Any guesses why it left me stranded?

BrianInSoCal

Usually only sits for at most 3 or 4 days at a time. Coolant temp gauge always read normal (just below half way point). Had only been running for about 5 miles when this happened. Oil temp was only approaching 180 degrees. Most of my trips are relatively short with max oil temps 180-190. Occasionally take for a longer ride to get oil temps around 200.

Shop didn't have time to get to it yesterday. Said they will look at it today.

victorofhavoc

Sounds like you baby it and maintain it so really no reason to randomly go pop. If something catastrophic really did fail it doesn't sound like it's through any fault of your own.

My friend's g37 left him stranded twice. First time the coolant hose popped off, white smoke behind him, and the car stopped entirely and wouldn't crank. Second time, the other hose popped off, big plume of white smoke everywhere, and the car basically stopped cold. Both times the fix was easy. The first time he hit the accelerator hard and it happened when the car down shifted. Second time, just cruising on the highway.

This is why I asked grey or white smoke since they can look similar.

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BrianInSoCal

Shop says engine seized. Coolant in oil. He said he's never seen such a well-maintained car at 42k mileage have a catastrophic failure like this. Will try to see if Nissan will come to my aid, but I'm 2 years out of warranty, so not optimistic.

Jeez, there isn't even 1 ding on the car.

Looks like I'll probably see what i can get for it as is.

victorofhavoc

That is really unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully a local dealer might be nice and help out. Fwiw, I have seen quite a few vq37vhr going for sale for 1500-2k.

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Had a 2010 WRX- boy was it quick in a straight line, got a 2014 Z- man is she grippy in the corners-- then left the Z and later got a GTI, now back in an 09 racecar Z!

Spooler

If you hang on for a bit I know of a low mile engine coming out for a built motor. Johnxxx's car is who it is. Cost to ship to you won't be too bad. You can also shop for a local low mileage junk yard engine. Expect to pay about 1600 to 2500. Depending on how clean it is.

abm89

Wow that sucks. I'm over here with serious survivor's guilt. My motor is close to 130K with tons of track days and abuse, and it is still working fine.

Good luck with whatever you decide. If you keep it, motors, as mentioned, aren't too expensive for the car. If you sell it, I understand.

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JARblue

Damn. Sorry to hear the diagnosis. Good luck whatever you decide to do with it.

Talk to Nissan for sure. They'll want to look at it of course, but get them to talk to your mechanic. And if they deny any help, ask specifically if they can look into "goodwill coverage" for you. If you use the dealer a lot you have a much better shot so leverage that; if not don't bring it up lol. If you talk to the right person at corporate they will have the authority to negotiate some sort of deal, maybe where you buy the parts and they cover the labor. It's happened before and you won't know if you don't ask. I got thousands of dollars in airbag labor and parts covered several years out of warranty.

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BrianInSoCal

Thanks all. I talked to Nissan corporate and he said based on my mileage, I was in the "green zone", which means that Nissan may work with me on the repair/replacement. He advised i get it towed to the closest Nissan dealership and have it diagnosed (which per the dealer is $150), and if there's no sign of abuse, Nissan may cover part or all of the fix. I'm cautiously optimistic, but trying not to get my hopes up.

If Nissan doesn't come through, I may be interested in buying a used VQ37 motor, but not sure how to go about it, nor how to find a trusted mechanic up for that kind of work.

I'll keep you posted. Goes to the dealer tomorrow. Damn, I miss my Z!

victorofhavoc

That's good to hear! Best of luck! If they really come through for you that will be awesome!

For finding a mechanic, I tend to trust those with the most experience swapping engines and that often ends at a proper race shop of some sort. You could try to find owners in your region that track their cars and ask what shops they go to. Dealer will likely quote out the work to you once they diagnose.

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Had a 2010 WRX- boy was it quick in a straight line, got a 2014 Z- man is she grippy in the corners-- then left the Z and later got a GTI, now back in an 09 racecar Z!

POS VETT

I'm going to bet the engine dropped a valve.

Rusty

Coolant in the oil. Sounds like a head gasket let go. And was pumping a mix of oil and coolant through the oil passages. Coolant and oil will foam in the oil pump. Foam has no lubrication properties.

Sorry to hear this.

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Lvcky69

I would have never taken it to the dealership. It is gonna cost you an arm and a leg even if they cover only one part of it. Don't expect too much since you are out of warranty. They pretty much said that just to get you in and have a pay day. You'd be better off buying the engine and take your car somewhere else..

BrianInSoCal

The only way Nissan would consider contributing some or all of a fix was for me to take it to a Nissan dealer so they could do their diagnostic. The diagnostic is $150 (regardless of how many hrs they put into figuring out what failed and the extent of the damage).

So, I figured it's worth a $150 risk to have a chance that Nissan would rise to the occasion on this. Even if Nissan goes south on this, if the dealer can ID what failed, it's worth $150 to me to know WTF happened.

At the dealer today ... maybe hear back by end of day.

BrianInSoCal

Dealer report not much of surprise. Coolant in oil, engine seized, likely hydrolocked. Block is cracked. Guess it also took the torque converter with it. Estimated repair cost app $15k. So now it's in Nissan Consumer Affair's hands. Was told I should hear their decision by end of day Monday.

Rusty

15 grand will buy you a nice built motor. Hopefully Nissan will step up to the plate.

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