nothing, didn't say it did.

how do you know his MAF is in proper order? it's not possible to damage the MAF when moving from the OEM to stillen tubes?

OP questioned the possibility of his mods affecting timing. i know a properly installed/functioning stillen g3 intake is not going to cause timing problems. i only posited the possibility of something being loose and doing a simple check.

before he commits to the dealership taking his entire engine apart and be on the hook for about $1k in labor costs, maybe he should take 30min to simply check his intake?

It's gotta be the muffler bearing.

I'm 100% sure any malfuction with the MAF sensor would throw a code, especially a loose connection. If the ECU does not detect the MAF sensor, instant CEL is pretty much a given. The engine will start, but cuts off as soon as you apply throttle. I know this because I forget to attach the harness to the MAF in my old Maxima once. I do agree that it doesn't hurt to check. A simple leak in the intake could throw off the ECU, but I doubt its enough to cause the damage the tech's are claiming. It's a scare tactic by the dealership to cover their a**, plain and simple. Assuming there is no CEL, the burden of proof is on the dealer to prove the mods did in fact cause the malfunction.

UPDATE:

Alright, here is the deal now. At first they called me back and the advisor told me that the V1-VTC Gear seized due to a lack of oil lubricant, and she told me that it was the CAI's were the issue and that it was going to cost 2,064.00 dollars. They are charging me 12 hours worth of labor to diagnose and fix the problem. I called another Nissan dealer, a service manager I know, and he said according to warranty the fix for that problem should be 5.7 hours worth of work.

I told her that the CAI explanation makes no sense and I wanted to talk to the tech who was working on my car.

The technician gets on the phone and tells me the oil cooler is the problem, and that I should have told the technicians that changed my oil that I needed to have the oil inside the oil cooler changed as well. I called Stillen to ask about changing the oil within the oil cooler when getting an oil change, and they said there is no reason that you would have to do that, and that answer does not make sense.

I asked the technician at the dealership point blank - "So its the oil cooler causing the lack of oil to the VTC gear?" He responded with " I cant tell you wether it is or not, you would have to get the work done and come back in 1,000 miles to see."

Isnt it true that if they cant prove without a reasonable doubt that the oil cooler is causing the problem that they cant deny my warranty repairs?

I then called 1800-NISSAN1 warranty department. The guy on the phone said i need to get the diagnosis from the machines at the nissan dealership and that should tell him what caused the problem without a doubt. I have to stop by the dealer tomorrow to get the paperwork from the diagnosis to see what the deal is.


Anyone else ever have a smilar problem or have some input?

Thanks so much guys
Brian

Oh and my car has 23,000 miles. I have had the oilcooler, intakes, and exhaust on for 12,000 miles. This isnt a recent issue due to mods.

The service person is clueless. The tech is making a shot in the dark.

They haven't proven it's your oil cooler that caused the problem.

If I were you, I would take the car to another dealer to get repaired, as this dealership seems intent on screwing you.

Best of luck.

This is downright dealer BS. Print out a copy of the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act and show it to the service manager. What they are saying only shows this dealership's lack of knowledge. They obviously don't want work on such a time consuming job, especially if it's a warranty work.

I agree. I'm going to get the diagnosis from the dealer and call Nissan directly so they can tell me what the real deal is.

When i asked for the diag paperwork they acted stupid and asked what diag paper work i was looking for.

Chances are, their diagnostic report won't say crap or doesn't exist. Try to get them to say the oil cooler was the definative cause in writing if you can and keep all your paperwork in order. Ask Stillen kindly to send the service manager an e-mail based on your conversation. I'm sure it would be in their best interest now that the Z community is watching.

dealer logic

something broke. that something gets lubricated by oil.
customer has oil cooler

therefor problem = oil cooler.

They dont take into consideration that sometimes.. gears just seize up.. sometimes motors just blow.. etc.

I just talked to my buddy, the service manager at another dealer. He said if the oilcooler is infact the problem. That NISMO also makes an oilcooler and ask him what the oil cooler is doing that is causing the issue, and what the difference is from a NISMO part. He said that its ********, because he would be able to tell me if the oilcooler had a leak right away, and if it doesnt, where did the 3 qts of oil go?

He told me to also ask why an oil indicator light never showed up on the dash.

Thanks so much for your quick responses, I really appreciate it.

p.s ask them since the oil was the problem whether or not everything else the oil lubricates is broken.

Sorry to hear about your troubles Brian. I hope it all works out for the best in the end. Repped for keeping us informed.

So, the VTC Intake Cam Gear seized due to "lack" of oil lubricant. Lack of oil lubricant would imply to me that there was a severe shortage of oil quantity. Was the car 3 quarts low of oil at the time of seizure? Have you or they added 3 quarts since the seizure to see it come up to full on the dipstick, or how do they know that lack of oil quantity is the cause of the seizure?

It was 3 qts low when it seized.

The funny thing is, i had my car serviced AT THE SAME DEALER 3k miles ago with fully synthetic oil and still have the receipts.