hi guys,

let me introduce this by telling you why I bought a 91 q45. I was looking for an asian luxury car that would fit a person my size (6 foot 6, 265 lbs) and it was going to be a 98 mitsu diamante. Reviews thrashed it and recommended an acura tl . I got to looking at the acuras on ebay and I glanced at the infinitis. I was sold on the infiniti (94-96 shape). I mean, the car comes with every luxury feature I could want, ample space, a v8, rear wheel drive, and distinctive styling that was just so good looking (I looked at the 95 bmw 540 and benz s-class and was appalled at how bad they looked compared to the 94-96 q45).

Anyhow, I went on my search for a 94 q45 on ebay, but as I was driving one day, I saw a 91 q45 for sale. It looked lovelier than it had been in the pictures. pearl colored, cream leather interior and black panels. Heaven.

The owner wanted 4200 for it. Since I had done my research and I knew that I could find a 94 on autotrader.com for $5500, I talked him down to $2800 and then test drove it. It had problems, but I had already fallen in love with the body and color and perfect interior that I had to have it. I offered him 2500 after the drive and he eventually took it.

So now I have the finest of cars, but it has some major problems. I already know its expensive to maintain, but the car was $50000 just 11 years ago. I have not seen another car depreciate as much.

My question is :

I have about $4500-5000 to spend on fixing this car. I dont want to improve its looks, I just want it to run good.

The car vibrates when idling. ITs still quiet as heck, but it vibrates one in the seat. Is this a problem and how can I fix it.

The car has 163,000 miles on it.

the radio does not come on. What is wrong? I also noticed that the changer was not in the trunk.

The steering wheel is very loose. When driving straight its pretty much okay, but when I turn its loose and then when I set it back straight, the wheel is in a different position than where it was before. It vaires by up to 40 degrees. What is wrong and how much will it cost to fix?

The car did not smoke, but it smelled like something was burning. Any opinions? I already know from research that I should flush the tranny, flush the engine, install the trannyn cooler and install the cam guide. Is it any of these problems or is the engine bad? COuld it be bad injectors?Where can I order the tranny cooler.

The takeoff felt weaker than the 300 horses it is reputed to have. Tranny problems?

THanks for any help you can offer guys. I hope this will be the best driving experience that I have ever had.

Welcome to the Q family! I'll get you started and others will weigh in soon. The vibration is probably worn motor and trans mounts. The radio could be the unit itself, speakers or just a fuse. Bose will rebuild the speakers and unit at their factory(800-231-2673) or you can replace with aftermarket gear.The loose steering is a very big deal, get that checked immediately for safety. Cost will be dependent on what is worn or broken, which could be many things at that mileage. The oily smell is probably leaky valve covers which drip on the exhaust. Acceleration seems weak because the transmission starts in second gear for smoothness. You can manually select first gear or get a different trans computer to start in first automatically. How far are you from Atlanta? T3 there can do a lot of work for the repair money you have available and will do it right and fairly. Good luck!

The 1991 Q MSRPed for $40k not $50k as the 94 did bought my 1990 for $33k new.All in all based on the improvements in the 94 it would have been a better deal, but you have a 91 with 163k.First take it to a dealer and have them prepare a list, pay them 2 hours to go over everything don't faint if its $8-10,000 [at their prices]. Say thank you to them [you'll get back to them] and print the items for us. We can triage in an order of priority and with the Inet discounts on parts and finding a good local moonlight tech or a Nissan speciality shop you should be able to save 30-40%........more if you can do some of the work!

Also if the dealer has a history print out get that also.

T3 has customers who come from Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Mass, Texas, and all the states closer. But this is only cost effective if you need $3-$4k of work.......calculate roughly $1,500-2,000 per full day with parts as parts are roughly 60% of the average bill with labor at $68/book hour.

Listen to what was said by the others who previously posted. AS to the seat vibration, take it to dealer who should run a diagnostic consult when they do the "one over" Q45 tech suggested. That will probably isolate the cause of the engine miss, if any. Just had both motor mounts and tranny mount replaced for around $530 but what a difference--cant even tell the car is running its so smoooooth!

LOngrun,Welcome to the Infiniti community..

If you have a semi-decent budget and want to get the car as right as reasonable possible, it may be worth your while to trake up Dennis' (aka Q45tech) offer and go to T3 Atlanta and have all done in one fell swoop.Saving money and frustration..They are also one of the very very few reasoable (and competent places when it comes to putting in the redesigned chain guides.I have taken 2 Q's from louisville to Atlanta (8 hr drive) to have chain guides done (among other things).

The place is worth the trip.

Fred...

You can maintance records from Infiniti and see what has been done by the dealership. Inspect your suspension and have a tune up (plugs o2 sensors) These are all Diy'er things if you have a manual.Oh, if you do intend to do anything get the manual. Depending on the weather conditions and how the car was maintaned you probably would benefit by removing the plenium , cleaning and changing all the hoses. Regular oil flushes , tranny cooler and sysn Mobile 1 could be a good start......:thumbup

THanks for the great info guys. I think I need to get in contact with t3 in atlanta. They come highly recommended enough.

I dont know much about the history of this car. The only information I have is what I got off carfax.com. The car was driven only in texas where it is hot,hot,hot and I am the third owner. I think that tranny work might be needed even though the tranny currently shifts fine.

The car is quiet as heck. Sometimes I dont even know its running I have to rev it to make sure. THis leads me to believe that the mounts are bad and $530 will be money well spent.

I will take it to a dealer as soon as I can and have them run the check on it as you guys mention. Hopefully we'll get this thing running as close to new as possible.

Thanks for all the info and any other info is welcome. I read somewhere that the steering problem is a $1500 job. Is this true in all cases?

longrunQ wrote:Thanks for all the info and any other info is welcome. I read somewhere that the steering problem is a $1500 job. Is this true in all cases?

Not in all cases, there could be differnt things wrong with it.Worst case is spendy, but there are lesser problems.

But then the problem you describe sounds pretty bad and you are probably looking at a non-trivial bill for that item.

Again you will greatly reduce your chance of misdiagnosis as well as your overall costs by getting T3 involved.

Remember even the Infiniti dealers don't see first gen Q's all that often and while they tend to be competent, T3 always seems to have close to a dozen first Gens on their lot being worked on or waiting for work.

They also tend to go out of their way to be nice to guys coming in from out-of-state.Driving a long distance to get work done there is an implied compliment to their competence which they are justifiably proud of.They sometimes even police up minor issues for free when they do bigger jobs and have clock time left over (which is usually left over as they have become very efficient at many first Gen jobs).

Last time I was there the owner Invited me for a few beers as we waited for my car to get done.Time before that Dennis took me to lunch, just being there is an experience as the techs are so knowledgable and friendly.

Fred...

The loose steering could be related to worn out rack bushings, put the car up in the air and see if the rack can be pried back and forth. If so you will see the worn bushings.

call a local dealer and give them your VIN# and ask for a copy of the Service History Report.

thanks prof mike and mayhem. I did not know that I could check the history at the dealer. THanks for that info. I'll call them up.

I'll have a mechanic check the rack bushings. I am hoping and praying that its not an expensive fix.