Front Drive Shaft/Propeller Shaft Replacement

[ae7456t]

This was a new one that I had not seen mentioned on the forums...

I took my 2006 M35X (184,000 miles) in for the annual inspection (thank you, state of PA). I made sure that I had all my tires/brakes within the serviceable limits, and expected an uneventful call from the independent shop that it was all done, with no issues.

Instead, I was greeted with the unexpected surprise that my front drive shaft was in bad shape, and would not be allowed to pass inspection. I debated taking the car back to see the issue for myself and attempt a DIY repair, but decided against it once I saw that the replacement involved removing the passenger side catalytic converter and some other likely rusted underbody components.

They got it all done the same day, and after getting the car back, it was clear that there had been some vibration in the steering wheel that was now gone. Googling the issue, I was able to find some references to others having the same issue, so it was not completely random, but a little surprised, as it was not something that I had on my radar.

Still love the car and happy to continue to drive it, but a few more these expensive surprises might change that.

Anyone else had this issue???

[Ilya]

I can't say I've seen any threads about this but considering your mileage, I'm surprised you didn't get this issue earlier. You're gettin up there in miles. Glad they got you sorted though. I'm about to pay off my car and honestly, I'm going to keep it even if it costs me $2-3k a year in upkeep (aside from gas) as that is still cheaper than having a car payment for this kind of car. Keep on keepin on man!

[picoman]

I changed out the transfer case oil (Matic-D) last weekend and while i was under there I sprayed some PB Blaster on the cat. hardware. Not only do I want to replace the prop. shaft (i hear a very high frequency *clink* when shifting into D/R) but I want to install some Berk HFC's at the same time so I can feel good about getting the uprev tune and then be done with the mods.

How much did the replacement cost? The rusty cat hardware is my main reservation for tackling it myself but perhaps i will pop under there a few more times with the PB blaster before trying to crack them loose.

[ae7456t]

@ilya - I am with you...Why would I drop a pile of cash for a car that has marginally more than what I have in the M35X.

@picoman - I got hit with the "list price" for the propeller shaft (~$750) and about 3 hours of labor (~$300). It looks like they drilled out the the studs on the passenger's side catalytic converter and replaced with new bolt/nut hardware, but they didn't have the benefit of time for several applications of PB Blaster...Good luck!

[eQlipse]

I"ve just completed this job myself. Not too bad except rusty nuts I had to cut out to remove cat. About 30 minutes from reinstalling cat. Couldn't find new gaskets locally so I'm re-using with some JB Weld High heat RTV. Got the shaft off Amazon for $132 with replaceable u-joint.

[ae7456t]

@eQlipse...It always hurts me to see/hear that I could have saved a chunk of money with the DIY...Good for you on a job well (and inexpensively) done!

[aidan2474]

I had this done last year @ about 158k-160k miles, my drive shaft was a few miles away from falling off. I was also disappointed to find that you cannot just replace the U-joint that goes bad. Infiniti only sells the entire front drive shaft/propeller assembly. I let the mechanic do this repair, I think it was somewhere around $300. I have enough tools to be dangerous, but not as many as I need to get me out of disaster and the more I work on this car, the more rusty nuts and bolts I come across that just completely snap off. So if I let the mechanic snap them off, then its their issue.