1991 Q45 Leaks? *Pics*

[Hogg]

Yo team,

This is very odd, I cannot seem to find out what is leaking here! Its rediculous but a slow drip of what appears to be engine oil on the drivers side, and power steering fluid on the passengers side.

Drivers Side, seems to be engine oil dripping from more than one place.

Passengers Side, seems to be a slow leak either from the PS hose system, or something dripping PS Fluid onto them?

Please let me know if this is a common problem and what I should purchase or replace/repair in order to fix this issue!

Thanks so much,Spence

[Mint Q45A]

Valve Covers (on both sides)? Oil Pressure Sending Unit (driver side)?

[elwesso]

Does the leak on the drivers side seem to be more in the rear or in the front? It could be oil from the sending unit. You would probably smell a burning smell if it was the VC's...

The passenger side is definitely PS (ATF) fluid. I would look at the fittings, because that seems where slow leaks originate at first, at least from what Ive seen..

[Q451990]

I think I would clean everything up really well, then look for the leaks. You have so much gunk and oil everywhere that it makes it hard to tell where it's coming from. Ditto with Wes on the low pressure p/s leaks. You may need to replace those low pressure lines. It would be worth looking with the car is running while having someone hold the steering wheel to the lock for a few seconds at a time... that'll identify any high pressure leaks very quickly!

As far as the oil leaks - it could be a lot of things... definitely check what's been mentioned.

Good luck!

Heath

[Hogg]

I figure Ill throw it up on the lift again, brake clean everything and then wait till I see anything - if I have no luck Ill drop it off at Infiniti and make sure it gets done right.

As for the engine oil leak, I have no idea, as its dripping from more than one point and is running down that hose - so hopefully its an easy fix. Anyone have any more ideas on that?

Thanks!Spence

[captainluigi]

perhaps one suggestion. do not ''brake clean'' any plastic such as elec. cons.

[elwesso]

just remember that "infiniti" can only do so good of a job. There are probably many better independants that can do better than "infiniti" can... problem is finding them.

just take that with whatever grain of salt you want.

[Hogg]

Ah, well I was thinking of replacing whichever PS hose shows the leak. As well as replace or re-gasket the oil leak, but its very crammed in there and I did just replace the oil filter however its still leaking in just about underneath that, however I put it on very tight and tried to make sure everything was clean its just hard to determine where it originates.

-Spence

[GseaQ]

Hey Spence,

I've been getting our cars serviced at Orlado Auto Service on West 2nd in Vancouver for many years - just across the street from City TV. They're personal friends and have done all the work on the '92 Q for 8 years and on the '95 since we got it a few months ago. They know our Q's by now at least as good as the dealer who probably don't see many first generations anymore. My friend hates leaks as much as I do and just finished fixing the oil and power steering leaks on the '95.

Glenn

[Hogg]

Wow, well do you know which parts he had to replace? Id be interested in taking a look at those to see if we have a similar problem - hopefully its a quick and easy fix!

-Spence

[GseaQ]

Spence,

We did the valve cover gaskets & seals on both sides & replaced the power steering return hose. These 2 items are common on all 1st gen Q's. In addition, and I think also pretty common (but some people don't look), the power steering pump is leaking both front and back so I'll have to get the seal kits from Joe. It's not leaving a trail, yet though, just keeping things wet under it.

Go see Darko at Orlado and tell him I sent you. He'll be able to tell you pretty quickly what you'll need.

Glenn

[Hogg]

Awesome, well Im in Calgary now actually and probably for a little bit heh. But I am thinking of dropping some money on replacing or resealing both the oil pump return and sending lines, and the powersteering hoses, and maybe re-gasket the valve covers and do the sparkplugs all in one go!

Hopefully that would solve my problem and I can turn to performance, finally...

-Spence

[GseaQ]

Awesome, well Im in Calgary now actually and probably for a little bit heh. But I am thinking of dropping some money on replacing or resealing both the oil pump return and sending lines, and the powersteering hoses, and maybe re-gasket the valve covers and do the sparkplugs all in one go!

Hopefully that would solve my problem and I can turn to performance, finally...

-Spence

I'd say for sure the valve cover resealing (yours are sealed with RTV + half moon end plugs). Doing the spark plugs at the same time is a smart move - saves duplicating labour.

One of the PS hoses costs $80-90, but there's another one that cost about $472. I don't think anybody ever replaces that one! Let Darko look it over to see what you really need.

I don't know what you mean by oil pump return and sending lines.

Glenn

[Hogg]

Ill definitely have to throw it up on the hoist and take pictures of whats leaking and try to find exactly where its dripping and replace that part. Then move onto troubleshooting the additional tweaks I want to make to the car to restore it to perfect factory health!

-Spence

[mxr662]

Looks like antifreeze dripping down AC bolts also.

Andy