J30 Gasket

[expertie]

Hello Guys,

Last Saturday afternoon, my infiniti didn't start. Unfortunately, at the time being, I had to tow it to a random mechanic. I posted this before but the problem now seems to be different.

They said the sensors were dead. I am sorry I am not very familiar with the terms. So, I will tell you what I understood from them. So they changed the sensors and spark plugs. The car works fine FOR NOW.

Now, I have another problem. The car is smoking black and the car itself is shaking very lightly sometimes (not always). About this, the car sometimes has a starting problem. He told me it will happen if I don't use the car for a long time (like more than a day). I need to step on gas hard before turning the key so that the engine starts. At the first, the smoke smelled like gas but I feel like something is burning.They mentioned that there is a problem with the gasket. The oil and gas is going on the manifolds and oil might be burning. They said it is ok to drive like this but eventually I am gonna have to do it because it gets worse.

The quote they gave me is $1,470.00. I wonder if I should go to a dealer to get a price quote from them or not. If a mechanic asks me this much, I am afraid what the dealer is gonna ask me. You think it's worth investing on a '94 J30? It has 115k on it. And I really love my car.

I am in New England. If you could provide me some information about where to go with "reasonable" prices, I will appreciate it.

Since they are going to go in the engine, I will ask them to change the timing belt, water pump, hoses, etc. as well.

Thank you for your time

Exp

[elwesso]

LOL!!! Sorry, some of their assumptions are quite humorous... Ill give them about a 70% on that assessment...

The sensors... HAHAH!! What sensors did they replace, I would guess the o2 sensors.....

Your shaking problem is a injector most likely... If its not, then its a fouled plug (may be both).....

I assume the smoke is coming from the tail pipe... If its from the engine compartment, then its valve cover gaskets..... You dont wanna drive withit like this, because youll clog you cat converters.....!!!

I think Keith Vanmeter (SP) is over there in NJ... I would search the forums for his phone number.....

[expertie]

Thank you elwesso for the info. It might be the way I tell the story. Sorry again, I am not good with the terms.

The smoke is not coming from the engine or front. It is from the tail pipe. However, as I said, it doesn't always happen. It only happens while the car is shaking.

The car runs very smooth, as it is supposed to be, at the moment.

I called Keith today, he was out. I will try to catch him later tomorrow.

My concern right now is the gasket. The mechanic told me that I need to change it soon because the oil and gas are going on the manifolds and that probably is causing the shaking. I am asking you how much it will normally cost (including 120k maintenance, ie timing belt, water pump etc)

Exp

[Q451990]

Keith would be the better person to answer that... My guess is that you're talking about Rocker (Valve) cover gaskets if oil is getting on the exhaust manifolds. Gas, however shouldn't be leaking at all. The black smoke and shaking you describe sounds like an injector failure (running rich). The rich condition could have also caused the sensor failure (O2)?

Good luck!

Heath

[VimyJ]

Your hard start condition could be due to a defective injector(s) that is allowing fuel to collect in a cylinder(s) overnight leading to a flooded conditon. Oil seeping from the valve cover gasket would not cause your car shake. If this were the case, you would ntoice smoke coming off the exhaust manifold as the car gets to operating temperature accompanied by the "sharp" smell of slowly cooking oil that would diminish after some minutes of operation depending on how big the leak is.