2006 M35 - 211k mi.

I was told by my mechanic (personal friend/Pro Mech) that the timing is advanced. My car is idling rough after warming up. RPM's drop to about 700 at idle and it shakes. It has oil consumption issues at this time but was told by the original owner, this was the same from day 1 and was warned about it. There was a P0300 code and replaced the coil pack on one cylinder. He said it may be a timing chain and need to be replaced but he also said it may be cheaper to replace the engine at this time. I am not wanting to put $5-6000 into the car as I paid $2000 for it 8 months ago and am out of work.

Any advice from the experienced in the group?

Thanks in advance!

Tedd

Its rare for timing chains to need replacing.. not saying it never happens, but its a very expensive process and not common.
Usually when your chains "go" you would know it though and the car wouldn't run.

Sounds to me like a sensor issue of some kind..

These VQ35DE are pretty common (and long lived) motors among nissans + infinitis you could probably get used sensors for cheap form junkyards.
But first you have to figure out which sensor is failing.

Any codes still left?

I am taking it back to him tomorrow I don't know what other codes were present. He did say the chain was not making any noise. The shop is about 10 miles from my house and in that span, the service engine light came back on and when I was coming through my complex gate, the engine stalled (first time it has done that). It started back up fine but did stall. We will know tomorrow what codes are there now.

I concur. Before I'd invest in a timing chain I'd have the mechanic pressure test the entire fuel system, check for a clogged fuel filter, and if he has one if those pricey scanners, drive the car for several miles and record everything that is happening with the engine in real time.

Thank you Larz and Thank you Palmer.

I knew buying mine I was going to have some issues (high miles, oil consumption, etc, etc). It was primarily to get me through my unemployment time, which has taken more time than I was hoping it would and now the CV19 is not helping at all. I didn't want to spend a fortune in working on it though.

Tedd

I should also say that my mechanic is not jumping to the timing chain or replacing the engine, he is just letting me know what could come up. He is going to do some more troubleshooting to see how we can work around this. Im just fishing for information and experience.

I would also look into pulling the plugs for inspection. That will tell you which cylinder is burning oil, running rich and/or lean. You mentioned that you've replaced one coil pack already... What about the other 5? You could have more failing coils especially being that you have over 200k on them.
How are the injectors? Seems like you have multiple misfires to me. If it starts, idles rough your timing is fine. You either have bad plugs, coils or injector. Also look at cam and crank sensors for the stalling. Keep us posted and let us know what the codes are that way you can get better answers.

Update:

It is throwing P0011 and P033 codes, basically the 2 cams are too far advanced. It is still idling rough, it stalled again today and it looks like its just too far gone for my current income level. Im going to have to nurse it along as long as I can.

Thanks for your help.

TW

A P0011 will trigger a P033. Has the IVT control valves been removed and inspected and tested?

crweaver wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:28 pm

A P0011 will trigger a P033. Has the IVT control valves been removed and inspected and tested?

We checked that today and they were both working fine.