reggiebrown40 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:42 pm
EdBwoy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:18 am
I found more info on that high mileage M56.
The high pressure fuel pump was replaced one time, at 273K miles. A thousand miles later, the timing cover had to be replaced due to the HPFP lifter.
It seems logical to me that paying attention to your car and raising/addressing issues when they come up will keep the car running healthy without incurring unnecessary expenses.
I respectfully disagree. I believe that many of us have voiced our concerns with Infiniti on the ticking, tapping, hesitation, poor idling issues only to be met with a "this is normal" -"no issue found" response. At least I know I have. Assuming I have no technical automotive background it is fair to say that I've done all an owner should be expected to do. I believe at one point you felt that something else was in play in regards to the engine failures. Not sure what changed your stance.
R.
Reggie,
The context of the quoted text above was in response to Malbec saying he wants to sell his car because 2-3 people (at the time) had mentioned engine failures related to the HPFP here. My advice was for him to remain a good steward of his vehicle and be attentive to it, and things
should go well. Hence the statement, "
...It seems logical to me that paying attention to your car and raising/addressing issues when they come up will keep the car running healthy without incurring unnecessary expenses."
Now, I agree that sometimes you do all you can and the car still screws you over. I agree that you do not need to have an automotive engineering degree to operate a passenger vehicle, but if an owner isn't going to take the vehicle to the dealership to maintain the vehicle their way at their recommended intervals, then the owner better do their darndest best to do more than the minimum in maintaining the vehicle; that includes frequent oil level checks & top ups in the case of the VK56VD among other proactive approaches.
Not that following their recommendations to the Tee will guarantee longevity to 100%, but it sure lends a crutch if things go sideways.
I wasn't digging for dirt, but in going through the entire thread to refresh my memory as to why I said that, I came upon this quote:
reggiebrown40 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:59 pm
...
I understand. I mean, if I had the insight I have now 6 months ago, I would have sold. Hindsight is always 20/20. The only issue I see is there is no way to tell what damage has already been done internally to your motor. At this point you may be putting ketchup on a burnt steak. Remember, I had no warning signs of engine failure until about
six months ago when the engine
started tapping lightly. At that point
I thought it was the heat shield or something else muffler related.
It is honestly commendable that you were perceptive enough to note that the car was acting different, but on one hand someone could ask why the assumption was made that it was exhaust related, and why nothing had been done in 6 months.
On the other hand, we can respond that for a vehicle that we have been told that all manner of engine noises are normal, how were we supposed to know that this specific tapping was to be treated more urgently than the groaning, mooing, rattling & whining of everyday?
These are just my objective observations going on.
***
Actually, my stance has not changed. I asked this question back in 2016, way before I bought my first M56 and I still stand by it, until I get positive affirmation of the negative:
EdBwoy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 15, 2016 7:54 am
armybrat wrote:
...
As far as taking your car in for the recall work, only way to get a new engine is if the oil jet hole is too deep. They check it with a go-no go hole gauge pin. If it goes in more than 3mm, they replace the engine. AFAIK, I haven't heard of anyone getting a new motor.
[There was a photo attached here - thanks Photobucket]
Armybrat, I found your other post on the oil jet, thanks for the pic. I pretty much make repair/replace decisions for a living so that's my angle.
What worries me is that Infiniti is letting some engines get the work done but which will suffer accelerated wear. I don't know how deep the gauge should go in a new engine. 1mm, 2mm, 3mm? I have no idea.BlackCat, would you have this info?
Say if the gauge would only go into the hole 1+/-0.5mm from the factory. Then they test an engine during the recall work and find the hole depth at 2mm. Why wouldn't they consider that an off-spec engine? Would it have any ill effects to oil circulation or performance? Maybe their tolerance for the holes from the factory is upto 3mm anyway, then my concerns are irrelevant.
One reason my crusading against Infiniti hasn't been as evident in public is due to the lack of support I get on such matters. Most times I try to lean on a technical topic for the benefit of the community, I am met with disinterest or in some cases, plain pushback. I know you and I have communicated privately, and I appreciate that, along with the various ways a few other members have worked with me at little-to-no financial gain on their end.
I am not absolving Infiniti of any responsibility, but since they have told us to kick rocks, I was hoping we could come together to figure out exactly what they did wrong, and what we can do to buy us time. I mean, we are not too far removed from the VK45DE of the Infniti M45. It started out as an admired powerplant due to its performance, to being dubbed "very unreliable" due to the apparent oil issues, and now we are back to people loving it and throwing it into various swaps due to the renewed appreciation. Credit goes to a lot of different people who have been working to make ownership of these engines seem less mysterious.
To that end, I am still working on the VK56VD engines. I kept hanging around people's engine failure threads like a vulture, but ultimately found it easier to handle this a different way. That's why I have 3 Infiniti M56s to my name parked at my residence. One has 294K on the clock with a damaged engine, hopefully with teardown to begin soon because I want V8 owners to not have to worry about unnecessary stuff:
- Longevity of the timing chain recall repair
- High pressure fuel pumps
- Catalytic converters
- Excessive oil consumption
- whatever else we get to learn with time
If I find any obvious design flaws, then I will be better equipped to confront Infiniti, but until then, I prefer to sit down gathering evidence. I am also saying that statistically speaking, good maintenance practices will keep our cars running longer despite any screw-ups by Infiniti.