Hello all,
My first post to introduce myself. Earlier this year I bought (as a fixer-upper) an '07 X with several issues. This car spent it's whole life of 16 years in Maine - which is the rustiest state in the US. Add a combination of salt ocean air and tons of salt and calcium chloride dumped literally by the tons per mile in this stat 6 months a year - and you have perfectly good cars chewed away to crumbly piles in double-time.
Although this '07 has a surprisingly solid unibody frame and undercarriage, every nut, bolt, and threaded object is a lump of brown stubborn-ness.
I plan to get it on the road to become a second car - one that will be used in winter (AWD is nice) so I am tackling the laundry list of things it needs to become reliable and driveable.
The first thing I have to fix is a shattered front differential, which was the result of an unlubricated driveshaft U-Joint letting go at speed. I'll be doing this job alone in my garage. Quite a way to enter into the realm of G35 ownership huh? I had driven this car once way before it broke down and was impressed with it's power, comfort and driveability. So I'm looking forward to driving it again. Looking forward to your moral support, tips, advice and stories.
Tom

 

Quite a few OG members sold / parted out their cars / took the check when the front diff exploded. Glad to see a new member from the end of many other owner stories!

Maine is beautiful. Love vacationing there. Wish I could have my G there!

 

Thanks UrbanE,
Yes, I've been seeing the 35's for sale on occasion locally that have at least one expensive repair needed - mainly due to their age.
This one that I bought would not have been a good candidate for a dealership repair - it would have cost more for them to replace the front diff than the car was worth.
But I am a sucker for punishing self-repair projects, I never learn my lesson. This car will stretch my abilities to the maximum. I already have the disassembly begun, with loads of it's parts removed & lined up on the floor of my garage, and I still haven't gotten the diff loose yet. I need more pry bars, PB blaster, ratchet extensions, and some new curse words. I've been mentally preparing myself for this removal since February, storing pints of blood and borrowing tools from friends. I'll probably create a post to describe what happened and what was needed to do this job once I'm done (or give up), for the benefit of others who are facing the dreaded U-Joint failure situation.
Tom

 

Glad to see a new member from the end of many other owner stories!

Maine is beautiful. Love vacationing there. Wish I could have my G there!