They've discontinued all the brake boosters...alternatives for future references??

[98_Q45]

So I'm pretty sure I've used up about 6 of the 9 lives of this car...this must be the 7th. Kinda late posting as I've already got the part from eBay.

But..long story short, Memorial day weekend I was pulling off the highway at 70, when I felt the brake become very stiff and lost all braking power. I was able to get back home, 70 miles later. Had someone look over it, sure enough brake booster fried.

Went to searching all across the net and every auto parts store. Unless it's just this area I'm in (Midwest, which isn't popular for RWD Qs due to weather): but non had any in stock including the vendors.

So I was pretty sure I was f*** at that point. Fortunately I found a used one on eBay. Haven't installed yet...its been 2 weeks already and only way to stop is neutral and shifting into 2 or 1 with firm pressing of the brakes. Hard to reach available mechanics to put it in. Wearever and duralast seemed promising, but non. Napa non. Advance auto non. Pep boys, non. Even rock auto and Amazon and multiple dealer sites to no avail.

So yeah, it's crazy. But the good news is: past thread on here seems to indicate the bad brake booster has been what's causing rough idle and backfiring induced vacuum leak that's been plaguing my ride since I've had it. Used to only do it in cold weather, but as the booster got worse, it's doing it even in the 90s of summer. And when I press the brake, I can feel the engine starting to stall. Which explains why it only occurred when at or coming to a stop, and never when accelerating or driving.

[AZhitman]

RockAuto has one left in stock.

[BCC93QT]

Welcome to the Q45 world. It's been a very disappointing run regarding discontinued parts. Nice to see AZhitman still looking at the Q45 forum. Amayama seems to be the best lately. As far as OEM new brake boosters... good luck you even find the part new its gonna cost you more than you think

[98_Q45]

RockAuto has one left in stock.

Hmm, that must be new. When I looked, the only option was to send to A1 Cardone and have it rebuilt. Which isn’t an option.

Edit: I see now. Not sure how I missed that one. But considering I only got this one for $45, will see what happens

[AZhitman]

GITRDUN!

[98_Q45]

Welcome to the Q45 world. It's been a very disappointing run regarding discontinued parts. Nice to see AZhitman still looking at the Q45 forum. Amayama seems to be the best lately. As far as OEM new brake boosters... good luck you even find the part new its gonna cost you more than you think

$1,200 to be exact.

Personally I’m just over it lol. I’m looking at new cars every week, just to see what’s out there. But for my budget and credit, too risky. I don’t even want a used car anymore lol. I rented a 2019 Nissan Pathfinder last week, and it feels great to just be able to drive and wash the car, without having repair worries (even though there did seem to be a glitch with the key fob and push start, that kept causing me to be unable to start the car...)

Even mechanics tell me to get something different (which is BS because I see people driving 1950s cars completely restored. if people can fix up classic cars, why not fix up mine??)

The problem is a lot of mechanics are either lazy or greedy lol. They don’t want to work on a car every month, so they suggest getting a new one. I’m like, WTF am I bringing it to you then? Defeats the whole point.

And I personally am not inclined to do this job myself. I’m just tired of working on cars for right now lol. It keeps costing me more to take time off and miss work, than it would to take it to a mechanic. I’m fine if it’s easy stuff like oil/transmission fluids, interior parts, etc. But I rather pay $150-200 for a repair, and make it right back, than to fix it myself for a little less but miss work. Problem is, not every mechanic charges the same, and then whenever I do have a problem I can’t do myself, I end up having to wait a week or 2 to get it fixed either due to the part not being in stock, or the shop claiming to be SOOOOOOOO busy

[BCC93QT]

Get a new car. I have several. You may never be happy with your 22 year old infiniti. Quite honestly you keep struggling with your 98. You view this car as a daily driver. And unfortunately this Q45 isnt suitable for you. I'm not going to be that guy. But you want this vehicle to be your daily driver. It was already in disrepair when you bought it. We(as in this site) will help you in every shape or form to fix your Q45. But your 1998 Q45 will NEVER be a new car. I dont know you. But I have seen several of your posts. This car is not for you.

[98_Q45]

Get a new car. I have several. You may never be happy with your 22 year old infiniti. Quite honestly you keep struggling with your 98. You view this car as a daily driver. And unfortunately this Q45 isnt suitable for you. I'm not going to be that guy. But you want this vehicle to be your daily driver. It was already in disrepair when you bought it. We(as in this site) will help you in every shape or form to fix your Q45. But your 1998 Q45 will NEVER be a new car. I dont know you. But I have seen several of your posts. This car is not for you.

It’s easier said than done though. I know I won’t approved for a “new” new car at all. And even if I do, it could be a bad move trying to keep up on payments and insurance. Even with this rental Pathfinder I had, they screwed me over with an extra $188 just for keeping it an 3 extra days, when I was told it would only be an extra $105. Exactly why all the cars I’ve had were paid for. New cars are fun to drive, but those payments will kill. I almost feel if I’m going to have $300-400/mo. payments plus mandatory full coverage insurance, I’ll surely spend less than that on repairs keeping what I have.

However, I have been looking at mid 2000s models which have depreciated a lot. Something in the 4-7k range. Issue is most of them are cash, or quick pay off financing. Today I was looking at a 1 owner, 07 M45, 151,000 miles. Which isn’t bad compared to my 271,000...but it’s still 151,000 miles lol.

I’m not trying to bash the Q or say that I don’t cherish or appreciate it (quite the opposite lol), but it’s not even so much it’s breakdowns, than the fact parts keep being hard to come by. And then finding the right shop to service it if I’m out of town. I still need drivers side, rear wheel bushings for the suspension links. I was able to get a replacement for the passenger side, but they are a pain to get off when at a salvage yard working less than 2 feet off the ground. To get a breaker bar in there. So will likely have to go for new.

If anything, I’d like to keep the Q as an around town and occasional roadtrip car. At this point I’ve already sunk in hundreds of dollars in the past year. It would be all in vain to let it go now. The thought of trying to sell it makes me leery, too much legwork/test drives. Plus I’d have to meet them at the bank and see them take the cash out of the ATM lol.

[BCC93QT]

Ugh. What to say. Mid 2000s models. Same boat. Pick your poison man. Im lost for words. The two thumbs you type with are your best tools. Get wrenching

[BCC93QT]

(472106P100) 1,161.38 brand new from japan. Most if not all parts are not actually discontinued. Japanese car. Japanese parts.

[Q451990]

Don't forget to check the check valve in the vacuum line as well. We've seen a few failures on those over the years.

[98_Q45]

Don't forget to check the check valve in the vacuum line as well. We've seen a few failures on those over the years.

That is what seems to be the issue. Something vacuum related for sure. But seems to be best route to change the booster all together. I just don’t have the know how to diagnose and pick a part because I’ve never had such a thing fail before.

[98_Q45]

(472106P100) 1,161.38 brand new from japan. Most if not all parts are not actually discontinued. Japanese car. Japanese parts.

Just too much though lol. Remember, if you keep up with my posts like you say...I spent over $500 back in February for front rotors, pads and calibers (which I know is “cheap” in grand scheme, but that’s with buying parts myself and negotiating with the labor and costs of surprise calipers). And already...the front calipers are rusted out. So I may run this by them tomorrow, maybe see if Oreiley has a warranty.


I’m not a car hating person, and I like the fun in working on. But I also know all too well the ALTERNATIVE of not having a car, which I’m all too familiar with. But...I can’t help but sometimes dream about a nice apartment in the city, and just being able to get everywhere without depending on a car, and waiting for WEEKS for a COMPETENT mechanic to do a simple 2 hour job lol. (a REAL CITY, like London, San Francisco, São Paulo.) Not a s*** city that if you don’t have a car, you’re considered a loser, aka Kansas City, Tampa, Phoenix, lol).

Problem is, the “walk friendly” cities are far too expensive. It’s like you can’t win: if you live in a walkable City/area of town, you’re paying out the a** for rent (and food and groceries and ridiculous money-draining apps like grubhub, Uber eats, etc etc. plus without decent grocery stores and big box stores, essentials also can be more expensive going to convenience stores for everything).

If you live in a car-dependent City, you’re paying out the a** for payments for a new car or repairs on an older one. But I can appreciate the latter because having a new car or nice apartment just means an endless payments to something you don’t own, if it involves renting or leasing.

But back to reality, I have an appointment tomorrow to install brake booster. I’m still terrified from previous brake repairs, that they may find something else wrong, and I’ll be once again in a tailspin. But being optimistic and positive that it’ll only be that issue, and I can move on to figuring out why my relatively newly replaced a/c is leaking and not getting cold anymore.

[Sapofeo]

Daily driver means basic 4 cylinder Japanese car. If you're trying to daily a decades old luxury car, you'll be paying out the nose. Civic ftw.

[98_Q45]

Daily driver means basic 4 cylinder Japanese car. If you're trying to daily a decades old luxury car, you'll be paying out the nose. Civic ftw.

Ah so that explains it all lol, my Q45 is my daily driver and road warrior. With every mile closer to 300,000 is uncharted territory.

I just don't understand though. My 97 Nissan Maxima has over 380,000 miles. With the exception of a few predictable things, it's never been in the shop as much as the Q. Granted, it HAS had its repairs and issues, but for most part nothing weird like heater core, brake booster, wheel bearing separation, etc. However it did recently throw a power steering belt attributed to a failing harmonic balancer. Also seems to have a dead cylinder and leaking upper oil pan and or valve cover gasket...so engine wise, the Q45 is much more reliable.

Also update: eBay brake booster DID NOT work. Wasted $150 paying a shop labor. Fortunately I lucked out and tried again with a nearby AutoZone and a reman booster was available. So then had to drop another $300+ and went ahead with the master cylinder just in case. Tomorrow gotta pay again to put that in.

Harrowing experiences would not describe the frustration I've been in.

[AZhitman]

Did we not grab the last one that RockAuto had in stock?

[98_Q45]

Did we not grab the last one that RockAuto had in stock?

It woulda took longer to arrive. Most of the parts stores are next day delivery. That's the drawback lol.

But these items come and go it seems. Return a core, maybe a remanufacturer will pick it up and resale it. I found mine special order. Which i tried to do to begin with, but they were telling me non were available. I think these auto parts stores only able to order within a regional area. There may be other parts in California or Florida or New York, but if their system can only see the next state or 2 over, it'll never show as available to order.

[98_Q45]

Update: master cylinder and booster fixed. AutoZone remans. Nearly $300 in parts and close to $300 in labor (woulda been cheaper and/or more expensive, but had to pay twice because the eBay booster wasn't working. They kinda worked with me...but I know it wasn't their fault so I didn't complain. NO MORE EBAY PARTS. TOO HIT OR MISS! LOL) Something like $550, or half the cost of an average monthly rent of a 1 bedroom apartment in most downtown cities lol.

Brake feels super cushiony, however I did go back to ask about why the pedal seems to sink before I stop. I don't mind, but one thing I notice with new cars is they stop as soon as I tap the pedal. With a new master and booster, I was expecting instant stoppage.

At this point I'm not too worried in chasing it down. Next stop, air condition and rear control bushings.

[AZhitman]

Need to bleed the brakes and lubricate the caliper slides. There should be no "sinking" of the pedal.

[98_Q45]

Need to bleed the brakes and lubricate the caliper slides. There should be no "sinking" of the pedal.

They bled them already. Not sure about calipers. Those were replaced in February. Unfortunately already rusted out, likely due to 2 separate times of sitting for 5 days straight shortly after repairing.

God help me lol. And today a semi truck pulled out in front of me not long after I fixed my brakes. Likely would have crashed if my brakes weren't fixed lol. But part of me just wanted to keep going, so I could get something new lol. But it woulda been a waste of time and money thus far. My health more important than an insurance check lol.