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97 QX4 Fixer Upper


Mrelcocko
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Looks to me like the rust started between the panels where they overlap. It's tough to protect metal when it's sandwiched together like that. Dirt and water wick in between and the seam rots from the inside out, and the rust that forms is bigger than the steel was, so it forces the seam apart. Seam sealer might've helped, at least for a while. I don't know where Nissan did or didn't put seam sealer on the R50s, but I don't see evidence of sealer in the pictures above. Engine heat and bracket placement probably didn't help, but IMO having an unprotected lap joint in a wheel arch was always going to cause problems.

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I agree the bracket needs another home. I wonder too about the south west @mjotrainbrain I wouldn't think so, but you never no. It's been said before Nissan wasn't thinking correctly when building the R50. Other than the strut tower issue a GREAT suv. I take her in tomorrow morning @ Harper Infiniti of Knoxville so lets see how they handle the problem. Its def a level 2 repair in my opinion. I'll have an update as soon as  I hear from them. They have a great reputation and other than the tech not inspecting the strut recall like he should've I have no beef with them. Its not the company I'm pissed about, its the tech. They treated me very respectively and gave me a sunshade especially for my Q to boot. To be continued...............   

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Ok here's my answer. I dropped it off yesterday morning at 7:30 explain to the service writer that I had it in 7 months ago to have the seat belts replaced fast forward to Friday of last week I called to find out if there were any open recalls oh my QX4 the lady at Infiniti USA told me there weren't any recalls open so I asked her what was the last recall that was performed she told me strut Tower I asked her when she said December of 2018. I had no clue they even done the recall. Should it not have been on my paperwork along with the seatbelts she said not necessarily. I dont understand that one. Anyway Harper infiniti had my Quey from 730 till present becausr at 530 yesterday I received a text stating infiniti didnt think the rust was bad enough to warranty a level 1 or level 2 fix and that my Quey is ready for me to pick it up. So when did a business start texting instead of calling? Oh I know when they don't want to talk to a customer that might be on the little pissy side. I haven't called and talked to the service manager yet wanted to wait and see what you guys thought. Do i have a legitimate case people? I dont see why my Quey wouldn't have at least a level 1 repair and best a level 2. I think with the perforation(Hole) and the scab raised rust I have a leg to stand on. I think they just dont want to bite the bullet and fix it. They should've caught the strut tower problems back in December when replacing my seatbelts. The pictures dont do justice when i get to my Q I'll take some better ones. I read yesterday on one of the strut recall campaign pdf files that going by what they have listed within the pdf its def a level 2 repair.

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They consider that not bad enough? I don't want to know what they consider bad then, imo that is absolutely a level of damage which should be repaired under the recall.  Also pretty ridiculous that they didn't tell you they "performed" the recall previously.

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Well im not allowed back at Harper Infiniti. They told me to leave or they would call the law. I used every cuss word I knew. Long story short since the recall was done back in December there's nothing they can do unless I pay. BULL@!*%! Service manager said someone poked a hole in the tower and I told him yea I purposely made that hole and to cause all the flaking to appear. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Bottom line is by reopening the recall would mean they didnt do their job the first time in turn looks very very bad on them. Also the service manager ask me if I knew had it ever spent any of its life up north and I told him not to the best of my knowledge no. Entire life spent in TN. Just got off the phone with Infiniti Consumer Affairs and brand new it was leased from Dayton, Ohio. Learned some new history on the old gal today. She's not been in the volunteer state her whole life. Im gonna repair i it myself. What would be the best way to go about that? Would welding a piece of steal on or rivet a homemade bracket? Then self etching primer followed by some undercoating. One hell of a day folks. The 97 fixer upper was almost used as a weapon today.

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Well, that sucks. Not surprising Nissan wants nothing to do with it. They aren't known for owning up to their mistakes, let alone fixing them.

Again, given how half-assed their "repair" procedure is, IMO you're better off doing it yourself anyway. Cut out the rotten area, cut a patch panel to fit into the hole, then butt weld it in there, followed by seam sealer, primer, and undercoat. Just slapping a patch over the rotten metal leaves a cavity that'll collect more dirt and moisture and keep the party going. I'm guessing you want this to be a permanent fix, not a band-aid. Probably a good idea to drape a welder's blanket or wet towel or something over the CV axle so you don't burn holes in your CV boots. Also obviously make sure there isn't a wiring harness, fuel line, brake line, etc on the other side of the metal before you cut and weld, that could make for a bad day.


Given that it's structural, if you aren't sure of your welding skills or the best way to go about this, talk to a welder or a body shop and see how they'd tackle it.

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Well, that sucks. Not surprising Nissan wants nothing to do with it. They aren't known for owning up to their mistakes, let alone fixing them.

Again, given how half-assed their "repair" procedure is, IMO you're better off doing it yourself anyway. Cut out the rotten area, cut a patch panel to fit into the hole, then butt weld it in there, followed by seam sealer, primer, and undercoat. Just slapping a patch over the rotten metal leaves a cavity that'll collect more dirt and moisture and keep the party going. I'm guessing you want this to be a permanent fix, not a band-aid. Probably a good idea to drape a welder's blanket or wet towel or something over the CV axle so you don't burn holes in your CV boots. Also obviously make sure there isn't a wiring harness, fuel line, brake line, etc on the other side of the metal before you cut and weld, that could make for a bad day.

Given that it's structural, if you aren't sure of your welding skills or the best way to go about this, talk to a welder or a body shop and see how they'd tackle it.
Thanks for the info. I know a welder personally so no worries. What a long day.

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They consider that not bad enough? I don't want to know what they consider bad then, imo that is absolutely a level of damage which should be repaired under the recall.  Also pretty ridiculous that they didn't tell you they "performed" the recall previously.
I'd hate to see real rust.

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Good advice from Slart there. Take the opportunity to fix it all and fix it right. If it's solid otherwise it'll be money and time well spent. 

 

Do you happen to know how long it was in Ohio before it came to Tennessee?

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I have no idea, but i got a connection up at Harper infiniti. One of the parts guy's who was nice as could be told me to get Infiniti USA to put my vin back in the system and he would run it in his system. He told me he would run it and be able to tell me the full history on her. When it was sold, where, miles, window sticker, what she sold new for, any service that was done at any Infiniti dealership. So thats cool. Im calling Infiniti USA now. I bet you money it spent a few years up north. Im anxious to find out.

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Im gonna purchase the bracket kit for the strut Tower recall. The part number I got from the PDF recall campaign comes up as a hood ledge is that correct? It says the part number has changed when you enter it in on a Nissan parts site but its the same part just a diff part#. The original part # is this # F4195-0W00C. Enter it in and Hood Ledge comes up with this new part# # F4195-0W00A@mjotrainbrain do you have any knowledge about this?

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I looked into it briefly, that sounds right. The kit will be useful for the job because it saves you some fabrication. Just make sure you install it better than the document describes, I'd totally recommend removing all the rust and welding in the part.

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I looked into it briefly, that sounds right. The kit will be useful for the job because it saves you some fabrication. Just make sure you install it better than the document describes, I'd totally recommend removing all the rust and welding in the part.
Thats exactly what im gonna do. What about the rivets? Should i install them? I know that's probably a stupid question, but I really dont know if I should or shouldn't.

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Gonna be ordering strut tower bracket or as Nissan calls it hood ledge kit. The part # on the recall sheet is F4195-0W00C, but when i searched it came up F4195-0W00A says it replaces F4195-0W00C. Has snyone ordered this and if so is it the right part?

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Does anyone know if you can purchase the Hood Ledge kit LH F4195-0W00C (F4195-0W00A) for the drivers side strut recall from Amazon? I got a gift card for 200$ and want to try and use it. Desperately want to tackle this job asap.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Does anyone know if you can purchase the Hood Ledge kit LH F4195-0W00C (F4195-0W00A) for the drivers side strut recall from Amazon? I got a gift card for 200$ and want to try and use it. Desperately want to tackle this job asap.

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So to answer my own question yes you can. They fudged up and sent me the wrong bracket along with it being for the wrong side as well. I was a little upset so I called Bob Bell Nissan in Baltimore, Maryland where my Amazon order came from and they told me they had a new person shipping orders for them and they messed up 3 orders one being mine. I asked what I needed to do about shipping the part back to them and they told me they didn't want to put me through any more inconvenience to just keep it and they would send me the right one. So needless to say it was buy one get the other side free. So in the end I was more than happy they messed up. I paid 65$. Thats high for a bracket to me, but not when you get 2 for the price of one. cf70ee905665642ecaf2c73ac900317f.jpgdded7107050fb1687c12bbc94061d1c3.jpg0530431faa881245ec9c4a8e4c378e0c.jpgc316ab351cd46fcf9301d5dde0fe60a7.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Been working a lot of hours in and outta town but git this weekend off and cashed in on my time off. I made a trip to Pull-A-Part picked up some weather stripping, boost sensors,light bulbs,fog lights etc. I try to stock up on parts the best I can. Also got a chance to wash the old gal make a run to the local Ford dealership to check out the new Ranger. Productive weekend. Heading to Alabama and gonna take the Q. It'll be the first trip the old gal has taken since I purchased her back in January 17. ad7ba1b326f24b0ceec694e949cf7d0e.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

So going from QX4 solid the last year I decided to mix it up and make the X matte finish to match bumper, air vents front and sides. Step rails along with the wipers, license plate trim and rear glass hatch handle. I've had quite a few compliments on how good the colors go together. I dig it. I made the 4wd from individual numbers and letters the same for the QX4. Remaining for this old girl is only cosmetically here and there. Might replace the seats, but down the road.

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  • 1 month later...

Decided to start updating the faded or missing labels. 2 arrived today. Also hooking up some time delayed courtesy lights. Got me a 5min timer

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  • 9 months later...

Back at it again. Got me some seats from pull a part this past weekend to put in the Q. I also just installed some amber LED lights across the roof rack8d0e15c434bfb7a6dcfd56169c03b979.jpg
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