I think ive wrecked my well maintained low mileage VH45DE??

[velvet hammer]

I own a 1990 Q45 that has full dealer service history and only 58000miles on the odometer. Since its been in my posession it has been absolutely "babied". Ive had the chain guide job performed(500miles ago) and my old guides hadnt cracked yet . Anyway when my wife drove home from work the other day the Q started to make a ticking sound just before she got home.When i got a chance to take a quick look at it the next morning it sounded ok(no ticking) , oil and fluids were good , no warning lights or anything. So i told her to drive it to work and i would try to figure it out later. The next time i saw my Q she was making a loud horrible tapping/knocking sound up around the head area. I am presently waiting on a tow truck to arrive at my house and keep thinking that somehow the mechanic that did the chain guide job screwed up. Ill know what is wrong with it in a few hours , but im not looking forward to finding out.I never thought i would see my Q getting towed

[szh]

Ouch!

Z

[Q451990]

One thing to check is the crank bolt... if it wasn't tightened enough, it can cause the oil pump chain to slip and you'll loose oil pressure.

Good luck

Heath

[maxnix]

No tow! Flatbed only!

[Haitian_King]

Wow. Just when I was proud of my Q when I bought it at 83K. Kudos. Hopefully your Q will be fine, and you kick that mechanic's ***.

[Chuby]

Mine had a horrible tick when I first bought it and I found two rocker arms had come loose and were just sitting in the valve cover. A previous owner had dropped a squeeze clamp into the intake plenum and it lodged on the valve thus preventing its movement and popping the rocker arms. I replaced them and the car ran fine for a few days till a rod bolt backed off and trashed the block:)How the rod bolt backed off after so many miles is a mystery to me.

[Q45tech]

Owners and mechanics can easily destroy the excellant work of Nissan's Japanese assembly force.

[Haitian_King]

Tech. Is it hard to replace your own injector? Just the #8 for the moment. After this, I'm scared to let anyone touch it.

I might take it to Ken since he did my cousin's Q. I'll pay him a visit on Saturday.

After I have that injector put it, I'm going to another shop to do a fuel rail flush.

[maxnix]

After I have that injector put it, I'm going to another shop to do a fuel rail flush.

A BG shop, we trust?

http://www.bgfindashop.com

[ScottJackson]

Could be related to the timing chain guide job, could also not be. Start with the basics... check crankshaft bolt (I did Jesda's old Q and didn't get it tight enough but my Q, which I tightened in the same manner, has been fine), then try to isolate the noise. Depending on location you further try to figure out just what part is making the noise. From there it's a matter of determining what went wrong (sometimes difficult to figure out) and what it will take to fix it.

[96Qowner]

That crank bolt has to be torqued to 270 lbs . You might want to quiz your guy about that.

[maxnix]

That crank bolt has to be torqued to 270 lbs

270 ft. lbs. Don't know what unit of measurement you guys use downunder.

[goody90q45]

Tech. Is it hard to replace your own injector? Just the #8 for the moment.

In Tech's absence I'll add that #1, #2 and #8 are the easy fuel injectors to get to. There's no need to remove the plenum and the mechanic shouldn't take more than an hour to remove and replace the injector.

[1990QOwner]

When I first got my Q than the engine had a knocking sound to it. I checked the oil and it was completely out. I ended up replacing the engine because of it. Good luck on figuring it out.

[Haitian_King]

My question was more of, "Can I do it myself instead of paying a mechanic?"

If I can, and if there's not a good chance of bollocking up my car, I might want to go that route. That way, as soon as the injector is in, I can take it to a BG Fuel Flush place.

[Haitian_King]

Well it wasn't planned. I had no idea that this was an issue. Luckily there are numerous BG Shops in my town. Actually closer than the shop I was going to. Thanks for the heads up. I would have cried hadI found out that I killed my car as a result of ignorance.

[Jesda]

#8 is accessible without plenum removal, if I recall [I MAY BE WRONG... HAVEN'T OWNED A Q IN MONTHS]. I did it myself in 15 minutes thanks to an impact screwdriver.

New o-rings. Careful installation. Proper lubrication.

[Haitian_King]

I tried to locate it this morning before work, but I couldn't find it. And the FSM said to drain the radiator coolant and disconnect the fuel line, and crank the engine, let it stall and then begin the injector removal. I didn't have time.

So I drove my MDX to work and my Dad will take the car to the BG Shop and have them do the injector and fuel rail flush.

[velvet hammer]

My mechanic called me after having my Q for a day and said he couldnt hear any noise and that he didnt know what i was talking about. Ive been driving it for a few days and its been 100% fine and actually slightly quieter than before this whole incident?! Wish i had my $120 back for the tow truck(dont worry maxnix i always use a flatbed)


Modified by velvet hammer at 9:51 AM 10/22/2007

[maxnix]

Well, at least you know. Did he check the torque on the crankshaft bolt?

[Q451990]

Sounds like HLA (lifter) noise to me... that can be intermittant... good luck!

Heath

[elwesso]

Hatian King, please do not hijack threads, you can start your own if you want assistance..!!!!

One question for velvet hammer- when he did the guides, were there pieces missing? The thing that concerns me is that if theres guide chunks stuck in the pickup...? That would certainly be one of the good things to doing one of those reverse flow oil flush things, because im sure itd remove most of that stuff.

It certainly sounds to me like an oil starvation issue, the question is why. My first thing would be to check the oil pressure at idle.. your oil pressure will tell all, its best to do it when the oil is fully warmed up (driven for more than 10-15 mins) and on fresh oil.

[Q451990]

Wes -

...had the chain guide job performed(500miles ago) and my old guides hadnt cracked yet ....

velvet hammer - is there any chance you could make an audio recording of the noise (when it happens again) and post it here? I'm not sure I would even know how to do it, but it might help us figure out what's going on.

One more suggestion... just for grins, you might want to change your oil. I don't know if it's possible for an oil filter check valve to stick closed on occasion and then return to normal or not... Also, when you actually saw the car making noise (the second time) was the low oil pressure light illuminated on the dash?

Heath

[Haitian_King]

Sorry Wes.

[velvet hammer]

Yeah guys im doing an oil change this weekend , although the oil pressure test showed all was good.

Wes - My guides were still all in one piece with small cracks just appearing.

Q451990 - If the noise does return ill be sure to record it for you

[elwesso]

What were your oil pressure numbers?

[velvet hammer]

Id have to ring my mechanic to find out , but if he says its O.K i trust him.Hes not exactly an Infiniti expert but he sure knows his early 90's Nissans.