1994 Q45 Need Harmonic Balancer

[94q45t]

This is a hail Mary...

My car (166K miles) needs a harmonic balancer. The local dealer, Roswell Infiniti had three, all cracked. Called Infinitipartsusa and discovered there are none in the US, and no guarantee in Japan either. Minimum guess is 6-8 weeks, if then. Locally (Atlanta), T3 used to have massive amounts of used parts, but they've sold them all off due to lack of interest.

Anyone know where there might be one?

Thanks!

[BCC93QT]

http://nissan.epcdata.ru/infiniti_q45/g ... 120/12303/

Part # 1230360U21
Use the russian version of the site to reference for pictures


http://nissan.epc-data.com/infiniti_q45 ... 120/12303/

Use this site for english and to order. I don't use IOS anymore. I use Amayama trading CO. You will get the part quicker from them than from any infiniti dealer in the U.S. and cheaper.

Amayama trading CO is very professional in their dealings.

[Q451990]

It might be worth checking with some of the rebuilders. I googled "harmonic balancer rebuilder" and got http://www.damperdoctor.com/ among others. I've never used any of the rebuilders, but maybe someone else will chime in here with someone they've used.

Heath

[elwesso]

I really would just get a used one. I think if you do some digging especially in the VH forum, there are guys that have VH45 parts all over the place. I think finding a used one would be relatively easy, it's just obscure enough that people would probably have it laying around.

[black g50]

How do you know you need one? Symptoms?

[94q45t]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I did find a used one from a 107K mile car, 90 day warranty and all that.

As for the symptoms, up on a lift, the balancer actually wobbles noticeably with the engine running. The car had been in the shop for a transmission rebuild, and on a test drive I noticed a new vibration (and not the song). There had been one earlier at ~2300 rpm regardless of gear for some time, but very minor. After the trans work, more vibration over a larger range were pretty apparent.

When the mechanic put it up to pull the trans, he noticed the HB. By coincidence, another shop down the road had a same era Q in and we went down to look. No wobble. That mechanic has had this experience before and said the HB is the most likely culprit. Bothers me some that this occurs coincidentally with the trans rebuild. However, the transmission operates quickly and smoothly in all other respects. 165K mile car.

I did look at the Russian site suggested, but they, too, are posting significant delays for the part.

[elwesso]

Honestly my crank pulley wobbles a bit more than I would like, and I've just left it like it is and over the last 100k miles it's never shown any issues. You would think that if it wobbled too bad it would eat the front main seal and start leaking.

In any event, did that fix the vibration. The 2300 RPM vibration sounds more like it's related to the exhaust, there was a TSB about this.

Did you replace the transmission mount when you did the trans work?

[94q45t]

Appreciate all the suggestions, y'all.

We did replace the transmission mount. What happened is that after the original work, there were significant vibrations at several, but not all, RPM ranges, and intrusive enough to make the car unpleasant to drive. Prior to the work, it had only the slight vibration at 2300-2500. We naturally blamed the trans. After removing, reviewing, reworking the trans and replacing the torque converter, no change. Then we saw the HB.

Changing that isn't a definitive answer, but the next recommended step, given the significance of the wobble. Fortunately, I live in a part of town where the mechanics are used to old cars, most have been in business for decades, and many have experience with the older Q's.

On the HB, oddly enough, after I found a used one, and complained to zone about all the cracked new ones we were seeing (total of 5, now), magically, new ones began showing up at the dealerships. Go figure.

Anyway, I should know tomorrow how this latest round turns out. Thanks again!

[Q451990]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and wonder if you had an injector fail? Hopefully these experienced techs wouldn't mistake an engine miss for another type of vibration - but they do cause one heck of a bounce...

Heath

[94q45t]

Thought about it, spark plug, number of things, but given the time involved with getting under the manifold, figured I'd work from the outside in like formal dining and just as costly. The vibes are alternately smooth and harsh as the engine revs climb, I'm thinking upper engine problems would be more consistent.

That said, I have all the parts in my trunk for a complete dive under the manifold and will do that next empty Saturday. Valve cover gaskets are beginning to leak anyway.

[elwesso]

Thought about it, spark plug, number of things, but given the time involved with getting under the manifold, figured I'd work from the outside in like formal dining and just as costly. The vibes are alternately smooth and harsh as the engine revs climb, I'm thinking upper engine problems would be more consistent.

That said, I have all the parts in my trunk for a complete dive under the manifold and will do that next empty Saturday. Valve cover gaskets are beginning to leak anyway.

You don't need to get under the plenum to diagnose an injector, you can check all 8 with a VOM from the side.

[94q45t]

Hello, everyone, and Happy New Year. Just wanted to provide some feedback.

The answer to the problem was "all of the above". There was no single cause of the vibration. It seems the car, which has never had any major work, has aged as a system. When we bothered a major chunk, the transmission, it messed up the karma. As it turned out, the Harmonic balancer was bad, but also the idler pulleys. Together they were chewing up one of the belts. Next, the trans mount made a HUGE difference. Though we had replaced the original (which showed no signs of fatigue) we did so with a used one (also showing no signs). On a lark, we replaced that with a new one - Shazam! Still need to dive under the plenum for other reasons, but it's a smooth running car at the moment. One other thing: we created a bit of a revolt at local dealers since all of them had defective harmonic balancers. Nissan took note and sped one to me without the threatened weeks delay.

Again, thank you all for your help.

[OwnerCS]

Thanks for letting us know about your progress. Happy New Year!

It is funny how a Q's system and the DSC4s I have operate almost like a living thing where the as the song goes -- "the hip bone is connected to the knee bone" as I've noticed one issue usually leads to another or causes a new issue to surface when not properly addressed. Though I've learned when you crack open the maintenance shell, it is somewhat like hunting a wild bore hog, you've got to finish the job fast or it will get up and eat you alive. You may not make it out of the woods to tell about it. Ha!

For the good news, I've have performed and financially survived an all out "technical refresh style assault" on a G50 and now three DSC4s that has resulted in reliable, low maintenance, and fun cars to drive. I've learned that once I got into the "swing of maintenance" for Nissan cars from the 90s, there are more similarities than differences. After I got all the mid-life maintenance caught up on my 91 G50, I'm finding it to be one of the most trouble free cars I've owned since my 1979 280ZX 5-speed coupe rolled off the local Datsun dealer's showroom sometime back there in the past century. :-)