M35 Info

[zei20l]

it appears you have had coffee today

welcome back!!

[iamhe77]

it appears you have had coffee today

welcome back!!

Not a coffee drinker. Hate the stuff.

Just over 6 hours sleep is good though!

[zei20l]

umm you work in IT yes?? and you DONT drink coffee

wow, cam is an alien! i knew they walked among us

[pixel8r]

umm you work in IT yes?? and you DONT drink coffee

+1 My morning coffee is so mandatory I almost feel my company should pay for it...lol. (btw i'm a programmer).

[LINGLING]

Hello everybody , top thread you guys have here , lots of good info! i am looking at getting myself an M35 pretty soon, by the sounds of it they don't have many common problems , which is great !!! ( please correct me if i am wrong )

Just wondering for the people that have bought theirs from a dealer what the warranty is like if you've had to use/claim anything on them ? Is the warranty worth the paper it is written on ? or has anybody had trouble like " sorry mate thats not covered under this warranty "

Also i read many pages back in this thread that the price in New Zealand for a h/light was $2500 for a M35 ? is this correct and are most other parts and panels going to be up there in the pricing ?

any help appreciated , Lindsay

[iamhe77]

Hi Lindsay,

Warranty's will vary depending on the dealer, but I can tell you now that Northshore Prestige's warranty is pretty damn good.

Won't cover general wear and tear item like tyres, but stuff that should be working correctly (boost gauges, rear hatch locks etc) are dealt with quite well. Even if like me, you don't live in NSW.

One general problem to be mindful of is the turbo... It will let go, just a matter of when.

$2500 per headlight is what I have been quoted for a new item from Nissan.

This for the Xenon units, the Halogen headlights are a bit cheaper although still quite expensive.

[pixel8r]

I bought my last stagea from a dealer with the AWN warranty. I was given a book with it which listed what was covered and how much etc.

Basically it covers a lot of different systems on the car, up to a certain maximum price for each item. Included in that list is the usual engine, transmission, etc etc most mechanical stuff.

Mine did cover the turbo however only up to $700 (ever tried replacing a turbo for $700 including labour?). I had problems with the stock suspension which the warranty didn't cover (fortunately i had the 3 month/5000km dealer compulsory warranty to fall back on) and had them fixed. Even though it was under the dealer's warranty it was still handled through AWN.

However, AWN have their own network of mechanics and you need to take it to one of their mechanics to have it covered. This was fine for suspension, but my turbo was also faulty on that car (but not within the 3 months after buying) - and I rang several mechanics from their list and none of them could offer much help. A few of them said they'd have a look but didn't know what turbo it had or where they could get parts from etc. Also they were not turbo specialists (although they may well have been able to do the job?).

I ended up just going with a turbo specialist and ignoring the warranty. All up it cost me an arm and a leg but I had a professional job done and 6 months warranty on the work carried out. I cant say whether it would've been a better option to go through AWN's listed mechanics, but the places I rang did indicate that it would be a fairly difficult task for them to source parts etc.

If you can guarantee the warranty does provide for a decent workshop that knows enough to work on these cars, particularly if the warranty is with the dealer you bought it from and not from a third party, then its probably worth something.

Dont forget you do have the 3 months/5000km dealer mandatory warranty to fall back on in any case - which covers pretty much everything. They need to ensure the car is roadworthy so if anything major breaks it'll be covered.

AWN is from my experience a great warranty (easy to deal with etc) however you may have difficulty finding a mechanic on their books who has experience with our cars.

[LINGLING]

Awsome thanks guys , the turbo thing concerns me a little , when you replaced the turbo did you have to use an original equipment turbo or could you you use a non-genuine turbo like say a garret or turbonetics or something like that ?

Well the warranty side of things sounds pretty good , I just don't want to buy one and break it and be left with a lemon and a big debt , i guess it could happen with any car though .

thanks for the info , i think i will go ahead and get one when i find the right one for me .

Lindsay

[iamhe77]

The standard turbo is a Garrett M24N and is a Ball Bearing unit.

The problem is that it has a ceramic exhaust wheel which packs it in. Mine went around the 115-120,000km mark, but others have gone earlier than that.

I had mine high flowed which allowed the original housing to be maintained... Dunno what the internals are... yet.

[pixel8r]

Awsome thanks guys , the turbo thing concerns me a little , when you replaced the turbo did you have to use an original equipment turbo or could you you use a non-genuine turbo like say a garret or turbonetics or something like that ?

Well the warranty side of things sounds pretty good , I just don't want to buy one and break it and be left with a lemon and a big debt , i guess it could happen with any car though .

thanks for the info , i think i will go ahead and get one when i find the right one for me .

Lindsay

I've not replaced the turbo on a M35, only a (1999) s2 stagea, which has the RB25DET NEO engine and the same turbo as a R34 skyline. Not sure on the exact details but the replacement turbo was a GT30 - i believe it was the 3071R although I could be wrong. This was mated up to the exhaust housing from the original turbo, so making it a sort of 'hybrid' turbo. This was done to increase response.

Alternatively you can get the internals of the turbo replaced with brand new (garrett) high-flow parts by GCG. Many people on this forum have done it and their reputation are pretty good. I had that option when doing mine, and if I'd had the choice again I'd go the GCG option 100%.

As far as I know there is no drop-in replacement turbo for the M35. The closest thing to a drop-in replacement is the GCG one. i think the idea is you send them your turbo and they upgrade it and send it back - and it will still fit exactly the same as before - the oil/water lines are unchanged etc.

You do take on a risk with any stagea, being an import, that you may drive it home and 4 months later have it break...but if you read through this forum, you'll soon notice there are no "common problems" that occur with stageas, at least no major ones. I always reckon that with a Nissan you're fairly well guaranteed to have a strong driveline, ie. engine, transmission & diffs. Suspension may be worn or need replacing, but overall its rare to have any major mechanical failures on these cars.

I owned a s2 stagea for 2 years and aside from the turbo and worn right rear suspension (was like it when i bought the car and was fixed at the dealer's expense) it required no other money spent on it except the usual servicing. I've now owned my M35 for 9 or so months and done ~16000km and I've only spent money on servicing. It still drives like its brand new. Its now done 97000km and the factory turbo is still going strong - fingers crossed.

So yes there is a risk, but in my opinion it is a fairly small risk. If it really has something wrong with it, you'll know within 3 months/5000km and within that time the dealer must pay to fix it. Worst case if you do need parts for the M35, Nissan will be able to import them for you - at a cost of course. Also import wreckers are now beginning to stock more and more M35 parts which is a big plus.

[markuszx12]

hi -- i got the same two issues --just bought a 2001 ar-x -- love it, but got a fw suspension/alignment/tranny/issues and the turbo is whistling dixie.

anybody in auckland with any idea of who i should go and talk to?

and stag250 -- cd you txt me at 027 202 1996 -- really appreciate it

[STAG250]

Is the warranty worth the paper it is written on ? or has anybody had trouble like " sorry mate thats not covered under this warranty "

Also i read many pages back in this thread that the price in New Zealand for a h/light was $2500 for a M35 ? is this correct and are most other parts and panels going to be up there in the pricing ?

any help appreciated , Lindsay

I bought my warranty from drive right for a grand and has been good

2 claims so far for radiator or fan issues and no fusses got my towing paid for on last one and that wasn't cheap so all good there too

you have it correct on the headlight price - very expensive - xenon unit too, could be more now with exchange rate

it pays to be fully insured

[prince_skyline]

iamhe77 can you contact/pm me with your contact number. Would love to talk to you being a fellow Melbourne owner. I think i had some serious issues today with my turbo. Parked now, may need some advise.

[iamhe77]

No good mate.

PM sent

[Bis-e Bee]

I'm up for pinkslip this weekend and I just know they are going to tell me to replace all my windscreen wipers!

Does anyone know what width the front and back one's are?

I'll pick up and fit some Saturday morning

[David 63]

Ahhhh....looks like a good setup for the intercooler.

P.S. Like what they have done with the mesh over the inspection port on the cold air box....must get the mesh and do that myself.....saves buying a POD filter and produce's the same result.

P.S.S Also got a quote on doing the turbo up yesterday....not cheap...$1,200 for the highflow and new impeller.....good for 13PSI everyday though....must do!!!....must get more HP.....lol

Hey Jet!! could you let us know where the quote was from??

[Bis-e Bee]

Hey Jet!! could you let us know where the quote was from??

If memory serves me right (which it doesn't often do in my old age!) Jet had his high-flow performed at Precision Turbochargers @ Wetherill Park.

Whether or not that is the mob he got to quote originally I'm not sure, but I think it's the mob he's had a lot of work done with.

From memory though the final job he had done was more then $1200, then he had to upgrade oil and water lines etc due to the larger Garrett BB core.

Perhaps the $1200 was based on a bush bearing high-flow, which is really a step backwards as the M35 standard garrett has a ball bearing core.

I've posted a price up in another thread for the GCG Garrett Highflow which maintains the standard ball bearing core, they just add GCG ball bearings and the rest of the new internals are Garrett, this one comes to $2k tho. This one is my preferred option as it leaves the turbo at it's original measurements, where was Jet's is a few mm shorter now.s

[Jetwreck]

If memory serves me right (which it doesn't often do in my old age!) Jet had his high-flow performed at Precision Turbochargers @ Wetherill Park.

Whether or not that is the mob he got to quote originally I'm not sure, but I think it's the mob he's had a lot of work done with.

From memory though the final job he had done was more then $1200, then he had to upgrade oil and water lines etc due to the larger Garrett BB core.

Perhaps the $1200 was based on a bush bearing high-flow, which is really a step backwards as the M35 standard garrett has a ball bearing core.

I've posted a price up in another thread for the GCG Garrett Highflow which maintains the standard ball bearing core, they just add GCG ball bearings and the rest of the new internals are Garrett, this one comes to $2k tho. This one is my preferred option as it leaves the turbo at it's original measurements, where was Jet's is a few mm shorter now.s

I used Precision.....probably better off going with the GCG setup....less fiddly and the same price for the unit....

Hey does that mean another M35 turbo has died????

Edited July 19, 2009 by Jetwreck

[Midol]

I'm hoping mine goes within 3 months as it's covered by the statutory warranty then I can high flow it and just pay the difference (hopefully).

[Bis-e Bee]

Hey does that mean another M35 turbo has died????

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust