Bad QX4 Day

[gcjazz12]

Everything has been going well with my '02 Q with 202k miles for a few months now.

This past weekend driving home on the highway noticed the car pulling to the left... Didn't think too much of it but today, it's still doing it and I notice a sag in the rear left part of the vehicle.

I measured the rear strut housing assembly on both sides and the left side is about an inch shorter if that makes any sense, so I'm thinking it needs new struts, or at least one but its probably one of those things where if you're doing one you need to do both. BTW, they were replaced about 80k ago.

Also, antifreeze on the garage floor, not sure where its coming from though. if I could figure out where it's coming from I'm sure I could fix that, just don't want the cats to drink it. And the oil pan looks a little leaky tonight too, around the drain plug, must be that high mileage oil or the temps that keep going up and down and up and down round here....

Bad winter, and a bad QX4 day.

[Towncivilian]

Rear shocks are cake to change out. I'd suggest changing both at once. Even replacement of just the rears with KYB Gas-A-Just shocks made a gigantic difference to ride feel and handling and they were relatively inexpensive. Be sure to replace the upper and lower securing nuts with new ones; I can dig up part numbers later if required, just post your VIN.

Hopefully the leak is a hose. Check the radiator hoses, reservoir hose, heater hoses, oil cooler hoses, and the water pump weep hole.

If you haven't replaced your drain plug crush washer in a while, try replacing it and see if the leak stops. The FSM recommends replacement every time the drain plug is removed. I do, but this is probably not necessary unless there is a leak.

[THatfield]

I can agree with a bad day. Wasn't exactly impressed with how my strut housing recall repair was completed.

Hope you are able to fix everything on your QX.

[BoostMyQX4]

My Bad QX4 day went like this.
Woke up at 6:30AM yesterday at 7 went out to start the QX to let the heat kick in to warm up those cold leather seats, i went to the store which is about a 10 minute drive then i forgot something and had to comeback home, parked the car in driveway i went inside the house to get what i forgot then wife started asking help with some stuff on computer.
30 minutes later i went back out the QX and battery was dead, jumped it got it started went to store left it running came back home parked it on the side of driveway turned it off try to start it back up 5 minutes later and completely dead again.
Thats how the day went for me yesterday, still on the side parked with dead battery.

[gcjazz12]

Thatfield - I had my recall repair done at Infiniti Columbus. Just curious - what we were you not impressed with?

Starting to see alot of QX4's around Columbus without their running boards, how are yours holding up ?


Town - thanks for the info. I checked for hoses, leaks, etc, cannot find anything now? And no leak this morning. Just bizarre.
I bet you're right about the crush washer, I think I've re-used the current one about 4 times now, just keep flipping it, and it's probably time to replace.
I'll PM you my VIN, I think I'm going to try to change the shocks myself - thanks for the info.

[Buzzman]

This past weekend driving home on the highway noticed the car pulling to the left... Didn't think too much of it but today, it's still doing it and I notice a sag in the rear left part of the vehicle.

I measured the rear strut housing assembly on both sides and the left side is about an inch shorter if that makes any sense, so I'm thinking it needs new struts, or at least one but its probably one of those things where if you're doing one you need to do both. BTW, they were replaced about 80k ago.

OK, just to clarify, the rear suspension is ultra simple: shocks and springs. No struts.
What is the ride like from the back? Does it sway? Does it bounce up and down after you go over a bump?
If one side is noticeably lower than the other, I suspect there's something else wrong, other than the shocks.
In general terms, the shocks do not hold up the truck. The springs hold it up, while the shocks just absorb the bumps and stuff.
Check for a broken spring or other suspension part first, even if the shocks are bad.
Let us know what you find.
Cheers.

[THatfield]

Thatfield - I had my recall repair done at Infiniti Columbus. Just curious - what we were you not impressed with?

Starting to see alot of QX4's around Columbus without their running boards, how are yours holding up ?

They only patched and removed rusty metal from one side. In the engine room, there is still rusty metal visible as well as what appears to be a quarter sized whole. As long as there is still rusty metal, it's going to continue to rot.

LOL, my running boards should have yellow caution tape on them. The metal is rotted badly under the nice plastic covers. I tend not to use them, they are purely for looks now. I have to tell everyone who gets in my truck not to use them. Unfortunate but thanks to ODOT who feels the need to rape the roads with salt, that's what happens.

EDIT: didn't realize you were in Columbus. QX Club meet and greet soon?

[gcjazz12]

This past weekend driving home on the highway noticed the car pulling to the left... Didn't think too much of it but today, it's still doing it and I notice a sag in the rear left part of the vehicle.

I measured the rear strut housing assembly on both sides and the left side is about an inch shorter if that makes any sense, so I'm thinking it needs new struts, or at least one but its probably one of those things where if you're doing one you need to do both. BTW, they were replaced about 80k ago.

OK, just to clarify, the rear suspension is ultra simple: shocks and springs. No struts.
What is the ride like from the back? Does it sway? Does it bounce up and down after you go over a bump?
If one side is noticeably lower than the other, I suspect there's something else wrong, other than the shocks.
In general terms, the shocks do not hold up the truck. The springs hold it up, while the shocks just absorb the bumps and stuff.
Check for a broken spring or other suspension part first, even if the shocks are bad.
Let us know what you find.
Cheers.

Hello Buzzman,

I think you are correct. I remember the tech at Infiniti correcting me several years ago when I told him I needed new shocks, he said, the Q doesn't have shocks it has struts... anyhow it's one of those things I struggle with.

The ride is pulling to the left. And the left shock absorber, it's black and cylindrical and looks like the bottom half of it goes up into the top half - well, it's bottom half is showing about 7 inches, and the passenger side's shock absorber, the bottom half of it, is showing about 7.75 inches. I think that's the difference in what I'm seeing in the sag when I look at the car from behind. Also I notice the wheel well is closer to the rear wheel on the drivers side than the passenger side. so I think I may have damaged the drivers side rear shock absorber based.... I inspected the springs on both sides and they looked indentical or normal as I could tell. I did carry a heavy load on Saturday evening before I noticed it pulling to the left. I'm guessing it's the shock absorber because I would think it would be the same length on both sides of the vehicle.

[gcjazz12]

Thatfield - I had my recall repair done at Infiniti Columbus. Just curious - what we were you not impressed with?

Starting to see alot of QX4's around Columbus without their running boards, how are yours holding up ?

They only patched and removed rusty metal from one side. In the engine room, there is still rusty metal visible as well as what appears to be a quarter sized whole. As long as there is still rusty metal, it's going to continue to rot.

LOL, my running boards should have yellow caution tape on them. The metal is rotted badly under the nice plastic covers. I tend not to use them, they are purely for looks now. I have to tell everyone who gets in my truck not to use them. Unfortunate but thanks to ODOT who feels the need to rape the roads with salt, that's what happens.

EDIT: didn't realize you were in Columbus. QX Club meet and greet soon?

Thatfield, I took my boards off and ended up replacing them from a wrecked Q in Mobile, AL. There was no rust on them at all. The salt has destroyed the underside of mine. My fuel filler neck even rusted out and started leaking. I'm always driving round the Dublin area in a white Pearl Q --- what part of town you in?

[Buzzman]

Hello Buzzman,

I think you are correct. I remember the tech at Infiniti correcting me several years ago when I told him I needed new shocks, he said, the Q doesn't have shocks it has struts... anyhow it's one of those things I struggle with.

The ride is pulling to the left. And the left shock absorber, it's black and cylindrical and looks like the bottom half of it goes up into the top half - well, it's bottom half is showing about 7 inches, and the passenger side's shock absorber, the bottom half of it, is showing about 7.75 inches. I think that's the difference in what I'm seeing in the sag when I look at the car from behind. Also I notice the wheel well is closer to the rear wheel on the drivers side than the passenger side. so I think I may have damaged the drivers side rear shock absorber based.... I inspected the springs on both sides and they looked indentical or normal as I could tell. I did carry a heavy load on Saturday evening before I noticed it pulling to the left. I'm guessing it's the shock absorber because I would think it would be the same length on both sides of the vehicle.

Thanks for the clarification.
The Infiniti guy was half right. Struts in the front, springs and shocks in the rear.
The shocks are fairly simple to replace, if you have the tools and a little DIY skills.
If and when you take off the old shocks, you'll know right away if the sag was because of them, or if you have another problem.
With the shocks removed and the truck back on the ground, it should sit level again (with no load in the trunk, etc.).
If it still sags, then you have another issue.
When you looked under the back, did the shocks look dry or wet? Are they rusted out?
Maybe it's just a broken mounting bolt?
How is the ride back there? Bouncy, noisy, anything like that?

[THatfield]

Thatfield, I took my boards off and ended up replacing them from a wrecked Q in Mobile, AL. There was no rust on them at all. The salt has destroyed the underside of mine. My fuel filler neck even rusted out and started leaking. I'm always driving round the Dublin area in a white Pearl Q --- what part of town you in?

I am probably going to cut off the mounting brackets and re weld them on some 1x2" square steel tube, and then slather everything with POR15 where I can.

BTW, I just compared the TSB to the repair they did. Everything checks out, no mention in the recall report of engine room rust. The repair looks really good, especially now that it is dry and light out. Kudos to Infiniti of Columbus, pulling through despite my doubts.

I'm up in Delaware. I roam around Dublin/Polaris/Powell quite frequently. Especially now that I can get to Infiniti of Columbus in under 15 minutes (found a new way to get there!), I'll be frequenting there for parts/service. I am on sawmill road at least once a week getting delicious chicken at Raising Cane's.

If you ever want to meet up, I'm game. My QX is friendly, and so am I.

[gcjazz12]

I get the knucklehead award - my front drivers side tire was going flat - - cold weather , maybe??? I had about 10 psi. I filled back up to 30psi and the whole Q leveled out. Probably why it was pulling to the left and the rear right was up so high.... I'm going to monitor to see if I'm losing air the next few days...

I had to contemplate whether or not to post my embarrassing solution to my original problem... But just in case there are any other knuckleheads like me i thought it was best to post this simple solution. Thanks for everyone's help

[Chuck Tribolet]

We've all done knuckle-head stuff. Thanks for being up front about it.

I think I'll start a thread on knuckle-head stuff.


Chuck

[Buzzman]

We've all done knuckle-head stuff. Thanks for being up front about it.

I think I'll start a thread on knuckle-head stuff.


Chuck

Great idea. Go for it.

Edit: Never mind....Just saw your new thread. (How's that for being a knuckle head?)

[gcjazz12]

I get the knucklehead award - my front drivers side tire was going flat - - cold weather , maybe??? I had about 10 psi. I filled back up to 30psi and the whole Q leveled out. Probably why it was pulling to the left and the rear right was up so high.... I'm going to monitor to see if I'm losing air the next few days...

I had to contemplate whether or not to post my embarrassing solution to my original problem... But just in case there are any other knuckleheads like me i thought it was best to post this simple solution. Thanks for everyone's help

Just pulled a shiny little screw outta my front drivers side tire. Put the spare on, gonna get it fixed tomorrow where I bought em...

The paint was flaking off real easy on the spare. Now I have the confidence to take paint of the rest of the wheels since they are bubbling and flaking so bad, so I guess this all happened for a reason.