rear brakes & Smelling gas

[30bino09]

1994 Q45.I want to try to kill two birds with one stone. Firstly can anyone point me to where I can find step by step instructions for replacing by rear brake pads? I really want to learn this skill or should i just take it to the pros.

Secondly I recently started smelling gas when my heat is running, could it be a bad Fuel filter? Where should I start. Other symptoms include: I will start and drive off (especially in the morning) the first couple stops I come to the car will idle little roughly but eventually go into a smooth idle. Also sometimes on the freeway when I step on the gas for extra juice the car will not have the power immediately but it will eventually work itself in and come up to speed. people have told me it could be a dirty fuel filter. Any thoughts?

Louis

[Infinitiguy19]

Well for the brakes, Unless you have worked with floating brakes then I wouldn't touch them.

You can learn by the way, But I have never done a brake job so I wouldn't know.

As for the second problem your in luck because I know that the hoses under the plenum are in need of replacing, The best you can do to remedy the problem is read this: zerothread/203341.

But for the lack of acceleration there are too many things that could be wrong such as a bad or mis-set TPS AKA Throttle Position Sensor, old fuel filter, bad fuel pump...

Start by checking the Fuel pressure with an inline fuel pressure gauge.

The see if you can get a hold of a laptop consult to check the TPS and where its set at, It should be at .44 volts when the car is warmed up for 10+ min.

Get your self a volt meter which will help for the above problem and the next, Check your fuel injectors by following this: http://q45.org/ohminjectors.html

Good Luck, Paul

[ozzinc]

the rear brakes on the q45 are not that hard to change, you can look on the tech forum and it should give you some pointers on how to do the rear brakes, if not I will post something for you, as for the smelling of fuel you will need to know where the smell is coming from, if its from the engine bay, just check your fuel lines that attach to the intake coming from the fuel filter, and make sure that your fuel injectors has no fuel odor because they do have O rings that due leak, if its from the rear of the car it could be that the O rings on one of the fuel lines that attach to the fuel pump are leaking. as for the lost in power and the way that you have described the symptoms most definently sounds like your fuel pump is going bad, I had the same problem, it would have no power and then after you give it the gas and hold it, it would suddenly be a burst of power, the symptoms is that you will hear a humming sound coming from the rear of the back seat, there is also a post on this site to show you how to change the intank fuel pump if you need to change it, I hope this helps.

[maxnix]

RTFSM!

Be sure to measure and true the rotors and adjust the parking brake. High temperature lubrication on the pins are a must. Consider if you need to rebuild your brake calipers and/or need to employ a shim kit.

http://www.infinitipartsusa.com

FSM/Q45


Modified by maxnix at 11:38 AM 1/6/2009

[oldmako]

Brakes are not rocket science if all you need are new pads, shims and having the rotors turned or replaced. But, if you don't have the tools or any reasonable level of experience you might just want to open your wallet. The problem is, unless you find a qualified mechanic, you may end getting hosed. Consider doing some reading on this site, the FSM and on the internet to determine if you have the gumption to attack them yourself.

The fuel smell can be as simple as a loose clamp. Of course it could be more sinister and require additional labor and parts. Tough to diagnose over the webs. The filter is about 6 feet behind your head, so not likely to be the culprit unless you only smell it while driving in reverse.

[30bino09]

Thanks for the replyThat's true..... I hear a constant humming noise from the back and I know it's the fuel pump. So that means it's going bad huh. Would a bad fuel pump also cause a rough idle occasionally?

[maxnix]

Yes, and if you continue to run the engine, you will be replacing your much more expensive FPCU also. Verify with fuel pressure gauge T in after the filter, ehich of course you have replaced within the last year.

Likely the under plenum fuel hoses are brittle and hard and leak when shrunk by colder weather.

For parts, call

http://www.infinitipartsusa.com

Don't forget the O ring when replacing FP and read Tangalora's exemplary thread in IOM.
Modified by maxnix at 12:00 AM 1/7/2009

[30bino09]

Thanks guysI replaced the fuel filter on sunday and have not smelled gas so far, but it's not as cold as those days I was smelling it so I have not ruled out the fuel hoses. Still working on the loss of power and occasional rough idle.

[maxnix]

Still working on the loss of power and occasional rough idle.

MAF connector? Check everything including wiring integrity.