sorry to hear about your father.
Workshop looks like it will have plenty of space for projects.

 

Yeah, sorry to hear that news. That's a tough transition for sons to make. I miss sharing cocktail hour Manhattans with dear old Dad. He was sales manager for Owens-Illinois' Kimax Scientific Glassware. He had this delicate little glass squeeze-bulb pipette mated to a small flask bottle that he would fill with the Angostura bitters and very precisely and scientifically squeeze in the exact number of drops his Manhattans required. Geez it was hell being the son of somebody that anally-oriented to detail.

 

Got another replacement eBay radiator due me being dumb and accidentally slipping and drilling a hole in mine (long story... I'll fix the hole later and put it on another G/Z in the future) same cheapo brand... dug out an old stock radiator just for a comparison photo for anyone on the fence about upgrading their radiator. The difference between the stock and a trash aftermarket radiator are staggering, stock is the thin one on top, eBay aluminum 2 core is on the bottom. You really should upgrade your radiator if you haven't already...

Also JB Weld fixed the cracked tab on my fan shroud top mounting bolt, and put in a new timing chain tensioner, also replaced my idler pulley while everything was out of the way.

Almost drove off my low profile ramps because I came at them a little fast, that would have sucked.

 

So youre saying the cheap ebay radiator is still an upgrade over the OEM?

 

That's precisely what he's saying. Kinda crazy eh? I'll have mine thoroughly inspected and if there's the slightest concern, justification to swap out.

 

Took 5 months to get from Japan

 

Yes that radiator is a pretty significant upgrade for cooling. The stock radiator is a single core which is usually what most vehicles get from the factory. That eBay one is a a two core (or two row, I guess the terminology changed and I still use the old name), therefore it basically has double the capacity through the part of the radiator that actually does the cooling.

 

installed voltage stabilizer // shifting flawlessly and MPG went up too... pleased
installed single drive shaft (insulated) along with upgraded 370 z CV Axles & Bearings
shopping wheels, grill, headlights...
and differentials

 

Think I'm going to have to break down and actually pay someone to work on the G, just tired of dealing with it. Ordered a new steering rack because it was very loose off center then really hard to turn, found the rack leaking, hopefully it's not the pump also. Then while waiting on a free weekend, my daughter comes in saying the clutch pedal feels funny and it's making robot noises. Pretty sure it's just the throw out bearing, but debating on just getting a new clutch also. Only 80k on this clutch, but my daughter has been driving it about a year now. Probably riding the clutch like a newb (she's only 17 ). Plus I found out the army base nearby closed up its auto hobby shop, so no access to a lift.

Even though it has over 300k miles and has been driven the last year by a teenager, still in much better shape that some of found with half the miles. Plus used car prices have gone full potato recently, so guess I should fix it. Groan.

 

A voltage stabilizer fixed your shifting problems? What kinda shifting problems did u have before this??

 

Not so much shifting issues.. my bad..
off the launch it stuttered now it doesn't. Better spark at the plugs.

 

Just get a new OEM ignition condenser and a grounding kit.

 

 

I gave my 2008 G35x to our daughter a year ago when she turned 16 and it finally needed some maintenance now that it's at 151k miles. Was leaking water so I started looking and it was dripping on the side of the timing case so it was time for a water pump. Since I was going to be in the timing cover I ordered the galley gaskets too. The biggest problem I ran into was I couldn't get the crank / balancer bolt off. I did this job without removing the radiator and front end so I was limited to a breaker bar. I was flexing a 1/2" breaker to the point of the pin shattering so I went out and bought a 3/4" breaker bar. It didn't flex but the balancer shattered where I had a pry bar jammed into it. So I used an angle grinder and chopped off the bolt head and removed the leftover pieces. The best thing I could have done through the job was keep rotating the engine so the front timing chain lined up on all three marks. When I popped the chain tensioner off the cams they shifted because of the valve springs. I just used a socket and 1/2" long ratchet to position the cam back while putting the chain back on. After I got it all together I took it for a spin and it had a horrible vibration. It was so bad the gas and brake pedal was vibrating. I threw it in neutral while it was going down the road and it still did it so I knew it wasn't the motor. So I changed both front wheel bearings and it fixed the shaking problem.

So I spent 4 days working on it because one water pump o-ring started leaking... another thing I learned is the o-ring would leak more when cold and when it would warm up it would almost completely seal off. Another good tip is to use a impact screwdriver for the galley gaskets, just don't wack em on very hard because the screws are not hardened. I guess it was worth all the work because I have read that most people have to pay around 2 grand for the water pump and galley gaskets with installation. Going to be honest though, that job really sucked.

 

Dyno results are in: 308.499 peak WHP, 291.898 WTQ

Dropping off my 133,000 mile '08 G35x to R/T Tuning in Montgomeryville, PA for the following things:

- Stillen gen 3 COI dry filters
- FI resonated HFC
- FI 2.5" resonated catback
- H&R Trak+ DRS 15/20 mm spacers
- Injen throttle controller
- Transgo valve body
- Stillen grounding kit
- Corbeau A4 black leather heated seats
- Hotchkis sway bar kit (front already in place along with Cosco tower strut bar)
- Whiteline rear diff bushing set
- Z1 aluminum subframe bushing collars
- Uprev Osiris dyno tune on Mustang AWD dyno 93 octane
- 3M Color Stable 20% all around tint
- black vinyl hood wrap