Q45 Suspension/Brakes

[The Big Dog]

Well, here goes with my first posting. I have a '95 Q with 122k miles (195 kms), which i have owned since almost new. Today I had some diagnostics done at Infiniti of Yorkville in Toronto - my first time at that shop. I relocated from Massachusetts where Kelly Infiniti always did a superb job. The perceived problems were squealing front brakes and a suspension rattling on the right side. The diagnosis:

Brakes - front pads have 30% left but they say the rotors are "rusted" and need to be replaced. Now after 35 years of car ownership, I have never had a diagnosis like this. I have alwaays seen rust on the part of the rotor not in contact with the pad, but never this. Does anyone have an opinion.

Suspension - they say the front struts are "soft" and s/b replaced along with the upper strut mounts. The L and R torsion bars are leaking silicone and also need replacing, and the L upper link too.

Now, I had both upper links replaced in March @ 108k miles and am surprised (no, disbelieving) that they could possibly need replacement again. Then they say repairs are warranted for a year but that's not dealer-wide, so they wont honor it.

So, I guess my questions are:

1)replace rotors because of rust???2)the probability that the suspension work they recommend is legit3)no transferability, from dealer to dealer, of warranty of repair work?

Your thoughts and suggestions would be a great help. Thanks.

[Q45tech]

1 year or 12,000 miles whichever comes first is the national parts warranty.

If your upper links go fast [<30k] after 100k have your king pins and king pin bearing [upper and lower] checked for wear.

Road conditions vary so much across US hard to say what average life [for precise upper link operation] is we always use 30k in Atlanta and 60k for tension rods, the lower a arm last around 100-120k. The rack and sway bar bushings 100k, motor mounts are usually shot at 120k.

Rust on the hub or inside of rotor may make it impossible to meet runout specs.............normally we just say they can't be cut and are too thin.

[Aztek72]

Hey Big Dog, just wondering do you have a dark green Q with BBS wheels? Your moniker sounds familiar.

[docsmile71]

I would call Corporate Infiniti about those upper links. I think that if you got them replaced at an Infiniti dealership and paid the $100/hour of labor, they should last way more than 14K miles. If the king pin bearings needed to be replaced, then the first dealership who did the work should have looked for it. In any case, you should not have to pay for links again.

So you had good experiences with Kelly Infiniti, huh? I'm due for my 60K service and am debating about whether I should go to Kelly, Herb Chambers, or Norwood.

And Aztek72 - I have a dark green Q with BBS wheels. It has a yellow doll hanging from the front window cuz it's my wife's primary vehicle.

[maxnix]

And Aztek72 - I have a dark green Q with BBS wheels. It has a yellow doll hanging from the front window cuz it's my wife's primary vehicle.

Aaaccck!! Why would someone want to obscure their view of the road with a lynched doll?

My favorite is the crystals that catch bright sunlight and shoot prisms of light into the driver's eye. Second is the metal symbols/lettering that likewise reflect the sun's rays into the driver's eyes at critical moments. Either one should insure the driver is removed from the gene pool much more expeditously in a severe collision with an abutment than a mere stuffed doll.

Hopefully survivors of these events won't imbue their mirror charms with "lucky charm" properties and place even larger ones in their future vehicles.

[Q45tech]

"If the king pin bearings needed to be replaced, then the first dealership who did the work should have looked for it"

Don't assume that dealer technicans know about the king pin bearings. Don't assume that the technicans know anything that is not in a TSB or the FSM.

We discuss hundreds of tricks and advanced proceedures [on this forum] that most techs never thought of.

The ranks of real good ones [many went to Lexus] were thinned years ago when work was scarce due to low sales!

You should hear the difficulty dealers have finding Master Techs who are competent in the old cars........as that training was stopped in 1996.................8 years ago!

There is a TSB warning not to change the upper links with excesss play [but this was to reduce warranty cost back in 1994].

Pretty much after 7 years dealers like to FORGET the old models!

[The Big Dog]

Q45 Tech - I missed your point re the brakes - could you clarify? Also, if this were your car, and I realize it's hard to answer this, not knowing the car, what work would you get done? and in what order?

*upper links*king pins*king pin bearings*front struts*upper strut mounts*torsion bars*brake rotors

Aztek - nope, it wasn't me you saw but I guess you found your guy. Mine is a colour called Cabernet, or dark, metallic purple.

docsmile - Kelly was the best, by far ( service, responsive, knowledgeable, and the cleanest shop I've EVER seen in my life, it looked like an operating theatre) - stay away from Herb Chambers, the equivalent of a puppy farm - Norwood's ok but given where you live, stick to Kelly.

[maxnix]

Q45 Tech - I missed your point re the brakes - could you clarify? Also, if this were your car, and I realize it's hard to answer this, not knowing the car, what work would you get done? and in what order?

*upper links*king pins*king pin bearings*front struts*upper strut mounts*torsion bars*brake rotors

This is all front end work. When you get it apart, you inspect and replace what is worn/defective. If the parts are all on hand, then you will be able to rebuild what you need to rebuild. Joe will let you returned unused parts.

Labor charges will kill you if you replace one part at a time.__________________Brian1995 Q45 & Q45t & 2000 Q45

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[Q45tech]

Rotors should last 40,000 miles even if trued [0.003-5"] per side every 6,000 miles as they have 0.0254" [1mm] per side of excess metal [for wear or to true].........5 times 0.005=0.025.0.005" is twice the runout spec and a normal driver* should feel the quiver in the steering wheel long before they get this bad!

The above assumes you are using a soft oem pad [not the -91] rotor natural wear should be minimal.

Very few Q owners are normal, in that, most examples I drive are quivering, vibrating painful cars and they [owners] think they are great..........it is usually a massive combination of brakes, tires, suspension, mounts, driveshafts, incompetant mechanics and resistance to spending the money necessary.

There is no reason a Q of any age cannot be [ride handle] perfect [like brand new]........few things bend [other than rotors and wheels] so all the vibration is from rubber wear.

Again don't assume most dealers are competent to return a Q to new, this is anti their training and they never are taught to deal with perfection or even close. You will have to be educated and guide them as following some of my comments/suggestions will make them look at you as if you had two heads.

An excellant TSB to start with is IBT94-060, 019, 018, all contained in the 1994 Technical Bulletin.

THE FSM has specs on almost every part.

[maxnix]

An excellant TSB to start with is IBT94-060, 019, 018, all contained in the 1994 Technical Bulletin.

Do you have the title of that TSB? Unfortuantely, they don't contain the ITB number in the file name, and I kept them in separate folders for each group of components like the website.

Thanks.__________________Brian1995 Q45 & Q45t & 2000 Q45

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