please someone help me with my 1995 q45t

[stevieray86]

Im new to this forum and ive recently purchased a 1995 Q54t with 171,000 miles. The power steering is not working properly. Ive checked the belt, hoses, and unit, everything is working fine and fluid is full. There is no noise coming from the power steering pump, sooooo, ive done some reading and i think it might be the speed sensor modual or something?? the unit that controlls the power steering at different speeds from what i understand. forgive me if my terminology is crap, i need help lol. also its getting horrible gas milage. im getting like 200 miles to a tank and i know thats not normal. the motor runs fine and no funny ideling at different rpms. its smooth from ideling to full rev. but it does feel sluggis off the line. im thinking maybe a vacuum or cat prob?? idk, maybe theres something im not telling you guys that might help. i would just take it to a dealer to figure out the problem. but the closest dealer is 180miles away any thoughts or suggestions?? thanks

[elwesso]

Welcome to NICO!

Does the speedo work properly? Most likely the issue is the solenoid on the steering rack if the speedo works fine.... That's the most likely cause in my opinion.

Are you doing mostly city driving, like under 5-10 miles every time you run the car? In city driving like this, it's not uncommon to get 10-13MPG... If you can still get 20+ MPG on the highway, your car is running OK.

[stevieray86]

Yes the speedo is working properly. if it is the soleniod, where is it located? Is it on the PS pump itself? I drive on the hwy 24 miles a day to school and back. I owned a 97 Q45t and it got way better gas mileage. My car used almost half a tank and ive only driven 90 miles. i know the 97s have a 4.1 and the 95s have a 4.5 but i didnt think it would be that bad on gas, lol. If they do only get 10-13 miles per gallon, is there any way i can increase the mpg. i live in oregon so i dont have emissions regulations and a freind of mine told me to cut off the cat and put a straight pipe on the exaust system, hahaha. I hope i cas do something i really want to keep the car because of its good condition and style. thank you for the reply!!

[stevieray86]

oh soory i see you already told me where the solenoid is oops. i will go check out what im up against.

[stevieray86]

Thank you elwesso for the info!! i greatly apreciate the help. i have one more question for you, ive been reading about injector problems and i think i have a bad injector.

1. my car slightly virabes and is sluggish from first gear to second. but vibrations are not spurratic , but more consent and unified.
2. it shifts hard going from first to second gear, but then shifts smooth in higher gears.
3. idels at 500rpm when warm
4. i can hear slight hissing next to the firewall behind the intake plenum.
5. there is no check engine light on
6. horrible mpg.

what do you think it might be? fuel injectors? or vacuum problem?

i read if its a vacuum problem to start spraying starter fluid to hoses in the area i hear the hiss untill the car rpms change slightly, then which ever hose made the difference needs to be replaced. whats your opinoin on my problem? thanks again.

[AVGQ45]

Check out q45.org. they have a tech section on checking ur fuel Injectors and knock sensor. If that sensors bad itll be sluggish starting out. Just like mine. And wuth the test on there I found a bad injector which im changing tomorrow lol. I do all my own work tho, the diagnosis should be simple enough for u.

[elwesso]

Sounds like you could have one or more injectors bad. I've driven a Q with (3) known bad injectors, and I was surprised by how well the car still drove, I mean it was no where NEAR what it should have been, but it could still get out of it's own way.

1. Sounds like a bad injector.
2. Hard shift is pretty common for all 90-01 Q trans, so don't worry about that it's fairly normal.
3. 500-650 RPM is pretty normal.
4. If you do have a vacuum leak, you can take anything (carb/choke cleaner, water, etc) and spray it to hose connections or hoses. Do this while the engine is running, and if you hear a change in the idle then you've found your issue.

How is the fuel pump? Do you have any record of that being replaced? Usually with these old Q's unless they've been well maintained you usually have 2-3 issues going on at the same time, and unless you know what you're doing you'll have a hard time diagnosing one.

[rabsusa]

2. it shifts hard going from first to second gear, but then shifts smooth in higher gears.
~ try adding lubeguard with trany service, if you catch it early enough, will go back to smooth, mine did

http://www.amazon.com/Lubegard-60902-Au ... n+additive

[stevieray86]

Thank you everyone for the imput!! I took a multimeter and checked OHMs from my injectors and they are all running at 13. So im guessing their doing ok. i took some carb cleaner and sprayed every hose i could reach while it was running and nothing happened. i dont think the fule pump has ever been replaced. So maybe thats my problem. the only weird sound coming from my engine is the hiss from the rear area of the plenum. if it is my fuel pump what would be the symptoms? I found some info on checking the codes, from what i understand its behind the FS kick panel. Im going to attempt on getting the code readings from the computer tonight. I do hear a slight hum from the fule pump but i have to stick my head up to the backseats to hear it. its very faint though. i can hear it from my trunk to.

[elwesso]

The fuel pump should be totally silent. If it's not been replaced, I'd replace the fuel pump before it takes the controller out and leaves you stranded. It could be causing some of your issues, but regardless if it's original at 171k miles (unlikely), it's not a matter of "if" it fails, it's "when"...

[maxnix]

No comment on condition of ATF. Has the plenum ever been off? If not, it is probably filthy and the EGR tube totally blocked. Use an OBD II reader and check for codes, especially KS codes.

You do have the FSM downloaded?

My 2000 fuel pump is still fine at over 176K. Frequent filter changes help, and the control unit on the FGY33 is a much better design than on the G50.

[stevieray86]

So I pulled the fuel pump and got one from a wreckingyard for 50 $ with a 6month warranty. I put it in and and of course I broke the float haha, but I could care less because the Q runs like a raped ape now haha. Not really but its quick like a Q should be. But its loader than my previous pump? Thank you wesso you were correct. But it does have a little vibration in lower gears, but its was much worse before I changed the pump. Thank you manix I think I'm going to change that valve your talking about and pull and clean the plenum. I think that will help my car drive smoother. Also my transmission runs smooth as glass now!!Once again thanks to all that have responded to my post. I got a set of 2006 300z rims n tires I'm going to put on the Q. I'm also going to put in a in dash dvd player. I will post before and after pics. Thanks again everyone you have all been very helpful

[elwesso]

So I pulled the fuel pump and got one from a wreckingyard for 50 $ with a 6month warranty. I put it in and and of course I broke the float haha, but I could care less because the Q runs like a raped ape now haha. Not really but its quick like a Q should be. But its loader than my previous pump? Thank you wesso you were correct. But it does have a little vibration in lower gears, but its was much worse before I changed the pump. Thank you manix I think I'm going to change that valve your talking about and pull and clean the plenum. I think that will help my car drive smoother. Also my transmission runs smooth as glass now!!Once again thanks to all that have responded to my post. I got a set of 2006 300z rims n tires I'm going to put on the Q. I'm also going to put in a in dash dvd player. I will post before and after pics. Thanks again everyone you have all been very helpful

Junk yard fuel pumps are a TERRIBLE idea. Get a brand new one, you'll be back in there again if it's making noise, but at least for $50 you determined what the problem is.

My guess is you still have a bad fuel injector or two.

[stevieray86]

Ok I will look for best price on a fuel pump and secretly order it so my wife won't bust my chops lol. If it would be a faulty injecter wouldn't it have a funky ohm reading? Bc when I checked them with a multimeter they all read the same. None where showing signs of malfunction. And the hissing coming from the plenum has not stopped.

[stevieray86]

And sorry I realized I refered to the EGR tube that maxnix was talking about as the valve. I did push under the EGR valve and the motor stalled. Then I pushed it again a little harder and the motor died.

[elwesso]

Ok I will look for best price on a fuel pump and secretly order it so my wife won't bust my chops lol. If it would be a faulty injecter wouldn't it have a funky ohm reading? Bc when I checked them with a multimeter they all read the same. None where showing signs of malfunction. And the hissing coming from the plenum has not stopped.

Sorry, I missed the fact that you said they ohmed OK.. Helps if you read...

Anyway, regarding the fuel pump you can get one from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-69648-Origi ... +fuel+pump

Cleaning the plenum and raising the idle slightly might help.. Honestly I'd take it out and romp on it some with some redline shifts, it's amazing if the car has been babied how well it runs after you treat it a little rough...

[stevieray86]

Right on, my family thinks I'm a certified infiniti tech and its all thanks to you guys hahaha. I've learned a lot from this trouble shooting. I'm very greatful for the knowlage. Wesso I read an article I think you wrote on upgrading the Q. I want to purchase a nico computer soon. And convert to manual transmission. My cousin owns a shop in the next town over and claims he can do it. I think your right on raising the idle. I will give it a go and see what happens. Your Q is the one that was converted to manual correct? If so I'm super jealous, and your car is awesome. I have a maxima se that is a stick and I have dreams that my Q is a stick lol no joke.

[elwesso]

Send me an email about the ECU. I also sell the adapter plates to bolt the 5-speed to the Q engine.

I've put about 75k miles on the 5-speed swap since I did it in about 5 years ago, and I love driving a car knowing that basically no one else has it (except for like 3-4 others here).. The gearing in the Z32 5-speed is perfect for the Q in my opinion, and cruising MPG is better than the automatic. The manual swap is quite the undertaking, so I wish the best of luck to you. Realistically, it's a lot better than replacing the automatic transmission in my opinion.

[stevieray86]

Cool that's what I thought. I'm going to do the swap as soon as I get my hands on a Z32. My cousin will do it dirt cheap just to say he's done one. I will email you about the ECU.

[kevindanielk]

That hiss coming from your plenum....I had a hiss for a while until I found a collapsed and burned through vacuum hose, directly under the throttle body opening, right where the air intake rubber boot attaches to the throttle body. It's an L shaped vacuum hose and on the elbow of it was where the hole appeared. The entire hose is only about 6 inches or less long. Might be worth a check. That vacuum leak caused my Q to fail emissions.

[stevieray86]

Is the hose your talking about in plain veiw? is it the one that is horizontal with an almost 90 degree turn right above and to the left of the EGR valve? Because that hose on my Q looks pinched but when I took a pair a needle noise and sqeezed the slight pinch out while running nothing happened so i just figured it was fine.

[stevieray86]

I took off the plenum off and am going to clean it today. Is there a hose kit or something I can get some of my hoses their crap and I might as well get all new. Should I do a rail flush since I got this sucker off? I'm going to ohm everything and if it all checks out I'm just gonna clean the plenum. Also the EGR valve is filled with black sludge. Can I just clean it with carb cleaner and put it back, or just get a new one. I'm changing valve gaskets and sparkplugs while I'm at it. Any advice on best things to do while this suckers off would be great thanks.

[elwesso]

There's plenty of plenum write-ups on here, including the hoses to replace. The hoses under the plenum are quite spendy, so be ready to go "code brown" once you see the price tag on them. Try and save those 2 hoses in the back by the IAC, the tiny one with the little metal piece inside it and the Y shaped hose that goes to the IAC is about $100 for both of them.

You can clean the EGR valve, you don't need to get a new one. Be sure when you clean the plenum you clean the passage that goes between the EGR valve and the throttle body, that is usually epically caked with stuff.

Be sure to check your knock sensors, and since you're in there I'd probably consider replacing them, and perhaps the harness depending on the condition.

The rail flush is something that's done when the car is running, I don't really think they're that necessary anyway.

[qship96]

Rail flush is really a wallet flush,as are most other automotive flushes{gimmicky marketing creating a huge profit center for automotive shops}. In 298,000 miles,all I have ever done is toss in a bottle of injector cleaner into the tank{and probably did not even need to do that} and my original injectors are operating fine,despite seeing only ethanol laced fuel for the last 200K plus miles.

Simple,do it yourself driveway drain and fills have proven to work for me......steering fluid/ATF/differential/cooling system/braking system.....no need to pay someone to "flush" or "fluid exchange" nonsense- 298K on my original transmission,and other systems mentioned above demonstrate this quite well.

[stevieray86]

my wire harnes for my KS are toast. There are 5 or 6 visible cracks along the wires exposing the metal wire itself. Can i use any nissan KS wire harnes? Or do i need a specific one for the Q? Thanks again for all the help.

[elwesso]

You'll need to use the one for the Q.. It's kind of expensive (~$150).. If you're replacing the harness you'll want to change the sensors too.

[OwnerCS]

Varmints like to chew up the KS harness. If I can find a picture of mine it was making contact with barely a thread of wire.

Here are some under plenum pictures so see how the pipes connect to the rubber hoses for a non-TCS model. I put together the plenum as you see in the pictures and dropped it in as an assembly.







The rubber Y hose connects to the Vac Pipe in this picture.

[OwnerCS]

Here's a picture of the KS harness that looks like a varmint chewed up the insulation.



The new KS harness was wrapped in heat resistant "Cool Tape", then covered with heat resistant flex conduit, and wrapped and sealed with Xtreme Tape.

[Brew Q]

Here is a new one on flEabay, but not in original packaging for $100, and you can always email him and see if he'll do 50 or 60:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NISSAN-24079-67 ... 8e&vxp=mtr

you'd still want to get the sensors as well