Be the voice of reason NICO

[JT_MONEY_2004]

Ok NICO, i know, i've read the articles and various write-ups on Timing guides and their importance. I value each of your opinions and enjoy hearing your experiences. This is the deal, @ 73K am I in dyre need to do the guides?.....I know the easy and obvious answer is yes, because in reality they should have been done from mile #1. What i'm asking is, for a car that has averaged about 5,222 mi per year does anyone here think my guides are about to be shot? From reading on here Q45 tech's was starting to crack at 110k when he replaced his, but i haven't seen a lower mileage noted. Everyone else seems to be 120k+, Please share your experiences...... even you Wes. Thanks.

[PalmerWMD]

if you engine is low miles one more reason to protect it.Age has as much importance as milage and at this point your car is not real young.

Also:http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....12551

Fred..

[Jesda]

Some failed as low as 40k. Even if the guides fail non-fatally, the chain will start eating the oil pump. The number of startup cycles, which cannot be measured by age or mileage, also seems to be a factor.

Lucky you for being located in Georgia.

-Jesda

[Q45tech]

I realize a $1000 [$1500 if oil pan has to be removed] , is a lot of money to spend.

Mine were changed at 100k [not 110k] and exactly 7 years to the month of use. Since then I have driven another 7 years and 3 months with another 167,000 miles added since the rehab.

We are in process of rehabing a nice paint 180k 92 Q -- the bill will be $6,500+

New transmission, chain guides, valve cover reseal, new belts, water pump, ALL plenum hoses and knock sensors.

The car needs another $2,500 [brakes, shocks, some suspension pieces, some AC work, etc.They inherited it recently.

They felt $6,500 was better spent on something they knew than just picking an $8,000 used car to replace it and then having to do repairs on that one.

[Q451990]

Unfortunately there's really no way to tell when they will fail. Back when I had the guide failure on Q1 at 120K, there was one at my local dealership on the "dead line" with 77K on the odometer. The piston heads had holes in them.

You're lucky that you live in GA near T3. I think there was a guide special a couple of months back, but I don't know if it's still available or not.

To give you an idea of how seriously I take the guide issue - I let Q2 with 47K sit in my garage for the better part of two years until I finished all of her other reahab (complete suspension overhaul, brakes, alarm, MP3, etc) before I drove it. The first trip out of the garage was to T3 for guides.

With such a low mileage vehicle, I wouldn't take the chance!!!

Heath

[Rex]

I may be wrong, but the "heat cycles" are a contributing factor to the guides failing. Each heating and then cooling of the motor and its internals "cures", if you will, the plastic making it more brittle and adpt to fail. As many have and will say with the original guides - "It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN".

As Jesda said it's not so clealy linked to miles.

I know some of us may seem "militant" in approach of encouraging you to get your guides done. It may be better for you to ask who has lost a motor to guide damage and what the repair costs were after waiting too long.

[QShip]

Mine went at 35k.

[Q451990]

Wow!!! Did you own the car at that time, or is it just lurking in the service records? When did they fail? It would be a shame if it was pre-1993 and they replaced the guides (or engine) with more of the same plastic guides!

That may be the lowest mileage documented(?) failure.

Heath

[JT_MONEY_2004]

Q45Tech, are you guys running that special q451990 speaks of or something similar. I really, really hope you are. what is T3's contact info, i know i saw it somewhere on this site b4, but cant find it now.And TECH, why did you wait till 100K?

[maxnix]

Unfortunately the chain guide issue was not well known until after the mid 90's. Infiniti denies it as a problem until this day. Only the very few that failed or who were lucky enough to have the guides fail the very rare inspections had them replaced under warranty.

It is a question of when, and you are on borrowed time now. If they are merely cracked or not yet degraded, it just means you don't have to do the oil pan fishing for parts now. Motor mounts are due, though.

Her is one of T-3 locations:

T3 Automotive Ltd.5322 S. Cobb Dr.Atlanta, GA 30080(404) 794-7700

They can direct you to the other as you want Byron to do the guide replacement.

[QShip]

Wow!!! Did you own the car at that time, or is it just lurking in the service records? When did they fail? It would be a shame if it was pre-1993 and they replaced the guides (or engine) with more of the same plastic guides!

That may be the lowest mileage documented(?) failure.

Heath

The previous owner had the car then. The transmission went soon after that. I saw it in the service records.

[AZhitman]

Nick's low-mileage Q went very early in life, IIRC.

[Q451990]

The T3 address that Brian posted is the correct one... That's where you'll find Byron.

Heath

[BadQ45t]

Believe these guys, my dad had a clean 92' with 94k on it, his friend who used to run a dealership towed the corporate line that "the are fine" but the car ended up blowing out the guides.

My personal advice would be if you're happy with the car and just want to drive it until she dies, than why bother, drive it until it dies and donate it to charity. If you're in love witht he car or really like the car and want 5+ years out of it than get them done ASAP and plan a transmission cooler too.

[maxnix]

Also there is the issue of what happens if the guides fail while you are apssing that semi on a two lane road.

Personally, I say fix them or sell the car. Your life is more valuable than a gamble over a grand or a grand and a half.

[texasoil]

Timing chain guide failure is unpredictable--it depends on crankcase chemistry and history--long oil change intervals, lots of stop/start and hot operation is worse; smooth long highway trips better. MTBE/Ethanol in fuel much worse. Crakced guides do not necessarily mean engine destruction, but risk is very high. Probability of guides cracking is +/- 100%. Real question is when? and will fragments jam the chains and cause engine failure? If car is otherwise in real good condition and you would like to drive it (without worries of catastrophic failure) for several more years --have the chain guides replaced. Otherwise you are facing a known catastrophic (total the car) failure potential at any time. I certainly would not let my wife drive it except on 'friendly' local trips during daylight hours. The failure, if it happens, will be instant--no warning, no sputtering, etc. fine one instant--DEAD the next.

[Altiman94]

sounds like a pita.

[Q45tech]

Happens to the 98-04 LS400 if the timing belt breaks.Interference engines are getting more common as the HP race heat up...........and chains have only recently come back into vogue.

[JT_MONEY_2004]

SOUND THE GONG! IT'S A WRAP!I needed to hear what i already knew. Got an appointment at T3 in the morning @ 7:30 when they open for business. Hopefully they can complete all work by closing, cause they don't open on saturday and I cant leave car there till monday. So we'll see. Ya'll need to keep your fingers crossed that i make it there in one piece...now that so-called "salvation for the Q" is close, i'm more nervous than ever. Will post my experience. Thanx fellaz.

[PalmerWMD]

Be sure to tell them you're there for the Nico Special on the guide job.Maybe they still have it going on?Say hi to Byron for me (from Fred).

Doing it in one day is a lot of pressure and they dont like to do it but coming in at 7:30 helps.

Be prepared fto wait until late in the day.I often bring the entire crew a mix cold sodas or maybe Donuts when I am there an entire day.

If they have time they sometimes police up small stuff that they find for free.

Be glad youre in GA I took not one but 2 early Q's there for chain guide jobs ( round trip of 700 miles)

Fred..

[maxnix]

Better to wait for complete guide replacement than to even start the car again. I'd offer dinner if time is that important.

[PalmerWMD]

Better to wait for complete guide repalcement than to even start the car again. I'd offer dinner if time is that important.

I agree, we once had one done, where the pan needed dropping added a lot of time/labor, I offered Dinner plus a >significant< tip for the man to stay a bit late to get finished that day.

Fred..

[JT_MONEY_2004]

Hopefully Byron is co-operative, being a friday and all.

[PalmerWMD]

He is a nice guy and his competence is limitless.

Fred...

[Q451990]

Depends on how things go - but I doubt he'll have much trouble getting it done in one day. I would recommend letting her sit a few hours before start-up when it's all done though. I made my vist a two day one just to let the RTV set up overnight. I had a transmission flush that I wanted to get done, and day one also included resealing the rocker covers.

Rest assured, your Q is in good hands!

Heath

[Q45tech]

7:55 AM and JT_MONEY_2004 is a no show!8:05 AM parts arrive for job from dealer [emergency 1st delivery set up last night] still no customer.

Customer arrived at 10:30 AM.

[Jesda]

http://www.nicoclub.com/forums...78140

[PalmerWMD]

For those who were getting worried, I just called T3 and he did make it.

Fred..

Edit: I saw Q45tech edited an arrival time into his post so I guess this post is superflous.

[elwesso]

YES!!!!! Another Q saved :tear:

[maxnix]

Not worried about T-3, that's for sure!

Is Byron a saint by chance?