Again, thanks so much for any help!! I really like this car, but it's somewhat scarey knowing nothing about them! I know it can also be a better machine than what it is, and I'm pretty excited to get it into shape. I just want to make sure it's done right and well. Feel free to also respond to my email; [email protected].Thanks again.... (I will copy this and post in online mechanic, too).
New '93 J30 Owner w/???'s
New '93 J30 Owner w/???'s
Good afternoon! I recently ended my search for a '90 - '94 BMW 7 series when I came across a heck of a deal on a '93 J30. Bought it for $700 because it needed a new transmission, which I got installed, with a 3 year warranty for $2000. Another bonus is that the previous owner was unaware when she got the car the timing belt needed to be replaced BEFORE it broke. So the car also has less than 20k on a NEW engine. There's no way to guess the car is 10 years old judging by the interior, which was extremely well kept. There are some minor exterior issues, which I will get to when I get to the many questions I have.Needless to say, I am very pleased with my purchase. I had not considered Infiniti when I set out, only because they tend to be a bit out of what my price range was. When I found this car, I called a few random mechanics, who all replied with nothing but good things to say, and two even stating they were the best cars they had ever owned (and they were not Infiniti/Nissan specific mechanics). BUT, I know NOTHING of these cars! One reason for my direction towards BMW was the fact I have a friend who is a BMW Cert. Mech, and they were relatively easy for my DIY copilot. None of my mech. friends can work on Infiniti, and giggled when I asked if they could. The only car I have ever owned has been Volvo. None of my friends have an Infiniti. My husband opened the hood and replied with "Oh sh--t" ( but we obviously still bought the car!). So, I'm pretty clueless.I do have a ton of questions, and MANY THANKS in advance to those of you who take the time to read and respond to this. Any imput/thoughts/ideas/suggestions/direction will be greatly appreciated!!!I guess I will start off with obvious questions with hopefully easy answers. Then I'll go to issues the car is currently having, to minor things. Overall, in general, how easy/difficult are these cars to maintain by a DIY person? I know some things are going to require more than basic, but just as a general idea. The responses we have had so far with mechanics and friends have us wondering if we've purchased a high performance machine that will always need to be serviced by Infiniti (which we were trying to avoid). Today, while researching a current problem, I pulled out the handy dandy service book from the trunk. Now, I have not spent a lot of time with it, but am I right in that you can self diagnose it's system (some things) without being plugged in to an Infiniti dealers CPU? If so, where are some good resourses on how to use this??This car sat for some time before we bought it (about 6 months) and we have not yet taken it in to have anything done other than the transmission (no oil changes or anything yet). I think we have gotten the 'cobwebs' out, but I do have a couple of concerns. When the car is given gas, it somewhat hesitates before it goes (and not just from take off). There's no sputtering or anything like that, it's more like it takes a couple of seconds before the power kicks in. I won't 'jump out' into traffic. I would assume this is not normal, but I'm not really sure where to begin for diagnosing. The book is pointing me in obvious directions, but any thoughts you may have would be great. And I have been using 91 octane.I guess that's really the only major issue we currently have. So on to the others...There's a problem with the back drivers side window. It will roll down okay, but makes a terrible noise when it would go up. Today when my husband forgot about this issue and rolled the window down, the noise stopped, and the window will not go up now. Nothing happens at all. The book will likely be helpful with this, but he's not sure how to get the panel apart. ?????I think there may be some electrical gremlins. The drivers door does not always unlock using the remote (and now battery for the remote appears to be dead and has not been replaced yet). But that's not the only problem with that door. Sometimes I can only open it from the inside. And the other day I couldn't open it at all, inside or out. It just fixed itself somehow, and the problem comes and goes in different forms. I'm guessing it's an electric something in there because the power mirror control isn't working right. BUT that also looks like it may not be seated in there right. I dunno! Most of the time I have to open the drivers dor by opening the bacj door and reaching through. Hassle, but not a bid deal. However, it's a pain when the door won't open regardless. And as I'm writing this, I'm wondering if maybe door was previously taken apart and just not put back quite right because the door lock on the inside sometimes acts 'sticky'. Hmmm.Another thing going on is that sometimes when I corner, the drivers side speaker goes out but only when it's on CD. This can be remedied by turning the power to it off, then on again (or by a bump in the road). If I were to turn on the radio, it's fine, so I believe it's just a CD issue.That's not too bad consiudering these are my only complaints! Though my husband did say today he thinks it's leaking some oil. And the air does need charged (must do soon considering it's black on black!).We do intend to have some things done to it soon as far as maintainence. I'm sure it's screaming for a tune up, too.Now I do have some questions as far as the body. It looks as though someone got a bit too agressive with buffing it or something. The clear coat is poretty scratched in some places. Some have suggested a rubbing compound, and before I have any of this done, I wanted some suggestions. There are some paint chips and other things to be expected with a car its age. And someone also suggested that new wax with dye in it, but I was wondering if that would be good or not??? And what works best to get the brake dust off the rims?!?! The interior is awesome. There has been very little sitting in anything other than the drivers seat, so the leather is kind of stiff.l I have already used saddle soap, and bought some mink oil to use. However, the kind I bought also has silicone in it, which I'm not sure about. What are some of you using for leather care??The carpets aren't so great, but I'll be keeping an eye on Ebay for replacements.I think that's it for now! I'm sure soon we'll be posting for info on higher performance and such. I imagine these cars can get up and go pretty well considering the 6 or so Nissan drivers I have had toying with me! Last night my husband was already searching through the forums researching performance chips and mods! Again, thanks so much for any help!! I really like this car, but it's somewhat scarey knowing nothing about them! I know it can also be a better machine than what it is, and I'm pretty excited to get it into shape. I just want to make sure it's done right and well. Feel free to also respond to my email; [email protected].Thanks again.... (I will copy this and post in online mechanic, too).
Again, thanks so much for any help!! I really like this car, but it's somewhat scarey knowing nothing about them! I know it can also be a better machine than what it is, and I'm pretty excited to get it into shape. I just want to make sure it's done right and well. Feel free to also respond to my email; [email protected].Thanks again.... (I will copy this and post in online mechanic, too).
-
maxnix
- Posts: 22627
- Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2002 8:11 pm
- Car: 1995 Infiniti Q45
1995 Infiniti Q45t
2000 Infiniti Q45
Calmara, welcome to NICO! To restore your car to as new condition, I would do a search on J30 and read those posts, then do a search on posts by Q45tech and read those posts, then read all the other previous posts, especially by eswift, mayhem, juiceman, and carlosnology.
Get a manual from Joe at http://www.infintiparts.com or download from http://www.nissan-techinfo.com. All your questions will be answered, and maybe even your BMW technicians will be able to help you.
Get a manual from Joe at http://www.infintiparts.com or download from http://www.nissan-techinfo.com. All your questions will be answered, and maybe even your BMW technicians will be able to help you.
Man that was a hard to read post
Sounds like you got a good fixer upper.
Car can be DIY but it takes some time to make sure you are doing it correctly.
Yu can do most diagnostic work using the self diag modes of the car but certain things may need or be easier at a dealer. Complicated engine diagnostics (not often required unless you cannot determine problems otherwise) A good multimeter is a must.
Mechanical work can be DIY just need the right tools and a good torque wrench is a must.
I do not have time to address every issue but the most important is the sputtering.lack of initial power. Leaving for awell needed vacation.
With the car in park/neutral does the engine exhibit the same slow response when giving it gas?
Has the fuel filter been changed, based on the non maint issues of why the engine was replaced and transmission then I would probably do the follwoing items to resolve any motor related hesitations.
Throttle body cleaningfuel filterclean/replace plugs (use ngk oem recommended if replacing)air filter
A good rail flush and injector cleaning would not hurt either.
You can just go over all your sensors, coil packs, injector readings using the manual and a multimeter jus tto make sure nothing else could be going wrong.
Cars are complicated creatures and taking the time to think it out without getting frustrated is a must
The other item that could be causing the hesitation is the transmission torque converter. Was this replaced when the transmission was rebuilt? I had a hesitation also when mine was going bad. does it shimmy also whne this is happening?
See if the maint stuff helps first then take car back to transmission place for a looksee
I have found that is is very important to take one issue at a time otherwise you can get too involved. It is a great car but you are now dealing with a older luxury car tha will need maint and love and care to keep it running right. No diff than the BMW but with more class and uniqueness.
Good luck, ill check back when I get back to see how it went.
Sounds like you got a good fixer upper.
Car can be DIY but it takes some time to make sure you are doing it correctly.
Yu can do most diagnostic work using the self diag modes of the car but certain things may need or be easier at a dealer. Complicated engine diagnostics (not often required unless you cannot determine problems otherwise) A good multimeter is a must.
Mechanical work can be DIY just need the right tools and a good torque wrench is a must.
I do not have time to address every issue but the most important is the sputtering.lack of initial power. Leaving for awell needed vacation.
With the car in park/neutral does the engine exhibit the same slow response when giving it gas?
Has the fuel filter been changed, based on the non maint issues of why the engine was replaced and transmission then I would probably do the follwoing items to resolve any motor related hesitations.
Throttle body cleaningfuel filterclean/replace plugs (use ngk oem recommended if replacing)air filter
A good rail flush and injector cleaning would not hurt either.
You can just go over all your sensors, coil packs, injector readings using the manual and a multimeter jus tto make sure nothing else could be going wrong.
Cars are complicated creatures and taking the time to think it out without getting frustrated is a must
The other item that could be causing the hesitation is the transmission torque converter. Was this replaced when the transmission was rebuilt? I had a hesitation also when mine was going bad. does it shimmy also whne this is happening?
See if the maint stuff helps first then take car back to transmission place for a looksee
I have found that is is very important to take one issue at a time otherwise you can get too involved. It is a great car but you are now dealing with a older luxury car tha will need maint and love and care to keep it running right. No diff than the BMW but with more class and uniqueness.
Good luck, ill check back when I get back to see how it went.