Active Suspension Question

[knowspinzone]

Hi All-

I emailed elwesso earlier today, but my baby ('95 Q45a) is in the shop right now and I was trying to find an answer for my mechanic. He's a top notch mechanic, but he has no familiarity with the active suspension.

In a nutshell, winter road salt has eaten through one of the metal lines at the rear main accumulator so that the fluid is leaking. My mechanic can't find a replacement line, but he believes he can remove the corroded section and weld in a new line. However, he's concerned with all the corrosion under there that if he can't do it, would the car be operable if all the fluid was drained from the system.

Does anyone know if I can still safely operate the car if the active suspension system has no fluid? Thanks!

[Ozzie]

Not a good idea.Get some replacement fluid and fill it up after the patch work to the line is done.Does your mechanic have the Nissan Consult?You will need to run through the full flush and replace using the instructions in the FSM.

I don't have a link for it, but someone else here may have it.Good luck!

[d3funct]

Is the Nissan Consult purchasable in Australia?

Or would Nissan dealerships have them?

[knowspinzone]

I don't want to drive the car without the active suspension functioning, its just that my mechanic is concerned that the corrosion may be so bad that he would not be able to weld in a new line. Although I guess that point is moot anyway since the fluid will eventually all leak out if it isn't repaired.

I'm not familiar with Nissan Consult, my mechanic subscribes to Mitchell Repair if that is similar.

[Ozzie]

Consult is available at nissan dealers.It's the hand held computer they hook up to your car to run diagnostic checks.Under the active suspension, there is a program they run to vibrate/clear the air from the system, and charge the actuators with fluid.It involves raising all the wheels from the floor with jacks or a hoist, at some points in the procedure.(Fair few steps involved, takes around 10 mins or more to complete)

It's all in the Factory service manual.Wes (elwesso) may have the pages in PDF format that I am referring to, try to see if he can help.

[silver2k2]

You dont need to consult to bleed the system, you can do it manually Texasoil has a method.

If the all the fluid leaks out then you will burn up your active/power steering pump.

[knowspinzone]

Well, it doesn't look like the car is driveable without the AS fluid. I just spoke to my mechanic and he had to drain the system in order to remove the corroded line (he also had to remove a second one ). He said the car sits really low. I haven't seen it yet, but it looks like it has to be replaced no matter what. He's going to try to order the parts through Infiniti.

Ozzie, thanks for the chapter you sent to me. And thanks Silver for that info. I should have figured as much!

[Ozzie]

You dont need to consult to bleed the system, you can do it manually Texasoil has a method.

If the all the fluid leaks out then you will burn up your active/power steering pump.

If you drain the system completely, you are likely to get air bubbles in the lines.The best way to get rid of them is to vibrate them out of the system. Using consult is the only way to do that properly. You may be able to bleed the lines manually, but I highly doubt you can get all the air bubbles out properly using a manual method. They aren't quite the same as brake lines.

[3Q Jay]

call goody and show him which hoses you need. he just bought an active parts car. i bet youw wait at LEAST a month for a hose to come over from Japan, and they will run you a fortune to boot.

[knowspinzone]

My mechanic located the 2 lines he needs at a local Infiniti dealer, but you are right about being expensive! Thanks for the tip, I'll keep it in mind for the future.

[franknitty69]

be sure to give your mechanic the active suspension section from the fsm. he'll need to replace/repair parts and to troubleshoot.

removing most parts require relieving pressure or bleeding air from the system. if you don't the active suspension will never return to normal.

[knowspinzone]

Well, here's the final resolution of the problem. My mechanic determined that he couldn't repair the two corroded AS lines. An Infiniti dealer said he had the parts, but it turned out that not only didn't the dealer have them, but according to them, the parts could no longer be ordered from Infiniti.

My mechanic found a local shop that fabricates high pressure lines for various commercial uses. They custom made the two lines for $175 (the dealer was going to charge $400 if they had the correct parts). I was also about to contact Goody if the lines couldn't be fabricated.

I got the car back this afternoon and so far so good. Thanks to all who posted here and who emailed me. I really appreciated the advice and assistance!

[Q45tech]

Always keep in mind that if you purchased every active replacement part brand new at MSRP it would exceed $13,000. Plus another $6500 for Consult II.

Why wrecked $500-$1000 Q45a are such a bargain to keep in back yard just for spares.