Q45tech: re: plenum & valve cover job.

[96Qowner]

I'm going to be in Atlanta for a business trip the last week in January, and I'm toying with the idea of getting a plenum and valve cover job done while I'm there. How long does that take? I could leave the car for two days, if necessary. And the cost is roughly ... $2000?

[Q45tech]

Valve covers $500-$600 [higher amount for TCS/active]Plenum $500-$700 for labor plus hoses, knock sensors, what ever you want replaced........fuel hoses...........gotta warn T3 in advance as not every hose is kept in stock so many times the job gets delayed waitng on a delivery from dealer......something special or unusal.

While it's off change everything [look carefully at KS and harness $400] and fuel hoses.

It could be done in a 8AM-6PM 100% devoted effort day but something could go wrong [almost always does]. Why we say 2 days.

Byron cannot just devote 100% to a single car in a work day as diagnosis of others comes into play........we no longer offer the $1000 day NICO special since the techs are down to 3 and one is the Lexus only guy.

Buying and bring your own oem parts could save you 20-25% on parts cost especially things like KS and harness [$80-$100].......not worth it with hoses unless you buy everyone........[don't miss one in your order].

$2000 buys a lot of labor and parts.......save some for the other things that always show up.

Call Doug 404 794-7700 a few days in advance and discuss parts arrival time 7AM is good to be out the next noon. If a part need is discovered by 5PM it can be in shop by 10AM next day but you need plenum reassembly time, see noon is pushing it.

[motorbobb]

I just got my 94Qt serviced. One of the pieces of work was replacing the valve cover gaskets. The infiniti quoted charge is ------ $1150! I have not changed a valve cover gasket in 20 years since last working on my 69 z28 but that was a 45 min job. The infiniti shop schedule calls for 10hrs for a valve cover gasket replacement. As a complement to Roswell infiniti, they did knock several hours off the scheduled labor as I needed $3000 worth of work.

Q45tech: You work at t3 in Atlanta? I live in ATL. A few years ago, a guy walked up to me in the work parking lot as I was I was getting out of my 94Qt and handed me a T3 card. He said he recommended the service.

My problem: I am trying to figure out if there is anything that can be done to breath life back into the performance of my car. The car just does not accelerate like it used to a few years ago. Over the years, I have had all the normal induction parts cleaning done, and during the recent service had the plugs replaced. The car doesn't miss or display any obvious characteristics but it just is so flat / unresponsive, particularly at low rpm's. If the engine was an old, pre-computer / electronics / vtec motor, I would be playing with the spark advance.

My car is a Q94t, with 125k gentle, well maintained miles. I am not looking to add any aftermarket performance, just trying to restore performance close to OEM. Is there any obvious thing I should have someone look at (ie are there any adjustments to valve or spark timing) or is this just normal old age performance? (or maybe the fact that my performance benchmark is warped since my daily driver is an E55?).

Any advice from the board would be appreciated. rgds motorbobb

[elwesso]

I just got my 94Qt serviced. One of the pieces of work was replacing the valve cover gaskets. The infiniti quoted charge is ------ $1150! I have not changed a valve cover gasket in 20 years since last working on my 69 z28 but that was a 45 min job. The infiniti shop schedule calls for 10hrs for a valve cover gasket replacement. As a complement to Roswell infiniti, they did knock several hours off the scheduled labor as I needed $3000 worth of work.

Q45tech: You work at t3 in Atlanta? I live in ATL. A few years ago, a guy walked up to me in the work parking lot as I was I was getting out of my 94Qt and handed me a T3 card. He said he recommended the service.

My problem: I am trying to figure out if there is anything that can be done to breath life back into the performance of my car. The car just does not accelerate like it used to a few years ago. Over the years, I have had all the normal induction parts cleaning done, and during the recent service had the plugs replaced. The car doesn't miss or display any obvious characteristics but it just is so flat / unresponsive, particularly at low rpm's. If the engine was an old, pre-computer / electronics / vtec motor, I would be playing with the spark advance.

My car is a Q94t, with 125k gentle, well maintained miles. I am not looking to add any aftermarket performance, just trying to restore performance close to OEM. Is there any obvious thing I should have someone look at (ie are there any adjustments to valve or spark timing) or is this just normal old age performance? (or maybe the fact that my performance benchmark is warped since my daily driver is an E55?).

Any advice from the board would be appreciated. rgds motorbobb

Dennis with 270k on his 90 Q still experiences as new performance (or at least very close), as do I and many others...

Just speculating, id say your knock sensors are bad.... This is all pretty easy stuff... if you took the car into T3 for an hours worth of diagnosis, they will tell you whats happening

[Jesda]

You guys are making me want to move to Atlanta.

[elwesso]

Just put a hose from your exhaust pipe into the cabin, and youll be breathing cleaner air than atlanta air

[96Qowner]

Motorbobb:

A valve cover job is a LOT more thorough than you might think. My local Nissan dealer had it booked at 6.5 hours each. Shortly after I learned that, I found a thread here (which dammit, I can't find again) detailing the whole procedure with pictures. LOTS of cleaning involved, and they don't come off real slick, either. You can count on damaging a hose or two, and as I recall (someone correct me if I'm wrong) you have to loosen the plenum and lift it to get one of the valve covers off.

That's why I don't really trust my Nissan guys to get it right. I'm sure they can handle the covers, but once they mess with that plenum, they're gonna run into stuff they didn't anticipate. I've been reading this forum for several months, and a few shops stand out nationwide. T3 is one of them. I think I remember Dennis mentioning the number of Q45s they've worked on to be in the 200's? That's a lot of experience. Anyone who lives anywhere near one of these shops shouldn't bother with anyone else.

And Dennis, thanks for the thorough explanation - about what I had hoped. I'll call Byron Monday.

[DAEDALUS]

The relationship between the plenum and resealing the valve covers is that there are 2 hsoes that run from the rear of the covers down under the plenum. If you can get these hoses off without damaging them then you won't have to touch the plenum. When you remove the covers remove these hoses first. If you can't get them off then either halt all work or be prepared to remove the plenum too and replace everything.

[elwesso]

I made my own hose pick.. I took a small screw driver and bent it about 2in down the shaft, and bent it at a 90* angle.....

You stick that in there, work it around and the hose will slide right off.....

[DAEDALUS]

The right tool isn't the issue if they're too brittle. Most of the bypass hoses on my car moved less than 1/4" before shattering. They were harder and more brittle than pvc pipe. If they're original they're now 10 years old...same age as mine were when I replaced them. No doubt climate and mileage are factors as well. Regardless, if they're original they're due.

[elwesso]

When I did my plenum they all were decent and there was no record of the plenum ever having to be off...

I replace a lot "just cuz"... but all were easily manipulatable with this method... I think its still best to pull the plenum and do it ALL at once...

Sometimes, ive contemplated taking the engine out and just replacing EVERYTHING at once... Might be easier..... All suspension, valve covers, adn so forth.....