Flagstaff - vs - G35

[Warpkor]

And Flagstaff won. Rolled through Flagstaff yesterday on my way home from Page, AZ. Cool temps and a nice spring day. Then a rather large rock in the middle of the road appears, perhaps the size of a softball or a bit larger, likely volcanic and nasty looking. 70mph, check, vehicle to my right, check and a vehicle behind me, check. With no place to swerve or stomp on the breaks, I had to roll over the rock. Terrible bangs and thumps followed. Stopped just outside of Flag at a rest stop to take a leak and noticed the G was doing the same thing. From the transmission, that is. Gear oil dripping at a steady clip. Expensive tow back to Phoenix and a monster puddle of expensive synthetic gear oil on the garage floor. Glad to see that the transmission hadn't run dry.

I've replaced a few clutches in the past so I though I'd take this task on myself. I just hate having to pay up the wahzoo for some chimp at a $100 an hour to mess things up further with cross threaded bolts and a few missing pieces just for s*** and giggles. The car has a few thousand past 100k miles so I figure that I'll replace the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel and anything else needed at the same time.

The big unknown for me is where to get a new manual transmission case here in Phoenix. I haven't been here two years yet and haven't found all the nifty places for parts. The case is cracked though it's not huge. Perhaps I can take the case in to an experienced metal worker to have it patched.

I need to repair or replace the transmission case.
New clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, pilot, throw-out bearings, etc (I assume I'll be keeping it stock).
Would like to upgrade my jack stands to something very sturdy and not imported from China/Taiwan.

As always. would love to hear your advice and recommendations.

[telcoman]

And Flagstaff won. Rolled through Flagstaff yesterday on my way home from Page, AZ. Cool temps and a nice spring day. Then a rather large rock in the middle of the road appears, perhaps the size of a softball or a bit larger, likely volcanic and nasty looking. 70mph, check, vehicle to my right, check and a vehicle behind me, check. With no place to swerve or stomp on the breaks, I had to roll over the rock. Terrible bangs and thumps followed. Stopped just outside of Flag at a rest stop to take a leak and noticed the G was doing the same thing. From the transmission, that is. Gear oil dripping at a steady clip. Expensive tow back to Phoenix and a monster puddle of expensive synthetic gear oil on the garage floor. Glad to see that the transmission hadn't run dry.

I've replaced a few clutches in the past so I though I'd take this task on myself. I just hate having to pay up the wahzoo for some chimp at a $100 an hour to mess things up further with cross threaded bolts and a few missing pieces just for s*** and giggles. The car has a few thousand past 100k miles so I figure that I'll replace the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel and anything else needed at the same time.

The big unknown for me is where to get a new manual transmission case here in Phoenix. I haven't been here two years yet and haven't found all the nifty places for parts. The case is cracked though it's not huge. Perhaps I can take the case in to an experienced metal worker to have it patched.

I need to repair or replace the transmission case.
New clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, pilot, throw-out bearings, etc (I assume I'll be keeping it stock).
Would like to upgrade my jack stands to something very sturdy and not imported from China/Taiwan.

As always. would love to hear your advice and recommendations.

Sorry to hear what happened.
S#it happens.

Last August my 06 G35 with almost 172k miles was going to need between 1 & 2k dollars worth of work including brakes, a differential seal leak, and a intermittent drivers side headlight ballast.

I decided to trade her in for a 2012 G37 S and couldn't be happier. All the bells and whistles including Navigation, back up camera, etc.



My advise is to strongly consider doing the same.

New vehicles come with all new parts and a warranty.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Telcoman

[Warpkor]

I would love a new car. I still have to unload my old one and would take in the shorts with a damaged transmission or need to complete the expensive repair in order to sell it. That darn rock has put me in a rock and a hard place.

[370Z/28]

Sorry dude.

That must have sounded just as bad as when I nailed an armadillo with my S2000. Sounded like someone was under the car hitting it with a sledghammer.

[joe603]

Is it the case or the pan? If it's the case, you will need an entire transmission... If the pan, then it would be much cheaper...

[telcoman]

I would love a new car. I still have to unload my old one and would take in the shorts with a damaged transmission or need to complete the expensive repair in order to sell it. That darn rock has put me in a rock and a hard place.

Dealers are in business to sell cars and make money.
Your trade in is still worth money when a dealer wholesales if off even with a damaged transmission
I traded in my 66 VW Beedle with a blown engine towards a 69 VW Beedle.
The VW Dealer gave me $500.00 towards the $3000.00 brand new 69 VW so it cost me $1500.00
Give it a try

Telcoman

[Warpkor]

Is it the case or the pan? If it's the case, you will need an entire transmission... If the pan, then it would be much cheaper...

Ugh! It's a manual transmission and it's the case that has a small crack....there's no pan. I wish it was the pan on an automatic transmission.

"Paging AZHitman! To the white courtesy phone, please! A VIP needs a new transmission!"

Suggestions on locating a 6sp transmission??

[Fezzik]

Nothing a little JB weld wouldn't fix. lol. I've done it before on cracks on casings

[audtatious]

I don't see why a good shop could not weld the crack up?

[370Z/28]

Nothing a little JB weld wouldn't fix. lol. I've done it before on cracks on casings

Love me some JB. It will fix anything. If you ever drive to Dallas, the guy that invented it has a HUGE spread just east of there. I guess he has sold a few tubes.

[Warpkor]

I've had the chance to speak to a couple of professional mobile welders. It was a bit entertaining to listen to the various personalities you get on the phone. From a few grunts of a response to an all out assault on the happenings of the life of a mobile welder. They agreed, though, that it would be necessary to remove the transmission from the car. The theory goes that any amount of liquid from the inside of the transmission would prevent a solid weld (or in this case more like soldering a joint) from taking hold well. The transmission needs to be inverted or flipped upside down for a proper weld to work.

So, I'm back to dropping the darn transmission and while I was hoping to mitigate the total cost of the repairs, I just can't remove the transmission without replacing the clutch components. I use the car for work, so I'm not interested in upgrading the performance of the clutch assembly. Stock or aftermarket recommendations? Are there choices for the dual mass flywheel replacements in the aftermarket given that the original can't be machined?

[audtatious]

Yeah, I figured at the least you would need to remove it.

Fun times!

[Fezzik]

Warpkor. Love the name. I just now got it. Im a huge TNG fan. You can try draining the fluid, mix up some jb weld, and then apply it and I do a light flame on the outside to make it flow better and then put some duct tape on there to keep it in place. heh redneck way of doing it, but I've seen my uncle do this on his vette and work.

[audtatious]

I disagree, it's a Infiniti and not a Honduh. Not JB Weld allowed.

[Warpkor]

I drive to some really remote areas of Arizona. Beautiful and rugged areas where there are little to no services. I need to know that this repair is done correctly to give me peace of mind.

[audtatious]

I've learned that doing things to save money usually leads to more money being spent down the road.

[Fezzik]

Hey. I did say it was redneck. This was on the farm down in Southern IL. We JB welded engine blocks if that tells you anything.

[audtatious]

With how you like to follow specs and proper procedures I'm highly surprised you would even mention it

[Fezzik]

Yeah, you know.

[Warpkor]

Initial parts quote from local Infiniti dealership:
Flywheel: $1219
Clutch/P Plate: $604
After dealership heard some strained choking/coughing sounds. New Quote:
Fly: $1079
Clutch/P Plate $487

Phone calls to local parts houses netted zero in terms of quality brand name parts and nothing to be found physically in Phoenix. All special order with freight charges.

Interwebs research all Nissan/Infiniti OEM parts: http://discountinfinitiparts.com/
Flywheel: $755
Clutch/ P Plate: $340
Various other bearings and parts plus delivery (all items in stock) in 3 business days: a bit over $1200 for everything

To the dealership....SHOVE IT! It's just amazing how they stay in business.

[Warpkor]

invoice:

OEM Catalog - Infiniti
FLYWHEEL ASSY $755.24 $0.00 1 $755.24
OEM Catalog - Infiniti
COVER ASSY-CLUTCH W $340.85 $0.00 1 $340.85
OEM Catalog - Infiniti
BEARING RELEASE $44.08 $0.00 1 $44.08
OEM Catalog - Infiniti
PIN-BALLWITHDRAWAL $3.48 $0.00 1 $3.48
OEM Catalog - Infiniti
BUSH 1ST SHAFT $2.15 $0.00 1 $2.15
Sub Total: $1,145.80
Shipping: 116.08
Tax: 0.00
Total: $1,261.88


Love the zero tax!

[Fezzik]

If you are getting new clutch and flywheel, i'd go aftermarket. Just saying since you are doing it anyway

[Kendahl]

Have you talked to your car insurance agent about this incident? It might be covered. The transmission locked up on my niece's Firebird causing her to spin into the median on the interstate. In my opinion, it was strictly a mechanical failure. Her insurance company insisted on calling it an accident that wasn't her fault. Except for the deductible, they paid for everything.

[Warpkor]

Over the weekend, dropped and welded transmission. It took a master welder to stitch up the transmission housing. It looks a bit like a frankenstein transmission now. Replaced transmission after installing an all stock (Nissan) flywheel, pressure plate, clutch disk and bearings. New synthetic gear oil and a hot weather test drive. Though I was surprised that the old clutch assembly didn't look as worn as I thought it would what with a 100k miles on it, the new parts have a very confident feel to it. I think it has to do with the new springs in the replacement parts. Keeping fingers crossed that the frankenstein stitching holds together. I'll post up some pictures of the weld work when I get the chance.

[kmckis1029]

im usually a stickler for doing it exactly right, but in this case and with the milage on your car i would of did the welding route also. I'm glad you got it fixed. i hope it holds.