Help! Need San Francisco area shop for '90 Q45

[Q45_90_NorCalif]

I started a recent thread titled "1990 Q45 - Transmission mission". With the help of the feedback I received I have decided to replace the transmission and the radiator and the cam guides. I will also add a transmission cooler. The problem is that the shops and dealers I've spoken to in the SF Bay Area that are willing to do the job will only do it if I replace the chain with the cam guides. This adds $200 in hardware costs and +/- $1,000 in labor. From what I've read the chain is not necessary.

My best option so far seems to be to ship the car to San Diego and have Jerry Tucker do the work. It costs $475 to ship the car each way. I don't have the time to drive to SD (8hrs. 1 way). Even spending close to $1,000 for shipping Jerry's price to do the whole job is $500 less than any other price I can find and he comes with very high recommendations.

I can't believe there isn't someone in the Bay Area who can do this job and really knows these cars. Does anyone have any suggestions? If not I will probably ship to SD on Monday.

Thanks,

David

[PalmerWMD]

David:

You might wanna post this question in the "General Chat" forum, as it sees a lot more traffic than the"infiniti online mechanic" forum.

Fred...

[Q45_90_NorCalif]

Will do. Thanks!

[Q451990]

I'd do some more checking on that shipping rate. I had Q2 shipped out from Oakland to Columbia SC (Terminal to terminal) for $710 last fall. I'd check out http://www.movecars.com and http://www.howwerate.com - the shipper I used sucks but I won't mention their name yet - still trying to milk some more $$ out of them for the damaged fuel lines. One of those "I won't say bad things about you if you pay up deals..."

I'm with what Ardvarkus on the other board though - the road trip might be fun!

As far as replacing the chains or not, the only real advantage to not replacing the chains is that you don't have to pull the rocker (valve) covers and reseal them. If they're leaking I'd go ahead and have the chains replaced too. Just make sure they're confident in retiming the engine.

One other bit of advice - have the rear main seal replaced while the transmission is out. Adds about 30 minutes and $6 in parts, but it may save you transmission removal again later - suprisingly this isn't part of many shop's replacment deal...

Heath

[Q45_90_NorCalif]

I thought I would follow up on what action I finally took relating to this thread as well as the much longer one titled "1990 Q45 - Transmission mission".

I ended up shipping my Q45 to Jerry Tucker at All Import Service in San Diego. Jerry was great to work with! The work ended up costing about $500 less than we had estimated it would over the phone. I've got a "new" transmission, cam guides, radiator, transmission cooler, water pump, steering rack boots, etc.. The report back was that I've got a very nice car that's in great shape and was worth putting the money into.

And talk about good service... last weekend Jerry drove my car back to me!!! 9 hours or so from San Diego to the San Francisco area. His wife followed him in another car. They dropped my car off. spent the afternoon in San Francisco, headed south for an hour and spent the night in a hotel near some friends. I paid him for the gasoline for both cars and a night in the hotel. Saved me hundreds from having it shipped home. He said they felt like taking a road trip!

So I've got my car back and it's working great. I want to thank all those who gave me their input along the way. This board and the other Yahoo owners club are great! I'm a happy guy. And once again, THANKS Jerry!! I wish you had a shop a little closer but I would work with you again in a minute if the need arose!

David

[Q451990]

That's a great story! I'm glad to hear that Jerry is as good as I suspected - of course living on the east coast I have never visited his shop, and he doesn't do too much with the boards. From time to time he was flamed on the yahoo board for trying to -gasp- make money on the board, when offering to fix climate control head units for about 12% of the cost for replacement.

I think with the limited number of exceptional "old Q" shops around we should all do as much as possible to keep them going!

Heath

[BadQ45t]

For the Bay Area in terms of shops, slim pickings. I've got an 85 Maxima with 270k, an 84 300ZX with 160k and my 97' Q45 with 69k. I have found that Datsunville in Burlingame is pretty good for repairs, haven't taken him the Q yet since nothing has gone wrong! I take the Max and Z to him for minor stuff but timing belt and 30k tune-ups are still done in LA at Z-Expert who is $30 cheaper per hour and overall better.

Peninsula Infiniti is good for oil change, Infiniti pretty subsidizes the dealers to do these at 40 bucks, not bad when considering that most jiffy joints charge as much or more and bad stuff can often happen in those places. Ask for Vince, he's a good guy.

[PalmerWMD]

David,

I am also glad Jerry is as good as they say.I guess he really does deserve the moniker "west Coast T3" after all.

Fred...:thumbup