Timing Guide issues are for real

[BadQ45t]

Well, I drove my pops 1992 Q for six months and the wife and I decided having two V8's in the family was out of control, so dad (who had picked up a 98' E-class Benz) decided to keep it as a second car. Than a friend of his wanted to buy it and REALLy wanted the car, so we sold it to him for 3,500 bucks, which was good deal. He had the guy call me and I told him that the timing guides were an issue and had to be done (the car was just shy of 100k).

Sooo, he says ya, whatever, gets 300 miles on the car and WHAM, guides gone. By now his check had bounced and pop gets a call from him that the car is dead and that he can have it back. Couldn't really argue with him, since Daelus (sorry I butchered your handle) offered to rebuild for a grand. The car is now DOA and would need 2,700 minimum to rebuild.

The car is going to charity, if there is anybody out there that has an interest in a 92 pearl white with a clean interior, pretty new tires and chrome 15" rims, let me know asap at [email protected], or off to charity it goes.

The kicker in all this is that my dad's trusted service mechanic, who does great work and used to run Infiniti of Ventura told my dad that it was a "wives tale" and he shouldn't worry about it. Answer: WRONG. Why, I would guess that nobody ever had enough guts to take them to get fixed at a dealership after the warrenty ended. Too bad it didn't make the car light on fire or Infiniti would have been forced to do the RIGHT thing and do a recall on them. They did a recall on the fuel injectors on my 84' 300ZX and 85' Maxima in like 1996 after tons of them flamed.

Bottom line 90-92 owners with original guides, TICK TOCK, it is a ticking time bomb.

[sanman]

Are you interested in partin out?

Sanman

[Jesda]

I dont know if my guides were done or not, nor am I going to freak out over the issue. I'll do them soon as I can afford them (this fall). If not, oh well. **** happens. I love my car but I cant afford to have a sleepless night over a situation I cant immediately control.

178k!

-Jesda

[BadQ45t]

Sanman, we're open. Dad thinks charity is the best, but if you want to come and claim it we're happy to do that. But we're not in a position to part it out for you, no place to park it in the skeleton condition.

The car is in the Los Angeles area....Jesda, as long as you're willing to have the car die you're cool, but you should find out if the job has been done or not. Go to your local dealership to find out.

[DAEDALUS]

Jeff that really sucks to hear. Another Q goes to that big garage in the sky. I have to say I don't think your dad's friend sounds like much of a friend. Your father could make a real issue out of this, especially if the title paperwork was already sent in.

Where's the car now? I am interested in it--I'll email you.

[Jesda]

Unfortunately, the local dealer has no records. I do have records for the first 50k, and nothing mentions the guides. The guy who owned it before me never took the car to the dealer. The guy before that was at a dealer in Oklahoma, gotta contact him. Somehow the car ended up in Ohio at some point, and it made its start in California.

[DAEDALUS]

Jesda, would it make a difference if you knew for certain the guides are original? If so, then at the very least check the color of the RTV around the front cover. If it's light blue, it almost certainly has never been removed since leaving the factory.

[AZhitman]

Jeff - I'd like to support Robert (DAE) being the recipient of the "dearly departed".

It'd be going to a good cause, and Rob's done a TON for other NICO members...

A charitable organization wojn't be able to properly utilize it - They'll sell it for scrap. (Don't ask me how I know, it's a SAD, sad story.)

[maxnix]

I dont know if my guides were done or not, nor am I going to freak out over the issue. I'll do them soon as I can afford them (this fall). If not, oh well. **** happens. I love my car but I cant afford to have a sleepless night over a situation I cant immediately control.

178k!

-Jesda

Tick tock.

[90Q45blue]

Jesda,

It's been my experience that unless the chain guides were replaced at the dealer, T3 or Jerry Tucker, then there is a pretty good chance they were NOT done. I've seen pics of your car and know how much care you've put into it, it's a beautiful ride. Get those guides done before you look at getting a winter beater as careful driving can avert a winter accident but no amount of care short of replacement can stop 178,000-mile old nylon-backed plastic guides from breaking.

Nick

[Q451990]

Jesda,

I had the same attitude as you on the guides on Q1... lots of people telling me that lots of them go for a long time, and since I maintain it well and use Mobil 1 I should be fine. I put it off until one of my deals would close, planning a trip to T3 only three weeks after the guides failed! I was very lucky to get everything fixed (only one bent valve) for only $2800. Most of us aren't that lucky, and some of us are really unlucky! (FRED)

Even if you have to float the job on a 0% cash advance on your credit card for a few months, or even on a 4.99% fixed Capital One card - you're better off than a failure!

I guess the real question is how much longer do you want to drive the car. If you haven't done much else to it (which I doubt looking at the pictures of it) then you may want to let it die - but if the transmission and other big ticket items are in good shape it would be a shame to let the guides kill her.

Heath

[Jesda]

Yeah, I've got my fingers crossed. Everything on my Q is in super shape. transmission fluid is red and clean, shifts very smoothly. Just bought tires. New fuel pump. Had Mobil 1 oil and ATF for most of its life. The car has been well maintained by all of its owners.

Basically, its a battle with the clock. I'm moving + starting school + doing chain guides so the wallet is getting thin.

Being 21, with my brief credit history, at 18-20% interest on an unsecured credit card loan, I'm economically better off just buying another car, or driving mom's extra minivan.

The silicone sealant stuff is light blue, but so is the bottle of it I have in the garage. It appears unevenly applied as if it was opened, but thats no guarantee. First $1500 I have available, I'm making my journey to T3!

-Jesda

[BadQ45t]

Okay, so Dad is going to check with his accountant, the charity says they will give him like a 6k writeoff, but I just told him it would be so much better if the car went somewhere, it is very clean and the interior is really in great shape.

I will post or e-mail all those interested in it. I agreed that the guy who bought it was kind of an idiot, but no the title had not been transfered and I have to say that if I were him I'd probably have done the same thing, since he only had the car for 2 weeks. Still my dad had it tuned up just recently for $500 bucks which really sucks.

Jesda, I'd do this repair if I were you or be at least prepared to separate with 3 grand to fix it when it fails.

[Q45Viper]

Jesda, explain it to MOM, borrow the money from her. You are not going to look good in that minivan! Seriously, or your Dad? If presented with this issue of 1500 bucks and this is a great car that can be kept running versus now the family has to figure out another car they might go for it. If my kid came to me with this and was able to back it up with the threads here I would go for it, it's a stupid economic decision to throw a car like this away, run it by your parents. You might be surprised.

[Q451990]

The kicker in all this is that my dad's trusted service mechanic, who does great work and used to run Infiniti of Ventura told my dad that it was a "wives tale" and he shouldn't worry about it.

I think if I were your dad I'd certainly check with this "trusted mechanic" and see if he might stand behind his statement with a highly discounted repair of that engine! He should have known better.

Heath

[Jesda]

Well, when mom finds out I got rid of the 93 Accord she got me, she'll likely say "I TOLD YOU SO! See what happens when you dont drive a Honda?"

So I'm prepared to spend $1500 or $3k when the time comes. Once I finish paying for moving and all that other crap, I wont have bills, expenses... not a darn thing to pay for. So hopefully the Q will survive through the end of September when I'm able to pay for the guide job, and I can head down to Atlanta.

Not a huge concern.

-Jesda

[BadQ45t]

Well dad is not going back to the mechanic to make him pay, doesn't want to burn the bridge, plus I showed him the posts so he knew the risks. The car ain't gonna get fixed, he's donating it. I will post and privately e-mail the two people interested in it where it ends up so they perhaps can buy it off the charity. The one charity he talked with said they could do $5,500, so that is like 2k off your taxes, and I could not with a straight face tell anyone to spend 2k on this car regardless of how nice it is (and it is nice).

[Sopdadope]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but this is a head's-up to all first gen Q owners in the New England area:

If your chain guides haven't been serviced or you suspect they haven't been touched- contact me. I'm considering hosting a Q-101 workshop covering the 90-93 Q from bow to stern.

A few Q's will be needed for a chain-guide service demonstration and will be totally FREE OF COST for you. That's right folks, a job costing more than a cool grand done for zero...zilch...nada (provided that you already have replacement parts). So if you're in the area or can muster up the patience for long distance trek, I'll be happy to work on your car. But please contact me as soon as possible before I go globetrotting.

Hit me up via email: [email protected].

[Jesda]

I volunteer my 92 Q. Dropped you an email.

-Jesda

[Q451990]

Hmmm... you said my favorite word... Free!! Maybe a trip to "bean town" this time of year would be nice...

In all honesty, I'll probably take it to T3 since it's closer and I want to have an injector flush, Consult check-up, trans. flush, etc... and I'm sure there will be lots of people in line for guides in Boston!

Heath