Sprockets will not cause low oil pressure and this is a pretty common concern. So the Nissan dealer pretty much was going to charge you 22.5 hrs.labor when it can be done in about 9 hrs. Now that the gaskets are available separately you don't have to replace the rear timing cover. You take the main chain off and that is it in order to access the 2 plates that hold the gaskets on. There is one screw that is a little hassle and a screwdriver may have to be modified a bit to get it out and in. Don't be so harsh on Infiniti dealerships, we are not all thieves like most people think we are. As a tech we don't set the labor rate,we just quote the hours for the job.

 

Paid a local guy $675 labor to fix the issue, paid about $150 for parts (some not necessary). Both gaskets were COMPLETELY blown apart. Totally in pieces.

CELight has been off two days now so im pretty sure the repair took! Very happy. Note the crankshaft bolt is a bit*h to get loose but other than that not too bad. Make sure to have two tubes of Permatex ultra gray. I dont see why a local mechanic wouldnt be able to do the repair, just print the service manual for timing chain removal and all pages that it references and give them to the mechanic.

Local shop quoted me 9.5 hours just to give you a rough idea. Ill post a full list of parts tomorrow (for the VQ35HR engine).

 

what mileage does this happen at and do all these gaskets blow or can they last on some G's

 

Unfortunately the oem gaskets are just paper which was a bad design. The replacement gaskets are lined with a metal inner core to keep this from happening again. Mostly higher mileage around 100,000 is when we see this but we have seen it in the 70,000 mile range as well.

 

Hey Jason, can you confirm or deny something I was told by one of the master techs at my local Infiniti dealership about these gasket failures being far more common on the '08 G35 than they are on the '07 models. Yes/No ???

Thanks

 

Jason, I sure appreciate all the info you've provided on this! My '07 G35 sedan with 71K miles has set the P0021 code, and the oil pressure is 9 psi @ idle, and 19 at 2000 rpm. Plus, I'm getting intermittent noise on the left front of the engine. So I assume those gaskets are gone on my VQ35HR.

I'm planning on doing the teardown/ gasket replacement myself. But I'm not a pro like you. Just "shadetree." Can you give any tips/suggestions that might help someone who's never done this particular job to get it right the first time? While it's open, would you recommend replacement of the primary chain or tensioner pad? You mentioned one of the phillips-head retaining screws on the gallery cover was difficult to get out. Why was that, and what did you have to do to get it out?

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge & expertise!

 

The screw is kind of tucked behind one of the sprockets. Had to modify a screwdriver a bit to get it loose. Some of the guys are taking the screw and matching it up at a hardware store with a allen head screw to put back in its place. You don't have to do that though. The chains or tensioners don't have to be replaced but it is up to your discression as to do this. I haven't seen any chain or guide problems from these engines. It is pretty straight forward disassembly, don't remove any of the sensors from the front covers that cover the camshafts. When disassembling there is one bolt on the cam cover on the passenger side that is hidden behind a bracket. You will need to remove that bracket anyway so keep that in mind. Lower oil pan will need to be removed to access the 2 or 4 bolts that go into the bottom of the front cover. Hope this helps

 

I have seen a good mix of both year models. Can't really say one over the other though. They are identical set-ups on both year models.

 

Ok update:

If you have a VQ35HR engine, these are the parts at a minimum you're going to want for this repair.

GASKET OIL GALLERY-13533-JK21A
1-GASKET-FRONT COVER,L-13533-JK21B
2 x SEAL-0 RING-15066-JA10A
1-SEAL-OIL,CRANKSHAFT-13510-31U10
1-GASKET-SOLENOID-23797-JA108
1-GASKET-SOLENOID-23797-EY01A
Permatex Ultra Grey RTV
Oil/Filter
Coolant

Also I reccd making sure you have a good tool to remove oil pan and also scrape away the RTV around the timing cover. Make sure you have a hell of a breaker bar and 19 mm socket for the camshaft bolt.

Again, if you print out all relevant service manual pages, I don't see why a local mechanic or someone familiar with working on cars couldn't do this repair themselves. My car is an 08 G35, had problems at around 75k miles. By the time I fixed it (83,000 miles), both gaskets were completely blown apart. Timing chain was still in decent shape with very little slack so I let it be for now. Hope this helps, and thanks again infinitidude for the assistance and correct diagnosis!

 

We have an early 2006 Infiniti G35 VQ35DE, we need the gaskets for the rear timing cover oil galleys... We cannot find them we went to the dealership and they showed us ones for the newer years but they will not work, do you know where we can get them? We need them and if you can get ahold of them can we buy them from you... we're needing to get this motor done ASAP.

 

Many, many thanks! It does help tremendously. Allow me to ask one last question:

I'm currently driving/depending on this car, which "seems" to run fine. It looks like I will not be able to tear into it until October. With oil pressure steady, but at about 1/2 the spec level, should I be concerned about damaging the engine by continuing to drive it for a while until I can pull it into the garage & take it apart?

Again, thanks very kindly for any input.

 

Thanks Rob. Great info. I was a bit confused about the part # for the lower (smaller) gallery gasket since the parts diagrams seem to indicate it's 13530JK20B but the description for that part is for the "COVER-OIL GALLERY" So it seems the parts diagrams have the part # for the lower cover and the lower gasket switched.

Also, I think the LH solenoid cover gasket is 23797JA10B, not 23797JA108.

 

It should not hurt to drive it, but I would limit my driving if the engine is rattling because that can damage it in the long run due to starving the top of the engine from getting oil. Best of luck and hope you get it all taken care of.

 

Geez. Sounds like only a matter of time before this problem eventually rears it's head. Why doesn't Infiniti do a recall?

 

Thats it, but thats only 1 of the 2 gaskets. Mine was even worse believe it or not, at around 80k miles.