Newbie here

[Q_SHIP]

Hey guys, I just picked up a 93 Q45 so I am now a new member to the site. let me just start by saying I'm a 23 yr old male from Milwaukee. I am absolutly amazed by this car. I have grown up around BMW and Mercedes product my whole life and to be very honest, they have nothing on the Q45. This car has everything that a typical Bmw or Mercedes would have. I can not believe how stable this car is when i'm on the freeway doing 80. The power of the car is amazing and the car is so confortable it's amazing. You hear next to nothing for cabin noise. This car has made me a beliver in the past 3 days I have owned her.

I bought the car with 117k on the clock. When I picked it up, it needed an injector and I was aware of that. I bought the injector and installed it late lastnight and now the car runs like new. I thought I loved the car when it had a bad injector. I had no idea it could get much better than that. Even with a bad injector, I had a kill against my step fathers 89 vette merging onto the freeway. Absolutly amazing.

Now onto my question. My trac control system is not working. When I start the car in the morning, the trac off light stays on. The button will not do anything. After I drive it for a few miles, the slip light comes on and stays on. This whole time, the TCS system is not working as the car will fish tail at will. Anybody have any ideas? thanks.

[elwesso]

Welcome to our humble little club.....

Sounds like you got a decent Q.. the 93 is probably one of the most desireable of all the 1st gens, besides the really early ones... I digress.

Anyway, something you must be apprised of... the chain guides... As we all konw the Q45 uses a timing chain.. The guides for the chains were made of plastic, and at higher mileages they often (will) break and cause the timing chain to flop around, and eventually skip a tooth on the cam sprocket.. That will cause valve/piston Pattycake, and since the engine is an interference engine, it will mean complete destruction of the engine, unless you are VERY VERY lucky, but in all honesty, your driving a time bomb...

However, it has been rumored that the 93s (especially late ones) have the updated guides (metal backed instead of plastic/nylon)... Not worth the change, its worth the $500 to have the front cover taken off to see/verify the guides are the newer kind..

Waiting will only delay the inevtiable.. Just ask Fred (palmerwmd), he's owned 4 Q45s and has had the guides go out on various engines 3 times.. the 90-93 VH45DE are getting very hard to find, as its hard to find a pristine example, low miles, with the guides changed or with low enough miles that the guides wont have failed...

We've seen failures as low as 60k, and others still running fine at 189k.... Jesda waited until 189k on his Q, the guides were completely torn to pieces and it could have been at any instant they failed. If they are broken, you must have the oil pan removed to get the little pieces out, as they can clog the oil pickup and cause starvation...

So sorry for the bad news...

For your other problem, 2 things we can do..... First you need to check the codes on your TCS control unit. It is located under the rear parcel shelf... Take out the trunk divider, and read the codes... attached is a picture of a flowchart that may help you.. But you need to check your codes to see whats going on... Heres how you do that....

The codes are stored only while the car is on.. As soon as you turn it off, it will delete the codes. So take the rear carpet thingy out, drive around until you can get it do the symptoms, then park the car, and count the number of blinks the LED on hte TCU contorl unit.. It will blink, say 18 times, and youll have Code 18... post the code and we'll go thorugh some diagnostic procedures...

It will blink the code, and then pause, and then go to the next code or repeat it...

[Q_SHIP]

Thats great info. I will take a look at that after work today and see what I can come up with.

About the timing chain, What are the chances that this one has been done already? Is it very hard to check for this myself? I like to think of myself as a mechanicly inclined person but I will admit that there are some things over my head. If it has not been done, is it a huge task for me to do and what is the typical cost for parts?

Again, thanks for your help.

[elwesso]

You *must* search.. Tons of threads...

I dont recall how much parts are, but I know Joe of scottsdale has a kit... Call him up... 1888-216-5328... Tell him your a NICO member.....

Id say the chances of it being done are very slim... Some members have been lucky.. Id call the infiniti dealer and see if they pull up your service records.....

Check out http://www.q45.org ... Theres a writeup about the guides there.....

I know when jesda did his guides it was about $800 all said and done..... it is a big job, but its doable..... Many members have done it, and with some care and if you use your head, you can do it...

[gniknave]

Welcome to Nico Q_SHIP!

[silkk]

Weeelcome!

[squeefoo]

Hey! Where in Milwaukee? I'm out between Hartland and Hartford. Let me know if you want me to look at anything, I know Q's pretty well. How to check stuff, what to look for, how it comes apart... ETC.

[Jesda]

Just chiming in to say how much NICO freaking rocks. So much incredible information

[elwesso]

Hey! Where in Milwaukee? I'm out between Hartland and Hartford. Let me know if you want me to look at anything, I know Q's pretty well. How to check stuff, what to look for, how it comes apart... ETC.

you and Qship should come down to one of our indy meets... Maybe we could have one in chicago.....

[squeefoo]

you and Qship should come down to one of our indy meets... Maybe we could have one in chicago.....

Chicago is about as far as I can drive, otherwise I develop a headache from the two steel cables connecting my butt to my brain. Always have to leave at least a day ahead to unwind. It's the scanning that does it, -gauges, rearview, gear selector, sideview mirror(s), ahead, behind, side to side, ETC. Have to watch for idiots constantly...

A good habit on a bike which carried over to be bad for any long drives in a car.

[Q_SHIP]

Well, Im actually in west allis, yea I know the place is a dump but I only live here because it makes sense for right now. I actually grew up in Mukwonago and graduated from there in 99. Some help on this car would be great. Thank you.

About the cuise to chicago. Man, you have me spooked about my car now man. I feel that at anytime, that chain will bust loose and I'm all done. I think I may attempt the project myself one of these days.

[Q451990]

You might take a look at the front cover to see how the RTV sealant looks. If it's a light powery blue color, and fairly smooth - it's probably that way from the factory.

Guides aren't really something I'd try DIY, and I do a lot of DIY work. Brakes, driveshaft, suspension overhaul - no problem.... but one wrong move with a guide project and you can scramble the engine when you restart it.

With there being a pretty good chance that your guides are the metal backed ones - it would be worth it to have someone pull the cover to check.

Probably $400 labor to find out. The parts should cost about $450 if you need to replace them. Unfortunately you want to find an Infiniti master tech. to deal with this for you - this is beyond the average local shop...

Good luck and welcome to NICO!

Heath

[squeefoo]

You can remove the little panel on the pass. side of the timing cover, and look in there with a bore scope to see if they're metal.IMHO I've done two Q timing guides and it's really not that spooky. The main things are don't let the chains move (obviously), to get the cover bolts back in the right spots (IIRC: 32 bolts X 6 different lengths), and getting the balancer bolt back to 200+ ft/lbs. w/o ruining the pulley. Everything else is straight remove and replace.

[Q_SHIP]

See, thats what I thought b

You can remove the little panel on the pass. side of the timing cover, and look in there with a bore scope to see if they're metal.IMHO I've done two Q timing guides and it's really not that spooky. The main things are don't let the chains move (obviously), to get the cover bolts back in the right spots (IIRC: 32 bolts X 6 different lengths), and getting the balancer bolt back to 200+ ft/lbs. w/o ruining the pulley. Everything else is straight remove and replace.

see, thats what I was thinking when looking at the photos of the job. It really doesnt look that bad. I will decide here shortly because I like the car to much to just let it go.

I have one more question, elwesso stated that the later production ones could have the metal backed ones already in place. How true is this or is it just a myth? I just looked at the production date on the inside of the door. It said the car was built in 10/92. Do you think this is late enough and is there a way of finding out if this is true or not?

Thanks again guys. You have all been a great help to me and welcomed me on like I have been an Infiniti guy my whole life.

[Jesda]

Its a strong suspicion that we're waiting to confirm. And with a production date of 10/92, I guarantee your guides are original plastic, unless under warranty they failed and the dealer took care of it, in which case there would be records.

[Q_SHIP]

Well, I called Infiniti and they told me that they keep nothing on file for more than 4 years. Have you found this true also?

[Q451990]

There are some confirmed 93s with the metal guides, but I'm not sure what their production dates were. I've even heard rumors of some 1994 models with plastic guides - so it's just hard to say. As far as checking through the small plate in the cover - I don't think that's possible. It seems like some members have tried, but I don't know for sure... I've never heard of a successful check that way.

As far as service records, I think they're archived after a certain time of activity. Some members have called Infiniti's corporate customer service number and gotten a copy that way.

Heath

[squeefoo]

I think Capitol Import Automotive was the original Infiniti dealer around here, my Dad's '90 Q came from there. Don't remember when they moved out to 90th and Browndeer. BTW I used to work in the early '80s at Shorewood Standard right across the street from their original location on Capitol just east of the river (now a Baker's Square). I don't think there would be any records anymore (long before computers; you know what I mean). International Autos is pretty worthless for anything -unless you want to spend a lot and get treated like crap. EDIT:My Dads Q was always dealer maintained by the original owner and when I checked a few years ago there were no records (and it needed guides). But my failure could be your success.

Good bars in West Allis esp. Heartbreakers for lunch.

[hal90000]

When I bought my 96 q last December the dealer was able to print out the entire sevice history from day 1. It showed service at 3 different dealers. I don't think 4 years is accurate number.

[elwesso]

Actually, after a couple years of no activity, the service records become inaccessible in the infiniti database.....

I tried to get mine, and thats how it is...

[mixatonia]

Dealer about two years ago gave me records for my q going back more than a decade. Maybe it's up to the dealership.

This discussin has many links and pretty pictures for q45 chain giude repair

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....92996

[maxhopper]

You should at the very least be able to get a record of all warranty repairs done to the vehicle. The three car lines I deal with all have the ability to run a warranty history by the VIN. Due to the age of the vehicles, and early service information in a paper system, it's really a roll of the dice. As with all things electronic...the output is only as good as the input.

[maxnix]

Well, I called Infiniti and they told me that they keep nothing on file for more than 4 years. Have you found this true also?

Call Infiniti Customer Service and register yourself as the new owner of the car. They can pull the records from the archive.

Having a good relationahip with a dealer service writer should not to be an underestimated benefit.