Hey everyone. I've been surfing craigslist lately and there are an awful lot of cheap Infinitis out there. "Growing up" these things were expensive, but I guess time has really done a number on them. The cars I'm spotting are usually less than 4000 bucks and they don't seem to be beat up. Any reason for this? The cars in particular (and there will be many) are the following:
G35x
I35
G35
M35
Are these expensive to maintain or what? I don't really know Nissan's reputation for reliability past the early 2000s (the older ones are supposedly super reliable, right?) Are the electronics bad? Do the transmissions fail? Or do the interiors fall apart? Questions questions...
Back in the day I had an '04 G35 and it was indeed a nice car. But it wasn't without problems. Mine had inside tire wear that you would not expect, even with the suspension and alignment in good shape. The worst problem was the oil burning. I say burning loosely because you couldn't see it, but it required a quart every 300 miles or so. It's the reason I sold the car. Not every one burned oil, but it was not an uncommon problem and I think a class action lawsuit was eventually filed against Nissan. For a 4 door however it was a fun car and nice inside as well. Previously I owned a Q45 and it was a bit better built and no real issues.
My dad had a 2002 I35 from new, up until ~2013 and 165k miles. It's a Maxima in high heels.
He never had huge issues with it. The biggest repair items were a radiator and I believe front shocks, both of which strike me as typical enough on anything of the mileage. That said, the early VQ35 engines are notorious for massive oil consumption as they age. Once his got to about 120k, it would be fine for weeks/months, and then out of nowhere, consume a few quarts. Only threw the oil light on once, maybe twice, and it was fine as he knew to cut the car off and check/add oil, but it made me leery and was partially why we decided to replace it.
All the I35s had a LSD paired to a 4-speed automatic. Could have used one more gear, understeered a lot based on my vague recollections, made plenty of power, and did alright on highway fuel economy (high 20s).
There’s a fix for the tire feathering on g35’s. The g35x is not a performer. It is a nice way to traverse winter weather though.
The m50 is awesome. M35 is a pig. The i35 is a maxima and therefore a pig and fwd with a ton of torque. Automatic only.
Every g35 manual I see on Craig’s-slit is branded title.
Google search says that the VQ35 from later years are better than the earlier years. Something to consider...
Coolant system is incredibly difficult to bleed/burp, and one good pocket of air could disable your heater and/or make it overheat. I am finding that out firsthand right now.
The VQ35 has a timing chain, and is generally a reliable engine. Parts are not that expensive. Chains guides can possibly wear and make it rattle, but it's fixable. Also the water pump is chain driven and bit difficult to access, but seems to hold up pretty well.
Supposedly all VQ35's have the same bellhousing pattern, even FWD vs RWD, but engine mount and starter locations are different. So you could theoretically use a Maxima engine with a RWD trans.
I have heard the rings were a marginal design in the earlier lower-rating engines, and oil consumption got worse as they increased power over the years. Not sure what's actually true, but they do have a reputation for burning oil in late life. I have also heard valve cover/spark plug hole seals can be a culprit, if there is a visible leak.
The automatics seem to hold up well. The pan has a drain plug which makes the job easy. Like most autos they die from neglect. The CDXXX 6-speed is a good trans.
The G35x AWD is pretty nifty, and quite similar to the 90's Skyline/GT-R system. It uses an electromagnetic wet-clutch in the transfer case, normally 100% RWD but will modulate up to 50% power to the front wheels.
Every manual G35 has been beat to hell and back, or at least that's all I can find.
350Z LSD swap is a simple bolt-in job.
Hey, I've got a 6-speed G35!
Pros:
-dirt cheap to maintain
-insurance is also pretty cheap
-plenty of torque
-reasonably economical on the highway
-pretty good transmissions
-tons of fun to drive
Cons:
-pre-facelift interiors are a bit cheap
-oil consumption is a known issue
-b-pillar rust on sedans
-inside tire wear
-shifter takes some getting used to
Once the usual coilovers, sway bars and tires are done, they're a ton of fun. G35s are big oversteer cars. 03 6MT sedans were open diff, any 6MT car after 04 has a RevUp engine (a bit more power, a bit less torque, a bit higher oil consumption). 05 got an updated interior but lost the cassette player. It's easy to get them to sound great with OEM parts (HR y-pipe, coupe midpipe) and they're surprisingly good in the winter.
Otherwise, it's pretty much what maschinenbau said.
I bought 04 I35 few months ago and have enjoyed it as DD. VQ is fun motor to run around town with, being 4 spd doesn't bother me too much beside it being auto. I have lil over 100k on mine and after few thousand miles haven't had any oil consumption issues. Car has decent stiff suspension which sucks with crappy roads where I live. The 2 biggest issues I have, 1 Nissan motor mounts all seem to go to junk quick and causes annoying vibrations at lights. And 2 the steering radius is god awful, tight parking lots make it feel like I'm in 4dr long bed truck.
Forgot about the engine mounts! Mine also shakes like crazy and it seems to be a common problem.
