Introduction

[jeffq45]

Hey guys I didn't see an area for new members to introduce themselves so I thought I would here. I just picked up a 1999 Q45. Its pretty clean for how much I paid for it however i guess it was involved in a fender bender and the front bumper is messed up, also it needs new headlights. The previous owner tried to replace the cooler fan, the one that is belt driven, and i guess didn't do it correctly and the fan destroyed the radiator and the shroud. So I need to replace all of that which leads me to my questions, I can not find that fan except off infinitiparts.com and the shroud is there as well but i was wondering if i could use a generic type of fan? Also where could i get the shroud for fairly cheap? The website wants $130 for the shroud which seems high to me. and if anyone is getting rid of their headlight assemblies for less than $300 please let me know! Sorry for the long post lol

[db_autotek]

Welcome to NICO! Congrats on the purchase of a Q45. There is a Classifieds section of the forum, you can find it under the Marketplace tab, in there is an Infiniti WTB (wanted to buy) subforum. There you can post a request of the parts you need, and users here are always more than happy to help if they have the parts or know who does.

If you plan on working on the car yourself a lot, it would help to become familiar with any local auto salvage yards near you, and get to know which ones have Q45's. Also, ebay is a good source of used and replacement parts if you don't want new dealership parts. Things like headlights and fan shrouds, there's almost no sense buying brand new high priced parts since you can find them in good shape used. Good luck!

Don't forget to check out the brother website www.q45.org for tech tips, how-to's, and Factory Service Manuals for your Q.

[OwnerCS]

Welcome to NICO! Where are you located? There may be some salvage yards in your area or one near a member who will help you get the parts you need. :-)

[jeffq45]

Thanks man I'm in Albuquerque, New Mexico

[1998greenQ45]

Hey

I can't offer any advice i'm afraid but I just wanted to say welcome aboard It's been years since I have been on here but I'm back and being friendly within a forum where everyone shares the same interest- well i think that's important! -New Mexico is one of the most beautiful states, I vacationed there twice and will def go again; I feel much more relaxed when I'm there (complete opposite of NY!!)

Congrats on the 99 Q

Cheers

[jeffq45]

Thanks for the welcomes guys! I got the fan, fan clutch, radiator, and fan shroud in today installed them with no problems now I'm just waiting for my new headlights to come in (damn you customs!) next step is going to be a tuneup I have some sort of miss or something that causes the car to stumble a lot when I leave a stop giving it a lot of gas but clears up in the higher rpm's. Once the car is running great I'll start doing the fun modifying portion

[Q451990]

to NICO Jeff!

How is customs an issue for the headlights? Keep in mind that if you're buying JDM headlights, the aiming is all wrong because of the RHD setup they have there.

Heath

[jeffq45]

I got the headlights from eBay and they are coming from Japan but I've dealt with the RHD headlight aiming thing before so shouldn't be a big deal. On a side note I have to replace the retractor reel for the drivers seatbelt does anyone happen to know the part # or should I just go back on eBay?

[BadQ45t]

Welcome aboard. So post up some additional information on how many miles on the car, what service history you have on it etc. Then we can advise you on the tune-up your planning. If you haven't noticed Infiniti (and other car makers now) make those engine compartments look pretty with all those covers and plastic, but it also adds to the labor bill when it comes time to do spark plugs and other related parts down in those bowels. So depending on the miles there are other parts that you might want to do while your in there.

post up miles and service history that you know of and we can help guide you.

[qship96]

I got the headlights from eBay and they are coming from Japan but I've dealt with the RHD headlight aiming thing before so shouldn't be a big deal.?

No big deal only if you either are OK with blinding every other motorist heading towards you ,or to prevent that,you aim the lights so low as not to blind them,but in the process you lose over 50% of the distance the lights should shine down the road ahead of you,making outdriving your headlamps anytime you are traveling over 30 miles per hour.

Sorry,there is no other option than the 2 above when using headlights designed for traffic flowing opposite than what the lights were designed for.NONE.

go to EBAY,and order the correct parts,and pawn your JDM crap off to some less intelligent fool.

[jeffq45]

Thank you for your input qship96 and I understand what you're saying but I have used lights off of Japanese cars before and I'm pretty confident in my aiming skills, so I should be able to aim them so I have enough light and I'm not blinding other motorists. If all you have to offer as a welcome to this forum is negative response then I do not need your advice. As for everybody else thank you for your responses and help the car just clicked to 149,000 miles so I am assuming fuel filter, fuel pump, spark plugs and of course oil change and I will check the transmission fluid and diff fluid and I will probably flush the radiator as well.

[qship96]

Thank you for your input qship96 and I understand what you're saying but I have used lights off of Japanese cars before and I'm pretty confident in my aiming skills, so I should be able to aim them so I have enough light and I'm not blinding other motorists. If all you have to offer as a welcome to this forum is negative response then I do not need your advice..

you obviously do NOT understand what I am saying if you think you can make this work.Your "aiming skills" have nothing to do with it....there is only correct aim,or incorrect aim.Why do you think auto manufacturers would go to the expense of designing different part numbers for left vs right hand traffic if all it took "was a good aim" to make them safe and effective???? Sorry,if you think speaking the truth,and pointing out your vastly incorrect assumptions is "negative" and "you do not need the advice", you are a fool who needs to educate himself further on the topic.Dont let your ignorance of the facts put other fellow motorists who share the roads at risk

See this article from Daniel Stern{if you do not know who he is,you should}



Daniel Stern Lighting

ECE/EEC Marking: Headlamp Suitability for Traffic Direction

This is a very important marking. All low ("passing", "lower", "dipped") beams are an asymmetrical distribution of light to give maximum seeing in the direction of travel while controlling glare light directed towards oncoming traffic. A headlamp intended for use in traffic that flows on the right side of the road must never be used on the left side of the road, nor must a left-traffic headlamp ever be used on the right side of the road. A wrong-side-of-road headlamp does not provide adequate illumination for the driver to see what he needs to see in order to drive safely, and severely blinds oncoming traffic. This cannot be corrected by adjusting the aim of the lamp, because traffic-handedness is intrinsic in the optics of the lamp. This means it is very unsafe to use UK-spec, Australian-spec, or Japanese-spec ("JDM") headlamps in the United States, Canada, Continental Europe or any other location that drives on the right side of the road. Many performance parts dealers are illegally importing and selling JDM or wrong-side-of-road ECE headlamps into North America, and touting them as a "performance improvement". They may or may not have ECE headlamp markings, but they are not a performance improvement -- they are a danger.

[jeffq45]

Well if I'm not in your area then there is no potential threat to you for all of the 5 seconds I'm passing oncoming traffic. I understand what I am doing and have seen several other Q45's with the same set up. In the end it's my car and my "problem" not yours. So thanks again for your unsolicited response

[qship96]

Your ignorance is shining brighter than your headlights.

[jeffq45]

Thank you kind sir. Just outta curiousity have you modified your q45?

[qship96]

Thank you kind sir. Just outta curiousity have you modified your q45?

You seem to fail to grasp there is a difference between modifications that are actual safe upgrades and those that compromise the safety to both the idiot doing them and all others who share the public roads with that idiot.....what you propose falls into the later catagory.Get the proper part,it is a actual UPGRADE to what you propose to do.

[jeffq45]

I have mentioned in several posts that I understand what you're saying. What YOU seem to fail to grasp is I am going to be doing this. Because as previously stated it is my car...also just to put your worried mind at ease this car will be driven pretty rarely.

[maxnix]

Thank you for your input qship96 and I understand what you're saying but I have used lights off of Japanese cars before and I'm pretty confident in my aiming skills,

Unfortunately you seem to be totally ignorant of the differences in beam patterns in LHD vs. RHD countries.

[jeffq45]

Your guys' knowledge of RHD vs.LHD light patterns are astonishing you all must work for D.O.T

[jeffq45]

so much to your guys' relief I found out that one of the ballasts was burnt out in the y33 lights i had ordered so i sent them back got a refund and now i have some USDM headlights...so no more worries about blinding you people who i will never actually see on another note i am looking for a cima front bumper cover because mine is not in good shape at all and is beyond repair so besides yahoo japan auctions does anyone know where to get one? or possibly have one they might want to sell?