My '94 Infiniti J30t with 175k miles recently had a tune-up and replacement of all injectors, but now it appears that there are other problems that need to be repaired, at significant cost: Right-hand intake camshaft seal has popped; valve cover gaskets, strut rod bushings; flex discs, right hand steering boot. This assessment is by the independent mechanic I've used for a long time and I trust him.

It's going to be another month before I can afford the repairs. I drive about 300 miles out of town each week for work and am wondering if I should just keep checking the oil level or if, given these issues, I'll be risking something catastrophic that will leave me by the roadside if I continue to drive it as is during that time. I have no other vehicle, so would need to rent something in the meantime to go out of town.

I'm not seeing significant oil on the ground under the car and it runs good at the moment, except for a deep-toned squeak when I go over speed bumps even slowly.

with bad camshaft seals, engine oil can leak onto timming belt. Consequently, there a possibility that the timming belt can ump a teeth or two. As J has an interference engine, the valves can be bent = a lot of $$$ to fix the car.

What I forgot to include in my original post is that my mechanic put a scope of some sort down into the engine compartment and determined that so far the oil has not leaked onto the timing belt. I was trying to take some comfort in that, but I suppose it could still do so if the leak becomes more severe?

Thanks for your help!

You are very welcome! We nico members are here to help each other!

I think sooner or later engine oil is gonna leak onto the timming belt. If I were you, I would get a new camshaft seal intalled as soon as possible to prevent possible damage.

If the timming belt is gonna be replaced soon, you might want to consider doing it at the same time, along with all new cam/crank seals, water pump, auto tensioner, coolant bypass hoses, and maybe idle pulleys+studs.

Given that I do a lot of long distance driving through isolated areas and really need a reliable, dependable car, I think I'll just rent a vehicle for the next few weeks and then look for a newer car to buy that has the cargo room that I now need for work. I'd rather find it a home with a J-fan who can do repairs themselves and preserve it than do further damage and see it end up in a salvage yard.

The car is in really good condition otherwise - I had actually replaced three of the door panels which had sun damage at the window ledge (no luck finding driver's door panel yet).....no rips in the leather seats, good Bose system, no serious body dings and has never been in an accident. If I could afford to fix it and keep it, in addition to getting a work vehicle for my coffee roasting business, I sure would. Economic times just don't allow for it right now. It's the best car I've ever had.

This is getting just too painful - I had to part with my baby blue 1965 Plymouth Valiant convertible (V-8!) last year because the cost of having it restored properly was just too high. I did find it a good home with a Mopar fanatic who promised to send pics of restoration progress.

Denise

J30 pretty reliable and simple to keep running if maintained!

If it's not big enough for the samples, then it might be mini-van time.

Don't for a second think very many if any of the new cars are built better than your J30 or are more durable on the long run.

Ugh - can't bear the thought of a minivan, but I've gotta be able to haul a few 150# bags of green coffee from Seattle, and then get all my gear - canopy and all - to the farmers' market. Tried the latter in the Infiniti and it was not fun - canopy was wet from the rain and wouldnt' fit in the trunk. It was a big soppy mess. Time for an SUV of some sort just to haul the cargo -Honda CRV maybe. I know that nothing will feel like my J.

So, as anticipated the cam seal is now leaking oil onto the timing belt of my '94 J30, which is now at 179k miles. I'm now wanting to keep this car, but have to budget out repairs, if at all possible.

If I get the cam seals and the timing belt if it's too oily (it was replaced at 109k), is the location of that repair (quoted at 4.6 hours) such that the valve cover gasket (quoted at 5.2 hours) could be done later? I don't know enough about the internal workings under the hood to know whether the valve cover has to be removed to get to the cam seals.

The shop is also thinking the oil pump may need to be replace - and, holy cow, that's another 5.4 hours labor + a quote of $305 for an OEM pump.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

msbrie wrote:So, as anticipated the cam seal is now leaking oil onto the timing belt of my '94 J30, which is now at 179k miles. I'm now wanting to keep this car, but have to budget out repairs, if at all possible.

If I get the cam seals and the timing belt if it's too oily (it was replaced at 109k), is the location of that repair (quoted at 4.6 hours) such that the valve cover gasket (quoted at 5.2 hours) could be done later? I don't know enough about the internal workings under the hood to know whether the valve cover has to be removed to get to the cam seals.

The shop is also thinking the oil pump may need to be replace - and, holy cow, that's another 5.4 hours labor + a quote of $305 for an OEM pump.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

DUH....You have known about this problem for at least a Year and a Half according to when you first started this thread........talk about neglect!!!! chances are if you have not fixed it by now, it just aint in the cards.....you are looking at a minimum of $2000 to repair this old tired neglected car......is it worth it? Who knows- but for certain,there will be plenty of other parts wearing out on a ongoing basis requiring regular expendatures { the J requires about $1500-2000 per year to keep in good operating condition, if you have not been investing that amount EACH and EVERY year, you have alot of potential big dollar repairs coming!!!!!

To actually answer your question - technically the valve covers do not have to be removed to replace the cam seals from what I can tell reading the FSM.

I think you would be better off doing all of the work at the same time since there is a probably some duplication between the two jobs - but I would ask your technician/mechanic to see what he says.

What makes them say you need a new oil pump? If you have oil pressure issues that have been ongoing - this engine may be too far gone salvage.

Heath