Advice_ FAQ _Media _Resources _Performance _Tech Help _Data _Forum _Search _Contact

Chain Guide Replacement

No guarantees are made on the results, and anything you do yourself is at your own risk. THIS IS NOT A HOW-TO GUIDE. IT IS ONLY A PHOTO OVERVIEW OF PORTIONS OF THE PROCESS.

Chain Guide Replacement
By Jesda Gulati 

First, read this NICO article on why you must install new metal-backed timing chain guides on your 90-93 Q45. These photos are taken in chronological order. Most dealers will charge $2200-$3000, while T3 in Atlanta will charge about $1200. I paid an independent technician in Iowa $600 for labor and ordered parts from Scottsdale Infiniti for under $350. In addition to that $1200, it will cost approximately $500 more to drop the oil pan. Also, many choose to replace their timing chain at a significant increase in parts and labor, but also a significant increase in the longetivity of the vehicle.




Radiator and fan removed.


Crank pulley removal.


Crank pulley.

is Radiator, tranny cooler.


Preliminary look. On the right behind the chains is a broken guide. Up front is the oil pump chain, which is rather loose.


You can see the broken plastic guide on the right.


Close up of the broken guide.


Guide piece.


Passenger side, still in tact but cracking in the middle.


Another guide piece.


Same guide piece, flipped.


Oil pump chain removed, timing chain guide zip tied on the left. Notice the slack in the chain. At any point the chain could have jumped. Also observe on the right where the chain ate into the oil pump and a bolt.


Close up of zip ties used to keep the chain from moving.


Passenger side guide, -seems- in tact but is cracking in the middle and feels brittle. I could not break it by hand, but a light impact with any object would have shattered it. Dated Piece is dated June 91.


Same guide.


New guide installed, passenger side.




New guides! Backed by metal.


Oil pump chain reinstalled, new guides, no longer all that slack.


More new guides.

The whole process took five hours, plus a few hours for the RTV silicone sealant to set in. Later on, the oil pan still has to be dropped to remove old guide pieces that could clog the oil pickup. That will require a professional shop with a lift.

This web site is the copyrighted intellectual property of Jesda Gulati and Wes Stinson.