Just Bought 94 J30-Need suguestions

[bradgtr]

Hey Guys:

I just bought my first Infiniti (My other car is a 96 Lexus Ls400). I bought a 94 J30 with 48,000 miles (leased car from MA) traded in at 23k then again at 48k. Paid $6500.

The car runs great...inside and outside looks great. Under the car is pretty rusty (again it came from MA) so I guess the salt...I have no idea about what has been done to the car, even when the oil was changed last.

After reading all the posts about transmissions, mufflers, flushes, dealers, etc, etc...I am scared to death. All I ever had to do with my Lexus is change the timing belt and oil and 152k...no problems juast like new.

My question is:Where do I start?

I want to give the car proper maintience to avoid problems and catch it up and get it up to spec but reading all these posts I feel like it would cost another $6500..

could you guys give me suggestions on an order of what I should do? Take it to the dealer first and have him decide what I should do? Do some stuff myself (not a mechanic)?, Take it to my local firestone? Just change the oil and hope for the best?

I really respect you guys and would appreciate your help..

Thanks in advance,Brad in Alabama

[NY94J30]

I would flush and change all the fluid (i.e. PS, PB, oil, coolant, ATF). Have dealer take a look at brakes and suspension. Get the fuel system induction serviced....some others should chime in with more.

There's some misinformation floating around about timing belt intervals on the '94s - they are the 105k kevlar belts not the 60k belts. There was a recent thread on that suggesting maybe you should do it anyway due to the age.

BTW, great car, and great price (if its in good shape) with that milage.

[VA99Q45]

If the others owner done their scheduled maintanances at an infiniti dealer, then you can get all the record. All you have to do is stop by an infiniti dealer and give them your VIN number. They can print you a copy of all the records. This is how I got my record.

[VimyJ]

No way will getting your J ship shape cost $6500 unless you have to replace the transmission, suspension and engine and even then your looking at maybe $4k worst case scenario, IMHO. I would say about $2000 preventitive maintenance (and that's a high estimate) would give you a car that will carry on for years and years of trouble free enjoyment.

The thing about the J is that it is a $40000 car and even if you had to spend $2k on it (which I doubt), you still have a bargain at twice the price. It's a luxury car to be sure and maintenance is higher cost than for a Civic, but the bang for the buck cannot be beat by any car in the entire world.

Welcome to the club. Lots of great stuff stored on this site.

[IvoryJ30t]

yup, when my friend showed me the original MSRP sheet from ray catena infiniti for $39,985 [touring and gold package] i was shocked. my car needs work, but i got it for %10 of the original price, and the only physical damage is the hood needs to be replaced, and the windshield needs to be resealed. 108K miles.

i didnt know that they went for that price. but then again, its an awesome car. after 5 mins of driving it, i was sold.

its funny how the hood is like the cheapest part of the car. its only $350 from the dealer.

[IvoryJ30t]

the wood trim around the radio and HVAC is more expensive new than the hood.

[VimyJ]

Aluminum hood. Weight reduction.

The J is incredibly heavy for its size. Almost 500 lbs heavier than the Max/I30. Lowest accident fatality rate of any car ever built.

[IvoryJ30t]

Lowest accident fatality rate of any car ever built.

thats sure is good news for me.

i really think it is a very well built car.

[VimyJ]

We had a long time member (whose name escapes me at the moment) who flipped his J at 80 mph into a guard rail and walked away. Not only walked away but took pictures of the mayhem and posted them here! He then bought a high performance Sentra. Car was totaled but the passenger area was untouched.

[IvoryJ30t]

thats great news. i guess im gonna live to see the next project.

[TexasBlack6]

To get this thread back on topic. Bradgtr, I'd say you got ripped off. What a piece of junk!

Just kidding.

I'd do the following:1. Oil change2. transmission flush3. Coolant flush4. Check plugs and wires5. Check air filter6. I'm not sure about fuel filters on that car, but you may want to replace.7. Jack it up and look at brakes, suspension, exhaust sytem, CVs etc. (I know you said you aren't a mechanic, but maybe you have a bro-in-law or a friend or something that could help you out.)8. Change the air freshener on the rear view mirror.9. Check tire pressure/rotate tires/alignment10. Check power steering fluid11. Check brake fluid12. Check belts

That's all I think of now. All that shouldn't be more than a couple hundred bucks and you should be able to do most of it yourself, though you may want to take it somewhere to get fluids flushed.

Enjoy the car.

[cweberj30t]

4. There are no plug wires and no distributor. Each plug has a coil pack for ignition and I've heard those will last forever.

I would check/replace fluids and save up for a rainy day.

[Q451990]

Don't forget to check out Carlo's site at http://www.fuzzycats.com

Good info for your J.

Welcome to NICO!

Heath

P.S. Just checked the link and the site seems to be down right now, but that's the right address.

[TexasBlack6]

4. There are no plug wires and no distributor. Each plug has a coil pack for ignition and I've heard those will last forever.

I would check/replace fluids and save up for a rainy day.

shows how much i know.

[VimyJ]

The J30 is RWD (a major part of its appeal) and thus has no CV joints.

Do search on the topic of J30 timing belts. Lots of info there about the timing belts, drive belts and coolant hoses, etc.

[DAEDALUS]

The coil packs last a long time but they won't last forever. The insulation cracks internally, which can cause arcing. Usually starts off intermittently, which can make it very difficult to troubleshoot, since the packs will test fine with a multimeter.

[LuvMyJ]

Congrats on the 'new' car and welcome to the club! I've had my J30 for about a year and still love it as much as the first time I drove it. Good luck getting the vehicle history from the dealer, my local Infiniti / Mercedes dealer wouldn't give me squat. They claim they're afraid of being sued by the previous owner(s) for violation of the Privacy Act. So most of my business goes to everythinginfiniti.com. My '95 J has 200K miles so I'm using a pretty short OCI and I get the oil filters and oil pan washers at the local Nissan dealer (same parts and they're cheaper than the Infiniti dealer!). Based on the age of your car more than the mileage I'd change out the fluids (oil, transmission, rear-end, etc., all Mobile One), belts, and hoses. Other than that, just sit back and Enjoy!