Unfortunately there is no repairing the cam vtc sprockets and can't be taken apart to clean them out. The inner portion of the sprocket is movable by the oil pressure but the outer portion where the actual chain rides stays in place. They will get sludge or build up in them and will not unstick. Even a piece of silicone can stick one of these sprockets. You could try and remove the 2 cam caps on the front timing cover and possibly move them back and forth to try and free them up but make sure not to damage the teeth that the end of them. If you are able to turn the sprocket back and forth and you hear it click then you know it is back where it needs to be. Once they lock in their original position you most definitley will not be able to turn them due to the spring locking it into position. I have had to do this on a 2011 QX56 to to an intake cam sprocket getting stuck. Infiniti would not recommend this as a repair since there is no guarantee that this will not happen again.

 

You never cease to amaze me. Excellent description. But how would I go about turning the sprocket from the cam cap cover. I've taken mine off and I saw a limited amount of room to work. Also when I did go to a dealer the tech told me that my cams were over advanced and locked. But the cams weren't at the same angle one was 2 or 3 degrees more than the other, I don't know if that means anything though haha. And how sure are you that this is the problem?

 

So I've found newer cam sprockets with 60k on them for 40$ unlike the 1000$ Nissan wants for them. Should I buy them, and if I do what is there to check for if they work?

 

PDX = Portland

 

does anybody know if this problem was fixed in 2011 g37 or did they use same material in gasket

 

Well the process for doing an HR vs a DE is a little different (in regards to taking off the timing cover) but not unfeasible for a DIY project. I've done it to my DE twice and It only gets easier. So hopefully it fails during warranty, if not, it's not the end of the world.

 

I just put mine in the shop to get the gasket fixed. Fingers crossed that I don't need to replace the sprockets.

 

I think all that sprocket discussion (above) only pertained to the DE engine.

 

Oh I did a diagnostic at infiniti and they said I need to replace the sprockets which are 1.6g.

 

Thanks infinitidude for starting this thread and all the posters for the useful info. I got a new to me 07 G35 6 speed about a month ago and had both of these codes. I tried the Lucas oil thickening method that another member had success with but the check engine light kept coming on shortly after I reset every time.
I also had the low engine oil pressure light flicker, which I attribute to low pressure + Idle problems. I think the dealer tried resetting the engine light by unplugging the battery and it lost its idle. So I decided to clean the throttle bodies (filthy…) and perform an idle relearn, car felt better but I shortly took it in for a gasket repair in Toronto at an independent shop after the dealer wanted 17 hours for the job…

Gaskets were in terrible shape. Found a big chunk of gasket in the oilpan too. Oil pressure was 5 psi at idle and 15 at 2000rpm. Really poor readings obviously. After the gasket repair we got 24PSI and idle and 56 PSI at 2000 rpm, so in much better shape !!! Engine got a bit quieter as well.

So if you are in the GTA area (I am not but decided the drive was worth it after chatting with the shop about this issue, which they were familiar with), you can get in touch with Whitehead Performance. Ask for Mike and he will be familiar with what needs to be done for the repair.

Now finally the pictures:

Idle before

2000 rpm before

Misc blown gasket pics



Other pics


Idle after

2000 rpm after

 

Nice mine's in the shop right now I think they'll have it opened up tomorrow. Did you only get the 2 gaskets replaced? And do you know the gasket part number for the lower one? I know the top one but never found what the bottom one was.

 

Here are all the part numbers I got thanks to a post earlier in this thread, I replaced more than the 2 gaskets. Can't remember what is what anymore to be honest

 

Interesting, thanks for the pics.

It looks like from these pics they didn't bother to set the engine at TDC since the orange/yellow chain links don't line up with sprockets. Just painted their own witness marks on the chain & intake sprockets (& on crank sprocket also I assume) & just reassembled same way.

Do you know whether they had to remove the intake collector plenum to do the job? The factory manual says to remove it, but your gasket list does not include a new collector gasket. Maybe they reused the old one?

Also, did you consider replacing the water pump & thermostat assembly while it was open?

Can you give an idea what the total cost of the job was from the indy, parts & labor?

Thanks for the info. I've ordered all the parts from Sewell, & am about to do mine myself.

 

Hey thanks guys for all chiming in and I am glad that I could start a thread that has seemed to help so many of you. That's why we keep looking out for each other.

 

Good eye, didn't even notice that.

Unfortunately I couldn't be around for that job so didn't see if they had to remove the intake plenum or not. I considered replacing the water pump and thermostat assembly but decided against it at this point of time. I doubt I will be keeping the car long enough to warrant the investment.

Labour was about 1200, parts were another 100 + applicable taxes. Yes, stuff is unfortunately more expensive up north here