*URGENT* My 98 Q @ Dealership now, I need repair advice ASAP!! (THX)

[1998greenQ45]

Hello Everyone, it's been a verrrry long time since i've logged in (a year or so?) & i wish i wasdoing so w/o a "crisis", but i really need the wisdom & advice from you good people..

So- my 1998 q45 (82,000 miles) is currently sitting @ Pepe Infiniti, awaiting my approval (or otherwise!!) for service that will cost me over $3200.00 (!), money that i simply do not have.

*A month ago, my Q began to feel "weak" while accelerating/losing power periodically and alsobegan to have an audible exhaust note- especially at idle, sounding like the exhaust is cracked someplace.. Next the "service engine soon" light came on, & has stayed on..

*This is what Infiniti says i need replaced and (ballpark) what they want to charge me for the repairs:

1) Knock sensors & harnesses- $650.00 + 8 hours labor

2) Bank 1 rear oxygen sensor- $230.00 + 1 hour labor

3) Right side cat tube (rusted & leaking apparently)- $1300.00 + 2 hours labor

So, with the labor per hour it's over $3000.00+

*Next, my friend who is a classic car collector gave me the name/# of a mechanic he uses, and while the guy couldn't give me a complete estimate w/o seeing the car, he did tell me that he could "likely" do the repairs for about $1000.00 less (!) -I would have to figure out how to get to and from work etc. each day w/o a car though, and the work could take 5 days

Also (sorry guys!), I have been using a loaner from Infiniti (09 g37x) for 4 days already, as they took a long time to diagnose/look at my Q; it is going to be damn awkward to bring it back and p/u my own car, especially after they looked @ it.... dunnoo what i'd expect to pay (if anything?) for the diagnostics :-(

-Do these repairs sound dire & absolutely essential ASAP, or can i safely hold off a while??-Is it worth it to go to a private mechanic (the car's 11 yrs old, after all) to save the $$, or will the parts potentially be of lesser quality??

Last thing, I promise: to make matters worse, i need all 4 tires replaced, something i can do @ tirerack etc., but i'd also ((really)) appreciate any advice on the best "affordable" & safe tires, what with winter looming. I have had Michelin, which i know is the standard, and since then Pirelli tires, which are "ok" at best. (i am thinking that Hankook, Dunlop, or Bridgestone are worth a look??)

***Thank you in advance to anyone who can offer any thoughts what so ever!!!!!

[Infinitiguy19]

You can replace the knock sensors yourself because "paranoid jack"has a really nice write up on it.

You can hold off on the O2 sensor if you want but if its the rear one and is indeed easy to get to then the mechanic your friend recommended should be able to replace it.

On the last one "Right side cat tube" do they mean the car is rusted or the pipe leading to or from it is? Either way I would look and see what the government can do to replace it like in Mike's (Goody90Q45) case.

[Rex]

here's my suggestions

Ask the Service Writer to prioritize the work.

Ask the SW what the labor would be if you provided your own (OEM) parts.

Get the P/N's and check with IoS to see what you can save on parts.

Is there any chance you can do some of the work yourself?

If you make these repairs, are you willing/able to do any more in the next 6-9 months?

It's no fun, but sometimes you have to decide whether to "punt" or go for it.

[oldmako]

Had my exhaust leak fixed at the local "Big Als" about 2 months ago for 30 bucks. My guess is that the dealer would have just replaced it at who knows what cost. One arm, piece of leg perhaps.

IOW, there are other ways to skin a cat other than starting with a brand new cat. The previous advice was spot on, and the good news is that once taken care of these cars appear to be fairly bulletproof and will run a long time. At least mine is....so far.

Remember when we drove VW Busses and Firebirds that could be fixed for next to nothin and didn't require special tools, electronic diagnostic gear and advanced degrees?

There was some peace of mind then. You're about to drop 3200 on an 11 year old car and it still needs tires, and probably a hell of a lot more too. Sucks. Consider a moped?

[NightRiderQ45]

Yes your KS needs to be replaced. That's why you are loosing power, especially when you pulling hills I bet! If you take it to the dealer, that is about the price you are going to pay. My KS needs to be replaced but I haven't had the time to get it done yet (major outage with power company). Once that is completed I will set up a time with a fellow member BullitAndy. He has done this job on 3 FGY33's so I will drive to Atl to let him do this job for me...(he can complete the full job in 2hrs )

I will wait for the O2 sensor especially since that is very high! You can go to AZ or AAP and purchase the 02 sensor for around $100 or find a website to purchase from (I purchase my left rear bank for $60w/shipping 2yrs ago and it's still going strong).

My cat is leaking now (front left) and I'm annoyed with the "sound" but I haven't replace that yet. I've seen some aftermarket cats for our cars around $250 on different website or I've seen where people cut the cat off and weld a straight pipe. There is NO WAY I'm paying oem cat price when my car is 11yrs old. I plan to purchase a aftermarket but the cat will be the last thing that I fix. new Radiator, new spark plugs, new KS, new radius rod bushings and all ahead of fixing the cat converter.

So in layman's terms, I would seek someone else who is familiar with Infiniti engines dealing with your KS.

[twebster725]

One thing you can say about these Q45s is that they break down reliably. I just last week had to have my Oxygen sensor welded back on and it only cost me $15. Apparently it had rusted through in a complete circle. I originally took the car to a Munro Muffler where they quoted me $2600 to replace the right side catalytic converter, oxygen sensor and the twin muffler assembly.

I was also having problems with power loss and the TCS Off, SLIP and SES lights all were on. That started in the spring with these weird fluctuations in RPMs to the point the car felt like it was surging or bucking or something. Took it to a Nissan mechanic because the nearest Infiniti dealership is about an hour away. They replaced the MAF sensor and the car ran great for about a week. Took it back and it was giving off Knock Sensor and Throttle Control Module codes. They found an electrical short and fixed it. The next day the SES light came back and then eventually the TCS and SLIP. By this time it's starting to get cold in the mornings, so the engine is turning over, but not running. If I revved it high enough to get it into gear before the engine died I could drive it, but still had the weird RPM fluctuations around 2000 RPM. Took it back to the mechanic and now it's throwing the Knock Sensor, TCM codes as well as transmission codes. By sheer dumb luck when the mechanic went to remove one of the readers from the car it started going crazy, so he decided it must be electrical. He ended up finding two connections that needed to be cleaned and discovered that the ECM was not plugged in completely and the harness was loose.

[maxnix]

One thing you can say about these Q45s is that they break down reliably. I just last week had to have my Oxygen sensor welded back on

Took it to a Nissan mechanic because the nearest Infiniti dealership is about an hour away. He ended up finding two connections that needed to be cleaned and discovered that the ECM was not plugged in completely and the harness was loose.

The first sentence's prophesy is fulfilled by the following sentences description of care for the car. As Q45tech says, most of the beater cars get that way by owner/mechanic incompetence and neglect.

If you think changing out a rusted O2 sensor is difficult, try a welded one!

Note that no Nissan tech was ever trained on a FGY33 with a VH41DE engine. 99.99% just don't know anything about that model. 2Hrs. of drive time is a small price to pay for competent help for a rare car.

As for the OP, all of the procedures to perform the necessary work ore in the previoius posts. Find a good exhaust fabrication shop and they might be able to save your catalytic converter. The reason the OEM converters last 11 yrs. and the after market 3 yrs. (if you are lucky) is quality of construction and the amount of precious rare metals in the catalyst.

[BadQ45t]

I would disagree with the statement that these cars break down reliability. The Y33 is an VERY reliable. I have 92k and have not had one repair, just wear out of shocks/struts, tension bars and replacing fluids and 2nd set of spark plugs.

I do all fluids religiously and use nothing but the best fluids, I also garage mine in SF Bay Area so not one drop of rust anywhere on the car.

Take care of it and it is one of the best cars on the road period.

For this guy, run away from the dealership, a 11 year old car has no business being there to begin with.

[twebster725]

I knew I was making a mistake posting on this forum...it really is a tough crowd.

I didn't mean the Q breaks down all the time by saying it "breaks down reliably". I love my car and never had any problems with it until this year. But, when I did start having problems with it and I started researching it on this forum and other Infiniti forums I was surprised by all the other people having the same issues with this model year and most of those people were posting months after their initial posts because they hadn't found the solution. I'm just glad that my Nissan mechanic found the solution before I shelled out thousands of dollars to fix stuff that didn't need fixing.