Shop Infiniti Water Pumps

Can car be driven if alternator belt is broken? The car is a 2011 Infiniti G37x Sedan.

Gotta ask ........why would you want to ? Most everyone these days have AAA or similar.OK ,that said.If the belt does not also drive the water pump You could drive a short distance , I would say 10 mlis or less . Provided you have a fully charged batt,turn off all electrical loads ..ie....lights, a/c,radio, wipers ,cell phone charger etc.If voltage gets to approx 9v the computer(s)tend to shut down.. So i would say,yes, But use caution , use a tow service if possible.

I have a 2004 Infiniti G35. It's a V6 3.5L 2wd base. I recently had the radiator, thermostat and water pump replaced. Now, when the car gets heated on hot days, (not overheated), and the A/C is on, the car won't take off. The RPMs will go up but the car doesn't move. If I turn the A/C off, it will then accelerate, but sluggishly. Also, when this happens, the fuel hand will drop. It will eventually rise back up. Lastly, the car is using an extremely large amount of gas. Like getting 8 miles to the gallon. What is all of this about?

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T

After I filled up at the gas station, I started my car and immediately heard a metal clanging noise. I got out and found a metal disc the size of my palm on the ground, as well as a couple of small discs/washers. I was able to drive the next few miles to work without any issues.

Also, my dash warning lights for the battery and brake are now lit. What happened??!!

photo of part:
https://picasaweb.google.com/vandedave/MysteryPart#5730126846866376658

details:
2000 Infiniti I-30
100,000 miles
automatic transmission

Thanks,
Dave

I don't know what else that belt drove so I can't really say. If it drives the water pump, then definitely no. You battery is going to go dead pretty soon if you run it.

I have a 2004 Infiniti G35. It's a V6 3.5L 2wd Base. I recently had the radiator, thermostat and water pump replaced. Now, when the car gets heated on hot days, (not overheated), and the A/C is on, the car won't take off. The RPMs will go up but the car doesn't move. If I turn the A/C off, it will then accelerate, but sluggishly. Also, when this happens, the fuel hand will drop. It will eventually rise back up. Lastly, the car is using an extremely large amount of gas. Like getting 8 miles to the gallon. What is all of this about?

speak to the shop that did the work, radiator WP etc.
Scan for codes even if light s off.

My 2004 Infiniti G35 V6 with 123,000 miles on it overheated on my way to work. I saw white steam coming from hood, immediately pulled over, and had it towed to my mechanic.

My mechanic replaced the thermostat, water pump, and radiator. However, after making those fixes he determined that the head gasket is blown. He hasn't given me a clear answer as to why he thinks this (there are some language barrier issues), only that after making the initial repairs he wasn't satisfied with how it was running and eventually took it to the Infiniti dealership for them to run some test (?). He doesn't have any printed out test results or anything to show me. The mechanic is a friend of a friend, so I don't think he is trying to rip me off, but I want to make sure he hasn't somehow made a mistake in diagnosis.

Questions:

(1) What evidence should the mechanic be able to show me to prove that the head gasket is actually blown? Should I get a second opinion, and if so, how do I go about doing that?

(2) He is quoting me $2,500 to replace the head gasket and resurface the head OR $3,500 to replace the entire engine with a used engine with 75,000 miles on it. At this point, I am planning on making the repairs, then selling the vehicle so I am not out the money. Would it be worth it to spend the extra $1000 to replace the engine rather than just repair the head gasket? In other words, if I spend an extra $1000, will it (a) be significantly easier to sell my vehicle or (b) will my vehicle command a better price than if I were to just make the less expensive repair?

Thank you so much for the advice.

Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the advice and will ask for some of the evidence you suggest.

What would worry me is that he took it to a dealership to have them test for a head gasket leak when he says he's a mechanic. I'm no professional mechanic like Nick and some of the other guys here but have always worked on my own vehicles. I'm pretty confident that I could track down a blown head gasket. If he didn't have the right equipment I would think he would know that there are auto parts stores out there that have a free tool loaner program. I could see having another shop check it out of it was having a problem that was tough to diagnose but a blown head gasket shouldn't be all that difficult. Then again, I've never worked on an Infiniti so I don't know if there's anything special about it that makes it tougher to diagnose than most.

I too wouldn't drop the money into and then sell it. 123,000 miles isn't all that high. As long as the rest of the car is in decent shape, once the head gasket is fixed, it should be good to go. I just did a head gasket in one of our vehicles and it's one of the reasons I plan on keeping it. I know I won't have to worry about it blowing another head gasket for another 100,000 miles or so.

I appreciate your thoughts. I paid a visit to the shop today and got a more thorough explanation. My mechanic said that to him it had to be. blown head gasket because "it wasn't leaking fluids but was still overheating.' As Nick suspected, my mechanic had taken it to a tech at the Infiniti dealership who he is friends with. The tech returned the car with the diagnosis of blown head gasket. The tech didn't provide any paperwork, I am guessing because he did it as a favor. My mechanic made it sound like it didn't take much for the tech to diagnose it, like perhaps he didn't even run tests. The dealership is leas than a block from the mechanic, which probably explains why he took out there as opposed to some other method of diagnosis. My mechanic understood my desire for a second opinion and (as Nick also suggested) he suggested I call the dealership to setup a $150 inspection that would generate some paper documentation of the need for a head gasket repair. I went off to call the dealer, but then decided that, since the mechanic had basically already gotten the second opinion from the dealership, I should save the time and $150. I figure, if the mechanic were trying to rip me off, why would he be so confident about sending me off to get a second opinion. So, I asked them to give me a quote for a new engine, which they will give me tomorrow. I am planning to keep the car. Even after I told them I want the quote, they still said that they would be happy to help me arrange a second opinion should I want it, which makes me more confident in their honesty.

His dealership friend could've tested it pretty easily by holding a 5-gas analyzer by the coolant overflow tank to check for hydrocarbons. Still don't know whyt you would want to change the whole engine for just a head gasket. This is a pretty common job and as long as the bottom end is in good shape there is no need to replace the whole engine.