Paul_G37

Car keeps going into limp mode even after clearing the codes.

I started the front end disassembly but decided to stop and check the oil pan. I wanted to find some blown gasket in there to be certain. There was no gasket in sight. I even filtered the oil during the drain and didn't find anything.

Upon further inspection, I looked up into the oil pick up and found a piece of foil. Looks like the seal from a bottle of oil. I should have taken a picture before removing it, but here it is.



I'd say it was covering a third of the oil pickup filter.

Question is, would this restrict the oil flow enough to cause those codes? low oil pressure?

Now that I discovered this, I was going to reassemble the pan, fill her with oil, buy a oil pressure tester and check it out.

Thoughts??

Btw, it's an '09 with 105K miles.

slartibartfast

iTrader: (7)

Baadnewsburr

iTrader: (3)

I'm with Slari on this on...thats a much better plan than keep tearing it down...that obstruction is definitely enough to starve the engine and cause low pressure

SonicVQ

All your codes could be oil pressure related.
I think you have an excellent plan and please let us know what happens.

Here is a video on checking oil pressure on the G37 compete with pressure specs:

Paul_G37

Update, oil pressure was low, so the mission has begun... First roadblock is the crank bolt. Already snapped 2 half inch breaker bars, tried heating with torch, rented a 400 lbs impact, PB blaster... This bolt won't f'ing move. What else can I do?

Baadnewsburr

iTrader: (3)

what kind of torch did you use? propane isn't hot enough, try MAP if that doesn't work you will have to go oxy

400ft lb impact wont be nearly enough, the only ones i've ever heard of working are somwhere in the 700ft lbs (over 1000 ft lbs breakaway) and up range like these: https://www.dewalt.com/products/powe...-bare/dcf899hb

you might also be able to try putting a breaker barr on and cranking the starter...but I cant tell if youre past that in disassembly....

Finally you can try the tool this guy uses:


good luck, post up your progress with pictures too

SonicVQ

How are you holding the crankshaft?
You could always try a 3/4 beaker bar.

Paul_G37

i used MAP, clearly not hot enough.

Little worried about cranking it with the breaker bar. I already managed to snap 2 breakers bars... I've never seen such a stuck bolt before.

Paul_G37

chain wrench around the harmonic balancer with a thick wrench wedged in there as well.

Paul_G37

Updates:
Finally got the crank bolt out. Had to use a 3/4 breaker bar, 3/4 drive impact socket, a 7 foot cheater pipe (used a fence post), and a lot of heat.
Just finished removing the timing chain cover, and sadly I don't see any blown gasket.There are some small cracks on the edges but nothing major. Will have to inspect once I get them out.

Next step is to rotate the engine to TDC, remove the chain, and go from there.

some pics for your enjoyment.

Tip #1: Organize your bolts, there are many. Cardboard and printout works great.



Tip #2: You need space for this job. I have parts on and under the car.



No broken gasket...looks pretty clean in there



Tips #3: Using a broken hockey stick as a small cheater pipe works well...

RMB5190

iTrader: (2)

So glad I got a 2012....

Paul_G37

thank you for your invaluable contribution to this thread

RMB5190

iTrader: (2)

Ha ha - apologies.

You might find that the gasket falls apart the moment you take it out. Like yourself, I'm surprised you don't see debris.

Just a thought, you may want to tackle the water pump while you're in there for piece of mind. Hate to see you put it back together just to have that go soon. Lastly, take a peak at your motor mounts while you can. Just saw a video where a guy was doing the gasket replacement and his passenger side mount was snapped.

Gio37

iTrader: (1)

Paul, since you are already that far into the job, are you still replacing the gaskets with the new updated type gaskets ?

Paul_G37

Had some time to work on it and inspect the gaskets. At first I thought a portion was torn and shifted away, but after taking a closer look it was the external part of the gasket which just flaked off when i removed the plate. Another big portion was cracked and separated at that same time.

What I did notice was that 3 screws were looser that the others (blue circles). As you can see those screws are in the areas where the gasket was the weakest. I'm starting to think that the gasket would have been fine if the screws remained tight.

The smaller gasket was completely fine. Ironically all the screws were tight.