Infiniti Q45 oil pan removal procedure

The first step in the service manual says: "Remove engine."

You may not have to remove it, you could probably jack it up. You
would likely have to lift it until it's against the firewall, because
the pan needs quite a few inches of drop-down before it'll clear the
crank counterweights.

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 11:52:10 GMT, (N. Harriet)
wrote:

>Do you know how to drop a 1993 Infiniti Q45 oil pan?
>
>A biker dropped his pannier in front of me on the freeway.
>After dragging the saddlebag for 100 yards, I ran out of oil.
>Turns out I gouged and dented my Q45 oilpan beyond repair.
>I went down below but can't figure out how to drop that oil pan.
>So much heavy duty suspension stuff seems to be in the way.
>
>Anyone have a description of what the steps are?
>How long is the shop rating?


Shouldn't either his or your insurance cover this???
--
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:

"What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the
establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . .
Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of
the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order
to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House
of Representatives, August 17, 1789

AZGuy wrote:
> On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 11:52:10 GMT, (N. Harriet)
> wrote:
>
>> Do you know how to drop a 1993 Infiniti Q45 oil pan?
>>
>> A biker dropped his pannier in front of me on the freeway.
>> After dragging the saddlebag for 100 yards, I ran out of oil.
>> Turns out I gouged and dented my Q45 oilpan beyond repair.
>> I went down below but can't figure out how to drop that oil pan.
>> So much heavy duty suspension stuff seems to be in the way.
>>
>> Anyone have a description of what the steps are?
>> How long is the shop rating?
>
>
> Shouldn't either his or your insurance cover this???

That depends on the insurance. The other guy's insurance should cover this,
assuming he has insurance, and his identity is known. If not, it could be
covered by uninsured motorist property damage or comprehensive, depending on
the circumstances, if that type of coverage exists.

AZGuy wrote:
> On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 11:52:10 GMT, (N. Harriet)
> wrote:
>
>> Do you know how to drop a 1993 Infiniti Q45 oil pan?
>>
>> A biker dropped his pannier in front of me on the freeway.
>> After dragging the saddlebag for 100 yards, I ran out of oil.
>> Turns out I gouged and dented my Q45 oilpan beyond repair.
>> I went down below but can't figure out how to drop that oil pan.
>> So much heavy duty suspension stuff seems to be in the way.
>>

What does it say in the manual?? These things come in handy and I can't
stress enough how important it is to have one for each car you own
especially if you intend to do work on it.

Fwed

I'd be very surprised if a 1993 is insured against collision & theft.

You need to drop the oil pan out the bottom.
You do NOT need to remove the Q45 VH45DE engine.
But, you do need to unbolt the two motor mounts.
So you MUST support the engine from above!
Otherwise, you'll be crushed when you remove the front crossmember.
To remove the front crossmember the suspension links come off.
The transverse link must be removed to access crossmember bolts.
Leave the steering rack hanging once you remove the crossmember.
Mechanics can do this in a day.
DIY will take a few weekends as you're essentially removing the engine.
Most of the time you also have to remove the front engine gusset.
That adds about 5 more hours to the job.
That's because the alternator & compressor are bolted to the gusset.
The fan and all the belts have to come off to unbolt these two units.
Remove two rear engine gussets and the flywheel plate.
Support the transmission but leave the tranny mount intact.
You also have to disconnect the steering u-joint just above the rack.
While you're there you may as well replace the two engine mounts.
Also replace the two steering rack bushings while you're already there.
Some replace the alternator while they have it out.
You do not ever wish to remove an alternator after once doing it once.
Only 18 bolts hold the Q45 oil pan onto the engine.
While you're there look for chain guide parts in the oilpan.
Almost all 1990 to 1993 Qs will have lost their chain guides by now.
You can get a kit from Joe at Scottsdale (www.everythingnissan.com).
They are the best price Infiniti parts dealership in the world by far.
If you don't replace those guides you will lose your engine eventually.
Timing chains slip teeth & valves tap dance on your piston head.
Guides & oil pan almost always come in pairs.
Button it all up with RTV red & locktite red and you're all set.
Simple.

The whole procedure is explained on the Nissan Infiniti Club site
www.nicoclub.com

q45yesman wrote:
> I'd be very surprised if a 1993 is insured against collision & theft.

I have a 1991 that's insured against collision and theft. I also have a
$1000 deductible. The extra coverage cost very little. The replacement
cost for my vehicle through a dealer in my area with my low mileage is
$5,648. Considering that the slightest damage can cost a few thousand
dollars these days, it's been worth it for me. Since the vehicle was new,
my wife has had two minor scrapes with it. They were both expensive to fix,
both well over $1000, and both low enough that they did not raise my rates.
The most recent one was within the past year. The payment I got made up for
the premiums. Had I dropped collision five years ago, or even more, I would
not have saved enough money to have made up for what it would have cost
without it.

Also, many people get insurance when the vehicle is new and just send in a
check when the bill comes without thinking about it. If the extra amount
added up to hundreds of dollars, perhaps I'd consider dropping it.

In article .com>, "q45yesman" > wrote:
>I'd be very surprised if a 1993 is insured against collision & theft.

It isn't. I didn't think anyone insured a ten year old Q.

>The whole procedure is explained on the Nissan Infiniti Club site
>www.nicoclub.com

I just looked. That web site is awesome! More about Nissan and Infiniti
cars that all of the usenet combined. But I didn't find the oil pan removal
procedure in the search. Do you have a better link?

q45yesman wrote:

> I'd be very surprised if a 1993 is insured against collision & theft.
>
> You need to drop the oil pan out the bottom.
> You do NOT need to remove the Q45 VH45DE engine.
<snip>

Wow. I wouldn'a thought it possible. A car sufficiently convoluted that
it makes service procedures for a Northstar Cadillac appear logical.

In article >, "Hagrinas Mivali"
> wrote:
>>> A biker dropped his pannier in front of me on the freeway.
>>> After dragging the saddlebag for 100 yards, I ran out of oil.
>>> Turns out I gouged and dented my Q45 oilpan beyond repair.

>> Shouldn't either his or your insurance cover this???

>That depends on the insurance.

All I have is liability. Nothing else.
I didn't think anyone covers a car once it hit eight to ten years, do they?

N. Harriet wrote:
> In article >, "Hagrinas Mivali"
> > wrote:
>>>> A biker dropped his pannier in front of me on the freeway.
>>>> After dragging the saddlebag for 100 yards, I ran out of oil.
>>>> Turns out I gouged and dented my Q45 oilpan beyond repair.
>
>>> Shouldn't either his or your insurance cover this???
>
>> That depends on the insurance.
>
> All I have is liability. Nothing else.
> I didn't think anyone covers a car once it hit eight to ten years, do
> they?

Absolutely, but you have to weigh the cost against the benefits. Once the
book value sinks, it's often not worth it. A typical 10 year old car is
worth $1-2000. If you want something affordable, you need a high deductible.
If you have insurance for a $1000 car with a $1000 deductible, then in
theory, you would never collect, because the car would be considered totaled
if the damage exceeds book value. If it's worth $2000, and insurance cost an
extra $300/year, then unless you think there's a 1 in 3 chance of a serious
accident, it's still not worth it. Since insurance companies never pay more
than what a car is worth, it could be considered totalled if somebody steals
a radio.

I live in an area of the US where cars are expensive, and so is insurance.
But comprehensive is about $50, and collision is about $80. My book value
is close to $6000, and my insurance company is pretty good at paying what it
would cost me to get a similar vehicle in my area.

I don't know what it costs to have a dealer replace an oil pan, but I know
it can cost $300-400 to have a simple hose replaced under some
circumstances. If this happened to me, I'd still be out at most $1000, but
I suspect that the part that the insurance company would pay would be
greater than my comprehensive payments.

If there were another driver involved and he was responsible, then he would
have to pay. But if he had no insurance, then my "uninsured motor vehicle
property damage" insurance would cover that. That cost me $3.65 on my
policy. In theory, the insurance company would still go after the other
person, but it would not be my problem.

Even without insurance, if you know who the other person is, he's probably
responsible. There's always small claims court.