Just went to install my first mod "ztube" and I crashed big time...I read the DIY and had the proper tools but things went wrong...3 of the 4 bolts on the engine cover broke in half...Wierd thing is I wasn't even forcing them, they seemed to be turning so effortlessly and then just snap...I decided to continue on with the install, well of course the midway bolt that were supposed to take out with a 10mm socket also breaks in half...At this point I've put everything away...The other half of the bolts are all stuck in the damn plenum...What should I do next? Take it to the dealer? To a shop? O and to top it off I decided to call my dealership today and make sure they were mod friendly towards the ztube and they're answer "of course not" its an aftermarket part yada yada yada...Just friggin great, yea I know that they would have to prove that the ztube caused problems but I'd be so much more comfortable knowing they were backing the product...Does warranty work have to be done by the dealership that you purchased at? Or can I check with other local dealers to see if they accept the Ztube mod? Sorry for all the questions, I'm really bummed...I was going to leave her completely stock and then I got the urge for a Ztube and Clear corners because I heard they were both "can't miss" installs...Well apparently I'm the one *** on the board who can't Do it himself...Thanks for listening guys

 

Can you post some pic's. that does not sound good at all. Its a simple install.

 

Yea I'll try to get some pics up later tonight...I'm heading out to work right now, I hope shes driveable...Man I'm so down right now...

 

sorry to hear of your problems, it was an easy install and i hadn't done anything under a hood in a long time (other than a k&n in my 3000 GT SL)

Does warranty work have to be done by the dealership that you purchased at? Or can I check with other local dealers to see if they accept the Ztube mod?

no, you can take it to any Infiniti dealer, your warrenty is with Infiniti, not the local dealer you bought from....note all the people who bought their G's from Grubbs in Dallas but have the warrent work done in the state where they live.

 

Sorry to hear that. I'm located in SC, and I called my Infiniti dealership to see how they felt about Mods...Well to my surprise, they told me as long as it is not FI, and the product is a bolt on it would not effect my warranty. They even sell Mods for your car at the dealership. He said he sells Grounding kits, All types of CAI, Headers, cat-backs, and numerous other goodies. Basically he said as long as you don't mess with the internals of the engine and transmission, your all right. I have read many post about Mod unfriendly dealerships, If you want real answers I suggest you call the Nissian coorporation and find out what the truth really is. Agian, sorry to hear about the install, every thing will work out in the end though (Motivational sentence).

GCBUTTER

 

i am very confused...what exactly happen. for the engine cover there are 2 screws towards the top that screw in, and towards the bottom there are 2 bolts that screw onto a screw that is stuck around the outside of the pleneum. from what i read your car is driveable and there is nothing to worry about. there are only 4 things to unscrew to get the engine cover off, and again 2 are screws and 2 our little blots with a rounded headd. not sure what they are called. look at it again, i dont think its that bad. and if your engine cover doesn't go back on its not the end of the world. and now you have a reason to get a upper pleneum so you dont have to look at the ugly stock one.

 

Since it sounds like it's drivable, take it to a shop with experience doing broken bolt removal. You can try an easy-out type remover yourself, but I would not recommend it, those things are very brittle and if you break one off inside the bolt you have even bigger problems. Believe me I know

 

Whaaaat?????
There are only 2 bolts and 2 nuts that hold the cover in place.......
If you were turning the wrench the correct way.....I don't see how they could be that tight....on a plastic cover.....?????

As far as your dealer and warranty goes, the Z tube is a Nissan OEM part.

Man...a Z Tube install gone bad. Now that's a new one!

So ....I guess that a do it yourself SC or turbo install is out of the question....

 

are you sure you went righty-tighty, lefty-loosey before you turned the bolts?

i just did mine a week ago and there is no way i could've broke any of those bolts if i was loosening the right way

 

G35Tuning, you are in the Philly area, aren't you?

just wondering where you purchased from?... i got the impression in shopping around the area for my coupe that none of the dealerships are mod friendly down there (i ended up getting the car at Ardmore, though only b/c they cut me a sweet deal after messing up my first order bigtime)

you could always make the road trip up to the home of the NY G-Squad, ATLANTIC INFINITI in Lynbrook NY. they're about as mod friendly as you'll ever find
(last time there i had the service manager of the dealership almost singe his knuckles on my red-hot aftermarket headers while connecting my #7 grounding wire ... talk about going the extra mile!)

did you try giving them the line about how the Z-tube is an OEM Nissan part?

 

[QUOTE=Blackbird V35]are you sure you went righty-tighty, lefty-loosey before you turned the bolts?

YO Blackbird I like that righty-tighty, lefty-loosey thing. It reminds me of a girl I played doctor with A long time ago. Great reply

 

Ok this even got a slight laugh out of me... Seriously though guys, I did the right-tighty, lefty- loosey...In fact I had a friend here as well, he actually broke the 1st one...I thought he was kidding, but sure enough I proceeded to break the next one...Basically I was turning it to the "left" and then it felt like it was loose...So I pull up on the socket wrench and I notice the damn bolt is stuck in the wrench...I lifted up the engine cover and broken off flush with the plenum is the other half of the bolt...I'm so down about this right now and I feel like a complete jackass...I contemplated not even mentioning it on the boards because I'd look like a clown, but Id rather get some input and swallow my pride rather then not know what to do...Crazy thing is that if anyone wants to check the DIY forum there is a thread called Easy Ztube install...I was reading that thread before I began my install, if you scroll through it someone from Florida mentions that his bolts broke in half...When I read this I laughed to myself and was thinking "who can possibly mess up this install" well folks, apparently I can...I baby the hell out of this car, 9 months of ownership only 6500 miles, about 10 wax jobs and now I "f" this up? So pissed at myself...And here I was reading up on lots of DIY things because I've wanted to become more involved lately, maybe I should just stick with the dealership check ups...Thanks for listening and your advice...If I can get this camera charged up I'll try to host some pics tonight...Take care guys

 

Yea I'm from the Philly area, I actually purchased my ride from Ray Catena in NJ...The price was right and the service was very friendly...I gave them the line about the Nissan 350Z OEM part but they just told me that they won't warranty anything thats not an Infiniti part...I began explaining how the companies are 1 but they didn't seem to understand...I guess if I run into problems I'll head up to NY...

 

same **** happend to me bro, except it was only 1 bolt, i just left it there...