Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post

Post by **bigdog76** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:34 pm

My heater is not working even when i turn it to the cooldest temperature. Many online mechanics on here said to check the heater posts. So long story short i pulled the dash out Radio/A/C controls and i found the problem heater post broken and a piece that operates the heater door was dangling. Problem is the heater post is plastic that is fixed to a metal rod that operates the heater door to open and close. Well that plastic snapped off. How do i fix this problem??? I called Infinity of Scottsdale and this piece is connected to the heater door itself.. and this plastic piece snapps into the piece that was dangling. Is the heater door hard to replace??? or can i try and fabricating something that will get this thing working. I need heat even in Cali hahaha. And another thing this problem whould never happen if they made this dam thing out of all metal but of course they cant do that they want to make money off us. Any help please someone help me. I need ideals. I wont spend the 300-500 in labor i bet the dealer wants for this job.

Post by **maxnix** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:28 pm

Well, try the new paragraph key (ENTER) once in a while.

I presume you have a post 1993 Q45. While one may be able to manufacture metal post for the air mixer door, most just replace the whole unit. If you do a repair, plesae doument it with lots of photographs.

And if you do get it repaired, always cycle the AC and Heat once a month to keep the door working.

Post by **Q45tech** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:39 am

It can be done in a full day 8AM-6PM by an experienced technican.

I think you are underestimating the dealer labor charges [$300-$500]....more like $1000.

Common failure [about 8% of our customers] on 94-96Q, but very few since we started warning them to exercise the door weekly.

Post by **bigdog76** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:04 pm

Well I have a 1996 Q45 and ill be dammed if iam going to pay $1000 to get the heat working on a car worth maybe $3,800 I will freeze before that happens.

Space...

Hmmmm (Q45tech) Home Depot here I come.

I will see what i can do from this point on

Q45tech any other ideals then the dealer.

So the labor that you say $1,000 is that for replacing the heater door with a new plus the labor it takes to do it???? Or is this a fabricated job from the dealer???

Post by **maxnix** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:29 pm

bigdog76 wrote:Well I have a 1996 Q45 and ill be dammed if iam going to pay $1000 to get the heat working on a car worth maybe $3,800.

Actually, when it comes to parts and labor, it is still a $50K car. No further discounts apply beyond the discounted price you paid for deferred maintenance because of age nor condition.

Most on this board do not drive Q45 beaters.

Post by **Q45tech** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:03 am

IT EVENTUALLY cost almost as much as buying a new lesser car [new $28k average car] to own and properly maintain a 10 year old lux car.

THe factory doesn't make much from selling a $30 replacement part.

They all last thru the 6 year warranty what more should one expect........10 years is great.

Post by **RAQ45t** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:52 am

Well said,MAXNIX.........

Post by **bigdog76** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:44 pm

Well this weekend I will atempt to start the process of fixing the heater door post without removing the dash or the existing heater door. I will assess what has to happen. First Iam going in with the dremel tool to clean up things if all works out I will post all pictures and put this 10-12 hour labor for infinity mechanics and $1,000.00 infinity dealership bill to rest

Wish me Luck

Post by **goody90q45** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:00 pm

Godspeed. Bring beer. Post Pics.

Post by **elwesso** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:55 am

goody94q45 wrote:Godspeed. Bring beer. Post Pics.

agreed...... Document your process well if it does work....

Post by **Q45tech** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:34 am

Keep track of your labor hours including research and posting to see if you can beat the expert time of 8 real working hours and let us know 3-5 years from now if your homemade fix still works compared to a replacement of the door with the new improved part.

Post by **maxnix** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:57 am

Q45tech wrote:..... let us know 3-5 years from now if your homemade fix still works compared to a replacement of the door with the new improved part.

Oh oh, if Nissan redesigned it, that is a dead bang killer against repairing it.

Post by **DrewQ45** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 6:36 am

maxnix wrote:Oh oh, if Nissan redesigned it, that is a dead bang killer against repairing it.

I'm curious to see how this thing looks. Hard to imagine the difficulty without actually seeing it.

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 10:39 pm

Well I have already started the process but I will not take full credit my friend Steve has already got it working in his Q45 with alittle input from me.. If my local hobbie shop had all the parts i would be done already. Anyway long story short. To give you some heads up it involves a 3/8" plastic dowl that is molded with the dremel tool or bench sander into shape on one side.

The existing door post which is metal is clean free of the broken plastic post with the dremel tool. The other end of the plastic dowel is drilled to match the metal rod to snap over it and glued with epoxy glue. Now it has already been tested to work with out any glue and has been fine. So if it last 3 years i will be happy with that since by then i should be looking for a new ride.

Hence its not hard to get to again and hook right back up in the case it breaks down the rode.and glue in the future if nessarry which will not include the man power of ripping the dash out.

I had to buy the dowel on line because i could not find it anywhere. The part was like $0.64 cents for a foot of it. the shipping 5 bucks or so plus glue. So that gamble still beats $1,000 in labor at the dealer. Oh ya plus parts.

I will post pictures of products and the tools i used. When iam done Ill let Nico set it up and formulate it for me into the home page if Iam sucessful they can use it as a link.

Post by **maxnix** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:19 pm

Great! Take pipctures of the repair and don't omit even the most trivial detail.

But if you have a metal post, must be 1993 or older. They don't break as far as I can recall from posts on this baord.

Post by **Q45tech** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:59 am

94,95,96 Q are the only models that have this problem -----so far.

Post by **elwesso** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:53 am

Definitely take a picture... I figure if it takes an hour to replace every 2-3 years, its definitely worthwhile!

Post by **DrewQ45** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:40 am

[QUOTE=bigdog76]Well I have a 1996 Q45 and ill be dammed if iam going to pay $1000 to get the heat working on a car worth maybe $3,800 I will freeze before that happens.[QUOTE]

I can totally relate... I wouldn't pay it either... I'd rather build a fire in the passenger foot area. Good that you found a solution.

...Drew....

Post by **elwesso** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:41 am

LOL!!!!!! Put a kerosene heater in your car!!!!! hahahhaa, thats a shoe in to the darwin awards!

Post by **qship96** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:46 pm

elwesso wrote:LOL!!!!!! Put a kerosene heater in your car!!!!! hahahhaa, thats a shoe in to the darwin awards!

actually,there is an aftermarket gasoline powered heater made,used in many range rover/ off road vehicles in cold countries- one of the car magazines recently added one to their long term test vehicle!

Post by **maxnix** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 2:19 pm

qship96 wrote:actually,there is an aftermarket gasoline powered heater made,used in many range rover/ off road vehicles in cold countries- one of the car magazines recently added one to their long term test vehicle!

Gawdalmighty, it they leak like the bloke petrol tanks, I want a life insurance policy for those guys with me as the beneficiary! Certain death by fumes if not immolation.

Post by **qship96** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 2:22 pm

I think the heater is placed underhood,with coolant/hoses running into cabin and through a radiator/fan{at least I hope so!}

Post by **Jman** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:36 pm

I fixed my heater door last Saturday. I have been driving all week and the repair seems to be holding up so far. This was not that difficult to do. If someone were to manufacture a perfect fit part, this could be a relatively simple repair. The hardest part is removing the old material from the rod sticking out of the heater box. You have to remove the radio and HVAC controls to get to the rod. I think the OP, Brian, is going to take pictures of the repair and parts fabricated to complete this. We will see how our repairs hold up.

Steven (AKA Jman)

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:26 pm

Below are the pics on the Heater Post Repair Job

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:46 pm

Pic # 1

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:47 pm

Pic #2

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:47 pm

Pic #3

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:53 pm

Pic # 4

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:56 pm

Pic #5

Post by **bigdog76** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:58 pm

Pic #6

Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post

Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (maxnix)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (maxnix)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (maxnix)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (maxnix)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (RAQ45t)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (goody94q45)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (elwesso)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (Q45tech)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (maxnix)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (DrewQ45)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (maxnix)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (Q45tech)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (DrewQ45)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (elwesso)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (qship96)

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Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

Re: Heater Problems!! Broken Heater Post (bigdog76)

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