Hola! Newb here...

[Lifted79CJ7]

Hey there,Thought I'd stop by and say hey! I am the lucky recepient of a free 1991 Q45 with only 76,000 miles on the ticker. Overall it seems ok, but I haven't dug into her yet. The tires and brake pads are new, and the injectors only have 10k miles on them. The bad so far is the AC is out, has a dead battery, and she has been sitting for six months (worried about dry rot of gaskets and seals). There is also a little rust here and there (odd places like the bolt that holds the floor mat in place), but the paint seems great. I haven't jacked her up to see the underside yet. Besides that, I hooked up some jumper cables and all of the electronics seem OK (all the power goodies). I need to drain the gas and all fluids out and try and crank her over at some point soon. My camera pooped out on me this week, but as soon as I get it fixed, I will post up a few pics. Can someone send me a few links to some good posts so I can do some quick learning about my new toy?Thanks!Jack

[Haitian_King]

Wow. Nice score.

And (I'm not sure how big Georgia is) I'm sure you're close to at least one of the T3 locations.

Very nice. Welcome to NICO.

[goody90q45]

I am the lucky recepient of a free 1991 Q45 with only 76,000 miles on the ticker.

Lucky B@stard! Welcome to NICO. Where am I when all the low mileage Q's come up for sale. A good start for your reading is the four stickied threads in this forum. That will give you plenty to think about and you can read on from there. You'll allso find Q45.org very helpful when you get ready to break out the wrenches. Enjoy your new toy.

[1990QOwner]

Sounds good, make sure all of the fluids are fresh than give her a whirl and see how she does.

[maxnix]

Welocme to the club.

Since no one else has mentioned it, let me refer you to the timing chain guide article before you even think of giving the engine a spin. Someone on the board just lost their VH45DE on startup (where most initial stress occurs) because he thought he could wait.

[Haitian_King]

Most curious to see who that happened to?

Did they chronicle it in a thread? Perhaps you'd be so kind as to link to it?

[Lifted79CJ7]

Thanks for the warm welcome! Up until now, I've mostly been involved in the offroad side of things, but since I picked up my commuter (honda civic), I started dabbling around a little and got too many headaches with immaturity and lack of hard facts in forums. You guys seem to know your stuff! Thanks for the heads up on the timing belt! I'm about to jump into this thing tonight - anything else I should look for? Are there any on line copies of FSM's? And what's up with these NICO ECU's? Daddy wants power back (going from a 401ci V8 to a civic really sucked)!! Oh, and any words of advise for bringing leather back to life?Thanks!!!JackOh, and here's some really old pics of my Jeep....http://www.alanator.com/projec....html

[Haitian_King]

PhatG20.net has Adobe .pdf files of the FSM starting from 94 and up.

It's really helpful. And free. Those guys that sell them on cd's on eBay want like $30 for the same files.

That plus the FSM are some of the most important tools in your Q maintenance arsenal.

[Lifted79CJ7]

Well I finally got to tinker with the car today. I topped off all the fluids (although they all could use a change) and changed the oil. Man is that filter located in a stupid location! I also went to work on the leather, giving it a good cleaning and treating (it was really dried out from sitting for months in the GA heat). I finally dropped in a new battery, put in some new fuel and fuel system cleaner and fired it up. It fired right up and purrs like a kitten. One bad thing though. The front seal on the crankshaft went south and oil is coming out from the front of the block from behind the pulley. Time to see what PITA it will be to replace the seal, although I already have a good idea. If I get that deep into things, I might as well change the timing chains, belts and hoses. Man this free car is getting expensive!

I also got to crawl around in and under it to check out the rust situation and it appears to be partially ok, but the rust gremlins have definitely started to make themselves at home in a few places. Oh, and I think I have a power steering leak coming from either the pump or a hose. I also figured out that it was the front passenger side that has the frozen caliper. I didn't get to tinker with it today, but maybe next weekend I'll take a gander and see if it's rebuildable (if I can find a kit). I also noticed the radio antena didn't come up and realized that it didn't appear to be hooked up, so I will have to see why. Also, the radio is on the fritz for the front speakers just emit a sound that I can only compare to having a cat nuetered without being put under. Yep, sounds that good. Also while I was looking at the antenae, I noticed the side marker light is out. So how in the world do you get to that little light???? I can't figure it out to save my life!

Anywho, overall it's not bad and I only have about $250 invested in this thing ($115 tow home and $135 from Pep Boys today). Maybe after the holidays I can allocate some more funds to it.

Jack

[jdshift]

Welcome to the club, and nice score

[Haitian_King]

Some radio's don't activate the antenna unless it's in "radio mode". My Blaupunkt unit would raise the antenna as soon as it turned on. I put a Sony in and it didn't come up. I thought the shop broke it. I switched the unit source from CD to Radio and the antennna came back up.

I'd been used to driving with the antenna up all the time. It was cool to see it go down after parking and watching it raise up when the key turned.

[mxr662]

Can someone send me a few links to some good posts so I can do some quick learning about my new toy?

http://www.nicoclub.com/subpag...l#q45\

Welcome to Nico

Andy

[1990QOwner]

...Thanks for the heads up on the timing belt!...

Just thought I would clarify that it is the "Timing Chain Guides" that you need to look in to, not the timing belt. Just do a search for it and it should be quite simple to find.

[Lifted79CJ7]

I know it has been a while, but I thought I would give everyone an update on my Q. My buddy Alan came into town this weekend and we got balls deep into the this project. In the last 24 hours we replaced the water pump (was leaking horribly), and fixed all leaks that we could find.

We also did some other smal jobs on the car and have a few to finish. The lights in the sun visors weren't working, so we had to work on gettting those working agian. Turns out they were unplugged back behind the rearview mirror ceiling panel. Also the overhead lights in the middle of the roof were out, but it turned out to be bad bulbs. We also installed some additional back up lighting (had a box of random car parts and found these old $10 lights and thought the car could use better back up visibility). I just wired them into the factory harness and they work great! We also messed with the power antenae, but it looks like it is shot and will need replacement. We also unfroze a brake calibur that was stuck on the front passenger side of the vehicle - now the vehicle is mobile again!

Tomorrow we are going to look at the A/C display (it is not working at all), the sunroof gasket (needs to be replaced), the radio (emits a horrible squeel from the front two speakers), and some TLC throughout the car.

Overall, I am into this car about $250 and today I finally got to drive if for the first time. I took it easy around the neighborhood at first because it had not been driven in about a year. Once the rust wore off the brakes, the transmission settled in, and the engines computer started to play nice, it ran like a top! I even goosed it once and ended up drifting it sideways down the street for about 50 feet! Man this car has some balls - I thought it would have trouble braking the rear end free without huge amounts of abuse! I can't wait to see what all else we can get done this weekend!

My question is with the A/C unit controls - any idea why it is not lighting up or does someone have one for sale cheap?

Thanks!!Jack

(I'll post picks of todays work tomorrow!)
Modified by Lifted79CJ7 at 10:14 AM 12/30/2007

[Woot!]

You got you a dam nice car and yes they do have balls check the fuses first on the non working electronics. On mine it tripps out sometimes but it comes back to life eventually.

We're all looking foreward to seeing pics. Good luck on all your repairs

[VJ1]

Welcome to NICO. Please search and read all posts on TIMING CHAIN GUIDES. This one is of utmost priority and all others are trivial inconveniences in comparison to it. All us NICO guys wish we could get a free low mileage Q because we know it still takes 8 to 10 grand to restore it (the right way) to what it should be. Save your pennies and spend them wisely by priority. You will be all the wiser after you've done alot of reading here. Good luck and post some pics when you get your camera in order.

[maxnix]

My question is with the A/C unit controls - any idea why it is not lighting up or does someone have one for sale cheap?

The easiest fix is http://www.jerrytucker.net The panels just go out on the early G50.

Do read the timing chain guide article before you even start the car again. Seriously.

[Haitian_King]

I'm sure you can find one in the Part Out section. When mine went out, cccpman was parting a Q out and sold me his for $10. I still have my old one with the burnt out screen. I guess I'll send that to Jerry whenever I'm done with the more important stuff.

[GseaQ]

I will echo the other guys here. Congratulations! You are part of an elite group - owners of original, low mileage Q45's.

The timing chain guides are CRITICAL! I know. I had mine replaced at about 80,000 miles. My car had been strictly maintained by the dealer fro the previous 2 owners. When the old guides came out one was cracked completely in half. Luckily, it was still in place in the engine with not even a "crumb" missing. Had there been, the oil pan & oil pump would HAVE to come off for complete cleaning to prevent debris from getting to the engine's bearings and such.

A colleague at work has a '91 Q. When we met, I told him about this issue. He didn't have the cash to do the guide job and waited. Within a year he lost. His car has been sitting in his mechanics yard now for almost a year while he debates whether to rebuild heads, replace heads or replace whole engine. I may sell him my old '92 Q. Then he'll also have a "parts" car (his). These are not fear tactics. These are facts and experiences. Cost would be maybe 1200-1600 if you buy the parts from Joe at Scottsdale and pay a private shop for the work.

Now, the issue nobody's touched on for you. The amps are toast on you front Bose speakers. They can be repaired for, I think, around $100 a piece. Do a Google search for Bose speaker repairs. You'll get a few good hits. How are your rears speakers? There was a recall on those. Check to see if yours were replaced by the dealer. When my fronts went and some of my button lights on the head unit were out, I just took it all out and put in Alpine. It sounded better than I had ever heard that particular Bose.

Having said that, the Bose in our "new" '95 Q sounds better than the Alpine system I put in the '92. If you decide to go aftermarket, you'll have to change everything. No aftermarket speakers are compatible with the Bose system. There are adapters to help mix and match the factory and aftermarket gear, but in the end, I think you'll pay more to do that and not get better sound than replacing it all as a system.

I think the Jerry Tucker solution is the most practical & economical one for your HVAC display unless there are scratches and scars that affect appearance. If so, look at used parts.

Cheers,Glenn

[drftard]

another NOOB here just happened to stumble upon this post... i have some similar problems that plauge my 92 Q... the climate control works b/c when the buttons are pressed SOMETHINGs happening & i feel air... but there is a bit of a storm in NORCAL currently & it'd be just great if someone could find a speedy solution! thAnks greatly

[maxnix]

Most curious to see who that happened to?

Did they chronicle it in a thread? Perhaps you'd be so kind as to link to it?

Yes, it was one of the new members in the last year.

It has happened many times before to other members who postponed replacement or followed dealer's advice. Lost 3 1992 G50 VH45DE in 6 month span just on this board.

[Lifted79CJ7]

Update central! Well, I spoke with the previous owner and he tells me that he did have the recall fixed on the rear speakers, but it sounds like the fronts are toast. Anyone know if the amp for them are in the stereo itself, or are they somewhere seperate? I know the rear sub amp is inthe trunk.

Also, he informed me that he did infact replace the timing chain guides about 2000 miles ago. He said one broke and the chaing wore through the timing chaing cover, so it also has a new cover as well!

I also have contacted a guy that I found here on NICO and will be picking up a starter, brake caliper, A/C control unit and the power antenae from him. This should fix a majority of the problems. I will probably just unhook the front speakers for now until I can afford an entire new stereo system. The only other issue I am having is with the drivers seat controls. They used to work, but seem to randomly work now. Ithink it might be the control module under the seat, or maybe something else - I will just have to track it down.

The only thing I really have left to do is get a new gasket for the sunroof. Anyone changed one of these out? Anything I should look out for?

I have a great alarm system that I used to have in my old Jeep CJ7 that I pulled from the old CJ wiring harness last weekend (I had saved the whole harness when I parted out the Jeep). I puleld most of the drivers side and middle dash off and have started tracking down wiring to install it. Heck, I paid good money for it and hardly ever used it! I just need to find a good place for the brain and motion sensor (sorry fellas - not going to outline that install on the internet!). Again, if anyone has tackled this and can PM me some nice places to tap into the wiring harness, it would be greatly appreciated!

So so far, I have done the following to the car:*New battery*New battery hold down*New battery terminal covers*Replaced the water pump*Changed oil and coolant / topped off all other fluids*Replaced rear marker light*Installed additional back up lighting*Fixed the sun visor lights*Replaced the dome lights*Replaced a door entry light*Had it emissions tested and title transferred*Tried unsticking the brake caliper, only to have it restick again*Smoke the tires a couple of times

Still to complete:*Replace caliper*Replace starter*Replace climate control dash piece (old one already removed)*Replace the stereo*Replace thesunroof gasket*Replace the power antenae (old one already removed)*Check the diff and transmission fluid (both should be changed)*Fix the A/C -previous owner said it went out and I live in HOTlanta, so that is a must! He said last time it went out, it cost about G to get it fixed, but I have a few months to worry about that.

After that the only that bugs me is the old looking carpet and dried out leather. Hmm - those are $$$, so I will hold off on that for now.

[Lifted79CJ7]

Oh, and here are some pics of the car that I took:

Replacing the waterpump:

As you can see here, I the drivers seat is cracked. Also, notice the bottle of Febreeze - this thing stunk like crap from sitting for a year and having a leaky sunroof.

The backseat area is spotless for the most part. The leather is REALLY dry, so I have been treating all of the leather in the car to try and restore it. Anyone have any good tips?

As you can see, I have removed the power antenae b/c it didn't work. It looks like someone messed with it before for it was unhooked and the casing had been messed with. I should have a replacement in a couple of weeks.

Here are the additional back up lights I installed. I hope they aren't visible from behind, because they would look really tacky. On a good side, they work like a champ and light up everything behind the car. Hmm, desisions, desisions!

And here is my drunk *** at 2am. No Jack, It's not a Toyota, it's an Infiniti! Lord that garage is dirty!!

Today's project is cleaning out the garage! Oh, and if you know anyone with a CJ7 in Georgia, let me know - I am cleaning house of all my Jeep stuff. [email protected]
Modified by Lifted79CJ7 at 6:58 PM 1/5/2008

[maxnix]

Well, I spoke with the previous owner and he tells me that he did have the recall fixed on the rear speakers, but it sounds like the fronts are toast. Anyone know if the amp for them are in the stereo itself, or are they somewhere seperate? I know the rear sub amp is inthe trunk.

Also, he informed me that he did infact replace the timing chain guides about 2000 miles ago. He said one broke and the chaing wore through the timing chaing cover, so it also has a new cover as well!

There is no subwoofer on the G50. All Bose designs have amplifiers at the speaker. There was a recall on the 1991. Call Infiniti Customer Service and register your car and ask about the recall. They'll probably send you to a dealer.

Better hopw he did an A+ job and replaced the tensioners and hopefully the oil pump chain for longevity. It would be worth getting the RO.

DJ2 rules!

[Lifted79CJ7]

Sorry about that - I don't know why I wrote sub amp, I meant rear speakers' amp (at least in the service manual it shows it being bolted to the back of the rear deck on the bottom).

For repair, he said he actually took it to the dealer and they did the timing chain guides, cover and the rear speakers at the same time. I sure do hope they at least know what they were doing!!! Thank you for the warning, though!
Modified by Lifted79CJ7 at 5:37 PM 1/5/2008

[captainluigi]

just another suggestion. service records from your local dlr. a no cost bonus.

[drftard]

whoa really? for free...? what if your not the original owner but the title is in your name now??? hrm... think they could trace it??? good idea...

[Lifted79CJ7]

Well, the garage is getting much cleaner (many bags of garbage later!). Most of the stuff on the right should be gone within the week, as well as the CJ7 hood in front of the Q. Man it will be nice to park both cars back in the garage again!Anyone have any suggestions for what to do with the wheels? I was thinking about painting the inside black and keeping the aluminum lip. Man those are some uuuuuuuglyyyyy *** wheels!

And here is a pic of my dirty little girl. Hopefully Atlanta will get out of this drought soon and I can wash her...

And here is the dash all apart as I track down some wiring and fix a few small things:

[maxnix]

just another suggestion. service records from your local dlr. a no cost bonus.

Exactly! There is a record. Get it.

[maxnix]

whoa really? for free...? what if your not the original owner but the title is in your name now??? hrm... think they could trace it??? good idea...

If you are the owner and the recall has not been performed on your vehicle (hint: play stupid), then you are covered. It was a fire hazard from overheating. Register you vehicle with Infiniti Customer Service.