G50: Engine locked up, 93, starter will not turn.

[koolaidandQ45's]

I am taking on a project of restoring a 93 Q45 and am trying to decide on the best option for my power train. Car has been well cared for has new bushings, shocks and tires. Timing guides were never changed and previous owner feels that this is the problem. Does it make sense thta the timing chain has plastic caught in it and this is preventing the engine from turning? PO tells me that the car died at a stop light and when he tried to restart, starter turned the motor over but it would not fire and now I have purchased his problem.My dilema, do i look for a used or rebuilt engine or should i pull the TCC off and look at the condition of the chain and guides, and what else should i look for?

[maxnix]

Welcome to the best board for the Q45.

Until you remove the front timing chain covers, read Q45tech's posts about how T-3 selects and rehabilitates JDM take outs.

[koolaidandQ45's]

Thanks for the worm welcome!

I am trying to learn how to navigate to the posts that you have refered me to?

[koolaidandQ45's]

Sorry I meant warm not worm.

[maxnix]

Sorry I meant warm not worm.

There is an Edit key for each post available to the poster.

Try a search on post bodies in this forum and Infiniti Online mechanic.

Try rehab and takeout for the search words in the post bodies, both recent and archived.

[Q451990]

I would be curious to know the build date and VIN of your 93. Several 93s have been found to have the updated guides, but we haven't been able to establish a pattern (if there is one) as to when/if there was a change-over date.

From what you describe, I think you're looking at a timing chain issue, but you won't know for sure until you pull the timing cover and rocker covers.

It is possible to do minimal damage during a failure. My first Q's damage was limited to one slightly bent valve. They "just" pulled that head, replaced the four valves on that cylinder, and put it all back together. A lot of work and expense - yes, but maybe not worse than rehabing another take-out. Especially if your engine is clean and otherwise well maintained. Retiming the engine and doing a compression test will tell you a lot.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

Good luck and welcome to NICO!

Heath

[catdaddy]

aquired a q45 ( build date 7/93 vin jnkng01d9rm258444 ) & the car won't start. the driver knows nothing about cars, so the actions of the car b/4 it stopped running ( he went to gas up, it would not start after that ) i don't know & he's no help. so i was wondering by the date of build would the chain guide be a possibility. and is this car considered to be 94 because it is the latter part of the yr. the bottom of the car is coated in oil (alternator, etc). have been reading as much as possible to diagnose the no start issue, but right now is to cold to work outside. plan is to rehab the motor, no mods, install into s13 ( auto., which yr is best? ). probably give it to a daughter.

[goody90q45]

Acquired a q45 ( build date 7/93 vin jnkng01d9rm258444 ) & the car won't start.

My 94Q has a build date of 3/93 and an identical VIN except the last 6 numbers, which are also lower. This should mean that your car was assembled after mine.

Also, the 10th digit in the VIN "R" signifies that the car is a 94 model. If it was a 93 the 10th digit would be "P".

Do you have a badge on your hood nose or a grill? If its got a grill it's a 94 and has metal backed chain guides so that will not be the problem.

Edit: After rereading the post I see that your question is not if you have a 94Q or not but if you have a chain guide issue. With this said, I don't think your problem will be chain guides.

[catdaddy]

got a grille. so would this have the plastic chain guides.

[catdaddy]

so a no-start diagnosis should begin w/starter-relay etc. went under it could not locate the starter. would a cross member partialy hide it.

[goody90q45]

Looks like you've got a 94 with metal-backed chain guides. The starter is located between the transmission and the engine. Get to it from under the car.

[catdaddy]

thx, when i was under, did'nt go back far enuff.

[catdaddy]

no oil , the kid had'nt checked the oil in a coupla months. was down 3 quarts & half gal. of anti-freeze. so is it cool to disconnect the drive shaft and tow this car for 300 miles?

[maxnix]

Might screw up VLSD. Standard is to flat bed the car.

[Q451990]

An alternative is to tow it front wheels down, but for that distance? Not sure what pressures that puts on the suspension...

Heath

[catdaddy]

need to get it to amarillo. anyways, when i get it there what course of action should i take after a compression test to rehab this motor & transmission? i sure it has a oil leak and power steering don't work at all. a ballpark figure of the cost?

[ScottJackson]

Is the starter just clicking and not actually smacking against the flexplate? They are two different sounds and you may not be able to tell the difference. Before doing anything, take a metal bar or hammer and LIGHTLY tap the starter body by reaching up under the passenger side from behind the front wheel while a buddy turns the key (starter is at the 7 o'clock position as viewed from the front of the engine). If it all of a sudden works and fires up, you've found the culprit, a starter that decided to die. If the motor is what's locked up, it could be a faulty fuel injector that hung open and filled a cylinder with gas. You'll need to pull the plugs and do a compression test. Also look to see if it shoots gas out of a cylinder at this point. Short of doing all that after you've got past the starter, you can put a big socket on a breaker bar and try to turn the motor over by hand. Don't push very hard, but see if it'll go with a little nudge. If you push very hard at all on the bar, you'll do more damage if it's valve to piston contact. If it's a cylinder full of gas, a really hard turn of the bar could potentially bend a rod, but that normally only occurs when the motor turns a little, another cylinder fires, and creates huge pressure against the piston in the gas filled cylinder.

EDIT: I re-read your post and am somewhat confused now. So the motor does crank over but doesn't fire? You need to determine if it's getting fuel and spark. If it's getting both of those and turning over, you need to do a compression test. Check for obvious things also like disconnected hoses, cracked air hoses, wiring harness connections (MAF most importantly but don't overlook the little plug down on what I call the distributor. It's on the driver side below the big air tube that goes from the MAF to the throttle body and on the side and front of the head).
Modified by ScottJackson at 5:18 AM 2/8/2007

[catdaddy]

thx sj, got it started, was wondering the cost & procedure for returning this 150,000+ mi. engine back to stock condition. i will be pulling the eng. & transmission because the driver's side rear is smashed. after the eng. & transmission is done, will be in the market for another body.