Well, I just want to be able to do oil changes, and all that other mechanic stuff myself so I can save money and not go to a slimy mechanic. I'm sorry if I sound like a pessimistic a-hole by saying "slimy mechanic" but I had a bad experience with my 1997 Infiniti I30 that broke down a month after I spent about $500 at a mechanic to "fix" things up. I know cars break down and that is part of life but if I can save money by doing the fixes myself that would be awesome. I currently own a 2005 G35 Sedan and my next oil change is coming up in about 500 miles.

Correct me if this idea sounds crazy but I'm thinking of getting an inspection done at a local mechanic and then do repairs by looking up DIY videos on Youtube. Do any of you guys do this or do you already have a trusty mechanic?

Any help would be nice. Thank you in advance!

 

Why not get the inspection done at a reputable Infiniti dealer close to you? I've had my 03 Dealer serviced for the last five years and I've had no "slimy experiences" but the opposite. One error gave me a credit but no rip offs in any other situations. I applaude your desire to change your own oil and you could make that request minus the negative editorial re mechanics, imo. I believe changing oil is likely a fairly straight forward job with proper tools and the skill sets. Oil is cheap and you can buy filters on line here. I bought plugs, air cleaner, oil filter from this site and had them shipped to my Washington St address. Saved a fair bit of money. There seems to be lots of tutorials and info on this site which is why I spend time here. Good Luck.

 

That may be a good idea since I heard dealers give the best service (although pricey compared to a mechanic IIRC). What equipment in terms of getting under the car did you buy to unscrew bolts?

 

There are plenty of DIY videos right here. It still takes some mechanical ability. Good luck and be careful. A guy I knew died when his car fell on him recently.

 

Damn, that is the least motivating way to get me to do work on my car

Thanks for the heads up tho

 

I've never been much of a mechanic; I even scored so low on that part for the ASVAB that when I joined the Military those jobs were off-limits for me, lol.

Fast forward 14 years later and no more warranty on my car, lol. I have done oil change, tran fluid changed, rear diff, spark plugs, O2 sensors, drive belts, bled brakes, shocks/struts (I was scared of this one! Since you compress the springs), calipers, rotors, brake pads, exhaust, re-did my car audio (always good with electronics though), fixed a huge vacuum leak behind the brake cylinder, replaced radiator, and did my timing chain all by myself. Also, been working on my Volvo that I own.

Using the FSM, alldatadiy.com, Haynes manual, and Eugene's videos (bythabay).

All you need is space, wrenches, torque wrenches, and various sockets.

Most important thing good quality jack and jack stands at least 3 ton to be safe. Don't buy those cheap ones either. I bought a nice set from TireRack and the jack ended up being faulty and they replaced it for me.

If I can do it anyone can with some initiative, common sense, and the right tools.

Now, I only go to the mechanics for things like alignments, tire mounting, or serious work.

 

It pains me at how simple these things are and people pay big money to have someone else do them.

Oil change: go buy some car ramps from Walmart, drive yer front tires onto the ramps, take off your skid plate, locate the oil drain plug, put an oil bucket underneath it and remove the plug. Let the oil drain into the bucket until the car is empty and replace the oil plug. Tight, but not too tight. It's fairly soft metal.

Next, locate the filter; place your oil bucket under the filter and unscrew that beeotch and let it drain. Get your new filter and smear a tiny bit of oil around the rubber piece. Screw that b!tch on and hand tighten (again, tight, but not too tight. This isn't an incredible hulk audition).

Lastly, get a funnel (don't try to be cool and not use a funnel) stick it in the hole where you just unscrewed the oil fill cap (we're on top of the engine now btw) and pour 5 quarts of oil down its neck (you don't even have to check the dipstick!). Replace the oil fill cap and you're done! 12 minutes and $20 later (minus the ramp, bucket and funnel costs) and you can feel proud.

Next, take your oil and filter to any auto supply store and ask them to recycle your waste. (It's free)

 

At the very least, I would definitely recommend doing your own oil changes. The G and 350z have a notoriously annoying oil filter change because you have to remove like 10 nuts and a big plastic piece. I went to jiffy lube a couple times and found out later they just never changed my oil filter and charged me for it.

 

I wouldn't put so much weight in dealers offering the *best* mechanic service. I could tell you some stories about my dealer recommending services for stuff they never checked, or claming that my brakes were normal, and then me finding my rear caliper was seized up which caused my soft brake pedal.

I was a happy man when my warranty expired simply because I didn't have to consider the dealer anymore. I've been 100% DIY with this car since then other than installing tires.

 

tip.. if you are going to work on your suspension parts, buy a impact wrench.. it's $50 to $100 for a cheaper one. Spend about $40 on short and long impact sockets.. and you can make it happen..

I know you can do it with regular wrenches and sockets, but this will save you HOURS and not stress other worn parts...

 

If you have never worked on a car before find a buddy that has. Have him there with you when you do things the first time. If you screw uo changing your oil your engine can be damaged. If you mess up on suspension you can damage your car and even get injured while driving.

 

Thank you all for the responses.

Funny that you mention that. I'm going to a buddy's house sometime next week to do the oil change on my G35. He doesn't own a G35 (he owns a Jetta) but he DIYs maintenance on his car (so he obviously has the equipment) and he is over 200k miles on his car. Can't wait to learn some ins and outs of my car. Should be fun!

 

Watch the videos in this thread before doing your DIY maintenance. It has everything you need to know from jacking up your G to doing oil changes and much more. It gave me the confindence to tackle all of my routine maintenance and install my aftermarket parts myself.

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...eo-series.html

 

Same here. Used to think these oil changes were for rocket scientist. I am just so glad that I started doing some of these maintenance myself as I have two cars. It sure beats making two trips to bring two cars for oil change. I do it at the convenience at home in the garage. I have jack stands but I don't really use them for oil change. I use race ramps. It's on the pricey side and not your typical rhino ramps. You get what you pay for obviously and these are sturdy as heck! Once you start with oil change, you'll move onto another project. After that I've done the differentials, transfer fluids, bleed brakes, change brake pads, belts, coolant, etc.

 

1. ^this is great advice. Luckily I have a buddy with a 65gal one. Makes things a lot easier.

2. I'm ecstatic to see that a lot of you are willing to give these things a shot and get your own maintenance done. Half the battle is just getting the confidence to try. I guarantee you'll all say to yourselves, "well that wasn't very hard at all". Obviously the deeper you get the harder things can seem, but with a few problem solving skills, a few tools and some confidence you CAN do most stuff yourself.

That said, some things become tedious and that's when you have to weigh saving money vs. saving time, but you should do all you can at least once.