From what that TSB says, this affects ALL VQ engines from 2002 on?

 

I think that's perfectly sane.

Better to get the cancer out now than to wait for it to fester and show up later with even worse symptoms. I'm beginning to think that for a lot of these earlier second gen cars it isn't so much of an IF as it is a WHEN it will go out on you.

 

Ok, you asked for it

/begin novel

I'm not too sure just yet. I actually got the car back last Thursday afternoon, but I'm still shaking the bugs out here and there I guess. I need to be particularly careful that they didn't add any potential problems in the future, now that my warranty is up.

When I got it home, I immediately wanted to reinstall the OP gauge so I jacked it way back up on just the passenger side in preparation (so I wouldn't lose any more oil than what's in the filter when I removed it). No sooner had I slid underneath, then a couple large drops of some fluid dripped from somewhere above and behind the AC compressor. The bottom of the compressor and nearby wire harnesses were also freshly wet.

One thing I know, my car NEVER leaked a drop of fluid/oil before, so I immediately called the service manager back and scheduled to bring my car back in Friday morning. After hanging around and babysitting it for a couple hours, I was thrilled when the tech who did the initial work came in and got me to show that he'd found the cause. (I much prefer talking directly to the tech and not the smiling numbskulls in the offices.)

Turned out it was just a large puddle of engine oil that had gathered in some cavities on top of the AC compressor case. Apparently, the way the casting was designed trapped oil that dripped onto it during their repair. Because it was recessed, it didn't get wiped up whenever they did their cleanup, so of course, when I tilted the car way over to install the gauge, the oil ran over the sides and back of the compressor; (that) problem solved.

Next, I had them go ahead and replace the water pump while they were in there doing the gasket repair. They have to remove it anyway, so of course it seemed foolish to put back an old (85K mile) pump. (The timing chains, tensioner, and guides all looked good, so they all were reused.) What I'm noticing now though, is that my car seems to be idling much hotter than it ever did before. (Through this whole process, I've had a ScanGauge2 hooked up to the OBDII port to monitor water temps, since they relate to oil temps and oil pressure is relative to oil temps.)

Now, just sitting in the driveway on a 73* afternoon, the car cycles between 213* and 200*. The fans kick in at 213 and bring back down to 200, then it heats back up and repeats. I'm pretty sure my car ran a fairly constant 195*ish when left idling before, but I can't totally be sure since I usually don't normally have the SG2 hooked up in this car. I hate taking the car back to the dealership repeatedly for stupid stuff, so I went ahead and re-bled any air out of the cooling system just in case it was an air bubble. I got no change.

Maybe I'm just being a nervous Nelly, but I don't want to have to fork over any money for some slip up on their part during this major repair work that was just performed. I think I will slip by the shop again tomorrow and try to talk directly to the tech and see whether those temps are in spec for the car.

I've learned that I truly hate having someone wrench on my car, at least on such a major repair. I just never seem to trust that they did it right, which is also why I normally do all my own maintenance. I'll be glad when this is all finally behind me.

On a good note, I've got around 20 psi at idle and somewhere in the 60's at 2k rpm. It's just crazy how much oil pressure these car have when revved up. Anything over 4k just pegs the gauge at 100psi.

Lastly, I went ahead and took a handful of pics when I reinstalled the gauge in case anybody wants to see them.

/end novel

 

I'd be inclined to keep a real close eye on that LH side for a while. When I popped the cover off mine, not a single drop of oil ran out on anything. It had all run down into the pan. Besides, the AC comp has to be disconnected & pushed outboard before case can be removed anyway. Difficult to envision how it got oil on it, unless the case RTV seal is leaking right above it.

 

Listen carefully for "gurgling" noises coming from the dash area especially at start up. They may not have "burped" the cooling system completely. That will cause the car to run warm.

 

That was my fear as well. Considering how much it initially dripped that first day, and how much I have driven it since then without so much as a hint of leakage, I'm pretty sure it's not ongoing. The AC still works fine too. Nonetheless, I will definitely be checking it like a hawk for a few more weeks.

Yeah, that was my hope too. There is no gurgling, and I have gone back twice and bled air out of the system though, with zero change in the idling temps. It's hard to find info about actual temps these cars normally run at, since pretty much no one with a bone stock engine bothers to use a real gauge on them. It may actually be within spec. One thing is for sure though, the stock temp gauge is very numb and basically looks the same (sits just below the 9:00 position) from around 175* to 220* (and maybe even further, since I've never gotten that high to see if it moves). I'm going back to the dealership and see if a tech can tell me a "normal" baseline.


EDIT: Just spoke with the tech and he confirmed that the temps will cycle like that while idling. He thought the fan control was set at 210*, but I believe it may actually be 214*, since that's a value I've seen mentioned a few times on some of the Z forums : http://my350z.com/forum/tuning/55310...ol-update.html (see chart in post #8)

 

Wow,, that's about all I can say after reading all this. My car has been treated better than most human's! but I don't think that's gonna help with crummy internal motor gaskets, I am only at 42,000 miles, but I Would like to see the photo's you took (VQ) of your oil press. gauge set up, and to XR400, to do this yourself.... over all that time, and attention to detail.. my goodness, talk about bowing down!!! outstanding!!! ( can't hardly believe these motors run that much oil pressure) So thankfull for all the info,, even though my Elite coverage is expired, I will soon check my OP.....

 

Ok, a friend of mine happens to own an '08 G37 coupe, so I made a deal to plug my ScanGauge into that car today and monitor its water temps while idling in exchange for (doing/helping with) an oil pressure test on it (in the near future). Pretty sure I got the short end on that deal, but having done it now, I can at least confirm that these VQ engines do indeed cycle their water temps as I noted above (200*-213*) like clockwork, which means my car IS fine. Whew!

As for testing the G37's oil pressure, I don't intend to install a regular gauge to allow ongoing monitoring. Instead, I will just use a test gauge like the dealership does and just perform the test once (since the dealership makes you take any oil-related aftermarket products off the car before they test it anyway).

I intend to snap some pics of that test process too, so I should actually have pics for either OP test method coming soon.

 

No problem treach (and Triton), but first, I'm going to post them in a separate thread, as I'm afraid I'm already hijacking this one. Second, I'm already at my limit on my TinyPic account, so I need to upload them to a new host. As soon as I do, I will post them up (I probably won't have time until Thursday though ), but don't get your hopes too high: I'm just your average schmoe with a wrench and a camera. On a positive note, I did measure that G37's OP today (it was within spec), so I do have all the pics at this point.

As for the belly pan, I have no sympathy, as mine is strictly the all-or-nothing type. I have just gotten used to pulling out the battery powered impact driver, a 10mm socket, and small blade screwdriver (to pick the tabs). With the car properly jacked up, that whole pan is off in about 90 seconds.

On an unrelated note ...

Go Giants!!

 

Ok, I got them started anyway.

https://g35driver.com/forums/v36-diy...ml#post6950105



.

 

^^ I finally finished the second part.

 

So I'm going to summarize the best I can here. I'm working on a friend's 06 G35x with the HR motor. I'm an experienced tech, but don't see a Infiniti/ 350z much. The car originally had overheating issues and was determined the water pump was starting to go. This one doesn't have the access windows like the Z which means the timing cover has been taken off at each transition now.. So here's the rundown of what's been done..

-water pump, tstat, serp belt, oil psi sender (elect was broke) and chain tensioner was replaced.

The car started up fine but shortly started to show p0011, P0021 codes. I figured the timing must have jumped or I misaligned the chain wrong as it did try and jump a tooth once. I pulled the cover again and aligned the timing marks off the FSM vs my own marks I made before. I'm 100% sure the chain is lined up right.

Same codes came on but the oil pressure was normal. The car showed no other symptoms and was driven for a couple weeks.

After reading this thread I decided to order the galley gaskets and do the job again. Turned out the galley gasket was starting to breakdown, but I did check the previous time and it showed no bulging then.

I just finished putting it all back together with all new gaskets ( besides those ring gaskets because they were $600 the last I read this...) and now I have all 4 codes for the cams- 0011, 0014,0021 ,0024.

Please help...or bring lighter fluid.

 

A couple thoughts...

Is this really an '06 model? If so, then it should have a DE motor, and not the HR.

Assuming this is an HR motor, those "ring gaskets" are available at any Nissan dealer: Nissan # 13042-3HD0A
(see here: https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...ml#post6947392) If you have pulled them off three times now without a replacement, they are most likely in poor shape.

As far as your codes continuing, the beginning of this thread has a lot of discussion about differences between the intake and exhaust valve timing code causes.

Elsewhere in the thread, there was some discussion about the severity of damage that contamination in the oil system can cause in the cam sprockets or something.

 

Ya I've read through the whole thread and my next path was to look at replacing those rings, but thought there might be some thing else as the rings looked ok and the code problem started the after the first take off. The car was made 10/06, but it is definately an HR motor.

 

Ok, the car is an '07 model year then. The production date doesn't determine model year, as they typically start selling the next year's models in summer/fall of the current year.

The fact that issues arose after your initial R&R work, does make me wonder about the possibility of something interfering in the cam sprocket setup (ie. potential contamination). Did you catch where that was discussed in the thread?