Q45tech and Georgia join rest of US

[Q45tech]

Injectors : Georgia started adding ethanol on March1, 2008

Finally after 318,000 miles and 18 years I Just replaced 4 injectors this morning one open and one went to 28 ohms. While we were at it I changed all four on that rail [1.3.5.7] and cleaned all connectors and measured and rehabed the even rail, cleaned TB, changed oil and fuel filter, pan drained transmission, added air to tires, and inspected belts and suspension.

It took Byron 2 hour and 5 minutes..........my help probably saved 15 minutes.

Including 30 minutes drive time I have been gone from home 3 Hours exactly.

As predicted we have seen a rash of J30 and Q45 injectors along wit ES300 and a few LS400 since March 1. SO ABNORMAL historically vs the past few years.The fuel filter was drained and liquid examined then reverse blown out with air on to a large paper towel. There was a moist liquid which did not smell or taste like gasoline or ethanol along with a little dirt but since the filter only had 5,000 miles. It Probably was water.

I was looking for the impurity of sulfuric acid which has been known to be used as a drying agent for ethanol................PH of liquid was neutral.

Will prepare a used rail for the evens since my ebay new injectors are exhausted [still have 1] but not 3 I need to have a ready standby.

How long will others last?

[oldmako]

Short of opening your own refinery, are you going to do anything differently now to prevent / mitigate future problems?

[Q45tech]

Since Christmas the Fuel was QT Premium [Top Tier] exclusively from the newest Marietta station [freshest tanks] 1/2 mile from home + 1 can BG 44k.

I have to buy 5 gallons for lawnmowers so I will analyse the stuff if Ga Tech will allow me use of mass spectrometer equipment.

Here's hoping new injectors last more than 1 year or the Q will become an expensive vehicle to drive adding $1500 per year.

It appears that if you make it thru the first 90 days of ethanol conversion that it gets better??????

It's not like all of our Q customers have had problems so far just less than 10%?????????????? Have showed up.

[oldmako]

I've been burning it since December (7000 miles). So far no problems.

[Jesda]

Now you know how I felt. I was going through injectors like candy here in Missouri. This is why I ceased to own a Q (fuel system compatibility issues).

[elwesso]

Ahh yes Mr. Dennis finally joins the cool kids!! Those injectors arent as bulletproof as you have preached for so many years, eh???

IN all honesty, you probably got the most use out of any one (or any one set) of injectors that owns a Q.

[maxnix]

It will be interesting to see if it is only the earlier single pintle or also the later rotary disc injectors that are affected.

TexasOil seems to have had success coping with ethanol by converting to later ones.

So, how a bout a breakdown between the two types? Was ISO-Heet part of the regimen? And finally, aren't teh VH41DE and VK45DE injectors a similar design to the later rotary disc?

[qship96]

Qtech, you are going to give Brian a heart attack by doing only a pan drain on your transmission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So far, I have not had any injector issues with running ethanol blend gas exclusivly for the last 3 years or so {60,000+/- miles} and MTBE enhanced fuel before that {150,000 +/- miles} Maybe the later injectors are better than the 90-93Q ones, or just luck???

[maxnix]

Qtech, you are going to give Brian a heart attack by doing only a pan drain on your transmission!

Yeah, after 300K, no more M1 ATF, no more timed shifts, and weird he's in a shop and doesn't just hook up the BG machine. I guess the new car bloom is off. I 've never had anything go 200k, but my Legend will if I keep it (4th car).

But his earlier documentation (2nd transmission - OEM new) set the gold standard for documenting transmission maintenance, and for that I am most grateful.

[Q45denver]

Plot to get rid of old cars to reduce carbon footprint?

[NightRiderQ45]

Yeah, after 300K, no more M1 ATF, no more timed shifts, and weird he's in a shop and doesn't just hook up the BG machine. I guess the new car bloom is off. I 've never had anything go 200k, but my Legend will if I keep it (4th car).

But his earlier documentation (2nd transmission - OEM new) set the gold standard for documenting transmission maintenance, and for that I am most grateful.

It's interesting that maxnix says it's ok to do drain & fill now but I dug up an old post where maxnix states there is no type of way Q45Tech does that lol.....

Because it will evacuate all the fluid without harming the transmission or leaving the heavy grunge in your transmission.

One man's waste is another man's preventative maintenance. Like Q45tech says, "Member's standards vary."

I assure you he does not do the drain.

the "power" of the SEARCH BUTTON.....

[Q451990]

The damn ethanol is here in Columbia too. Time to ohm mine. My back has been hurting lately... not a good time for a plenum job

Maybe I'll swap a new fuel filter in tomorrow...

Heath

[maxnix]

It's interesting that maxnix says it's ok to do drain & fill now but I dug up an old post where maxnix states there is no type of way Q45Tech does that lol.....

Never has either Q45tech nor I said drain and refill is preferable to a complete mechanical exchange of ATF. How could you possibly deduce that?

[ca18tt1978]

OK let me tell you this The New SUmmer Gas SHould be at most gas stations by now the further south the more likely there will be that the new gas is there . I know this i work for a gas station/ tire shop and my boss is so worried about getting rid of the old winter gas as well as getting new gas .As far as the enthonal go's there realy isnt that much in the gas i think your just haveing a problem with faulty injectors . THats my 2cents .

[Q451990]

So while we're talking about injectors, any idea what these are?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWD1V

I know the auction says OEM, but the boxes don't look factory. Pretty good price if they're really the same thing. Following the link to their web site states that the injectors are purchased in bulk from Bosch, etc... Might be a good alternative, especially if the crappy gas continues to eat them...

Heath

[Q45tech]

Color/appearancewise they look identical to the 4, I used for replacement .

Don't forget new 2 sizes of oem orings.

Quite a bargain with a 3 year warranty.

[Q451990]

Well, I just ohmed my injectors and knock sensors and my day is made

.570M Ohms on one KS, .577 M Ohms on the other. Injectors all fluctuated between 13 Ohms and 14 Ohms. I'm not sure why my meter bounces around so much on the injectors. I tried two meters... one lower-end Fluke with a fresh 9V battery, and my "beater" meter... a $15 Harbor Freight special. Similar results with both.

Injectors are original on the car with 90K miles. Maybe the exposure to MTBE during it's first 47K and 11 years in CA readied them for the pain of ethanol... or maybe we haven't started actually getting ethanol here yet - in spite of seeing the stickers on the pumps for the last month or two.

The only other thing I have done fuel system wise is replace the filter at 87.8K and added a can of BG44K at 86.3K. I'm running the car very little lately, so I have actually only been through two full tanks of gas since 3/1, which might have helped too. At least I have a good baseline to check against. I guess I'll start ohming them at every oil change to keep an eye on their deterioration.

Heath

[Q45tech]

I measured all my injectors just 2 weeks before they failed and were replaced and they were perfect.I do a power balance test every 30 days to get a heads up and prepare.

Just like a lightning strike out of the blue will probably be the result.

Why you keep injectors on hand [many I used were purchased in 2001 and 2002-2003] when I started hearing reading about injector failure.I built up my cache slowly as ebay discounts occurred.

Same with CAS, MAF, shocks, misc, ecu, etc when you see a 75% off sale.

I like to have fainted when I had to drive to the closed Infiniti to buy 4 orings for $8 after the last delivery to be ready for Sat AM.

I'm getting nervous since I only have 1 new injector left and may need 3 more soon?

[qship96]

Qtech, the real question I have is how do you know all those parts you bought on E bay are genuine Nissan parts? And even if they are genuine Nissan, could they be factory rejects or B stock items? I always wonder if they are really a better deal longterm than purchasing known quality items from Joe

[paranoidjack]

I've put 75k on my q from may 2005 to today, all with Ethanol mix (MA), varying gas station qualities (always premium)....no injector problems at all.

*knocks on birds eye maple*

[Q451990]

Hopefully the '00 Q will have injectors that can withstand the abuse better. The theory at this point is that the 94+ design injectors are better able to withstand it than the earlier ones - so maybe you'll be OK.

Heath

[Q451990]

I measured all my injectors just 2 weeks before they failed and were replaced and they were perfect.

I'm getting nervous since I only have 1 new injector left and may need 3 more soon?

I think you need to buy some of the injectors I linked to above and let us know how they work. No better giunea pig than one that has a highly trained tech working for him on Saturday mornings.

Heath

[DrewQ45]

The damn ethanol is here in Columbia too. Time to ohm mine. My back has been hurting lately... not a good time for a plenum job

Maybe I'll swap a new fuel filter in tomorrow...

Heath

Dang Heath.... I just realized you're in Columbia. Just got back from spending about three weeks there. Was in the Marriott downtown. Hung out in the five points district quite a bit down the road from the Capitol bldg. Woulda looked you up if I knew.

Tech, are all the gas stations using ethanol now? A while back you mentioned SHell. You'd think with the wide proliferation of ethanol that manufs would change injector design. 228k on my injectors with no noticable issues. I never use BG 44K or anything else for that matter. Once in a blue I run some nail polish remover through it... Fill ups have consisted mostly of Chevron or QT.

...Drew..

[Haitian_King]

After hearing all this talk of eBay injectors, I've decided to start adding to my collection as well. I have 3 spares, one of which will be installed soon to replace the failing #6.

I saw this auction on eBay, any thoughts guys? Is this a waste?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...l1259

[Q451990]

Drew,

It sounds like you had a good time if you were hanging out in five points! What brought you here for such an extended visit, if you don't mind my asking? I usually go to Yesterday's and The Village Idiot down there - as well as Delaney's Speakeasy for a good cigar and Scotch. Let me know if you make it back up here again!

In Columbia, all of the brands have the "May be blended with up to 10% ethanol" stickers on the pumps. I first saw it at the 76 and Hess Stations... now they're everywhere. I suspect they all started at the same time and some were just faster complying with the pump sign law.

HK,

If you can get those used injectors really cheap (I wouldn't pay more than $10 - $15 each shipped), it might be worth having on hand. The issue is the labor in addition to the parts cost... lots of expense pulling the plenum to put in suspect parts if you're paying to do it. If you're wrenching it in your garage, the only concern is if it's worth the associated back and joint pain!

Heath

[Haitian_King]

HK,

If you can get those used injectors really cheap (I wouldn't pay more than $10 - $15 each shipped), it might be worth having on hand. The issue is the labor in addition to the parts cost... lots of expense pulling the plenum to put in suspect parts if you're paying to do it. If you're wrenching it in your garage, the only concern is if it's worth the associated back and joint pain!

Heath

True. In time, I hope to be doing the injectors myself, but right now it looks like Keith is doing the #6 and any other that looks shady when I go.

[DrewQ45]

Drew,

It sounds like you had a good time if you were hanging out in five points! What brought you here for such an extended visit, if you don't mind my asking? I usually go to Yesterday's and The Village Idiot down there - as well as Delaney's Speakeasy for a good cigar and Scotch. Let me know if you make it back up here again!

I was working there... offsite trial.

[96Qowner]

Dennis, can you still get non-oxygenated Premium for off-road use? I thought I remembered you saying you'd been visiting marinas ...

[Q45denver]

With the switch to ethanol and inexperienced mechanics swapping out the injectors there may not be many 90-93's left after a few years. I rarely see any in Colorado anymore other than on Craigslist being parted out. Maybe if the rear trunk lid said Mercedes, shops would be less likely to assign their flunky trainees to work on them. Probably not too many owners willing to slap a $5000 engine into a $3000 market value car.

[Haitian_King]

With the switch to ethanol and inexperienced mechanics swapping out the injectors there may not be many 90-93's left after a few years. I rarely see any in Colorado anymore other than on Craigslist being parted out. Maybe if the rear trunk lid said Mercedes, shops would be less likely to assign their flunky trainees to work on them. Probably not too many owners willing to slap a $5000 engine into a $3000 market value car.

For shame. The 4 injectors I bought came from a Colorado Q. The one that I installed is performing like a champ. I'm going to be putting in another, possibly all if the current injectors aren't up to spec.