purchased '94 Q45a parked for 8 years what should i expect/fix

[boonseyQ45a]

As the title says, I recently purchased a 94 Q45a for a grand ($1K)... the car was park for about 8yrs (yes 8 freakin years)... before i drove it home my friend and I pumped out all/most of the bad varnish the gas has left behind for all those years.... we drove it home fine..... changed out the fuel filter and still smelled the varnish, so we continue on removing the injectors since the car has 152xxx miles....

we removed the injectors and my friend brought it to his work place to do some sonic flushing and injector cleaning.... while that was done i worked on pumping out all the bad gas until i could smell only gas..... once i got the injector reinstalled i drove it for 1 day found out that i had two leaking injectors (#2 & #3), turned out it was just the orings.... did r/r on the plenum again and now the other day the #3 injectors was leaking again, replace both top and bottom orings, put the car back together....

while i was bolting down the plenum i broke a bolt on the passenger front plenum, all the other bolts was already bolted down so i continue to remove the broken bolt and replace it with another 10mm bolt.... I continue to finish with the intall.... once everything was put back together i started the car, it wants to start but sputtered and shuts off.... I am tired and clueless at this point, my guess was that when i broke that bolt i assume that the plenum wasnt on evenly and cause a vaccum leak...... i was afraid that i misinstalled something under the plenum so i took it off AGAIn (took about 30-45min)... can anyone here tell me what i am missing???? has anyone ran into this situatioin before???

also the active suspension rides a little rough, and sometimes when i turn it locks up, yes it is scary too when driving on the on/off ramps.... is this cause of old age/seating too long and do i need to replace my ps pump? the car raises up and down when i shut the car off but the rides isn't like butter.... should i go ahead and have the active removed and put another system on, maybe airride it????

any help with these problem will definitely help.....

thanks,mitchell

[Q451990]

Welcome to NICO! You might want to read my thread on testing the injectors with air pressure... it sounds like you're having a lot of issues with them leaking down. I would replace all of the o-rings and test them like I did.

zer...e-air

Look for posts by user "TexasOil" regarding the active suspension. How many miles are on your Q?

Heath

[boonseyQ45a]

Heath thanks for your quick reply, the car has 152xxx miles, i installed the injectors and before i installed the plenum i turned the key to the "on" position only and checked to see any fuel leaks on any injectors (is the on position not enough pressure?) and there wasn't any leaks......

i just bought this car on the 21st of August and now its oct and only driven it for about 2 1/2 wks so far..... just gets frustrating when your doing all of this on your own outside in the parking lot of an apt in Michigan...

but anyways i'll check on that TexasOil act sys you sent me.....

thanks,mitchell

[maxnix]

No, don't remove the active components! It is a severe pain to do it correctly and you have a gem that needs a little polishing!

http://www.q45asuspension.com

Check your fuel pressure as i bet the corrosion and varnish fubared your fuel pump. In your situation, I would remove and steam clean the tank and run some rubber compatible slovent downt the whole fuel system minus the injectors. Consider replacing all the rubber fuel hose with OEM.

Welcome to NICO!

[goody90q45]

.....I installed the injectors and before i installed the plenum i turned the key to the "on" position only and checked to see any fuel leaks on any injectors (is the on position not enough pressure?) and there wasn't any leaks......

Unless you had an inline pressure gage and crimped a couple of fuel hoses to block in the fuel you only verified that the top o-ring wasn't leaking. The pressure gauge will tell you if a bottom o-ring leaks.

From your original post it sounds like you could have a bunch of issues so you're going to have to rule them out one at a time. Removing the fuel rail and leak ckecking is a good first step and it will also give you the chance to check the alignment of the plenum gaskets. Plenum reassembly can be pretty brutal and it's easy to knock one of the plenum gasket/rings out of their seat during reassembly. When you put the plenum back on and when your ready to insert the first plenum bolt, take a moment to gently lift the plenum an inch or so in each corner to verify the gaskets/rings are still in place. Reach in and feel each one. This small step saves you a lot of grief the first time you turn on the ignition.

I know from another thread that you have a loose vacuum hose sticking out from under the TB. Until you can find where it goes plug it with a screw and see if there's improvement. Spraying brake parts cleaner around suspect areas and listening for a change in engine rpm is a good way to pinpoint leaks. Is this hose pulling a vacuum, blowing air, or doing nothing? If you don't already have one here's a link to the FSM. The emissions section will be a big help.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Q45/1994_Q45/

Finally, before pulling the plenum again take a look at all the 3/4" hoses that come out of the valve covers, connect to the tubing manifold under the plenum, and eventually feed into the airtube downstream of the MAF and before the TB. Also the brake booster hose and the PCV and its hose. A lot of very hot exhaust gasses and oil are in these lines and they get very brittle. If any one of these larger hoses are cracked and/or leaking, or loose and unclamped, it fools the MAF and your engine will run like cr@p. Most of these hoses are accessible without removing the plenum.

Is the CEL on? Have you checked ECU codes. At this point your ECU should be laying on the floorboard so you can get to it easily any time you need to. The Q with active suspension is a great car when working properly. Keep us posted.

[boonseyQ45a]

Update.... YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!! ITS PURRRRIIINNNGGG!!!!! I took off the plenum as stated and i believe when i broke the bolt it lead to one of the plenum to have a vacuum leak, didn't hold enough pressure so i put it back together and plugged everything in.... also that vacuum line that wasn't connected, i found that it went under the TB..... next upgrade are tires, brakes and wtr pump belts change...... thank to Mike, Heath and Maxnix for the insite and info.....here are some pics of my car \/ \/ \/



previous owners house (dirty)

bought it for $1k, saw the interior and fell in love..... and the labor after that, well imagine the girl you fell in love at first sight, and she becomes your girlfriend, its a ***** in the running.... but you still love it.....

[Infinitiguy19]

WOW you have a beautiful car, congrats on getting it running

[Unnatural1]

The biggest problems you will see with a car sitting that long are engine/transmission gaskets and rubber hoses. It sounds like you have taken care of the fuel issues (hopefully). On these engines, valve cover gaskets and all the vacuum/coolant hoses under the intake will probably need replacing. I would imagine the oil pan will probably be leaking as well.

Tires should definitely be replaced ASAP as that will be a major safety issue if you continue driving this Q with old dry rotted/cracking tires.

Make sure you've changed ALL the fluids before going any further as well; oil, trans fluid, coolant, brake fluid, gear oil and power steering fluid.

Congrats, on the new Q!

[maxnix]

It will take time and money, but the result will be worth it.

Good work so far.