Went to dealer for first service...

[Microsoft94Q45T]

So I went to Infiniti of Kirkland with my newly purchased '94 Q45t. I asked for a safety check and a consult and here is what they found:

Valve Cover Reseal - Leaking oil down to the exhaust manifold - $1500Left Upper Link - Excessive Plays - $315Brake Master Cylinder - start to leak - $620Front brake rotors turn - pulsates while braking Front pads at 7mm rear 9mm Drive belts - $170

I had them do the drive belts, that plus the safety check, consult = ~$500.

I am hoping to take it to Greg's Japanese auto and hopefully save a few bucks - do these prices seems reasonable (especially the valve cover reseal)? They quoted 12 hours of labor on that one. Re: the valve cover reseal - what is the urgency in getting this done? Is there any way I can objectively see if this is a serious "leak" or something that is less serious and can wait?

Also, the brakes seemed perfect before bringing it in... now I hear the master cylinder is starting to leak and the brakes are not as sensitive as they were when I brought them in - I am going to call them on Monday and see if they will own up to "breaking" anything in their safety inspection.

There were a couple of other accessory issues that I didn't include above (not going to worry about now).

On the consult side - nothing showing there - everything ok. They did a power balance test which said OK, here were the results:

1 - 89 rpm2 - 63 rpm3 - 66 rpm4 - 57 rpm5 - 71 rpm6 - 75 rpm7 - 63 rpm8 - 68 rpm

CMPS-RM(POS) 1083 RPMCOOLAN TEMP/S 183F

I also got a printout of the service records... looks like injectors 2 (@90k)and 3 (38k) have been replaced. Other work of note:

1/14/02 - 90k Replace injector 2Replaced cracked cooling fan bladeThrottle body serviceReplaced oil pressure switchReplaced both upper linksReplaced both tension rodsReplaced front pads and machined rotors

7/27/01 - 86kReplaced lower engine splash guard

8/16/00 - 76k75k serviceReplaced heater fan resistorReplaced rear brake pads and resurfaced rotors

6/7/00 - 72kNew battery

11/05/99 63k60k service

11/24/98 46k45k service

6/26/98 - 49kReplace TPS and both TCS relays

5/18/98 - 38kReplace Fuel injector 3

4/2/98Replaced pads and resurfaced rear rotors

4/20/97 30k30k service

8/12/96 22k22.5k service

4/12/96 18kReplace black instrument backingTrunk will not close - adjusted trunk lid

12/1/95 16k15k service

5/16/95 11kGas door will not closed replace fuel actuator and lid lock

3/1/95 7kReplaced instrument back lite circuit board assembly

Any comments or insight appreciated!

[FarFetched]

If you don't want to feed "hungry" dealer techs, I can assist you with your problems. Drop me a line via e-mail if you want!Cheers!

[DAEDALUS]

What's their labor rate per hour? $125? Seems steep for resealing a valve cover, but book time is what book time is. They don't publish the book (their friends do). It isn't real critical until you get tired of the smell of burning oil and/or the stain on your garage floor, or topping off the level every now and then.The upper link is about $100 from Joe and 20 minutes in your driveway if you have the tools. You can (should) replace both for less than what they quoted. The MC can be rebuilt with a seal kit from Joe as well. Sounds like they charged an hour to do the belts. That's fair time, but $125 can buy some nice tools.The PBT is out of spec I think.

[Microsoft94Q45T]

Their rate is $120/hr.

The odd thing about the valve seal... I don't smell anything (yet) - I will keep an eye on the oil level (and all other fluids checkable under the hood) though.

Re: the upper link - I don't feel anything odd in the ride and I certainly don't hear anything from the undercarriage while driving (my Volvo made quite a racket so I think I am pretty sensitive to out of the ordinary sounds).

I have no mechanic-ability (neither the time, nor the tools, nor the room unfortunately)... hoping to find some place local that is reliable and reasonable.

Re: the PBT - yeah the results don't look exactly perfect to me, but the consult printout apparently didn't have a problem with them and the mechanic didn't flag them. I seem to remember some guidance here that the cylinders should be within 12rpm?

[Jeff Williams]

With some good wrenches, the upper links can be replaced in about 45 minutes. The VC gaskets took me aobut 4 hours. A MC replacement should take about 2 hours.

I would be very careful taking the Q to anybody not familiar with the car, unless you fully trust them.

I would think the place you ahd your Volvo worked on might be qualified. Start calling the local shops or used car dealers that have shops, to see if they have any ex-infiniti techs working for them.

Most of these shops charge about $65 to $75 per hour.

If you ahve some vibration in your brakes, then the rotors need turning or replacing. They can be turned about 3 times, before they need to be replaced. It takes about 1 hour to R&R the brake rotors.

I have spent nearly $5k on Lola getting her "Up-to-spec", and she was fine when I bought her, just a little neglected. Tony did great maintenance, but just didn't want to spend the next $10K necessary to get her perfect at the dealership pricing level.

[Q45tech]

" OK" on the power balance just means 8 cylinders are firing -- nothing more. The variations of max to minimum [the spread] tells you more.

However a single test is unreliable to evaluate the true readings........I like to see 2-3 plus a loaded [AC on max] test.

89>57 skipping the outliers 75>63 seems decent........nothing a can of BG44k won't reduce [the spread].

When you buy a [almost 11 year old] $50,000 car for $5,000 you have to expect to rehabilitate at least the purchase price [if not double the purchase price] if you pay dealer retail or 25-40% less [with reduce labor and inet parts cost savings].

Still to return the car to almost good as new is an expense process......you never get to as new with used parts.

[Microsoft94Q45T]

Thanks for the info on the PBT... I have a can of 44k at the ready once I am close to done on the current tank.

I don't have a problem spending the money to get things right... just don't want to be take advantage of either :-)

[redmanfx]

Amoung other things done 1 week ago, my valve covers were resealed. The charge for that alone was $458.00. That is the price as if it was the only thing done. I paid Joe something like $28.00 for my tube of gasket sealer, but your 94 actually has a real gasket.

Even with having to purchase two gaskets $1500 is way, way too much for a valve cover reseal as the plenum does not have to come off. Even if they took the plenum off that is way too much.

I paid $458.00 for labor alone so you tell me.(reseal valve covers)

Upper links take about 45 min to 1hr each.

red