Hi,
Yes, I am a newbie, to the forum and to my Infiniti. I purchased it about 6 weeks ago, and I have found this to be a wonderful site! (Except now I'm waiting for my transmission to fall out!)
I have a 93 J30, with 85K. The car seems to have been well maintained at the dealer, but nothing extra or out of the ordinary.
Twice now, I have had these incredible gas fumes appear (?) It's really strong, like a gas leak. The first time, I thought it was because I let the gas level get low, but this time it's doing it on a full tank. Last time (about two weeks ago) it lasted for about a day and then disappeared. This time I've had it since yesterday and I'm starting to wonder if I should be driving the car.
I live near the Coast in Central California and the weather's been pretty cool and foggy the past couple of days, although previous to that we were in an incredible heat wave (95 plus degrees, which is hot for around here.) Could it have to do with wide temperature fluctuations? I also took it on a road trip and put about 350 miles on it in the past week.
Anything special I should be looking for? I can't see taking it to the mechanic until I can at least establish some sort of pattern. I tried searching the site first (I know that's a complaint about newbies) but I couldn't find anything.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,Marianne
J30 gas fumes?
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greg_atlanta
- Posts: 1111
- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2002 4:37 pm
- Car: 2008 G35 Journey Sedan, silver/black (no sunroof), 1992 Q45 (in a past life)
The fuel hoses in the engine probably need to be replaced. They're probably original. Common to have fuel smell in colder weather since cool weather causes rubber to harden.
Would be a good time to replace all coolant and fuel hoses in engine and maybe do spark plugs, water pump, etc. Timing belt should have been replaced at 60K miles and if you don't know if it's been replaced, good time to do that too!
The dealer should be able to check the service records to see if timing belt has already been replaced.
Would be a good time to replace all coolant and fuel hoses in engine and maybe do spark plugs, water pump, etc. Timing belt should have been replaced at 60K miles and if you don't know if it's been replaced, good time to do that too!
The dealer should be able to check the service records to see if timing belt has already been replaced.
Thanks for the info. I have the service records from the dealer, and they told me that they couldn't tell if the timing belt was replaced. (Both the 60,000 and the 75,000 mile services were performed.) Doesn't that seem odd that they couldn't tell?
The dealership recently changed hands, and it was a new service manager. Could they have not looked up the full information? The previous owners also told me that they "couldn't recall" if it had been done.
I'm not too crazy about going back to the dealer, and I haven't found a good Infiniti mechanic yet, so I'm trying to stretch out the repairs. (I want to have the transmission flushed too.) But I guess I'd better not wait too long!
Marianne
The dealership recently changed hands, and it was a new service manager. Could they have not looked up the full information? The previous owners also told me that they "couldn't recall" if it had been done.
I'm not too crazy about going back to the dealer, and I haven't found a good Infiniti mechanic yet, so I'm trying to stretch out the repairs. (I want to have the transmission flushed too.) But I guess I'd better not wait too long!
Marianne
Sorry, missed your location in your first post. A good shop is a must unless you DIY! Too far from Jerry Tucker in San Diego, and not quite the Bay area, where there are a few members. Frontier Infiniti comes to mind (San Jose?) but they're a dealership too. For some things most independents will do. Timing belts are a fairly generic job, and not hard for an import tech with a fair amount of experience. But digging for leaks is something I'd only give to someone who I was confident could put everything back together just right. If there are any EZ Lubes in your area, check them out for the transmission flush. They're a fast-growing lube franchise from the south bay and the few I've heard about or talked to down here are definitely a cut above the jiffy lubes in the same neighboorhoods.
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greg_atlanta
- Posts: 1111
- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2002 4:37 pm
- Car: 2008 G35 Journey Sedan, silver/black (no sunroof), 1992 Q45 (in a past life)
Check with Nissan specialists since engine and drivetrain is about the same as 90-96 300Z.
To make the car reliable you need to replace timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, coolant, belts, hoses, etc. etc. etc. Could be $1500-2000 or more for everything but it will buy you 3-4 years of reliable driving.
It's not unusual to spend $2000-3000 in the first year owning an older luxury car.... but still a lot cheaper than a new car!
To make the car reliable you need to replace timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, coolant, belts, hoses, etc. etc. etc. Could be $1500-2000 or more for everything but it will buy you 3-4 years of reliable driving.
It's not unusual to spend $2000-3000 in the first year owning an older luxury car.... but still a lot cheaper than a new car!
I have a 93 J30 with 175k miles on it. I live in the Bay Area. I am having the same fuel smell problem. It seems to be more prevalent when I drive hard. I usually just smell it when I come to a stop. Sometimes I will open the smokers vent on the moon roof to let the fumes escape. Other times I will put the vent on recirc. I've only done this for a short term solution. One shop told me that the problem might be the injectors and that he wouldn't know which to replace - would have to do them all. I'm not too confident with his services for this car. I replaced the fuel filter hoping this would take care of it too. No go. The fuel hoses were very hard to remove from the filter and put back on. I suppose I will take the above advise and have the hoses replaced. I'd like to do it myself though. Will new hoses be easier to work with? Is this a DIYer job?
the fit is supposed to be tight, it is an interference fit.
besides checking hoses and FPR you could check the resistances of all the injectors to be safe, but I doubt that is the cause of the problem.
its a DIY job if you are confident in disassembling lots of parts, and are meticulous, one disconnected hose (vacuum hose) will cause a CEL, and a disconnected fuel hose, well...you know...
even dealerships will forget a vacuum line or two, VG30DE-series isnt that common.
when replacing hoses, either use nissan parts or make sure its for a fuel INJECTION system fuel line, not just a general fuel hose.
besides checking hoses and FPR you could check the resistances of all the injectors to be safe, but I doubt that is the cause of the problem.
its a DIY job if you are confident in disassembling lots of parts, and are meticulous, one disconnected hose (vacuum hose) will cause a CEL, and a disconnected fuel hose, well...you know...
even dealerships will forget a vacuum line or two, VG30DE-series isnt that common.
when replacing hoses, either use nissan parts or make sure its for a fuel INJECTION system fuel line, not just a general fuel hose.
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Chris Halkides
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 4:21 am
- Car: 1997 Infiniti J30t
Marianne,
I have called Roswell Infiniti for information on service that had been done on my J30, and with the VIN, they had no problem retrieving it. You might ask the service manager to use the VIN if he/she didn't. The timing belt is a >$500 job. I would remember it if it had been done on my car, so I think it is questionable that it was done on yours. If it hasn't been done, you are living on borrowed time.
Chris
I have called Roswell Infiniti for information on service that had been done on my J30, and with the VIN, they had no problem retrieving it. You might ask the service manager to use the VIN if he/she didn't. The timing belt is a >$500 job. I would remember it if it had been done on my car, so I think it is questionable that it was done on yours. If it hasn't been done, you are living on borrowed time.
Chris