I removed the transmission from this nightmare of a car that was being built by a twenty five year old that modified his car based on “I read it on the Internet or saw it on YouTube” kind of gig. He was in WAY over his head. It has a huge oil leak…
Is the red stuff the transmission fluid or something else?
Tell me it’s not red Loctite …
In fact I was wondering if it was melted red tape, or something like…hence the question.
Red RTV Silicone …
So…
Lots of silicone.
But surely the missing rear main seal and carrier was not that way when you got there…was it?
Where the hell did the bottom half of that rear main retainer plate come from? It appears to belong to some other engine entirely.
Are those photographically apparent gaping holes actually real? There should be some other name for an oil leak of this magnitude. What’s it called when you turn on a faucet?
Dammit Andrew I knew I should have asked you not to answer…!
Yes the rear main seal and aluminum flange was not installed. No wonder it leaked oil…
For those interested - it is a 2007 G35, 22k miles. The kid bought a new not rebuilt shortblock for this “project” and added a pair of turbos to it and a host of other shite - 98% of which is not installed correctly. Red sealant apparently was either “on sale” or he thought that if a little was good, then a lot would be better?
The next pic is one I truly love - the oil drain plug apparently stripped, so now it is JB welded into the hole - My guess is with he never planned on changing the oil again…
You are looking at the main bearing cap/girdle since the seal / flange wasn’t installed - you can see into the engine. Just bloody awesome way to vent the crankcase!
I’m not even going to apologize for assuming that no one would ever assemble an engine with the rear main seal and plate missing entirely.
Maybe he was counting on sucking it out the dipstick hole like a german engine.
After raising the car in the air there were a few issues noted:
oxygen sensors were very loose - no biggie
drive shaft bolts with almost hand tight - could have been a bad experience if the car actually made it on the road.
aftermarket twin turbos and exhaust make it near impossible to remove the transmission (manual thank god).
right (passenger side for the non car folks) downpipe and wastegate had to be removed to get transmission out. One bolt was impossible to get to until the socket that was wedged onto the bolt was removed(yes the socket was left on the bolt be the kid) see the pic to follow.
Steering rack (front rack) was loose - again not a good idea
lower oil pan with JB weld on drain plug was leaking from a soupy mess of more red sealant…have to see if the pan is repairable…
coolant hoses to lower pan have incorrectly installed hose clamps - yes there is a proper way to install a hose clamp(even the el cheapo clamps like this car has).
Custom fake A/N fuel fitting has custom black duct tape on it - another mystery modification to resolve…
note snap on socket…
custom fuel rated black duct tape…
hose clamp and leakage
waste gates from below - no sealing surface escaped the red liquid death sealant!
This is just the short list
Good times!
it is a 2007 G35
Typical 25-year-old Nissan FM platform owner. Closest thing to a performance car he could finance was a 10 year old Infiniti that he justifies as a sports car because they call it Sukairain in Nipponland and it shares some parts with a 15 year old landwhale of a sports car from the worst period for cars since the Malaise Era of the early 70s. And because it’s a sports car, needs mods. Only because he’s financed his 10 year old sedan at 19%, he doesn’t have enough money to have a professional do it, but given his choice in cars and credit ratings, it’s obvious he couldn’t service his own vape, let alone put turbos on an engine that was never meant to see forced induction with any kind of long-term success. Not that that’s gonna stop him.
And this is why Nissans are so expensive.
To be fair, Nissan specifies their own brand of RTV silicone, which is red, at a number of sealing surfaces, including the whole oil pan on the large number of Nissan engines that don’t have pan gaskets, and at every corner where 2 oil seals meet.
In fact a Nissan OEM gasket kit always comes with a tube of the stuff that makes the standard Hondabond tube look like child’s play.
typical 18-30 year old “insert any car here”
Unfortunately the owner of this car is dead (as in not living) - due to the common cold…(he passed out and hit his head and died of a brain bleed)
So this is a favor for his father (not a car guy at all) to get some of the crap sorted out and or see what if the car is worth selling for.
Their brand is not RTV nor is it silicone,
I use loctite 574 (porsche) anaerobic sealant - pink /red colour not silicone, not rtv just the best damn sealant around
Come now, some of us pick up the sweet deal when said Nissan owner has to offload the thing or else he’ll get fired/disowned/castrated. And then we cry a lot.
Sucks to hear the dude bit it though. I much prefer to point and laugh at the living. Condolences to not-a-car-guy dad and all that.
Their brand is not RTV nor is it silicone
I beg to differ. Genuine Nissan Liquid Sealant 999MP-1217HP is, in fact, a room-temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber gasket maker, which is specified for pretty much every oil-sealing application Nissan has.
Zach,
Thanks! I didn’t know the young man, but his folks are customers that have become friends.
Fortunately I have access to a garage with a lift near my store and a qualified friend that is willing get to help.
This is what I was thinking while reading this, “Where was his dad/father figure?”; a question I’ve learned never to really ask today… This is one of those things, though, if you’ve never been exposed to the right way, can be much more difficult to “just know”. I mean, I know if you’re reading this you think “how do you NOT know you need a rear main seal” but remember it’s easy once you know. Likewise getting “that looks about right” with form-a-gasket; so much easier if you have a co-pilot for your first few trips.
Very sad to hear “the rest of the story”, but it’s great that the Parents have a friend like you, Tom.
Curious to hear how it turns out. (For what it’s worth, and I know you know, but you’d likely get a lot more money a lot easier to part out the twin turbo setup, go back to factory and sell a working “factory correct” car. Or simply part the whole thing out, but that’s long-term dirty work and leaves a useless shell that you have to scrap…).
Good ol Loctite 574, I haven’t personally used it. But I do use 515 quite often. 515 smells & tastes like strawberries, that is an inadvertent taste though.
As far as cars, my dad was never around. I learned from doing and being around them. Although my dad did used to work on cars. That’s how we got our 25” TV in the 80’s, trade for a Pinto timing belt job.