Infiniti Q45 Maintenance and Repair
Hello forum,
I am a nationwide expert on Infiniti's of all generations. Most of my experience deals with the 90-96 models, but I am aware of most common issues and other problems with later models as well...
I have seen there is no real guidance on this forum as far as answering of technical data, so I figured I would offer my help to assist others....
If anyone has any questions, please post in this thead and I will do my best to answer them. you may also send me an email, my email address is in my profile.
I am a nationwide expert on Infiniti's of all generations. Most of my experience deals with the 90-96 models, but I am aware of most common issues and other problems with later models as well...
I have seen there is no real guidance on this forum as far as answering of technical data, so I figured I would offer my help to assist others....
If anyone has any questions, please post in this thead and I will do my best to answer them. you may also send me an email, my email address is in my profile.
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Once the A/C unit is on there is no problem. Hope you have an answer.
Is this a simply repair like a sending unit under the hood, or does it require changing out the dash panel gauges? Thanks!
Does it ever start working normally??
Obviously with an automatic the tach is not terribly useful, but it bugs me that it is not functioning properly.
I recently had a lot of work done on the car (all the hoses and belts, holes in the A/C repaired, etc etc etc), including replacing the oil pan gasket. Would any of that have involved loosening or removing the engine mounts so that maybe the mechanic didn't tighten or replace them properly?
Is there anything that I, a complete neophyte, would be able to spot on visual inspection?
Thanks!
The thing is you can swap each gauge out of your cluster. So if your odometer and speedo still works fine, you can just get a used cluster off ebay (94-96 ONLY) and swap in the tach assy... If that doesnt fix it you have other problems, but its not a hard swap to pull it out.
If you need more step by step procedures and diagrams, please email me since I cant post pictures and diagrams here.... I am more than willing to help.
However, I dont think the mounts are what is causing your vibration... If mounts were a problem, you should be able to recreate it sitting still... What im saying is if it shows up at 50 and 70MPH, rev your motor to those RPMs IN PARK OR NEUTRAL (about 1750 RPM and 2400 RPM, respectively)... if the vibration does not reappear at those RPMs under a no load condition, then its not a mount related thing. 90% of the time mount related problems (for the engine, trans and exhaust) can be replicated under no load condition, but their magnitude may be different... Not always the case when replacing trans mounts which definitely go bad... If your car has over 60k miles, replace the trans mount as preventative maintenance....
Another test for motor mounts is to rev the motor in park... You can actuate the throttle from under the hood... Youll see where the accelerator cable hooks onto the throttle plate on the drivers side... Anyway, rev the motor pretty good (past 4000 PRM or so) a few times in park and the motor should only move an inch or 2... Basically the motor will move a little but not much... If it moves a lot then you have a mount related problem... It would not be a real bad idea to R/R the mounts anyway but i still dont think its related to your vibration... Youll know at that point if your mounts are tight enough...
What hoses did you have replaced. You have more hoses under the hood than you think!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you had truely ALL hoses replaced (about $3000 worth of hoses at wholesale prices) I will be impressed, as its something that should be done....
Anyway, i feel like im really babbling at this point so ill try and wrap this up... Did the car act normally before you had all this junk done?? Unless your "mechanic" is a complete moron, i dont see how you could mess up reinstalling the motor mounts... its held in by 2 nuts on the Xmember...
If you need any other help with this, post up or email me!!
We really would rather have the exchanges occur in the discussions instead of off-line. That way all interested parties will benefit.
So if it's not the mounts, (I'll go test the no load conditions in a little bit) any ideas?
Oh - and to answer your other question, the car sat unuswed for about 2 years. When I got it back, it as running liek a dream, that was on August 15th, .
does the vibration go away if you manually downshift to 3rd gear at 40MPH. You should drive in 3rd gear until you get past 50MPH or so anyway! I do!
Driveshaft problems are fairly common, especially on older Qs.
The message area started indicating "low battery change" every now and then on the way home. Then it would be "OK" and then back to "low battery," where it stayed after getting off the highway.
When I got out of the car, there was a hissing sound, like a tire rapidly deflating. It seemed to be coming from the back of the engine when I opened the hood, but then when I bent down to the gound to see if it WAS a tire, it seemed to be coming more from the front. Radiator is full this morning, nothing suspicious puddled on the driveway, either.
1. The brakes looked a little corroded from the outside, peering through the 5 spoke wheels. Is this a major problem?
2. When braking, the car doesn't slow down smoothly and there is a slight vibration. Is this consistent with warped rotors, or could it be something else?
3. When cruising at about 40mph, on top gear overdrive, i encountered a small hill. I purposely tried to let the car climb without it dropping down a gear. While the car did it, it seemed to continually hesitate just a little every second or so as it was lurching up from around 1500rpm. Is this a problem? what could it be?
3. For a worst case scenario, what and how much money am i looking at to make a car with 111K mint condition?
Everything else with the car was decent. The tilt wheel does not go up or down, but the dealer guy said he'd fix it if I bought the car.
I have a copy of the Carfax report, and the car is clean with no accidents or problems. I'd like to know what you think about this car, as the dealership seems like your typical used car lot.
Cheers,
JON
1. If the rotors are just rusted a little on the surface thats not really a problem. The rotors will rust just from sitting for a while. If the car isnt driven every day youll see some rust accumulate, especially if it rains or is moist. My car ususally sits for about 2-3 weeks at a time and the rust accumulates, but goes away right after i drive it..
2. Pretty common. Youll think this sounds crazy, but it really works... Yes its warped rotors, but one way you can sometimes make them feel better is to go on an open road and SLAM on the brakes at about 70MPH. Press the pedal down to the floor... A lot of times rotors arent actually warped, but rather material from the pads sticks on the rotors... By really clamping down on the brakes you can sort of smooth the rotors out a little yourself. may not make a huge difference but its worth a try, and youll at least know that your braking system works good.. Otherwise you cna just resurface the rotors at probably $20 a corner... I do this to my car, and Ive done it to other people's cars. They think im crazy, but when they come back and see their vibrations arent as bad and it didnt cost them anything, all is well!!
3. Im sure your definition of mint and my definition of mint are 2 different things... To make the car as new your gonna have to throw a lot of parts at it, as the car is 7 years old!!!!
Carfax reports really dont tell me anything, because you should be able to tell if a car has been wrecked...
If you can get the dealer service records thatd be great.
I'm just mainly concerned with a car that may need a buncha new suspension bits (struts, cvs, bushings) with this kind of mileage, but I'm surely going to send the car to my mechanic to check it out before I buy.
Thanks again! Much appreciated. I'll let you know how it goes.
JON
Question #1: My antilock light will not go off on my 1992 Q45. Also, the brake pads worn message on the message board won't go away. I changed all pads (front & rear). The sensor is connected on the rear passenger brake and still no solution. How can I solve this problem?
Question #2: My car rides well except for a vibrating sound that seems like maybe one of my tires is bad. I've changed all four tires about three different times trying to solve the problem but to no success. I just changed the passenger side wheelbearing and still didn't solve the problem. Could it be another bearing or something else? Please help!
Main thing thats gonna be worn out is the shocks... as well as tension rod bushings.... Just factor in $2000 in new parts and labor and you wont be disappointed... I can assure you, youll be amazed by how the car will be after a suspension rehab, especially if its all original stuff.
People really like to cheap out on brakes, and 10 feet can make or break you in terms of a panic stop....
Just so you know, its AGE that kills stuff not so much mileage (especially with suspension components)...
The drivetrain is going to be solid assuming the oil has been changed regularly... Just let me know as many details as you can.
For the brake pads worn, i always take the sensor wires and short them together. I put an aftermarket brake kit on my Q (no sensors) and I did this to make the things go away. Just short it, you should know when its time to replace the brakes anyway without the idiot light.
Could you describe where the sound is coming from(front/rear left/right)... Is it a high frequency or low frequency vibration.... theres a few things it could possibly be... but id rather have mroe details before going for that.
Most auto shops would be abel to tell you if you have bad tie rods.
thanks
Theres a lot of reading available on the other website's ive posted before.
hard to diagnose vibrations over the internet.
what symptoms are you experiencing. i know you have a 92 and im guessing you took it to a "mechanic" because it doesnt idle smooth. Coilpacks are the "generic" answer for those who dont know diddly about the car. Your probably looking at injector issues.
Give this article to your mechanic or whoever is working on the car. http://www.q45.org/ohminjectors.html
Tony
The only thing I could think of is to get a puller of some sort and put it around the spokes of the wheel... I assume you have the regular 95 Q "20 spoke" wheels, right??? Not the ones called "piepans" which look, exactly like an inverted pie pan... I might also try giving a mighy wack with a hammer to the back of the wheel.. You dont want to keep pounding on it but sometimes just that sudden blow will take care of it.
Otherwise, you could try unbolting the caliper/bracket from the hub (shoudl be able to do it from behind, tricky but it should be able to be accomplished) and just push the whole thing off the studs... However, i think youll find the rotor will be even harder to get off. There are threaded holes on the rotor that you can insert a bolt into to tpush the rotors off....
Theres more information regarding in the tech help section.
Thanks!
That is the only link I have handy.. You can search the forum, theres tons of info on there. It will mainly depend on what injectors youre replacing...
Actually, come to think of it, Im doing a full intake/injector/hose job on a Q next week, ill make sure you get some pics....
Yes it was neglected for quite some time but my wife has fallen in love with this car. We even put it on a trailer and towed it from Oregon to Georgia where we relocated. So now it's just a matter of getting it registered, brakes on it and she'll have a great car to drive.
There is a bit of cosmetic stuff to fix on the inside, (the glove box door just comes off) but other than that it's in awesome shape inside and outside. So for 50.00, she got quite a good deal.
Thanks for the information you provided and I'll keep you posted on my progress. Also I'll see if I can find some pictures to post so you can see our 50.00 q45.
Cheers, Tony
I'm looking forward to seeing this $50.00 Q45.