Another new member of the club

[mersidoe]

Hi! I am the new owner of a fairly well maintained (I'm learning as I go) 93 J30. I broke all the rules when I bought it - I didn't have it checked out by a mechanic, and I knew very little (in other words, nothing) about Infiniti's. We were actually shopping for a new (used) car for my son, and I got carried away by its looks and the relatively low price. (And after four Toyota Camry's I needed something different!) So thank you for a wonderful site - I have learned so much from you just reviewing the various forums. However, I do have some questions for those of you that are more knowledgeable than I:

1) It has 84K, so I am looking for a trustworthy transmission shop in the Monterey/Salinas California area. I figure at the very least, I will have the fluid exchange, pan drop, etc., but that I should have someone lined up in case (when?) the transmission goes completely. Do they ALL fail around 90-100K, or is it just enough to develop a bad reputation?

2) The previous owners (it was a local car, with all scheduled maintenance done at the Infiniti dealer up to about 75K) "don't remember" if they changed the timing belt. Even though the local dealer (which just changed hands again) gave me a computer printout of its maintenance history, they also said that they "couldn't tell" if the timing belt had been changed. Are they all just politely telling me it was never done? Can an experienced mechanic tell me by looking? I did have the dealer check the car out (after the fact) and they said they found nothing out of the ordinary.

3) Just to be prudent, I think I should have the oil changed, the transmission serviced, and the get the fuel injector cleaner for the gas tank. What else do you recommend right off the bat?

4) What is the significance of the "driving Mom's car" on my signature? Does that brand me as a newbie ? How do I change it?

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Marianne

[SOCAL91Q45a]

Welcome!!!

"4) What is the significance of the "driving Mom's car" on my signature? Does that brand me as a newbie ?"

I said the same thing .... post early and OFTEN, this too shall pass :-)

[Q451990]

Welcome to NICO! The service history should tell you if the timing belt was changed. My guess is that it was not. If you can't confirm that it was replaced on the service history, and it was always serviced at the dealer, then I'd go ahead and have it done.

It looks like you've been lurking for a while since your post is very well informed, but if you haven't been there yet, check out http://www.fuzzycats.com/j30.htm

I'm not sure on local shops that could do your transmission flush. Hopefully someone else will know...

Heath

[PalmerWMD]

Marianne

Welcome to our little club :jazz:

Also in advance excuse all my typos:

1) Be <sure> to insist on a pandrop filter exchange with the transmission flush, many delaers dont do those often and dont like to do them or declare teh filter is "lifetime".Sometimes a lot easier to just go to a FireSTone MAstercare or similiar chain store with a couple of techs and they will generally do as you say w/o referring to "policies". Try to be nice and to develop a relationship early on.Maybe even slip a $5 bill to the man doing your job, he will take extra care the pan gaskets will line up right ( which is kinda hard to do on these trannies, even if u do take care)And no they dont all fail at that milage, they fail between 80k to 250k depending on drivign environment and luck.

Installation of a transmission cooler ($50 part plus 90 min labor) that <bypasses> the stock heat exchanger in radiator (!) will greatly extend transmission life.

2) if teh previous owner did all work at infinti and they dont have a record of timing belt change it is probaly time to do themPretty important too. The 93's belts needs changing every 60,000 miles, but when u get a new belt they can put in the later model year kevla reinforced belt with lasts over 100,000 miles.If the belt fails it will destroy the engine., which costs several thousand to replace even with used engine ( which is not assured to be perfect)

3) Cooling system flush ( not just radiator drain) Be <sure> to refill with a mix of coolant and <distilled> water <no> tap water.Best use Nissan green cooolant ( much better than teh regular green easier on your water pump) <or> the orange dexcool but before using teh orange stuff you should get a double flush for entire cooling system cuz you <dont> want to mix green and orange.

Brakee bleed replace braking fluid.Best off-the shelf brake fluid is Valvoline SynPower DOT 3/4.\replace power steering fluid.

Others will chime in with anything I may have forgotten.

Fred...