New Q Owner's Checklist

[JEC]

Hello All:

I couldn't tell you what happend. I'm usually a very low-key, cautious type of person. Might even be described as downright sane. Never made a major purchase without knowing as much about the subject as possible. BUT...somehow over the last five days I agreed to purchase, then flew (with fiancee in tow, what a sport) halfway across the country to pick up my first Infiniti, a 1990 Q45 with 115k miles and pretty near zilch on maintenance records, and drive it back without any experience or research on the car.

Don't ask what came over me, just lost my head over a machine that I've always admired and in this case considered a good deal. In this respect, I'm sure I'm in pretty good company with this crowd :-)

The car performed beautifully at 80mph for 11 hours all the way from Minneapolis back home to Memphis. See what I mean? I practically went to the North Pole to buy a car and bring it down to the sunny south.

Does have a few issues to sort out; but I expected that. Has the most wicked drivetrain vibration between 20-60mph, especially when third gear kicks in at @40mph. I was hoping new motor and transmission mounts might cure this. Also, the left front strut has passed on, it clunks and floats like an '85 Eldorado.

The little red "Air Bag" light right under the tach is flashing, and I have the dreaded "Stop Lamp Inoperable" message while all of the tail lamps are working properly. PO says he just changed the brake pads all round (and as mushy as the brakes are, I'm hoping he forgot to bleed the system and doing so will firm them up), as well as new tires, and had a rebuilt transmission installed 6Kmiles ago.

Okay, nothing earth-shattering. What do you expect for $3K?

Then...reality set in.

Thank God and the Moderators for this site!!!

I'm feeling a little bewildered and still reeling from reading the archives about the chain guides, maintenance costs, etc.

As the typical newbie with a first gen Q, a limited budget, and the desire to DIY as much as possible, I'd like to put it to you all: WHAT DO I DO FIRST!?!?

Is there a checklist put together that I haven't found yet?

I want to do anything I can to get this car back into top form and drive it with pride. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,John

[PalmerWMD]

John,

Welcome to our site and congrats on your new car!:thumbup.

About the Q45 maintanance, Best case scenario the car wont need any money for 2-3 years other than routine maintenance and fixing the immediate obvious,Worst case: It will need 8k in rehab.

Both have been experienced by members here.Most are in between.

I feel a used Q picked up for say 6k and put in 3k = 9k for a reliable car, than can do things few mortal cars can, is a great deal.

You only paid 3k, so you are already ahead.

drivetrain vibration:yes new transmission and motor mounts might indeedd cure this, (or need new driveshaft)

Stoplamp light: try new Nissan/Infiniti OEM bulbs, 9 out of 10 times this cures that problem.

The rebuilt transmission is good news, he <should> have new transmission mounts in there (but may not).Put in a transmission cooler before summer to prevent the typically clogged (at this age) lines of the factory heat exchanger from destroying your rebuilt transmission.transmission coolers start at $50 and are DIYable

Struts/shocks are a not all that spendy on this car.chances are you should put in new upper links as few PPL do them but they will restore much of the preciseness of steering for you.

Others will post more.Also gve us a bit more info from the prev owners maintanance habits.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

Be sure to do frequent oil changes with quality oils.search for Oils in title of post and you will find several valuable oil threads.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

Also go to our old homepage (via teh link in our news section).

there u can execute a search in "infinti articles" on "Guides", go to thread, "90-93 chain guides".

fred...

[911/Q45]

What a great story! What other car could you get for $3K and drive in luxury for that distance without a hiccup! Replace all the old rubber under the hood, do the chain guides, seal the valve covers and change the power steering, anti freeze and rear axle fluids. If you're not a DIY guy, head to T3 in Atlanta and let Dennis give you a package deal on what needs doing.

[90Q45blue]

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the site!!!

Do yourself a favor and listen to everything Fred, Dennis and everyone else says. They know these cars better than almost any dealer in the US.

As Fred said, look at the guides article. That would be the thing I would do first as it would be a terrible tragedy to see another Q devoured by plastic guides.

In more encouraging news, I just rolled over 246,000 miles in my Q with only two rebuilt transmission's at 180k and 235k. Original engine and she's a beauty. Hang in there and take care of her and she'll take care of you.

Nick

[Q451990]

Welcome to the club! Just take everything step by step and hopefully you'll be OK. The good news is that you didn't over spend on it... prepare for about $3-4K up front and you should have a pretty decent Q for a few years to come! I suspect it's time for a drive shaft, guides, flushes, etc. The air bag light scares me a little... used control computers are available fairly inexpensively, assuming that's all it is. It's not uncommon for a spilled drink in the center console area to fry the control computer. Any evidence of an accident?

Check under the cover in the trunk (near spare tire) to see if the factory service manual is still there. Should be in a grey box. If not try to buy one on eBay - anything 90-93 should be OK except for electrical wire color codes... This book will become your best friend as you fix the bugs you mentioned.

Heath

[infinitinut]

I highly concur with the advice of driving down to Atlanta, and turning the car over to T3. You might need to float a loan to do this, but, the peace of mind would make it worthwhile! Have Dennis give you an estimate on the guides, new water pump, all underhood rubber, new plugs, and reseals, trans cooler, plus all fluids exchanged. They are better equipped to do all of this than even most dealers, and the cost is very competitive. They can tell you quickly about the vibration issues. There is a motel right next door and, when they send out for hamburgers for lunch, get one! Delicious! In fact, Dennis may give you a ride in his beast! Hang on, cause the boy don't know the meaning of babying the thing!

[JEC]

Feeling better already. Once again proving the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true...

Forgot to mention that the car was delivered with only one key, for the replacement ignition only!

Been driving (and parking) in the Car-Theft Capital of the World, Memphis, TN unable to lock my doors. Just got a back-up copy made for $35 at a good locksmith's shop, and they say they can re-key the locks to match the ignition key for $85/lock in two weeks (would take that long to get materials in.)

I'm really looking forward to becoming part of this online community and contributing wherever I can as well.

JEC

[AZhitman]

Welcome JEC.

My advice to all new members is this: Take a day off work. Get a comfy chair, a cooler of your favorite beverage and some snacks. Spend a day just reading old posts, especially in the Online Mechanic and Infiniti General forums.

I went a step further (2 years ago) and printed some that had good info. I just recently cleaned out the binder that had these posts, and wondered how I'd have ever gotten along with this beautiful beast without help.

I weep for any Q owner who hasn't heard of us.

Glad to have you aboard.

[Dinkydow]

I couldn't agree more about the importance and worth of this site. The only problem is now that I have learned, through you guys, the right way to have things done, I can't find a dealer that wants or will do it the right way. I called two Infiniti dealers in my state, the closed is 350 miles away, to get some prices on various maintenance items, i.e. transmission flush, pan drop and new screen replaced, new plugs etc, anyway they both said they don't and won't drop the pan all they will do is flush it. I said but that is what I want, one said well the reason is we can't get the screen, I said I can get it out of Scottsdale, well, he said we just don't do it that way and we have never had a screen plug up after a flush. I then called an Infiniti dealer in the adjacant state, the lady I talked to said we don't do flushes because Infiniti won't warrant the transmission if we do, all we do is drop the plug and refill. I told her I wanted the whole tamale, she said ok but she had to do some checking on other prices for other things I wanted done. She said she would call back today. She didn't, so I called back late this pm, I talked to a guy he said she was off, but asked if he could help. I told him what I wanted, he said why? I am speaking of the transmission flush and pan drop now, I explained he said the reason Infiniti won't warrant the transmission under their warrany if they flush it is because we use penzoil atf. Wow, He also discouraged me from doing anything but letting them pull the plug put it back in and adding atf. he said We have never had any problem with the screen plugging up. I asked him if they replace the bolts in the transmission pan if I had them drop it and replace the screen, he said what ? why would you do that. I read the service manual and it says in there "replace pan bolts if you take pan off" also tells which ones to tighten and when. Why can't one of you knowledgable guys start up a maintenance shop so a schumk like me can take my Q to you and get what I want and have it done according to the Infiniti book rather then have someone tell you what you don.t need when you know you do need it. Where can I go to get my Q maintained the right way?? I live in Northern Minnesota about 30 miles South of Thunderbay Canada.. Wayne

[PalmerWMD]

Wayne:

I have found that the best place to get reasonable maintenace done the way you know it needs to, is in tire chains believe it or not.

For example I currently use a local firestone that does all my oil changes, transmission flushes, and such.

They are responsive to requests, pleasantly surprised by small tips and thouroughly enjoy a customer that isn't trying to nickel and dime maintanance items away.( believe it they are used to PPL calling a $40 tire expensive)

What I do when I move into a new area (I move a lot) I look for a large tire place that advertises services get an oil change there, imply I wont a real good look see for any problems so I get one of their bettter techs often.

I keep an eye on things, if the shop looks professionally run ,the guy takes care, the service advisor makes smart maintanance suggestions when prompted, I make it my preferred source for everything.

Most of those shops have the trany flush machine and are delighted when customers want to go do the right thing on maintenance.And at their labor rates you will be able to afford to.

An occasional tip to both service advisor and any tech will not go unnoticed either.

This sytem has given me nothing but good results.

When you have an Infinti delaer with little competition they are often booked a lot.There will be little incentive for them to change tehir procedures which may cost lift time for them and lower their margins.

So I only go to them for major items that are beyond the local firestone.

but transmission flushes oil changes, rear diff refills, radiator triple flushes brake fluid double flushes etc etc are done well at a small business like that.

Fred..

[AZhitman]

Fred's right on th money there - I use the Mobil station on the corner. The kids there let me stand and watch, I get to have a good look at my car while it's on the lift, they appreciate $20 more than a dealer tech, and they're as interested in the car as I am in getting good service. (Plus the Mobil 1 is super cheap!)

[Dinkydow]

Thanks Fred for advice, I guess I didn't think of Firestone etc, but now that you mentioned it I can think of two or three places that I will check out. I also like the tip thing, that should put a smile on their face and mine to. I do have a question on what you said regarding double brake fluid and triple radiator flush? Fred is the following possible? If you start your Q and for what ever reason it kills in a minute or two and then you restart it is it possible the injectors , because of the computer, put to much gas in the system and can it because of this go into fail safe??? Or would the system going into fail safe be most likely a different reason?? Thanks. By the way I see your getting a new car in March, I tried to follow the address to see what your getting but no luck. What are you getting?? Wayne

[BadQ45t]

For the door issue, you should look into an aftermarket alarm or just a valet setup with a remote. I did this to my 92' which came sans remote (what year did the Q get those, 93?). This makes it as easy as my 97' Q to open and close the door and makes you less reliant on the keys (you'll still need to order another one).

For the brake lights, I just finished doing that. Get fresh bulbs in there (there is probably corrosion on the contacts) and that will solve your problem. My lights were working too and still had that message, new bulbs fixed me right up. Saved me $120 "consult" at the dealership, as did the advise to top off brake fluid to get rid of brake light....you'll save money by hitting this site, it is great to have a free exchange of ideas like you'll get here!