Remove starter on my 97 Q45

A Q45 forum / Cima forum for the President of Infiniti's lineup. Brought to you by Infiniti Parts USA, your OEM source for Q45 parts!
mdbell
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:51 pm
Car: 97 Infiniti Q45

Post

Hey all! I am new to Infinity and this forum.

I have had my Q45 for about 2 years and it has 109k miles. Really no problems so far, but now I need to replace my starter. My hubby and I are big time DIY. He has extensive mechanical knowledge (we replaced the starter on my daugher's 00 Maxima last May), but not on Infinity -- he's a die-hard Mopar guy --what can I say.

Anyway, he is having trouble figuring out how to remove the old starter. He crawled under the Q last night and said it looks like you have to drop the R&P to get the starter off--Ugghh. Is it money well spent to pay someone to install the starter we already bought? Or can someone give me the basics of getting the dead starter out?

Also, any recommendations on a good repair manual would be appreciated. Maybe even one we could download so we can get my baby up and running ASAP.

Thanks



User avatar
goody90q45
Posts: 3679
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:07 pm
Car: 1992 Q45 (sold)
Location: Orangevale, CA

Post

Welcome to NICO. We have a nice welcoming gift for new members- A copy of the 1998 Factory Service Manual (same as the 97 FSM). Enjoy.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Q45/1998_Q45/

mdbell
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:51 pm
Car: 97 Infiniti Q45

Post

AWESOME! Thanks, Mike. I will take a look right now. I bet we can get the info we need from this link.

User avatar
bullittandy
Posts: 1415
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:57 pm
Car: 2003 Q45, 70K miles, 1999 Q45 touring 180K miles, 1997 Q45 270K miles, (sold), 1997 Q45 186K miles (junk-sold)
Location: Atlanta
Contact:

Post

I pulled the starter from my 97 parts car and i remember pulling the rack as well. I think it was mandatory but also easy. To make it worth your while you could replace the rack bushings as a preventative measure.

Good luck!

srwood1
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2004 11:41 am
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45t

Post

97 Q45t- 214,000 miles. Replacing the starter on the Q45 is probably the most difficult mechanical project I have undertaken - and I have done the Knock Sensors and front struts on the same vehicle. Had I known, I would have paid someone with a lift to do it for me. What the FSM doesn't tell you is that both the rack and starter are almost impossible to snake out. The high pressure PS pipe is inflexible and you must work around it to get the rack out - I'm surprised I didn't damage it in the process. Once I found the secret combination for snaking the rack out, I thought I was home free, only to have an equally difficult job of snaking out the starter. Little things like removing wires from their mount in ackward situation turn into mini projects unto themselves. Getting everything back in place and perfect is an equally difficult task. Oh and I didn't mention the mess of dealing with the PS fluid, then the protracted job of bleeding the system.

All in all, I dumped 12-18 hours into the project on my back and side on a concrete floor. If the used '99 starter hadn't worked, you would have heard about me on the news.

qship96
Posts: 6624
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 11:31 am
Car: 1996 Q45

Post

I dont understand using a 12 year old worn starter to replace yours if the labor to install is so difficult??? Seems like you will be repeating the job soon ????

Q45tech
Moderator
Posts: 14365
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 3:19 am
Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl

Post

Whenever I use a used motor like item, I disassemble clean and MEASURE THE BRUSH length to gauge the REAL amout of use. Since mileage* doesn't tell you the number of starts or duration of cranking.

Obviously 100k of pure interstate driving beats 30k of city starts.

I have seen major discount stores pretty remans with less than half the brush length of a new unit. Remanned unit was just cleaned , polished and repainted.

* mileage on a HVAC fan motor does tell you a lot, since HVAC is on continuously but speed is still an unknown wear component.

Obbviously a hot area [AZ/Florida] is just as bad as a cold area [MN/ND] vs temperate climates like SF/California/coastal NC.

The FSM assumes all lifts and jacks and tools/testequipment are available and help from adjacent stalls as necessary.

Changing a starter on 90-96 and 97-2001 is a 1.5 hour jobs for trained and experienced.

User avatar
chipahoy
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:24 pm
Car: 1999 Infiniti Q45T, 250,000k
Location: Miami, Florida

Post

This is one of the most ridiculously complex jobs on this car. infiniti engineers must have come into work on a Friday with a hangover when designing the starter placement. first, you have to deal with the insanely difficult and dirty job of completely removing the steering rack and all its associated fluid lines and electrics - meanwhile power steering fluid is running everywhere, all over you, your tools, the ground - even when you try to capture it, its like a dike with a hundred holes. then you have to disconnect the steering wheel rack interface/knuckle to get it out. Now that you have fluid all over the place and the rack is out, the starter is a project into itself. who in the *&%^ placed it like that where you can't take it out? the two bolts come out easily enough - a miracle - but the starter has an extremely long snout that will not allow it to be taken out easily, you have to snake, shift, turn, snake, shift, turn, cuss, take a brake, snake, shift, turn shake cuss. Infiniti must have hired an engineer from Yugo. in my 20+ years working on cars, i have never, ever, had a more difficult time changing a starter.....leave yourself a long weekend and lots of patience.

DannyLeDuc
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:18 pm
Car: 99 Q45
Location: Joplin, MO

Post

I can echo the above frustrations with this design. If you have the equipment to loosen the motor mounts and lift the engine a few inches, it helps tremendously. At least that's what my mechanic told me after I replaced my starter (of course that also entails removing the rack, also on my back and side under the car on ramps, lol) with a newly remanufactured unit and the new starter did the same thing. I ended up putting it all back together as best as I could and handing it off to that good mechanic, who found out right away it was only a relay. :D

I could do it again if I had to, but I don't think I'll ever find myself "having to" again, lol.

bsw357
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:03 am
Car: 98 q45 and 8 others
Location: Indianapolis, IN.

Post

Where is the starter relay located on the y33 q45?
Some venders are listing starter relay for the year and the model but no location mentioned.
Thanks,

User avatar
Skibane
Posts: 1056
Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:33 pm
Car: 2000 Q45 AE 110K
Location: San Antonio, TX

Post

There is no separate "starter relay" on the Y33.

The starter solenoid has a built-in set of contacts that switch battery current to the starter motor.

Image

bsw357
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:03 am
Car: 98 q45 and 8 others
Location: Indianapolis, IN.

Post

Skibane wrote:
Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:09 pm
There is no separate "starter relay" on the Y33.

The starter solenoid has a built-in set of contacts that switch battery current to the starter motor.

Image
Really appreciate your input on the subject. But DannyLeDuc said he changed the starter but didn't fix the problem, then his mechanic replaced the relay and fixed the problem. He had a 99 y33 q45 according to his profile. I'm a bit confused. :confused:

macgiver
Posts: 1612
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:21 am

Post

mac , exactly - nobody who "knows" would of referred to the solenoid ON TOP attached to starter as a "starter relay" - all chalked up to everyday miscommunication is all ! :crazy: And understandable because many INFINITIS HAVE a "starter relay" upstream of the starter (solenoid term. )

bsw357
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:03 am
Car: 98 q45 and 8 others
Location: Indianapolis, IN.

Post

OK, no starter relay for Y33. Just starter solenoid. I just took the starter out today, no rack & pinion removal, no sway bar removal. Removed the 2 nuts holding the engine mount on each side, removed a bolt on one side of the strut tower bar (strut brace) and jacked up the oil pan a few inches. Gave me just enough clearance to pull the starter out between the oil pan and steering rack. I had to get creative positioning the starter different ways, cone nose first and the starter solenoid toward the center worked for me. The battery cable post on the solenoid was the tight squeeze. I did bend one of the steel power steering fluid lines slightly, the line looked rusty but didn't cause any leak. The new starter went back in the same way. Be sure to remove 10mm/M6 screws holding the wire loom and metal brackets in the area. I couldn't get the starter nose cone slide out far enough from the mounted position without removing these and the battery cable out of the way. Also, the starter was in there real tight. There wasn't much rust, but the starter cone nose was wedged in real tight and took a while with flathead screwdriver, ply bar, hammer and spray lubricant to get it out. Very limited space and took a while to get the cone nose out from the hole. Intake boot did come a part, might be wise to disconnect it ahead of time.

macgiver
Posts: 1612
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:21 am

Post

A car like that with a " hideaway " starter, always.....ALWAYS try making external connections to test it.You would remove ( carefully ) the positive Batt. cable on battery and plastic bag it , you insulate it well . Then with GOOD jumper calbles AND a helper ...go connect black cable to good clean engine block location . Then you get comfortably under car with a FUSED JUMPER like 12-10 AWG( 25-30A ) aligator clipped one end on a big LONG screw driver , other clip end on a smaller , narrower 10-12" screwdriver . Now you reach back there with the red jumping cable being connected to that BIG screwdriver , you push hard against the large battery input post (top usually) of the solenoid ,THEN you get the little screwdriver in position to "jab" cleanly the solenoid coil's (screw/nut) , now tell helper "give me juice connect the red cable to positive battery post ! " .RIGHT THEN you connect the little screwdriver ( to solenoid coil ) and SHE SHOULD TURN a cranking ? NO ? NOW you may correctly begin BUSTING YOUR F 'N AZZ doing a 6-10 hour R&R gig :rotflmao And of course the battery MUST be a good one -dah :facepalm:

p.s. Electrical taping of ANY portions of either of those screwdrivers along exposed lengths is good practice , for there WILL be a lot of metal you may be " extending through tight openings" ,ya know :yesnod

macgiver
Posts: 1612
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:21 am

Post

So sorry ,
My bad , one end of black jumping cable onto block , ya , and ....... OTHER end of black jumping cable goes to negative battery post .... I believe I left that part out . When it's ALL laid out in front of you , I don't think many would not know this though , no ? :yesnod
Doing so tries to guarantee a " Best " connection to block by effectively paralleling the negative cable to ground (aka to the block ) , starter body to block is of course usually rock solid - the strongest link in the whole circuit !

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

Post

Starter seems to be failing on my Q45. After the car sits for a day or two, you have to turn the key to START multiple times until starter will crank.
Recommended is unbolting motor mount? Is it easy to replace the motor mounts at this point? Where to find mounts?
Given the chance of removing the rack, does anyone know where to find bushings for its attachment?

98_Q45
Posts: 491
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:12 am

Post

fontana dan wrote:
Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:34 pm
Starter seems to be failing on my Q45. After the car sits for a day or two, you have to turn the key to START multiple times until starter will crank.
Recommended is unbolting motor mount? Is it easy to replace the motor mounts at this point? Where to find mounts?
Given the chance of removing the rack, does anyone know where to find bushings for its attachment?
I think I got my bushings from Infiniti parts deal.

Are you sure it’s not ignition switch? If you just hear the dreaded click, then yeah it’s starter.

I’m considering leaving my Q for local area drives to the city now versus the long distance that I love to do. Just had an alternator that lasted only 8 months go bad last month under warranty (luckily an easier fix than the starter), nothing like the transverse engine.

I think I went thru 3 starters previously because of extended crank times due to fuel leak. But now that the engine starts right up every time, hopefully I NEVER have to replace this A/C Delco reman. The Denso reman only lasted a few months over the one year warranty SMH. Granted, I put a lot of miles on mine, however it was likely more due to the extended crank than miles.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

Post

98_Q45 wrote:
Sat Aug 27, 2022 8:52 am
fontana dan wrote:
Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:34 pm
Starter seems to be failing on my Q45. After the car sits for a day or two, you have to turn the key to START multiple times until starter will crank.
Recommended is unbolting motor mount? Is it easy to replace the motor mounts at this point? Where to find mounts?
Given the chance of removing the rack, does anyone know where to find bushings for its attachment?
I think I got my bushings from Infiniti parts deal.

Are you sure it’s not ignition switch? If you just hear the dreaded click, then yeah it’s starter.

I’m considering leaving my Q for local area drives to the city now versus the long distance that I love to do. Just had an alternator that lasted only 8 months go bad last month under warranty (luckily an easier fix than the starter), nothing like the transverse engine.

I think I went thru 3 starters previously because of extended crank times due to fuel leak. But now that the engine starts right up every time, hopefully I NEVER have to replace this A/C Delco reman. The Denso reman only lasted a few months over the one year warranty SMH. Granted, I put a lot of miles on mine, however it was likely more due to the extended crank than miles.
So you replaced the starter by first removing the steering rack? Doing that job 3 times sounds like a nightmare and does not inspire confidence in these replacement parts...
No, I am not sure that it is not the ignition switch. I do hear the dreaded click, but I haven't been able to test the circuit with a multimeter.
I'm using the car now at college, 170 miles from my dad's shop where I can diagnose and fix these things. Just hoping the starter does not totally fail at an inconvenient time.
What was the fuel system leak causing your extended crank?
Despite this I still love love this car. Best cruiser in town.

3Q Jay
Posts: 2545
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 6:23 pm
Car: 94 Q45a
95 Q45a (sold)
97 Q45t (sold)
01 B15 Sentra (Daughter's)
Also Mine...
2010 A6 Avant
1977 F-150 (460!)
Location: Florida Coast

Post

fontana dan wrote:
Tue Aug 30, 2022 9:55 pm
98_Q45 wrote:
Sat Aug 27, 2022 8:52 am


I think I got my bushings from Infiniti parts deal.

Are you sure it’s not ignition switch? If you just hear the dreaded click, then yeah it’s starter.

I’m considering leaving my Q for local area drives to the city now versus the long distance that I love to do. Just had an alternator that lasted only 8 months go bad last month under warranty (luckily an easier fix than the starter), nothing like the transverse engine.

I think I went thru 3 starters previously because of extended crank times due to fuel leak. But now that the engine starts right up every time, hopefully I NEVER have to replace this A/C Delco reman. The Denso reman only lasted a few months over the one year warranty SMH. Granted, I put a lot of miles on mine, however it was likely more due to the extended crank than miles.
So you replaced the starter by first removing the steering rack? Doing that job 3 times sounds like a nightmare and does not inspire confidence in these replacement parts...
No, I am not sure that it is not the ignition switch. I do hear the dreaded click, but I haven't been able to test the circuit with a multimeter.
I'm using the car now at college, 170 miles from my dad's shop where I can diagnose and fix these things. Just hoping the starter does not totally fail at an inconvenient time.
What was the fuel system leak causing your extended crank?
Despite this I still love love this car. Best cruiser in town.
For clarity, you do not have to remove the rack assy entirely, but definitely release the rack from the cradle and repositon it. You will need to undo the steering shaft input. My recollection is the splines are keyed, but it's been a while. Might want to use sharpie just to be sure. The bushings for the G50 rack are: 54444-61u00 and 54445-60u00. Those were still avail from amayama last I checked.
FGY33 p/n will be different, I didn't replace when I rebuilt my starter. possible you can use the G50 bushings at your own risk. click is most likely the solenoid, but I would throw new brushes in regardless. Don't forget to bench test it before you go thru all the headache to re-install it.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

Post

While replacing the starter:
Do you have to take the fluid lines out of the power steering rack when repositioning it?
Or leave the rack in place and lift the engine instead?
or pay a guy with a lift to do it?

3Q Jay
Posts: 2545
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 6:23 pm
Car: 94 Q45a
95 Q45a (sold)
97 Q45t (sold)
01 B15 Sentra (Daughter's)
Also Mine...
2010 A6 Avant
1977 F-150 (460!)
Location: Florida Coast

Post

fontana dan wrote:
Thu Sep 15, 2022 7:40 pm
While replacing the starter:
Do you have to take the fluid lines out of the power steering rack when repositioning it?
no, but you will need to uncouple the steering shaft input to the rack.
You have a lot of options on your other questions.
I did it on my back with a floor jack. I *think* i undid the left motor mount (can't remove it without dropping the cradle) and raised 1/2" or so to help with access. But it was almost 10 years ago, so I can't recall for sure.


Return to “Q45 Forum / Cima Forum”