2000 Q45 problem update

[MarshallQ45]

I posted about my 2000 Q a while back and got some good info. The mechanic I took it too said someone lowered the car too much and it is causing the steering rack to bind internally, also the pump is shot. The car also has TCS and Slip coming on and staying on with some Really rough idling, I have also noticed a misfire without any codes being thrown.

I found on craigslist a 1998 Q45 that is being parted-out locally, the work to have the rack and pump replaced is over $600 in labor..... so I am wondering if I can get any or all parts from this 98Q.

Also, this car needs ALOT of work it seems but since I bought it 3.5yrs ago Ive only brought it from 80k to 115k and including tax on the purchase price, ive put almost 20k into this thing. So at what point is it not worth fixing? right now I would get close to nothing for the vehicle, maybe 3k from a guy who buys problem nissans locally. I added up cost to fix it and have it running well

-steering rack $170
-power steering pump $550
-KYB SR specials $595
-knock sensors (if needed) $250?
-Ignition coils $680
-Inner Tie rod in front $80
-valve cover gaskets $(labor time)

these are just the cost of parts, what I can do myself would be prob everything but the steering rack and pump, I have never done either of those and would be working with just jack stands.

so pretty much 2k to fix the thing if I can do most of it myself, but the real question is...... what else is wrong? could my leaky valve cover gasket be causing MORE problems that I dont even know about? sometimes when I start the car it smells like there is a can of gas in the cab with me, I found a thread on a bad fuel hose on the back side of the plenum..... probably another problem I have. I really want to fix this car because I love it, and it would be such a loss to sell it but at the same time I dont want to put 2-3 grand into this thing and then just discover more problems. Should I take the turd to an infiniti dealership and get a full estimate and quote to bring it back to life? I imagine their quote will be in the $10,000 range to fix my 11yr old car lol. Any info is very much appreciated, not sure if there is a good route to take.......... but I guess what I would like to know is What would you do in my situation if you had this problem Q?

[elwesso]

If you are unsure about what you have, i really think taking it to a dealership and having them "find" things wrong with the car is wroth the hour of labor.. We can prioritize things...

Overall what you describe, outside of the steering rack and PS pump seems like typical things that go wrong with the car, and arent really a big deal to address... Tie rods and shocks are considered wear items in the suspension, so its hard to lump them together with "mechanical issues"

I think a lot of that stuff you could find a lot cheaper than what you listed.. For instance not all 8 ignition coils need to be replaced, if you can replace them yourself then you can do them one at a time, which from what I understand its not that hard to replace them.

PS pumps hardly ever fail on those cars, so finding a PS pump for $100 would probably be pretty easy.

This is all part of the normal 2-5k it takes to rehabilitate a used car, the good part is that once these cars are well sorted, they are very reliable and have very few problems.. The question you have to ask yourself, that if you dump what you have now, how are you going to get a comparable car for 3,000 (arbitrary number for repairs)!???

[tfvesquire]

Hi there. First, you have figure out what parts are compatible between your 2000 and the 1998 parts car. Btw, are you near Chicago, because if so, I may have pulled some parts from the same 98 Q and I can tell you the condition of sone if the parts you are thinking about pulling. As for the labor, you should be able to do many of the repairs you listed if you have the right tools. I have done all the repairs you need except for replacing the rack. If you are near me, let me know and might be able do some repairs for a reasonable price. If you're not near me I can at least give you lots of pointers to keep your costs reasonable. Let me know the details. Ted

[MarshallQ45]

Thanks Elwesso and Ted, Do you guys know if any parts from the 98q would be compatible? or really just the power steering pump and rack, I dont think I would want the coils or anything else.

So I guess the dealership is a good way to go then just to get a full read out of whats going on. So the leaky valve cover gaskets..... could they have ruined/clogged sensors that are causing codes to be thrown? Maybe the gaskets I should do first a long with knock sensors if it turns out I need them while I am in there? throw in a fuel hose and I guess that would be a lot of issues solved for under $400?

[tfvesquire]

No Problem -- hope our suggestions help out. If you want to do your own pre-diagnosis on the idle issues, try undoing the PS belt and running the car. If the pump is shot and dragging or the idler pulley bearings are going, they you will definitely get drag on the belt which will cause a rough idle. The KSs will cause the car to have less power because it is retarding the timing (IIRCC) which you would notice when you place a load on the car or during WOT on the highway. They usually don't have anything to do with the idle. Rule number one on these cars -- make sure all of your dash warning lights are working and not unplugged by some a**hole prior owner. Just because you are not throwing a CEL doesn't mean that someone didn't pull the bulb out or worse, paint over it with black paint. Yes, I have seen that in a friend's car. Once you confirm all the lights are giving you an initial correct reading, then do a process of elimination to solve your idle, steering, oil leak and dash light issues one at a time. No sense wasting $$ on an oil leak if you can't steer the car or it makes a horrific screech when you parallel park. I have not heard of a leaking valve cover shorting out any plugs in the engine wiring harness connected to your listed issues. Mostly, they leak really bad in the rear, drip down onto the manifolds and burns the oil, resulting in an unpleasant smell and the ever popular smoking under the hood at a stop light. Mine leaked so bad until I fixed them that someone actually thought my car was on fire. I tried all the possible leak fixes and I can attest NONE of them work. Once these gaskets get dried out and shrink, that;s it. They have to be replaced.

The other thing that could be causing the rough idle are the coils. If they are not firing correctly, it will cause the car to run out of balance almost like a washing machine with all the clothes thrown to one side during the spin cycle. The TPS can cause the slip and TCS lights to come on, but so can a faulty or damaged ABS wheel sensor. The best way to diagnosis things is to rule out the easiest things by confirming connections are tight and not unhooked and most importantly that everything is clean (TPS, throttle body, air filter, MAS, plug tips (a small piece or trash or carbon on the plug tip will cause misfiring too), etc.)

I cannot tell you for sure whether the steering rack and pump from the 98 will work on your 00 because the steering a suspension systems are slightly different. Although the 97-01 Qs have speed sensitive steering, the 97-98 Q45 is less advanced than the 99-01 models. Basic parts would be the same like tie rods, bushings and sway bar end links, but your car needs special shocks front and rear, and it might need a special PS pump and rack assembly. Like I said, let me know where you are located so I can tell you the condition of the 98 parts car I think you are referring to so I can tell you whether those parts are long gone and/or ther condition when I last saw the car.

BTW, did you try to save the rack by flushing out the old fluid and running fresh PS fluid (not ATF fluid)? There are great write ups on this forum for the KS replacement and I wrote one for the PS pump replacement as well. Just take your time and be careful when you start pulling things off an 11 year old engine harness -- things break off or don't get reinstalled properly and then your car will run worse than it does now.

Good luck,

Ted

[maxnix]

All of this talk about a bad power steering pump and not one mention of the condition of the hydraulic fluid! Doesn't anyone ever read the old posts?

As far as a rack goes, I would get an new or remanufactured one (Maval is one such supplier). Why SR Specials if there is no lowering? Rack bushings? Do you know one side needs to be trimmed? Might as well determine what other rubber parts in the front suspension need replacing. There are several write ups here.

All engine parts are common to the the FGY33. The rear bar has varied somewhat.

Your coilpacks should be available for less. Try FCP Groton.

Good luck!, but do more research before you jump off.

[qship96]

All of this talk about a bad power steering pump and not one mention of the condition of the hydraulic fluid! Doesn't anyone ever read the old posts?

As far as a rack goes, I would get an new or remanufactured one (Maval is one such supplier). Why SR Specials if there is no lowering? Rack bushings? Do you know one side needs to be trimmed? Might as well determine what other rubber parts in the front suspension need replacing. There are several write ups here.

All engine parts are common to the the FGY33. The rear bar has varied somewhat.

Your coilpacks should be available for less. Try FCP Groton.

Good luck!, but do more research before you jump off.

Good to see you back on Nico !!!

[yodawill2000]

Indeed !!!
Welcome back Max !!!
From one Texan to Another..

[loystock]

It's been a while, Brian. Good to hear from you again. I haven't seen postings from Dennis (q45tech) lately and I hope he comes back too. I've heard his engine got busted.

[maxnix]

M1 saved his engine and I doubt seriously he will be returning. He has other interests for now.

Thanks for the hellos.

I went over to the dark side.

[MarshallQ45]

The car is lowered, too low, which is why the mechanic I took it to said the steering rack is shot/ binding, but they could be wrong.

I was thinking SR specials were a good way to go because 595.00 for all 4 is pretty good compared to the cost of OEM. I will search on here and see what it takes to rebuild the suspension I have but I thought last time I searched it looked almost as expensive as the KYBs.

I am going to go through the paranoid jack write up and just fix gaskets and try to clean everything up while im in there.

Thanks again

[BadQ45t]

The KYB SR Specials are well worth the money and are much better (IMHO) then stock. Not sure if you said that the springs were cut, but since your having these issues buy some Espelir springs at the same time (or Tein's which have been based on this site but have worked great for me).

[MarshallQ45]

I have Teins on the car now but ya 1 coil was cut, which is fine in the back but it put the front too low. I still have the OEM springs so I was going to order the KYBs and just use the old springs

[BadQ45t]

That sucks that someone would cut the Tein spring, I cannot imagine why they would do that.......if you want to save the money just put the OEM's back.

[maxnix]

Especially since they were designed for the lighter Y33 and never made for the FGY33.

BTW, pumps almost never fail unless abused (still waiting to hear about the fluid condition), so replace rack first.