problems after oil change

[nvijayanand]

Hi all,

I recently bought a 93 Infiniti J30. Everything seemed to be perfect until I did an oil and filter change today. (They also added some coolant, which I notice is above the max level, and checked tire pressure).

After this I noticed two things:

(1) The emission system light glows.(2) The car vibrates noticably when engine is turned on and the car is stationary.

Once I noticed these two things I went back to the mechanic and told them this. They said I needed to do a thorough check up.

I am slightly apprehensive as the car was perfect until I did that oil change.

Can somebody please suggest what I should do next.

Thanks a lot,Vijay

P.S: I am a newbie and have posted the same post in another infiniti j30 forum, not with an intention of spamming, just to get a reply as quick as possible

[yodawill2000]

Any chance they put 5 quarts in?J30 only takes 4.5

[NismoChi]

Even if you put 5qts in, it wouldn't do that , may be 7 or 8 qts would. That is why i don't let anyone that i don't know or trust to touch my car, you never know what happen after that.

[nvijayanand]

I went to that mechanics again and they said there is a problem with the fuel injector of the 5th cylinder - and caused the 5th cylinder to not fire.

They said it will cost me $550 to replace this.

I am still wondering how an oil change could cause this. Maybe it was just my bad day.

[DominickJ30]

I love how people thing that "EVER SINCE YOU, changed my oil, the engine is misfiring" LOL

The oil change had nothing to do with it. Just a coincidence that it happened that day.

Injectors are known to go out on this engine so gitty up and pay. You might as well replace all six.

[nvijayanand]

Yeah Just beginning to learn (after searching the forum) that faling fuel injectors are a common problem.

Still thinking about whether to replace all 6 or just 1.

The mechanic says that the labour costs for fixing one (5th cylinder) is just about the same as fizing all 6 of them.

But the injectors themselves are quite expensive. (the cheapest I enquired were about $90)

I am wondering if it is a reasonable gamble just to replace the faulty one?

Also I found in the forum, links to cheaper injectors (something like $35).

So could I buy the injectors off the internet and ask the mechanic to do just the labour?

Bear with me guys, for asking all these "trivial" questions. Not only am I new to this forum, this is also my first car.

[DominickJ30]

The cost of replacing the injector is the same because it will only take him an extra 15 minutes to replace the others.

It will end up costing you close to 500 in labor plus the injectors.

It is defenitely a gamble by just replacing one. Then months later you could have another failure and pay another 500 plus parts to fix.

The "cheaper" injectors you found are usually rebuilt ones. I wouldnt trust them, however numerous people used them with n o problems. If you go with this route make sure that the rebuilders are located in north indiana( they are supposed to be the best injector rebuilders)

If you are thinking about keeping this car for a while. I would change all the injectors with brand new units, that way you can save yourself a headache in the future. Then again, if you just need to get around and plan on selling then you might want to save some money.

[lnhaanpaa]

In my earlier search of J30 information, I found this article on replacing the fuel injectors on a J30. I hope it helps.

http://www.fuzzycats.com/docs/...t.pdf

[yodawill2000]

I did that procedure on mine.Worked well and took very little time.Just be aware that the injector you pull will probably be destroyed by the time you get it out As mine was fried it wasnt an issue.Next time around I will get a proper tool to pull Like Carlos did on the fuzzycats site.As a referance mine was 89 for the injector and about an hour under the hood.

[driverdriver]

welcome to NICO nvijayanand!!!

after you get your fuel injector(s) replaced be sure to use the right octane grade of gasoline.

[DominickJ30]

That DYI is fantastic, if you dont mind grinding the plenum a bit and have a little bit of hands on mechanic experience.

This guy said it was his first car tho, so I doubt he is willing to try to job himself.

[yodawill2000]

A dremel will get her done.On theInjector I replaced . I didnt have to grind at all.If I recall it was the second cylinder from the front, Pass side.Came right out after a good soak with Liquid wrench overnight and one Helluva Tug-A-War match

[nvijayanand]

Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

I probably wont be replacing the fuel injector by myself though , since I have no prior experience.

Just one more question -- before I replace all 6 of the fuel injectors.

When I bought this car, I took it to a mechanical check. They said that there is a slight problem in the "rack and pinion" steering system. I understood this is as a leak in the power steering fluid. Anyway he said replacing this would cause somethink like 1K. But he also said it is a very small leak and its probably ok not to replace it. (He said the leak can be mitigated by adding something I understood as a sealant along with power steering fluid). So I did not change the rack and pinion system. (Neither did I add the sealant) I havent any problems with steering until now and the power steering fluid is not leaking noticably.

I just want to confirm whether this also (power steering fluid leak) is a common problem and will appear sooner or later. (I searched in the forum and although I found some information about this, it wasnt really useful)

The answer to the above question will help me greatly decide what kind of repairs I can do with the car. (or even sell it). Although ideally I'd like to keep this car (93 infiniti j30 with 97K miles) for atleast 3 more years

[infinitidreams20]

ah i have the same problem with my steering and i find that the leak is so small that it hasnt justified paying for the replacement nor the work i would have to do to put it in. 4$ or so for a good quart of powersteering fluid and im still using it i havent even made it to the marks yet on the side so in my opinion if it isnt that bad dont worrie about it ( i have had this problem for about a year and a half now)

[nvijayanand]

Update:

The mechanics (Pepboys) also recommended changing oxygen sensors(2) as they said that the cause of the check engine light was bad oxygen sensors.

I had them buy the oxygen sensors. But now they say that they cant actually replace them as they (oxygen sensors) are in the exhaust.(and it is tough to replace them??) They asked me to take the car to an exhaust shop.

Now I am left with the choice of actually buying the oxygen sensors and taking it to the exhaust shop or just live with the check engine light. (btw, I changed all 6 of the fuel injectors).

[DominickJ30]

Oh god, please please take your car away from those monkeys at pepboys.

If they dont know how to change and oxygen sensor in the exhaust(this is the place where every single oxygen sensor in any car is) they got no business touching a car.

I seriously hope that you didnt have them do the injectors.

Take your car to a reputable shop. Ask them to check the codes for you. Then either have them show you which code came up and report back or possibly they can interpret the cause.

[nvijayanand]

I hate to say this...but I did have them do the injectors and a guy just called me and said the car is not starting after replacing the injectors!

I wanted to ask you all earlier about this regarding the places I can get my car repaired...I should have asked.

I guess I just need to wait till tomorrow and see what they do. Seeing the tone of your previous comment, I guess I need to be prepared for the worst.

Anyway can you suggest some reputed places where I can get my car repaired. (For what it is worth).

I just assumed since pep boys seemed to be omnipresent that they are a reputed store.

[shortlid]

Anyone tried soaking these FAILED injectors in Chemtool overnight before replacing them?

[Nissansbitch]

Reminder: Our J30's use ATF for powersteering fluid. The wrong fluid will make the seals go in no time. I've done it.