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After driving with constantly squealing/grinding brakes all week out of the need to get to work, I did a brake job on the G this weekend. I used Centric/StopTech premium blank rotors for the front, and power stop Z23 ceramic/carbon fiber pads all around. I had planned on just doing a scuff and slap on the rear rotors as they were well within spec... however upon taking off the RR rotor this is what I found:
Unfortunately I didn't have new rear rotors on hand, and had to put this one back on the car with a new brake pad on the good side of the rotor and one of the old pads that still had some life on it facing the gouged side. Ordered some more Centric blanks for the rear, should be arriving later in the week just in time for the autocross event Sunday. Lesson learned, not replacing worn parts while you're in there is false economy, now I have to take everything apart again.
The PO had clearly done a quick pad slap with EBC red stuff rotors, and that showed as both front and rear pads wore very unevenly, with the front brakes dragging at all times on the inside of both calipers. A wire brush and proper cleaning took care of that problem.
Obviously braking is much improved over the old worn out pads, but just as importantly my steering wheel vibration at 45 mph is gone and the car feels smoother at highway speeds due to the new front rotors. No more slight pulsing of the brake pedal either when making slow stops. Coasting is also improved since my front brakes are no longer slightly dragging. I can't find any negative effects from the gouged rotor (which is still above min. spec on the gouged part) other than a slight pull to the left in HARD braking at speeds over 90 mph. (I put the car through its paces after bedding in the pads, as I like to know my brakes work well BEFORE I actually need them to)
I also dumped a can of boom mat sound deadener onto the muffler heat shields and around any metal I could get access to around the driveshaft, resonator, and transmission. It didn't make much of a difference but it does sound like the 75 mph drone I was experiencing is slightly reduced. Actual sound deadening mats for the interior trunk area will be arriving (and getting installed) tonight. This is intended to quiet down both my exhaust noise and my slightly whining differential which I've decided isn't getting replaced any time soon as the VLSD seems to be working fine and there were no excessive metal shavings when I drained the diff a couple weeks ago.
Last edited by cswlightning; Jun 18, 2018 at 01:29 PM.
My G35 has been sitting for a few months (besides the occasional start up) and got her revived today. I think it's time for a new battery as it doesn't seem to hold a charge - added some distilled water and it's doing a little better but the battery is 6 years old now so...
Minus a few other somewhat minor issues, it's running great and still young! 126k!
The plan was to sell but I think I'm gonna have trouble letting that happen. Might post in classifieds soon though, see what happens
After driving with constantly squealing/grinding brakes all week out of the need to get to work, I did a brake job on the G this weekend. I used Centric/StopTech premium blank rotors for the front, and power stop Z23 ceramic/carbon fiber pads all around. I had planned on just doing a scuff and slap on the rear rotors as they were well within spec... however upon taking off the RR rotor this is what I found:
Unfortunately I didn't have new rear rotors on hand, and had to put this one back on the car with a new brake pad on the good side of the rotor and one of the old pads that still had some life on it facing the gouged side. Ordered some more Centric blanks for the rear, should be arriving later in the week just in time for the autocross event Sunday. Lesson learned, not replacing worn parts while you're in there is false economy, now I have to take everything apart again.
The PO had clearly done a quick pad slap with EBC red stuff rotors, and that showed as both front and rear pads wore very unevenly, with the front brakes dragging at all times on the inside of both calipers. A wire brush and proper cleaning took care of that problem.
Obviously braking is much improved over the old worn out pads, but just as importantly my steering wheel vibration at 45 mph is gone and the car feels smoother at highway speeds due to the new front rotors. No more slight pulsing of the brake pedal either when making slow stops. Coasting is also improved since my front brakes are no longer slightly dragging. I can't find any negative effects from the gouged rotor (which is still above min. spec on the gouged part) other than a slight pull to the left in HARD braking at speeds over 90 mph. (I put the car through its paces after bedding in the pads, as I like to know my brakes work well BEFORE I actually need them to)
I also dumped a can of boom mat sound deadener onto the muffler heat shields and around any metal I could get access to around the driveshaft, resonator, and transmission. It didn't make much of a difference but it does sound like the 75 mph drone I was experiencing is slightly reduced. Actual sound deadening mats for the interior trunk area will be arriving (and getting installed) tonight. This is intended to quiet down both my exhaust noise and my slightly whining differential which I've decided isn't getting replaced any time soon as the VLSD seems to be working fine and there were no excessive metal shavings when I drained the diff a couple weeks ago.
Nice work. Red stuff is really aggressive, and if the pins are sticking :facepalm: those would wear out the rotors like they did so fast .
I recently swapped to Stoptech Sport metallic pads and have been very impressed. Good pads ftw!
Garnet Ember G35X Sport EBC rotors LEDs GTR button Tail-as-Turn TBW undertray Alarm shock sensor
Ok, so my differential rear bushing was blown, all silicone fluid gone. Before I bought the Whiteline kit and paid a mechanic to install it, I found this youtube video "$20 Differential Bushing Fix: Motorvate's DIY Garage Ep.23":
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I did the fix AFTER jacking the differential up to center the inner and outer bushings. I left the car on the ramps, diff jacked up all night to let the epoxy cure. No, the epoxy did not leak out overnight - it is 5min
epoxy.
The car seems to shift better and faster.
I wonder how long this fix will last; if it doesn't then I'll go the Whiteline bushing route but $20 of epoxy is much better than $500-$600 in labor. (Don't even bring the Infiniti service dept. into it.)
Has anyone else tried this fix?
Never heard of it but I'd be surprised if it lasted more than 1 season. Epoxy isn't exactly designed for this type of application. Replacing the bushing yourself is very straightforward, if you have a service jack, some metric sockets, ratchet/breaker bar, sawzall, you can just replace it yourself. It helps to have a second person to operate the jack when you get to the removal/installation step of the differential but it can be done solo as well.
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