Most Miles You Have Seen on Q45 Original Engine

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justjuiceit4
Posts: 219
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Car: 1993 Nissan 240SXs, (Coupe and Convertible) 1994 Infiniti Q45
Location: Atlanta

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I see the Lexus folks bragging all the time that they can go 400K, 500K, etc. with the LS400 engines. I want to see how many miles the Q45 engine can go. I will start, I saw a 1994 Q45 with 505,000 miles on it. (Transmission do not count! I imagine that the 93+ models will have greater longevity due to the guide issue)


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Skibane
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Car: 2000 Q45 AE 110K
Location: San Antonio, TX

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There were a metric butt-load more LS400s sold than Q45s - Which means that high-mileage Q45s are likely to be a lot less common now than LS400s.

justjuiceit4
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Car: 1993 Nissan 240SXs, (Coupe and Convertible) 1994 Infiniti Q45
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Probably does not help that the activity on this board has seem to have declined some recently. Also, some members have sold, wrecked their Q's or just simply stopped posting.

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goody90q45
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Location: Orangevale, CA

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Here's one that was being sold in the SF bay area a while back- 678,000 miles on the odometer. It's doubtful he was able to sell it. Probably a cube of metal in China by now.

post6486096.html#p6486096

qship96
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Car: 1996 Q45

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This exercise is kinda useless,as how would you know if those high mile odometers are actually measuring the original engine,a replaced engine,or a rebuilt engine?......unless you are talking to the original owner,or a long time owner who bought the car nearly new.Most of these cars have had handfuls of different owners,and the current owner has no idea what the many previous owners have done to it.

justjuiceit4
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Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:53 pm
Car: 1993 Nissan 240SXs, (Coupe and Convertible) 1994 Infiniti Q45
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Well hopefully there are still a few original owners or at least some owners who well aware of the history of the car. The 93+ engines seem pretty bullet proof from internal component standpoint. I doubt many people had engines rebuilt once the improved timing guides were in them. Now with the 2002+ owners, no telling with them!

3Q Jay
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justjuiceit4 wrote:Well hopefully there are still a few original owners or at least some owners who well aware of the history of the car. The 93+ engines seem pretty bullet proof from internal component standpoint. I doubt many people had engines rebuilt once the improved timing guides were in them. Now with the 2002+ owners, no telling with them!
Both of mine are pampered mistresses. high mileage unit is at 143k. I take both of them to redline momentarily (only after minimum 10 minute and 5 miles of warm up of course) but in general i drive like I want 20+mpg out of them (not easy with an active!). I don't know that I would call the VH45DE bulletproof. It is intoxicating to hear the wind-out cacophony, but the rod bearings are a weak link in the engine.
And they are highly vulnerable to hydrolock (fuel).
I do oil sampling every change to see that it's not throwing metal.

justjuiceit4
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:53 pm
Car: 1993 Nissan 240SXs, (Coupe and Convertible) 1994 Infiniti Q45
Location: Atlanta

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I never heard about the rod bearings being a weak link? Please elaborate about this. Any engine exposed to excessive liquids will hydrolock. Are you referring to the crappy S1 injectors?

What oil do you run and how many miles do you run before changing?

BadQ45t
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Location: Half Moon Bay, CA

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I have to agree with the thought that this part of the board is slowing down.....my 97' only has 104k on it so I am not going to set any records. My brothers 96' Lexus LS400 had 295k on it when he dumped it due to issues, but the motor was still going strong.

I think with proper oil changes any Q45 engine from any of the first 2 Gens could do 500k easy. What people find is it is way too expensive with the rest of the car to get to that point...knuckle joints, tranny, suspensions, etc end up ending more of their love affairs than engine failure.

3Q Jay
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Location: Florida Coast

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justjuiceit4 wrote:I never heard about the rod bearings being a weak link? Please elaborate about this. Any engine exposed to excessive liquids will hydrolock. Are you referring to the crappy S1 injectors?

What oil do you run and how many miles do you run before changing?
check the old posts. Greg (hitman) after an overheat. Goody after a leaky injector. some guys with a 450sx (admitted they drove hard when cold).
a few others. and of course the ones that didn't heed the low oil pressure lite. all were rod bearings. whether direct or induced you decide. all of there were NA engines. FI creates other issues as well with melted pistons,
just saying the VH45DE is prone to dumping fuel and creating hydrolock.
I run M1 0w31.7 (5x 0/30 AFE jug, 1x 0/40 euro formula).
Ive tried several things including up to a 5w40. I like thin though, because even in usually warm Florida, i like my oil to flow.
Change every 5000 ish. no more than 7k (unusual circumstances plus a 2400 mi X-C), not less than 3k.

justjuiceit4
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:53 pm
Car: 1993 Nissan 240SXs, (Coupe and Convertible) 1994 Infiniti Q45
Location: Atlanta

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Well after an overheat, you can literally melt the bearings from how hot the oil gets. I would not blame that on bearing design. The 240 guys are super abusive to engines. The KA24 is bulletproof with normal use, but if you are banging against the rev limiter on a stone cold engine, it is no surprise they pop head gaskets and spin bearings. Also, I doubt the baffle plates in the oil pan are designed for "drifting". If these guys ran an accusump, I am betting that the failures would greatly decrease. You only melt your pistons if you go ultra lean from not running a tune and/or using A/F gauge.

It seems most of the scenarios you mentioned would be rough on engine bearings for ANY engine.

As far as the hydrolock goes, the 300ZX and 240SX use the exact same injector design. Have not heard of much hydrolocking with them. I am wondering if they hydrolock due to running too rich for FI especially using rising rate fuel pressure regulators. Perhaps some people are pushing their injectors past the safe 80% duty cycle. When that happens, they can just stay open and dump a ton of fuel!

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BCC93QT
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1995 Infiniti Q45
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Am approaching 400k on the 92 but I swapped the engine into this body way back. The body is about 400k and engine closer to 360k After the initial engine rehab'overhaul I haven't touched it mechanically. I hold the record at sears for battery longevity. Almost 10 years. supposedly they chew batteries. Literally I haven't put anything other than oil/gas, a set of rotors, pads, a window motor, and blower motor ( DO NOT buy anything other than a new or used blower motor Advanced Auto one was pathetic). The Q currently sits as a free ride for interns or employees. ALWAYS next to my super old piper Super cub. Always has a full tank of 93 octane ethanol free gas. Having trouble keeping rubber on it as it is used as a toy on the runway. I hear it both ways on the Q, many people have positive comments. "I remember growing up wanting the Q" Biggie had a Q, Nas rolled in a Q" "The Q was faster than any full size sedan" " Thats a Q45!" Nobody has a Q45. ETC. Hell, we have many rich folks that insist on taking it for a spin even with the high mileage. A rare amount of people actually know about the Q. Kind of cool when some random person acknowledges it. The Q has a soul and is part of the last true generation of quality cars in which the 90's had. Work leased me a 2015 sonata turbo sport a few months back but honestly I feel more at home driving the Q. As Jesda says, it still makes you(me) smile. 10 years and 300k miles later its still in the lineup Just doesn't compare in any way. I feel cursed but yet blessed as I always want to roll with a Q45 no matter what I own or how deep my pockets get. Cloisonné G50 for life!

justjuiceit4
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:53 pm
Car: 1993 Nissan 240SXs, (Coupe and Convertible) 1994 Infiniti Q45
Location: Atlanta

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Did some research on the hydrolock. Seems that the majority of issues was due to wrong o-rings and/or improper installation. I imagine this E10 gas we get nowadays is not helping matters either!

southernguy531
Posts: 2
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Car: 2002 infiniti q45 sport

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I've had my 2002 Q45 since 10/01. I've got 223K miles on it now and recently took it to a Nissan shop. They said they could find nothing wrong except the serpentine belt, which I replaced. One thing I would recommend you do: f you have a front light go out, replace them all. The labor to take the front bumper off is equal to the cost of all the lights (headlamps included). Don't replace them one at a time.

98_Q45
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Oh no, so the 2002’s have to have the front bumper off to replace the headlights? As much as I consider the upgrade, seems the 97-01 are the way to go

BadQ45t
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Location: Half Moon Bay, CA

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wow this is an old thread, I had 102k 4 years ago. I have 124k now and while I think my valve cover gasget is starting to get close to needing replacement, I can still run the car up to redline all day long with no issue.

HollywoodJackson
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98_Q45 wrote:
Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:00 am
Oh no, so the 2002’s have to have the front bumper off to replace the headlights? As much as I consider the upgrade, seems the 97-01 are the way to go
It would be a mistake to roll with a Y33 over the F50, because the headlight replacement requires taking off the bumper. I've owned both. The F50 is amazing.

All the best,
~HollywoodJackson~

HollywoodJackson
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98_Q45 wrote:
Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:00 am
Oh no, so the 2002’s have to have the front bumper off to replace the headlights? As much as I consider the upgrade, seems the 97-01 are the way to go
It would be a mistake to roll with a Y33 over the F50, because the headlight replacement requires taking off the bumper. I've owned both. The F50 is amazing.

All the best,
~HollywoodJackson~

Aquaholic21
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I'm about to hit 200K in my 2002 Q. You can replace the headlight ballast with the newer Nissan unified ballast with a little creativity.

maxnix
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HollywoodJackson wrote:
Wed Mar 27, 2019 11:59 am

It would be a mistake to roll with a Y33 over the F50, because the headlight replacement requires taking off the bumper. I've owned both. The F50 is amazing.

~HollywoodJackson~
Yeah, but the FGY33 has a VH engine that is very understressed. A pair of the JDM headers do help.

maxnix
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HollywoodJackson wrote:
Wed Mar 27, 2019 11:59 am

It would be a mistake to roll with a Y33 over the F50, because the headlight replacement requires taking off the bumper. I've owned both. The F50 is amazing.

~HollywoodJackson~
Yeah, but the FGY33 has a VH engine that is very understressed. A pair of the JDM headers do help.


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