I have been missing out...

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

on something great for a long time. Picked up the 90 Q45 in Chicago on Monday and uh.... wow. That thing has awesome power, incredible comfort while cruising, and very good cornering for a 4000 lb car (the same or better than my Maxima in fact).

When I was first driving it I almost felt as though I couldn't tear it apart for the swap into the Z but then I found all of the small things that were wrong and what is eventually going to be a big thing. There are some switches inside that don't work, some small dings all over, bad rust repair jobs (crappy spray paint type stuff or something), the glove box was stuck shut but I ripped it out since we couldn't get it open so that's a small problem as well, the passenger side sun visor is laying in the back seat, the driver's side will probably be there soon too, front seats and arm rest have seen better days, there are some other thing but the biggest is that I'm getting a "Transmission Malfunction" warning in the nifty little screen in the gauge cluster.

The transmission kind of freaks out when going downhill in third gear sometimes and the transmission seems to just kind of act strange in the lower rpm's of 4th gear every once in a while. While in 3rd gear going down hill its like the transmission is trying to gear brake the engine then it just stops and then starts again... its very weird. In 4th gear at a lower rpm it feels like it wants to slip or something but just a little higher in the rpm's and it feels completely fine. Around 2000 or so rpm is when 4th freaks out (a bit low for 4th but since 3rd gear freaks out I have to leave it in 4th) but around 2500-3000 it does fine.

Even with those problems the car is very bad ***. I think I'm going to convince my parents to get one of these or maybe a 94-95 for a family cruiser. These things definitely like to cruise and gets pretty good gas mileage for the engine and the weight of the car (20-21 mpg highway with a/c off, 19-20 mph with a/c on).

Post by **squeefoo** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Cool! Get an FSM right away there might be one in the trunk by the spare. Go to the trans. section and pull the codes. (If not search here on how to pull the codes) See if the fluid is junk or low, pull the trans. pan right away, put in a new filter, and change all ( ALL ) the fluid. Don't burn the clutch pack$ !! How many miles? What did you pay?

EDIT:Elwesso Might be able to get you an FSM.

Post by **elwesso** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Yeah I got your FSM! Hit me up on the ORG ([email protected])

I think your actually realizing what you have on your hands... one of the best cars ever!!

Are you planning on using this transmission in your project Z?

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

I'm actually going to use the TTZ 5-speed that I also bought in Chicago. I was hoping to get a multiplate clutch setup but those things are too expensive so I'm just going to go with the standard lightened flywheel and a nice clutch. More than likely I'll go with an RPS flywheel and 6 puck sprung hub clutch. I like my SPEC 6 puck sprung hub clutch but I hear RPS is very good so I'll try them out with this project.

After looking at the engine bay a bit more today it definitely looks like it will be a fun job pulling the engine out. Quite a bit of stuff in there, lol.

Lastly, do you guys know if anyone has ever tried an individual TB setup on one of these motors? I'm tossing around the idea and will most likely try it sometime soon. Just seeing if anyone has tried it before and if there were and good gains mostly in better throttle response.

Post by **elwesso** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

I know that SILVIAWERKS, a NICO sponsor, had a project Q going and they were going to run dual TBs.. The intake is pretty low restriction so besides the cool factor i dont see any improvements......

Please keep us updated on how you get the TT gearbox to the VH45DE... Could mean some really cool potentials for us Q45 owners!

Really I dont think removing the engine should be too bad, but that could be me being naive about the Q again... Probably something I could do in a couple days assuming i hda the right stuff...

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Yeah, I'm thinking that the 8 tb setup would really only increase throttle response. Actually... unless I made an air box that connected to each tb I would probably lose some torque. I'll just have to get on a dyno and see what happens. Could turn out real well or could be a waste of time.

I think the mating of the TT box to the Q should be relatively easy going by some thoughts that I have about the process. I won't know for sure though until I get the Q engine and transmission out. Speaking of which, it shouldn't be too hard to do. Its just another step up in the work process compared to the Maxima and should be pretty fun.

Post by **1qckser** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

List member sophan dropped the motor I purchased from him out from the bottom with the trans attached, goodluck:)

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Found out something not good when I looked at the TT transmission again.... what I thought were the bolts to seperate the bell housing from the gear box are just bolts holding the gears in or something. I see no way to actually seperate the bell housing from the gear box so my initial idea of how to mate the transmission won't work. All is not lost... it will just take a bit longer to mate the TT transmission to the VH.

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

you need an adapter plate, ive been down that road of thought.

the Q's auto bellhousing will not interface with the TT trans because the tt trans has an integral front case/bellhousing.

with the adapter plate, your gonna need to have a spacer machined with the fly bolt pattern inorder to move the fly back into alignment with the trans/starter after the adapter is installed.

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Ahh, I see. Cool, guess I'll have to run to a machine shop sometime and see what I can have them do.

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

One very major problem I forgot about with this car is that... there are no cupholders... lol. Its very weird that a car that is so expensive and is supposed to be quite luxurious has no cup holders. Heck, I spilt a drink a few times driving it already but, oh well. Still has more pros than cons.

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

how many miles are on it?

Post by **Jesda** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Theres a couple threads on the cupholder issue. What you'll find is that placement is important. If you put one in the center console, there's the risk of spilling and damaging thousands of dollars of electronics underneath. You'd have to line the console with cellophane or something waterproof.

http://ultimatecupholders.com/ has a lot of good stuff.

-Jesda

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Ivory - it turned over to a little over 135,000 miles after the trip home.

Jesda - that must be why a lot of the switches and such don't work around the shifter. according to the title a few asians owned the car before me... now, i don't really have anything against them... but it seems as though these people (that owned it before me) can't take care of a car worth a ****.

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

how are the chain guides?

that mileage is pretty good. just freshen the motor up, and that Z is gonna fly.

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

No clue on the guides. I'd bet 100 bucks that they are toast though... I was sweating pretty hard the whole way home because I was afraid the engine would go boom but luckily I made it. I've not driven it more than a mile since I got home since I don't want those things to break.

I got the Z's engine out last night and am working on getting the wires out tonight. I might start pulling the VH tonight as well.

As for the guides, what all do I absolutely need to get when replacing the guides? I was looking at a thread in the Infiniti Tech and there was a large list that came out to over 400 dollars worth of stuff. Can I get by with only replacing the guides themselve or would I be hurting myself down the road doing that?

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

personally, i would do everything while the motor is out because it might be a ***** to do with the motor in the car.

at the very least, i would do just the tension side guides, waterpump, and thermostat.

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Ahh, yeah. That would be a good idea to do the water pump and thermostat. I was at the least going to replace the problematic guides. Are the tensioners ever a problem? I know that people replace them a lot when doing a timing belt on the VG but I've not really heard much about replacing them on a car with a timing chain (but that could just be because I've not owned a vehicle with a timing chain until now).

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

from what ive read, people do the tensioners with the chain guides just so they dont have to do it again. the tensioners are not problematic, per se.

also, since the Z came with a straight 6, you probably have more room infront of the motor than the Q does. in the Q, the fsm says the motor must be removed to do the chains/guides.

Post by **mtcookson** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

Yeah, there should be quite a bit of room in front of the motor when in the Z. If I removed the radiator (and down the road the intercooler) I'd have plenty of room for working on it. I'm definitely planning on replacing what should be replaced while the engine is out though.

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 4:45 am

in that case, i would just do the tension side guides [others if you notice wear] and check the chains for cracks, excess wear, ect...

and the plugs, water pump, and thermostat.

I have been missing out...

I have been missing out...

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