I recently purchased a 2008 automatic g35x with 115k miles on it very good condition other than a few rock chips from obvious highway driving, I was curious as this is my first Infinti coming from Audi and the horrible 2.0T, what is the recommended preventive maintenance? I plan on doing an oil change as soon as I get the time, I noticed occasional small transmission slips so I picked up some transmission fluid to do a simple drain and fill ~4-6 quartz. I wanted to possibly replace some suspension bushings; urethane is typically prone to going out after 10-15 years in my experience so I thought a refresh wouldn't hurt, what parts of the suspension are possible weak points as the year goes by? Is there anything I should know about the car or any pointers? I would really appreciate it thank you

P.S Im very anxious about cars after my paper weight of an Audi died 3 weeks after I got it.... I want this one to last me

 

welcome to the club! super low mileage G, btw! I got mine with near 220k on the clock 6 years ago.

Obviously, swap all the fluids (oil, trans, diff - both since it's awd). use valvoline maxlife for the tranny. Check the pads, esp the rears if it was driven aggressively (vdc cooks the pads and rotors).

Do a thorough check of ALL (and i mean all) coolant pipes, but especially the ones running over the headers (those get smoked eventually). Nissan "engineers" really screwed us on that, and with summer coming up, that's the last thing you need.

Check the intake pipes for any cracks and get the Z1 silicone replacements - way better and stronger than stock (no power, tho lol).

Check the plugs (valve cover issue described below) and replace those with some stock iridium ones. Coils should be good for another 80-90k, but if you start getting misfire codes - check those. Always get OEM ignition/cam/crank stuff (hitachi/denso in this case).

Run some diags with Torque or any other app and make sure your AFR drops to 11s-12s at WOT, to rule out any fuel pump issues. Shouldn't be an issue at your mileage, but you never know since the car is almost 18 years old. Injectors should be good for another 100k at least.

If you smell fuel in the morning or after it sat and you crank it, check the little fuel dampener that's attached to the rail to make sure the o-ring isn't busted and it's dripping a bit of fuel. Easy fix if you can find that o-ring. I swapped the whole line before and that job is a little pita.

Valve covers. Given the age, expect yours to be leaky. The main issue appears if the spark plug seals go - those can be replaced, but it's also a pita job. Amazon sells some aftermarket covers for cheap and you can use an OEM gsket with those. VC job isn't bad, but tedious and could use a second set of hands to help move all the shitty wiring around (another great nissan "engineering" idea to have non-removable wire harnesses right above the VCs).

Suspension wise, just check everything out. Shouldn't be an issue at this mileage, but again, the age takes its toll. Everything should be fairly easily accessible on this car.

Check the alternator for any oil on it. If it has residue that could be a leak from the P/S hoses or pump itself (there is another little o-ring on the return line that could leak).

Check the trans cooler lines coming from the radiator. Mine backed out just a tiny bit and was leaking ever so slightly, so i swapped the clamps on one of them.

I think that's all i got for you. Feel free to post any other questions you might have.

 

Thank you very much, already did Oil change obviously, I have Valvoline max-life ATF fluid ready to do a drain/refill soon, already put on Silicone Z1 post MAF tubes, definitely will check those radiator hoses and valve covers, trans and diff fluid were done at 70k do you still suggest that and if so process fairly easy? I'm very mechanically able so aslong as its not horrible it should be easily done in my shop. I replaced the trans cooler line as mine actually had a leak and found a replacement for cheap so just replaced it entirely. I believe my obd scan tool should be able to read AFR otherwise il fit my Audis AFR gauge to it to double check it. I appreciate all the notes I really do. This is my second car and unfortunately had bad luck with my first car (it sits in my driveway as a paperweight) so i really want to make this one last the last of my college years. Thank you again like i said i do appreciate it. Do you know if there's any specific suspension components that are prone to going out?

 

of course, man. diff and trans are super easy, just make sure you measure how much you took out from the tranny and then do a hot check to make sure it's not over/under. if diff was done recently, you can crack the plug slightly and check the fluid condition. if still clean, i'd leave it as is for another 20-30k. same with the trans - either check the dipstick fluid condition or pop the plug for a second.

i wouldn't worry much on suspension, unless you start hearing clunks and or feeling looseness in the steering wheel. i'd check the main suspects first: ball joints (upper/lower), tie rods, sway bar links/bushings (for any cracks in the boots), struts (you can normally feel those while driving, but could give it the ol' bouncy test), lower/upper control arm bushings.

p.s. audis are beautiful cars, but damn, they don't last for **** lol

 

many say 'trans fluid is trans fluid..' but i decided to use IDEMITSU(Matic S) ATF Type S about 5 quarts flush from pan or about 8 if valve body removed. The trans works much better than on the Multi Vehicle trans fluid so you decide weather is better to go cheaper or proper.

If you're planning on driving this car for a while, then i suggest to wash it, clean it and drive it. Once you jump on the modded horse, then it's hard to get off and you might end up falling off hard.

I've just picked up a set of 4 Akebono big brakes from a 2016 Q50 Red Sport ($380 from FB marketplace), 355mm front and 350mm rear versus those stock Geo Metro sized ones that make my car look bad on my 20" wheels. Bought a front caliper bracket for $90 and 2 rear rotors for a 2014 G37 IPL (350mm, $65 for pair) as the Q50 fit but the e-brake hole is too wide for G35 shoes. Now i will paint them red as they are silver and put them on my G. I'm also gonna enlarge the rear exhaust pipes, past the resonators to 2.5" along with eBay straight through fart cans that have 4" tips on them.
Like i said, the MOD horse is hard to get off of!

 

my vpn didn't get the pics in the OP at first. that thing looks clean, man! debadge it and let 'er eat lol

 

I'd consider changing the radiator since it also acts as a trans fluid cooler. No point in spending all that money on the car and having the radiator fail resulting in the ATF mixed with the coolant, trashing your transmission. My 2 cents.

 

OR ORRRRR before dropping cash on a radiator, get a decent sized external trans cooler & route it to the trans lines from the radiator back to the external cooler therefor you won't have any coolant mixing with trans fluid and frying the trans

 

I have noticed how much great information and advice you have shared on here & I for one appreciate it. I had to laugh re the discs on our cars. (GEO Metro sized!!) I was thrown off Facebook during the Community Organizer's first Administration (09) as well as you tube and twitter So I am persona non grata still on 2 of those 3. I say that because I noticed you got a good deal on those Akebono brakes on Facebook.

 

I was gonna do a manual trans swap from a 08 G35 S, i found one on IAAI somewhere in the midwest few months ago and it had big brakes already and the 6 speed manual trans. Was hit in the nose but after the auction fees and transport, it would cost me over 3k plus the final bid on the car so i decided to just do the big brakes and snatched a set from a Q50 from marketplace that the local cubans deal a lot, right from the storage units.. The whole set of big brakes from a Q50 can be bought here in miami from $350-$500, mine were silver so i paid less as the red ones are the most expensive.. I made a video about the big brake swap, it's in my youtube channel and now, the Geo Metro (yes, i had a 1996 Geo Metro 4 cylinder 5 speed manual coupe) rear rotors look much better with the red bigger calipers and rotors.