Sounds bad. Not sure what's up. My son's car, driving a 2 hour trip, car stalled out while driving. He said battery light came on then engine died and would not start. Next day the guy who towed it, also a mechanic, said it would start and run but engine making noises like something loose inside. Video attached below. Car is an hour away and I have to have it towed in the morning to get more info on what's going on. Can you tell anything from this video what we may be in for?

https://www.facebook.com/100001586019860/videos/413701513449245/

 

Sounds like maybe a massive exhaust leak? Possibly also a pulley completely **** the bed? Maybe the alternator itself?

Pop the hood and see if you can isolate where exactly that ruckus is coming from.

Normally when it's that bad there's usually a VISIBLE SIGN OF DAMAGE.

Might have kicked out a spark plug? Pull and inspect, definitely doesn't sound like it's running on all 6.

Also pull the dipstick and inspect the oil, if there is any.

 

The owner of the shop says its a thrown rod. He says it's pretty obvious based on his experience. He did confirm the oil level is correct, so it did not have low oil when this occurred.

My next question is about an engine replacement. I'm looking at LKQ online for an engine. The car is a 2007 Sport Sedan 6 speed manual. The engine is a VQ35HR and the 4th VIN digit is "B". Should any engine that is VQ35HR 4th VIN "B" work for this vehicle or do I need to specifically look for a VQ35HR 4th VIN "B" that came out of a 6 speed sport sedan?

 

I think any VQ35HR will do. Not aware of any "FWD vs RWD" shenanigans like when shopping for a DE.

 

OK, not sure why but ALL of the sources I've tried thus far make you choose AWD or RWD when selecting a VIN B VQ35HR engine assembly.

 

Ok so I should clarify a bit I guess, the upper oil pan is different on the RWD and AWD, however you can just swap your upper pan if needed. On the AWD the right side front axle actually goes THROUGH the oil pan so there's a hole in the middle of it.

If you just want a bolt-in motor then yes you would need to get it with the correct oil pan.

It will also have a different pilot bushing on the crankshaft if it came from a 6MT equipped transmission, on the 6MT it has an actual bushing that supports the front end of the transmission input shaft, on the 5AT it's just a big sort of "plug" that the torque converter sits into. Since you have the 5AT you can just reuse your existing plug-style bushing since it doesn't actually act as a bearing like the 6MT one does. If the engine came from another 5AT then it will already have that correct pilot bushing.

Swapping/replacing pilot bushings is easy and they are very inexpensive if you do buy a new one, less than $10.

 

Our G35 Sport is actually a 6 Speed Manual, not 5 speed automatic. There we no available engines from 6 speed manual vehicles. Our car is a 2008 G35S RWD. The donor engine came from a 2008 G35 RWD with 5 speed automatic transmission.

 

Ohh that's easy then, you need to buy a new manual transmission pilot bushing. It's something that should always be replaced with a new motor or a new clutch.

Get a slide hammer and a pilot bushing/bearing puller for the hammer. That's the easiest way anyways. Nissan uses fairly small inner diameter for their pilot bushings so you might have to take the bushing puller to a bench grinder and whittle down the teeth a little so it fits inside. If you're unsure what I'm talking about I'll be over at the shop tomorrow so I can take some pictures of one I modified if you want.

Those pilot bushings are like a $5 part, the puller is about $25 and you can rent a slide hammer from your local auto parts house if you're u don't have one. Just he sure to check beforehand what their thread size on the slide hammer is in case you need an adapter for the puller. The standard size is 5/8" thread. If you want to just buy one they're like $100 or so. 5 lb hammer is the most versatile, if you want more weight you can always add it with an Olympic weight barbell plate.

To install the new bushing just put a little oil on the inner and outer mating races of the bushing and crankshaft then hammer it into place, ideally with a bearing press plate but anything that is flat will work, don't hammer directly on the bushing it's made of brass and you WILL deform it, gotta hammer it into place with something flat, a larger diameter socket that's turned around backwards so the top/flat is on the bushing will work is you don't have other tools. It hammers in very easily, slide hammers out very easily.

 

Also, I personally would remove the transmission from your car. It's so much easier IMO to take the tranny out so you have a lot of room for doing the engine swap, it's only a couple dozen other bolts but you have much better access to everything, and mating the transmission back up to the engine is a LOT easier than mating the engine onto the transmission.

It takes me about 45 minutes to pull a transmission but I've done engines and trannies in these cars literally dozens of times each, expect it to take you about 2hr the first time on the tranny since you have to take off shifter, exhaust, driveline.

​​​​​​Something to consider.

Ohh and 45° angle head needle nose pliers, it will be by FAR your most used tool, every electrical harness and hose clamp. If you don't have a pair you better go buy one. Doesn't need to be fancy.

 

And leave the headers on the engine when you pull it, make sure they are installed before you put it back in. They're an absolute bitch to get on/off with the engine in the car. Yep ur intake and exhaust gaskets are all metal reusable gaskets so don't buy new ones.

Reuse ALL your existing sensors and fuel injectors, coil packs, everything electronic. You know they work, you have no clue what condition they are on the donor motor and don't want to be tracing down issues because of a bad sensor on the donor.

New spark plugs.

 

If you don't already have a copy of the FSM I strongly recommend you download it.

https://www.nicoclub.com/infiniti-service-manuals

Everything starts at FWD -Forward.

 

Thanks very much for all your help and insights and information. I'm actually not doing the engine swap myself. Luckily, the car broke down right next to a mechanic shop in rural Alabama. My son was on his way from Auburn where he is a student, to Alabama where his GF is enrolled. He broke down about 3/4 of the way there, about a stone's throw from an Automotive Repair and Towing shop.
Anyway, the owner of that shop is doing the engine swap for all of $700.00. He was on his way to tow a wreck when he saw my son broke down near his shop and was able to tow the car off the road when it happened.
Donor engine assembly has shipped from Las Vegas LKQ salvage yard and should arrive on location next Thursday. Hoping to have the car operational the following week. Mechanic said he would need 2 days for the job.

 

Holy crap, $700 for the whole swap?

He's basically doing that for the cost of the donor engine and not charging you labor AT ALL. If it does turn out to be the deal he claims it to be you better buy him a nice christmas present.

 

No, I paid for the engine separately through LKQ and I’m having that shipped. The engine was $2700 shipped

 

Well all said and done that gets you back on track for the usual cost of an engine swap of about $3500 so... overpay on the engine, underpay on the labor, all breaks even at the end.