Best advice for Fx35

[edking310]

Hi everyone,

I been on this site for a while and has helped a lot in the past. I wanted to ask if anyone knows someone’s who can help troublshoot some problems and concerns on my 04 fx35. Please send me a pm or reply. Thanks!

Current issues:
Wheels shake when braking and driving
Actions done: replaced pads twice and replaced rotors Twice.( they keep warping) maybe bad calipers?

Steering wheel shakes while driving ( had them balanced a while and feel worse) maybe has to do with brakes as well?
Actions done: had a inspection done and was told maybe an alignment would help. During this check the mechanic informed me there is a crack on my front differential housing.(not sure how to verify this or get another opinion )

Leaking oil: replaced valve covers and oil still started to leak again after a year had them replaced again and was told
It wasn’t the valve covers maybe the rear main seal.

Blue smoke at start up: since the car leaks oil I have to keep putting oil in every 2-4 days. When I do fill it up and cold start it sometimes it will turn on and the exhaust lets out a thigh cloud of blue smoke and smells off. I talked to a mechanic and he said might be some bad seals. Any input?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section

 

[onthemove]

Hi everyone,

Current issues:
Wheels shake when braking and driving
Actions done: replaced pads twice and replaced rotors Twice.( they keep warping) maybe bad calipers?

Steering wheel shakes while driving ( had them balanced a while and feel worse) maybe has to do with brakes as well?
Actions done: had a inspection done and was told maybe an alignment would help. During this check the mechanic informed me there is a crack on my front differential housing.(not sure how to verify this or get another opinion )

Steering wheel shakes while vehicle's in motion, whether braking or not, it's 99% wheel balance. Just because they were balanced doesn't mean they were balanced correctly.
Find a tire guy who's worth a shit. The tech is more important than the machine.

"During this check the mechanic informed me there is a crack on my front differential housing.(not sure how to verify this or get another opinion)".
Your mechanic is probably a moron. Clean the diff with degreaser & then check the axle seals.

Leaking oil: replaced valve covers and oil still started to leak again after a year had them replaced again and was told
It wasn’t the valve covers maybe the rear main seal.
Clean the engine extremely well, add dye to the engine oil then after a couple days of driving, use a black light to locate the leak.

Blue smoke at start up: since the car leaks oil I have to keep putting oil in every 2-4 days. When I do fill it up and cold start it sometimes it will turn on and the exhaust lets out a thigh cloud of blue smoke and smells off. I talked to a mechanic and he said might be some bad seals. Any input?
Burning oil, lots of it then? Not good. Piston rings shot.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section

 

[Denis McGuire]

The shaking wheel and steering wheel shake is likely a sticking caliper. It could just be the slides that need to be cleaned and lubed, or possible a sticking piston.

Blue smoke at startup is most likely valve guide seals.

 

[edking310]

The shaking wheel and steering wheel shake is likely a sticking caliper. It could just be the slides that need to be cleaned and lubed, or possible a sticking piston.

Blue smoke at startup is most likely valve guide seals.

Is there a way to find this out 100% ? How much would this cost?

 

[edking310]

Not sure if combination of burning oil or just leaking it all. I am cleaning the car this weekend and doing the test with dye. Do you think leaking oil can be related to a leaking rear main seal?

 

[Denis McGuire]

Is there a way to find this out 100% ? How much would this cost?

Take the front calipers off and have a good look at the pistons and slide pins. Also, look for excess wear on the brake pads. If something is sticking, the wear will be different at various spots.

 

[edking310]

Take the front calipers off and have a good look at the pistons and slide pins. Also, look for excess wear on the brake pads. If something is sticking, the wear will be different at various spots.

Sorry I meant for the blue smoke on start up. I just changed my calipers pads and rotors but I’m such a noob I wasn’t able to finish and my brakes need bleeding I tried bleeding them by pumping and did not do a single thing but spill brake oil lol

 

[edking310]

Sorry I meant for the blue smoke on start up. I just changed my calipers pads and rotors but I’m such a noob I wasn’t able to finish and my brakes need bleeding I tried bleeding them by pumping and did not do a single thing but spill brake oil lol

Brakes go all th way Down

 

[jumbosrule]

I can help with everything brakes! So first of all - no such thing as warped rotors. We (StopTech High performance brake systems) run brake dynos 24 hours a day and have not seen a warped rotor in over 20 years.

What's happening is you are using a pad outside of it's preferred temperature range. This could just be a really bad quality street pad, but maybe you do drive through mountains, tow something, or just drive harder than most to get temperatures above normal daily driving? If you think you drive completely normally, then get rid of those pads. Pad material is getting deposited on the rotor in an uneven way, causing judder or vibration. You can easily remove this pad material by hand using a scotchbrite pad, or you can have it turned on a lathe... or you can get new pads and try "bedding in" the pads & rotors using a driving procedure.

Quality is the key. I would recommend Centric blank rotors and Centric 105 Posi-Quiet pads, or StopTech 308 Street pads.

The other possibility here is that your Steering rack bushings are getting compressed with age. Sometimes a shaking steering wheel is not coming from braking, but from normal driving. This might be complicating what you feel in the brakes? Its also a common issue with 1st gens. This shake happens when you are not using the brakes.