98 Q45 Struts Etc.

[seekonesocal]

Hey there this is my first post and I have just joined today. I own a 98Q45 that I have slowly been getting back into condition over the past year. I have replaced transmission fluid, brakes got new tires and rims, alignment, however I have come to the conclusion that the struts are VERY bad and have already somewhat ruined tires with less than 10k miles. I read quit a bit here before this post but maybe just am feeling overwhelmed. Can anyone essentially point me in the right direction for two things

1. A reliable mechanic in the Palm Springs, Yucca Vally 29 palms are of So Cal

2. A link to a previous post on this site, or a pretty straight forward breakdown of the price to do the basic front and rear struts and the essential components I will want to think of that would also be good to replace with the struts that would effect the wear/longevity/performance. I have talked to a few dealers around here and was quoted from about $1400 - 1600 for the whole car. Is it me or does this seem pretty high? How hitech is this car and can I expect a mechanic to be able to do quality work on it?

Thanks for reading and any responses or links to a post that covers this are appreciated!


PS I guess I should mention. Car has 70k miles, bought at 55k. It was an old womans that had it stolen and they wrecked it. The frame isnt bent but I was told it may be "off square" ??? but other than that it is great. I know that this probably effects the ride but I was told to take it to a body shop to straighten wasnt worth it and that the new struts would make the majority of the business. To top it off I only paid 3500 so Im not trying to end up with $10k in it - just get it to a good ride and then keep it maintained.
Mike

[maxnix]

Parts from http://www.infinitipartsusa.com

Don't forget the steering rack bushings. I would exchange the PS fluid also.

http://allimportservice.net/ is where you want to take your car. Formerly Jerry Tucker's shop.

[seekonesocal]

Awesome thankyou!

[Locknut]

70k is not high mileage on your suspension unless someone has been driving like a bat out of hell over potholes. A bent frame is something else. You can get some Tokico struts pretty cheap and use the old springs (coilovers). Do the front first and see how it goes. Have you taken a look underneath? Can you see anything bent from the accident? Have you jacked her up and checked wheel play? Have you looked for any leaks around the steering knuckle, ball joints, looked at bushings, checked tie rod ends, upper and lower links, rack boots, stabilizer bar etc. If you have serious edge wear on the tires and camber is bad....you got something wrong for sure. If your frame is bent...good luck. BUT...If it isn't too bad...you can buy a lot of tires for $1,600.00 bucks! Just getting underneath and looking at the general condition will give you an idea of how bad things are. NEVER take anyone else's advice until you take a look yourself. That's a good way to go broke on these cars.

[maxnix]

Tokico does not make struts for the FGY33. Only KYB does.

It's not just miles but time. I replaced my factory shocks on one of my G50 at 7 years and 45K miles because it was leaking.

[BadQ45t]

Sorry but maxnix is right, you cannot get anything suspension wise for this car "cheap". Nobody makes any aftermarket shocks for this car that are reguarly imported into the USA. Check the classified ads, there was a guy who was advertising some very sweet KYB high end shocks for your car. If I hadn't done mine I would have bought them...If that fails my suggestion is forget about the dealership and call up a company called memoryfab. They have a website but not much information on it, but call them. It wil take a few weeks but you can specify KYB SR Specials, these are much better then the stock struts/shocks and made by the same company that makes the OEM product but they were selling them for about $500 bucks, which is a great price. For whatever reason Infiniti has jacked up their prices way too high in the last few years for the stock ones. You can also lower the car if that is your taste with some lowering springs, Tein and Espelir make them for the car, also a special import. At 2" lower this is a low rider but it will handle much better...living in Palm Springs you can get away with it for sure as your roads as I recall are pretty good.

The tension rods on this car are shot at 70k as well. My shocks were leaking in the rear at 70k too, so doing it at 70k is completely reasonable. The shop is in San Diego, I don't know of any shops in the Springs, but if your willing to take it to LA Richard at Z Expert in Venice, CA can do the job.

[Locknut]

my bad...maxnix is right I think Tokico goes up to 96. Guess I got lucky on mine. I don't drive the car in the winter though. They lasted until about 95k, never leaked, and never had any tire wear. I also replaced tension rods and bushings on the stabilizer bar though. Good luck.

[maxnix]

Tokico for the G50, KYB for FGY33, Y34 & F50.

[BadQ45t]

Most OEM shocks/struts are toast by 60k in my estimation, we just don't notice the slow decline. My X-Terra has 43k on it after 5 years and the shocks are already getting weaker....OEM shocks suck....

[seekonesocal]

Hey thanks for all the responses - this is one of the few forums Ive ever gotten any haha. So can I ask where you guys are getting these G50, FGY33, Y34, F50 etc. I havent been able to find these references in my maintenance manual. As far as I know its a 1998 Q45t.

Thanks again for all the responses Im starting to get an idea of what I need to do and costs. Oh yeah I also did look underneath today and I dont see any frame damage - I was told to luck for clamp marks, creases in the metal etc. It looks more like it was a front right end collision. I pulled the car fax and equifax car reports again from my file and it does say no frame damage - just that the front right wheel had been disabled. It looks like it was fixed but not with new parts - maybe used struts from a junk yard? I should mention too that yeah I do live out in the desert with a lot of dirt roads so they do probably get more abused than usual. Okay cool thanks again - any additional info that im not considering is always welcome...

[maxnix]

at the minimum, you will need the front strut bearings. Probably more. All the rubber is 13 years old, and the desert is not a nice place.

[OwnerCS]

Welcome to NICO! What color is your Q45?

There is some good reading about Q45 and the code names at www.q45.org.

[Sanger]

If you know someone that can understand Japanese you can order it from rakuten.com in Japan after setting up a forwarding shipping company account with tenso.com. Shipping is about the same price as the purchase price but it is still cheaper than buying it from the dealer. Ordering gets tricky since the confirmation e-mail is in Kanji.

http://en.item.rakuten.com/carshop/10525185/

http://www.tenso.com/en/

You should not need new springs since SR Special can work with original springs according to KYB Japan's website.

http://www.kybweb.com/kybes/new_pilot/j ... ecial.html

Cheers.

[BadQ45t]

Those are the cars designations from Infinti/Nissan. All cars have a model designation that is not the standard name of the car. Example, Y33 = Japanese Domestic Market (people call that JDM) Cima and Q45 in the US. All car makers use these, so on boards like this it makes it easier to say G50 which was the Q45 from 90-96 which is very different then the FY33 which was the 97-01 Q45 and the F50 was 02-06 Q45...etc, you get it now.

As for getting the shocks/struts, call up 805-RARE-RIM (727-3746)Monday-Friday 9am-5pm PST,. that is a company called memoryfab, their website is www.memoryfab.com. While you wouldn't know it from their website they have the ability to order KYB SR Specials directly from Japan. I bought mine from a guy that goes by the handle "onetongarage" who I haven't see much of lately, but memoryfab was cheaper, but were not around 4 years ago when I bought mine. They were getting like $500 shipped for them at one point, if you lucky they still sell them for that price. I can also consider doing Espelir or Tein springs at the same time as they work great wtih the SR Specials but it will lower the car significantly....if you don't want to lower it the stock springs are still fine with these shocks.

If you goal is to fix up this car and keep it a long time I would replace the springs, either lowering springs from new stockers. Try www.everythinginfiniti.com, that is actually Scotsdale Infiniti and over mail order they will beat the prices of any local place plus you don't have to pay sales tax. They are supporters of this site, call them do not order via the web and tell them you read about them on this site and your a NICO member. They are usually pretty good...you can get the stock shocks and struts from them too, but they will likely be more than the SR Specials if Memoryfab still has them. While your ordering from them buy some new tension rods, front strut mounts (you should replace these at the same time) and while your there you can get other stuff you might need like brake pads, fuel filter, in-cabin filter, etc.

Now, if you just want to drive her until she drops for a couple of years then what the heck, who cares...but the OEM struts/shocks as you found out are very expensive. The KYB SR Specials fit great and will last a long time.

[maxnix]

Y33 is Cedric and Gloria in Japan and never had a V8. FGY33 is the Cima which was available with a V6 and AWD in Japan, among other options we didn't get here.

[BadQ45t]

Good point Maxnix, but on this board since nobody has a Y33 and FGY33 is sorta long we mostly call it the Y33...............

[maxnix]

A guy in Kileen has an honest to god Y33 Cedric. Also the reason so many had trouble with the Tein springs designed for the Y33 but too weak for the heavier FGY33.

[BadQ45t]

ya know, I have those and they have worked out great. I believe that was a wives tail....so many people using S13 setups on their Q's should tell you that.I flog my Q and the Tein springs have never been a problem.