Just became a Q45 owner!!!

[born2shift]

I love this car!!! I just got a 1991 Q45 with 77,000 original miles. Clean title with no accidents. I bought it off of an old guy whose son has an auto shop. Came with new tires, radiator, fuel pump and brakes. It already had the plastic timing chain guides replaced. $2,200 yeah baby!!!

For all the Q45 shoppers patience is a virtue. I was angry because I lost out on a 1998 with 62,000 miles for $1,800 and a 1993 with 110,000 miles for $1,800. However now I have the VH45DE and I can say this car is SWEET! She handles very nicely too even though she has over 20 year old stock suspension. There is so much power the car never has to rev above 2,000rpm to drive at the speed limit. I don't like the start in 2nd gear, but it is smooth.

There were issues though. It does have one very small door ding, but nothing anywhere else. The driver and passenger leather seats are torn and worn. They are very stiff though with plenty of support. The rest of the interior is fine. The sunroof also does not work. I am going to check the fuses first and see what is going on. However you can tell that thing was not open much because it looks pretty clean.

I am going to get a transmission cooler, fix the leather seats, sunroof and look at the injectors. Definitely thinking about the suspension now. When this engine finally dies she will be reborn into my S13. I have a feeling that will be a long ways off. Such good value!!!

[N/A Q45]

I don't know what most people pay, but if that^^ is a good deal then I did real well when I picked up my 94 with 197,000km for 1500 cash, it was in pretty damn good shape for a old car.

But as long as you are happy born2shift that's all that matters, how does the transmission feel? I believe the older Qs had major transmission problems around 100,000miles
I'm sure others on here would know more about that then me though since mine is a 94.

[Brew Q]

Injectors - replace, but ideally update with 94-96 injectors using a 94-96 fuel rail or a deastchwerks.com kit to upgrade the injectors

Transmission - replace with reman. unit

Guides - update to metal guides

Those are the 3 major big money areas. Of course there is the under plenum, knock sensors etc. that should be done with injectors.

[Turbon8er]

WELCOME and congrats on your recent acquisition!!

you got a decent deal IMO. You are right on track with the transmission cooler, i believe that was the major downfall in those transmissions. I did the B&M supercooler, during my swap that a few other guys on here recommended. An external filter is a good idea if you want to maximize the life of it. I believe simply swapping the TCU will give you the first gear starts (double check).

BrewQ- he said the metal guides were already done

[born2shift]

N/A Q45 got a great price I will keep that in mind when searching for another one.

Also which B&M transmission cooler? The link from NICO is dead to Summit Racing. Which size and is suggested? How about with the cooling fans like this one in the link?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-70297

Also where is a good source for the remanufactured transmission near the Southwest? My last place gave me a great transmission, but screwed over my friend whom I referred to them. So I need a new reliable place.

As far as the timing chain guides. How can you tell if they were placed with the metal guides without opening it up? The owner said it was done, but who knows for sure.

[OPG]

Congrats brah! Let's see some pics!! There's a set of Tokico Blues on eBay (150770666740) for $320 shipped, nice update for yer stock suspension

[OPG]

And just my tiny dose of experience, my ma took my current Q from new to 150k on the stock transmission without a cooler, so if yours isn't slipping or stinky or otherwise showing signs of implosion, just slap a cooler and a 1st gear start TCU on it and don't stress.

[Turbon8er]

WHOA!.. you dont need to pay $230 for a $65 cooler and $80 fan assembly.

i used the B&M 70268, and Summit isn't always the cheapest.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-7 ... 4AoddRcA6g

lots of the links here are dead due to age, just pay attention to the model numbers and google it.

Is the transmission going out already? if not, then drop the pan, change the internal filter (get from rockauto for dirt cheap, paid $7 there or $25 from parts store) do a fluid change with some Lucas ATF , and maybe a little of their Trans Fix to help with friction. That stuff literally revived my last transmission (that would barely pull at all) before i totally killed the hell out of it.

Somebody else will have to chime in about the guides... but i don't think there is a 'simple' way to tell

[goody90q45]

.......As far as the timing chain guides. How can you tell if they were placed with the metal guides without opening it up? The owner said it was done, but who knows for sure.

Go to the stealership and see if they'll print up the service history. It may have been archived so you might have to call the USA corporate headquarters. You can also look at the color of the RTV used on the timing chain cover to see if it's the same color as what was used on the rest of the engine.

......When this engine finally dies she will be reborn into my S13. I have a feeling that will be a long ways off.......

You may be waiting a long, long time. It's not unheard of for the engine to last at least 250,000 miles and longer. My first 90Q had 254k miles when I sold it and it's still going strong with the current owner and passing smog every 2 years with close to 300k miles.

[OwnerCS]

CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to NICO! It appears 2013 is the year for many mint condition Qs to arrive here at the club.

As you can see, this is one of the greatest specialty car clubs on the internet. There is a wealth of knowledge available from members that have owned multiple Qs over the years. Also we have original owners with cars approaching 300,000 miles.

NOTE: A link to the NICO club service manuals (as PDF files for downloading) is listed in my post signature.

By all means post pictures and your location in the Q45 forum heading threads.

[Brew Q]

Agree with others - slap a trans cooler on it and ride the transmission out. Ignore my earlier post...

You could ask where the work was done (the guides) and the shop or dealer should have a record of it.

[elwesso]

Welcome to NICO!

When I first read your post title "just became a Q45 owner", my first response was "oh, I'm sorry...." LOL!

Sounds like you got a nice one. Trans cooler is a good thing to do, and first thing I'd do with any new (to you) car is change *all* the fluids...

[born2shift]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ct ... 75201.html
I don't have pics yet but this was the ad with a few shots. I picked it up at the son's shop and he said he changed the timing chain guides. I asked him to find the receipts for the parts at least. So I am going back to his shop and getting an engine and transmission flush. I think I will actually take the advice and change the rest of the fluids as well except the coolant because the radiator was definitely just changed with a shiny new radiator.

The transmission feels fine. I did notice on the carfax though that there were a few California smog failures. The smog records did show the mileage was steady but only a few thousand miles a year. So it never sat around for many years. However it did pass the last few times.

I am going to smog it tomorrow for the title change and will ask if he found the receipts for the metal timing chain guides yet. If he doesn't come up with the receipts I think I am just going to open it up to check for sure. This is kind of bothering me, but I want to check it off the list before I really drive this thing. Thanks everyone for the tips.

[maxnix]

WHOA!.. you dont need to pay $230 for a $65 cooler and $80 fan assembly.

i used the B&M 70268, and Summit isn't always the cheapest.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-7 ... 4AoddRcA6g

Is the transmission going out already? if not, then drop the pan, change the internal filter (get from rockauto for dirt cheap, paid $7 there or $25 from parts store) do a fluid change with some Lucas ATF , and maybe a little of their Trans Fix to help with friction. That stuff literally revived my last transmission (that would barely pull at all) before i totally killed the hell out of it.

Don't use Lucas products under any circumstances in the AT! If you only drain and don't perform a mechanical exchange of the ATF, 60% of the remaining ATF is contaminated and expired.


Use Mobil 1 ATF with 6 oz. or less of LubeGuard Red.

Reading the previous posts by Q45tech and some others is mandatory if you don't know Q45 maintenance procedures. I prefer the B&M 70264 from Summit Racing.

[born2shift]

Went back for the flush. The engine oil, transmission and differential were all very clean! I was really relieved to see it stream so clear even with the flush. Looking underneath that trans cooler is tiny. The son gave me the infiniti service record from 1992 about the trans cooler install under warranty at ~ 9,000 miles. I am still waiting for him to find the chain guide replacement parts receipt. However I do feel everything is legit now.

I did not know that Lucas was not good. I will try the Mobil1 ATF then.

I am liking this car so much. It is very smooth with plenty of power. It had all the belts replaced recently. The underbody looked good and everything was OEM. Still need to smog it.

On another note I found another 1996 with ~ 94,000 miles on it. I know it lost the VTC, but still has 4.5L. It was very clean inside and out except for small sractches on the lower rear fenders and bumper. I think the check engine light was on. It was the small yellow horizontal light above the check engine sign. This engine bay was really clean and the engine was smooth and strong. No sludge when looking under the oil cap. I am concerned though. He only wants $2,000. I did a VIN records check and there was only one record for the entire service life. It seems odd that such an old car that is legally registered does not have more smog records. It didn't show stolen though. So I am going to try and transfer everything with the seller at AAA just to make sure of the title.

Thanks everyone for the help.

[Brew Q]

we need pics!