact situation mine was, where it had not yet developed any apparent faults or performance issues, but still showed only 5 psi at idle. When I had the repair done, one of the gaskets had just started to blow out (see post #195 for the gory pics: https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...ml#post6947622 ). To be sure, this condition would only have worsened had I continued to operate the car.

I'm afraid you're definitely looking at an expensive repair down the road. Hopefully you have some extended warranty to fall back on, but if not then I would strongly suggest you start saving some coin for the procedure. Sorry.

 

I'm feeling relieved. Just had my 08 sedan with 73k miles checked:

40 psi idle
60 psi at 2000 rpm

 

I don't want to burst your bubble, but those aren't normal readings; they are way too high.

My guess is that whoever did the measurement didn't wait for the oil to get up to the specified temperature, resulting in the inflated values, and/or the rpms were too high.


EDIT: I didn't mean to imply or insinuate that your car will have low OP when properly measured, just that the values you noted are likely invalid.

 

So I spoke with Infiniti Consumer Affairs today. They told me they have some sort of review process that you can go through for out of warranty repairs such as this one. I was told that I need a work order # from the dealership with all the pertinent info on the repair. Looks like I have another to-do item on my list for this week. I really feel like I might have a case here since my 08 has only been out of warranty for less than a year and I still have less than 60k miles. Maybe I'm just being overly optimistic though.

Have anybody of you guys ever been through the out of warranty review process with Infiniti?

 

Oh crap. I wrote a freakin novel of a response for you and the damn website logged me off and lost it when I tried to post it. It's too late tonight to redo it, I'll try again tomorrow.

 

Haha sorry for being the cause of your frustration... I know how awful that feels.

 

I'm in the process with them to. My transmission has some internal problem and the advisor said I need a new transmission. I'm out of warranty due to the year. I'm under 60k so lets see what happens.