I think the J is dying

[naladude911]

The car sounds like a diesel engine, something is grinding in the engine, and its very sluggish. The car has 108,000 miles, and is due for a major tune up at 110,000. The oil was last changed at 106,000. My local car club thinks that the timing belt skipped a tooth, and a valve is hitting the piston. I'm taking it to nissan tomorrow. If this is true, then I might be looking into buying a friends 240SX with an SR20DET already in it

[yodawill2000]

Hope Pops is a strong believer in Insurance.

Keep us posted on the J though.

[Infinitiguy19]

Could it be your warm air intake?

Have you tried BG44K?

Did you watch the guy change the oil?

What did you last do before this happened.

When was the timing belt changed?

Why not have it checked by an INFINITI dealership. since its and Infiniti?

[naladude911]

Could it be your warm air intake?No, I located the noise. Its coming from the block.Have you tried BG44K?Whats that?Did you watch the guy change the oil?Yea, and he did what he was supposed to do.What did you last do before this happened.Take it to mavis to get my snowtires put on (noise happened after 4 miles of driving)When was the timing belt changed?I think around 60K milesWhy not have it checked by an INFINITI dealership. since its and Infiniti?The infiniti dealer is like 20 mins away, and a rip off. An Infiniti QX4 is a Nissan pathfinder. An Infiniti QX56 is a Nissan Armada.

[Infinitiguy19]

BG44k or Redline S1 cleans the fuel system.

And Nissan might not have the card for the consult to use on your J30.

But we need a better decription or a video

[coolyun_98]

If you J really dies, I am looking forward to get some parts from you.

[Victor]

I believe I read four different threads where you were talking about your car. In one you were talking about moding it. In another you were talking about racing it at 120 mph. In a third you said your car would hardly make it up a hill. Now it sounds like your car is ready for the junk yard. Do you think you ruined your engine racing it?

[naladude911]

I only did that once. I have been driving really slow lately, and using the cruise control to conserve gas. Its expensive lol. The sounds sounds like sand paper on paper, scratchy, etc. In the car, it comes from the center, I can distinguish the engine, and this alien noise. I located it to be coming from under the block.

[naladude911]

and coolyunn, you live in the lower mainland? I used to live in Kitsalano, by Jericho beach in Vancouver. And ya, you can have some parts...... if I cant sell it.

[2brokey]

...take the car off the road... and take apart everything to get to the timing belt if the thing still runs... and take a good look at the timing belt tensioner. I'll bet you it's dead. When it really does skip a tooth, it'll end up like the original engine I had in my J. It may not be too late. That part will set you back like $178.83 by itself from any Nissan or Infiniti dealer, or if you can get it at their net price, $143.06 or so. I bought mine with these rates in July '08. The engine I had this failure on sounded like a tractor indeed, and it came in reality from the upper engine. STOP USING THE CAR NOW AND FIX IT ASAP.

[naladude911]

yep, i have the same issues. i dont have the parts to do that myself, im taking it in to nissan tomorrow. dammit, i love the car.

[naladude911]

Well I found the problem, and I'm grounded for it. I hate being a kid. Nissan called, and said I have a hole in the cat. They said they will charge $1075 (yes), to weld a new one in, or $195 to weld the hole over. My dad chose to the weld the hole over. I told him Nissan was ripping him off, and Magnaflow sells them for $162, and they're high performance. He took this as me being a smart a$$, and I showed him. And he was like, who was going to weld it in, and I was like, it bolts on, and cody (kid in car club) has a garage and he can do it. He was like, but I want nissan to do it. And I was like ok, I'm just saving you money. And then he was like, do you even know what a Catalytic converter does? Well I was mad at him, for thinking that he knows everything, and I dont know sh**, so I just walked out on him. Now the keys are taken away. W.E, im just mad right now.... all I get for saving him money. The car is still at Nissan. $1075 for a F***ing cat, give me a break.

[yodawill2000]

Stealership at its best .

[Rex]

Aftermarket high flow cats usually last long enough to get you past a couple emissions test ~2-3 years.Dealer Cat should last 10 years, should carry a 10 yr warranty.

So, in the long run (after including repeat labor), it's not really that much more expensive ... if you keep the car.

[Infinitiguy19]

Well arguing with your parents almost never ends well.

And wow either your desciption was way off or well it was just way off.

After they weld or fix the problem some how (Despite that a 2 min job cost $200) see if the block still shakes or the noise is still present.

I would also take the car to another pro to get a second opinion.

[StevieRaySTL]

-- Wow, dude goes from "my J is dying" to "my catalytic converter's got a hole". Wow. I replaced my cats with resonators, viola. Its nice not to have emissions.

[coolyun_98]

dude, from my experience,1) never try to prrof your point to your parents2) always agree with your parents3) this is the tricky part... when it is up to you to make a decision (after you start making money), you will be the man and ignore your parents.

[GerryO]

dude, from my experience,1) never try to prrof your point to your parents2) always agree with your parents3) this is the tricky part... when it is up to you to make a decision (after you start making money), you will be the man and ignore your parents.

Just make an honest effort to make your parents proud of you and try to benefit from their experiences too. They've never raised anyone like you before = no FSM included.

And it's OK not to make every stupid dumb mistake that's humanly possible, yourself. That's the reason for the news, reality shows, YouTube, search engines, on-line forums, etc.

[coolyun_98]

Hones

Just make an honest effort to make your parents proud of you and try to benefit from their experiences too. They've never raised anyone like you before = no FSM included.

And it's OK not to make every stupid dumb mistake that's humanly possible, yourself. That's the reason for the news, reality shows, YouTube, search engines, on-line forums, etc.

I don't know man... i was raised in a very strick chinese family. Any sign of disagreement with my parets = bad kid = been looked down by my parennts until i move out of the house. This is sad.

Basically, to survive in my family, I never dare to question my paretes b4 25. This is pathetic.

[GerryO]

Hones

I don't know man... i was raised in a very strick chinese family. Any sign of disagreement with my parets = bad kid = been looked down by my parennts until i move out of the house. This is sad.

Basically, to survive in my family, I never dare to question my paretes b4 25. This is pathetic.

It is sad and very difficult when even simple questions are so threatening to parents that they are immediately interpreted as signs of rebellion that must be squashed.

And everyone's situation is different, aside from the fact that both the children and parents have never lived these lives before and that there's so little focus on/time for family. As the oldest of three kids, I had too much freedom maybe; no father in the house from about age 7 or 8 and my mother who worked full time.

[yodawill2000]

I was the youngest of three.And after seeing Pops knock my oldest brother smooth out during an argument I learned early on not to mess with him.

IMO the "Time Out" syndrome is the cause of alot of today's kids issue's.

In the Day a good ole fashion a$$ wooping kept kids in line.That's how my two sons were brought up and they are fine young men now.

[GerryO]

I was the youngest of three.And after seeing Pops knock my oldest brother smooth out during an argument I learned early on not to mess with him.

IMO the "Time Out" syndrome is the cause of alot of today's kids issue's.

In the Day a good ole fashion a$$ wooping kept kids in line.That's how my two sons were brought up and they are fine young men now.

There's a lot to be learned from the mistakes of others and anything but a whippin' with the vacuum cleaner cord!

[yodawill2000]

My worst enemy was a wide Blue leather belt !!

Moms final warning.Don't make me get out the Blue belt !!!I instantly became an angel !! lol

[SteveTheTech]

Well I found the problem, and I'm grounded for it. I hate being a kid. Nissan called, and said I have a hole in the cat. They said they will charge $1075 (yes), to weld a new one in, or $195 to weld the hole over. My dad chose to the weld the hole over. I told him Nissan was ripping him off, and Magnaflow sells them for $162, and they're high performance. He took this as me being a smart a$$, and I showed him. And he was like, who was going to weld it in, and I was like, it bolts on, and cody (kid in car club) has a garage and he can do it. He was like, but I want nissan to do it. And I was like ok, I'm just saving you money. And then he was like, do you even know what a Catalytic converter does? Well I was mad at him, for thinking that he knows everything, and I dont know sh**, so I just walked out on him. Now the keys are taken away. W.E, im just mad right now.... all I get for saving him money. The car is still at Nissan. $1075 for a F***ing cat, give me a break.

Stealership at its best .

Brilliant move there Nala, not only do you f up your parents car but then you try to tell your father whats right. Now when I was a stupid kid I remember thinking I knew everything, but trust me at some point (hopefully) you will realize you don't know s*it. Once you realize this things will turn around for you and you will start the process of becoming an adult.

Stealership at its best .

It's called the stupid tax, and a cat is a grand easy, and if your going to replace only 1 (stupid idea) variable deterioration rate will effect back pressure and could have an adverse effect on 02 cycling rate and engine driveability may be noticed, especially while racing your moms car. You have to pay to play it's a lesson all of us learned a long time ago. I get free labor and J parts are still expensive, but I will put the money into it to know that it's done the right way. If you damage something like Nala here did there is usually there is a parts charge that will out weight the labor costs. Look into the breakdown of your bill before slamming the dealer.

Remember that is where you take it when the others can't fix it.

[yodawill2000]

I suppose stealership is a bit harsh .But I did my T belt , water pump Tstat Blah blah blah for about 275 and a weekend of taking my time .1300.00 EASY at Grubbs here in DFW .That's the point I was making.If you cant turn a wrench you have to pay the price.

No offense meant Stevie .

I just cant afford to have work done by the "Pro's"

[#1 Sailor Scout]

Brilliant move there Nala, not only do you f up your parents car but then you try to tell your father whats right. Now when I was a stupid kid I remember thinking I knew everything, but trust me at some point (hopefully) you will realize you don't know s*it. Once you realize this things will turn around for you and you will start the process of becoming an adult.

I remember making those same mistakes when I was in my late teens, particularly when leaving college.

Blew up an engine in my (dad's) '94 Mercury Cougar racing an '04 Pontiac GTO. Sad part was my car wasn't properly modified for that. But I thought I knew it all...nope. Far from it.

Lesson learned is to do extensive research on modding & always keep your car's vitals in top notch shape. If a car is to be raced, always be prepared for the worst, no matter how many mods you throw on.

& street racing is lame...trust me...I've tried...but didn't get me what I wanted. Better to do it @ a track.

Which is why I haven't heavily modded the Civic. Even though it's in my name (literally; my parents aren't paying for it; all monies for it is from my pocket), I want it to last as long as possible. The same will be for the J & any other car I purchase. That means doing your homework & always double checking to make sure things are done right.

& if someone with more experience suggests something to make your car better (not necessarily faster), then look hard into it. It will save you $$$ in the long run.

[coolyun_98]

+1

I remember making those same mistakes when I was in my late teens, particularly when leaving college.

Blew up an engine in my (dad's) '94 Mercury Cougar racing an '04 Pontiac GTO. Sad part was my car wasn't properly modified for that. But I thought I knew it all...nope. Far from it.

Lesson learned is to do extensive research on modding & always keep your car's vitals in top notch shape. If a car is to be raced, always be prepared for the worst, no matter how many mods you throw on.

& street racing is lame...trust me...I've tried...but didn't get me what I wanted. Better to do it @ a track.

Which is why I haven't heavily modded the Civic. Even though it's in my name (literally; my parents aren't paying for it; all monies for it is from my pocket), I want it to last as long as possible. The same will be for the J & any other car I purchase. That means doing your homework & always double checking to make sure things are done right.

& if someone with more experience suggests something to make your car better (not necessarily faster), then look hard into it. It will save you $$$ in the long run.

That's why this forum is so useful.I basically learn how to repair my J from the internet and FSM.

With those extensive restoration I had done on the J, I think the only thing that I have gained is experience. Parts are just too expensive to make economic sense. If I were to start all over again, I would bought a G20.

[SteveTheTech]

I suppose stealership is a bit harsh .But I did my T belt , water pump Tstat Blah blah blah for about 275 and a weekend of taking my time .1300.00 EASY at Grubbs here in DFW .That's the point I was making.If you cant turn a wrench you have to pay the price.

I just cant afford to have work done by the "Pro's"

It's a labor intensive job ~8hrs of mechanical labor, this covers the inevidiable broken bolts or other time wasting variables.

1300 isn't really too bad depending on what you get for it. The thing about these older Japanese luxury cars is that they are not cheap. I am new to the J myself, I have been working on them for years but I lucked into one myself and I have been researching parts online and they are not cheap even without factoring labor.

I spent about 5 hours getting my car running yesterday and noticed the wp was leaking so I know have justification to replace the t/belt,and the such. While I'm at it I will replace the trans filter and gasket, and every possible filter. Should be a pretty fun part time project and DD resto. I'll post up some pics once I get it all cleaned and internet worthy, lol.

You need to keep in mind when considering fixing/restoring something like a J or an old Q you really do need to research the parts and learn from the mistakes others have had with going with the cheaper alternatives. Although in almost all cases (myself included) replacing a $1800 OE steering rack when you can get one from the local store for $250. It's a very hard call. There are things however that I will not compromise on. When I do my T/belt I will be putting in distilled water and Nissan extended life antifreeze after a full system flush. With any old system you want to keep scale buildup to a minimum and that is the best way to do it.

If I did not have the access to the facilities and tools that I have I would not have been able to get into Classic Infinitis. I look forward to giving you guys a little more incite on how these older cars work and how to fix some of the electrical gremlins that may develop over time. I've got a few of my own I am looking forward to tracing down. I hate burned out bulbs and my radio and HVAC controller are currently not working at night, so into the dash I go.

/rant

[rajeevjha]

Steve: I would appreciate your response to my post -

zer...is-it

thanksRajeev