[Zestune]

I've owned my Q50 Luxe AWD for about 3 months and it's the love of my life. However, the summer heat in the northeast can get into the 90s. After researching I know that a heat exchanger is necessary and if I want to do any more than 1 pull a day, I'll need one. That being said I've called about every shop in a 30-mile radius about installing a heat exchanger and none have interest in even talking about it. I tried the dealership but had an unprofessional experience and would prefer not to go through them. I'm left to do it myself. I've watched videos and have studied for the last week on how to take the fender off, crash bar off, HX off, and install the new one. I'm not much of a mechanic and the biggest project I've done is replace spark plugs on an impala. With a tutorial and some confidence, I think I'll attempt installing the HX by myself. I think I can do it but bleeding the system and doing it properly scares me. I've seen videos using an airlift and videos only using a funnel but I'm not sure which of these to do and if one is better than another. The last thing I need is my engine overheating while I'm away from home and knowing I f'd up my car. Any tips or recommendations for bleeding the system are welcome
Thanks

 

[17awdQ50P]

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[SkylineDreamz]

Sooo, the heat exchanger is only for the inter coolers. Your car won’t over heat. But other bad things could happen if you don’t bleed the system. For example, the super heated air being forced into your engine from the inter coolers not having coolant could cause the fuel to ignite waaaay before it should. This is called detonation. If the piston is too far from top when that happens, you could spin a bearing and then it’s motor rebuild city. Or worse, it could break a connecting rod and shoot it through the block. Then it’s new motor out of pocket city. Not trying to scare you, just want you to know.

now that you know what the worse case is, I’d say go for it. It’s not a hard job, but it will be messy. Have a bag of kitty litter near by. Use an airlift or any other comparable tool, like the one @17awdQ50P posted. Burp the system afterwards. Then keep an eye on that reservoir for a few weeks after. So long as there’s coolant in the reservoir, you’ve got no worries.

 

[IridiumRS400]

For reference, I had my local WA state Infiniti dealer install the Infiniti-branded (AMS) HE. I think it took 4-5 hrs ($140/hr) of installation time. The dealership uses the Consult tool to run the IC pump(s) to burp the system. Otherwise, as mentioned, use an AirLift tool.

 

[Zestune]

For reference, I had my local WA state Infiniti dealer install the Infiniti-branded (AMS) HE. I think it took 4-5 hrs ($140/hr) of installation time. The dealership uses the Consult tool to run the IC pump(s) to burp the system. Otherwise, as mentioned, use an AirLift tool.

Did they understand what you wanted and did everything go smoothly? I called my dealership and they said I had to pre-pay in person, I came in and they said they'd call me with an ETA(4 weeks ago this past Friday). Just called again yesterday and he said they had no record of it and the person I was speaking to had no idea what a heat exchanger was and was asking me for an ID number. I said I was looking for an AMS Heat Exchanger and they said "is that a performance part?" I said Yeah, and I hear 3 beeps and they hung up on me. You think I would have a different experience calling another dealership? Thanks

 

[IridiumRS400]

Did they understand what you wanted and did everything go smoothly?

I brought the HE in the trunk, as I had purchased it online from an Infiniti dealer in GA (Gwinett). Since they were installing it, they provided a 1-yr/12k mile labor warranty. The Shop Foreman performed the installation.

And yes, the Infiniti-branded (AMS) HE is an Infiniti Motorsports part in the catalog.

 

[Zestune]

I brought the HE in the trunk, as I had purchased it online from an Infiniti dealer in GA (Gwinett). Since they were installing it, they provided a 1-yr/12k mile labor warranty. The Shop Foreman performed the installation.

And yes, the Infiniti-branded (AMS) HE is an Infiniti Motorsports part in the catalog.

So you bought the part and made an appointment and they had no issue installing it? Sounds like I need to call other dealerships and I just had a bad experience with one.

 

[17awdQ50P]

So you bought the part and made an appointment and they had no issue installing it? Sounds like I need to call other dealerships and I just had a bad experience with one.

You should just say you are looking for Infiniti part number 21410-ALPHE , and wanting to know how much it would be to install.

They are probably thinking "this dude wants us to install aftermarket performance parts on his car.... yeah... no... hangup"
They probably don't know the relation of AMS and Infiniti on a few of the performance parts. That's why I would just provide Infiniti part number.

 

[jose_smilez]

I installed my own Mishimoto HX myself with a friend. Took us 4 hours. This is most I ever done mechanically other then common stuff like oil change and change a flat. We were successful. I'll attach a video at the bottom that was tremendous help. I didn't drain my coolant. I clamps the hose to lose very little coolant and then refilled with an airlift tool to accommodate the bigger HX.

 

[IridiumRS400]

So you bought the part and made an appointment and they had no issue installing it?

None.

Sounds like I need to call other dealerships and I just had a bad experience with one.

Yes, and that sounds like the right conclusion.

 

[pnw_vr30]

None.



Yes, and that sounds like the right conclusion.

Iridium, question for ya.

which dealer did you got to? If you don’t mind sharing I’m a modded Q60 in Washington St as well, and it seems the dealer you worked with is mod friendly, so I’d like to take my car there if I have the choice.

 

[IridiumRS400]

Iridium, question for ya.

which dealer did you got to? If you don’t mind sharing

Infiniti of Lynnwood.

 

[pnw_vr30]

Infiniti of Lynnwood.

Thank you! Tacoma at Fifa wasn't a good experience for me so I appreciate it

 

[q50adix]

I've owned my Q50 Luxe AWD for about 3 months and it's the love of my life. However, the summer heat in the northeast can get into the 90s. After researching I know that a heat exchanger is necessary and if I want to do any more than 1 pull a day, I'll need one. That being said I've called about every shop in a 30-mile radius about installing a heat exchanger and none have interest in even talking about it. I tried the dealership but had an unprofessional experience and would prefer not to go through them. I'm left to do it myself. I've watched videos and have studied for the last week on how to take the fender off, crash bar off, HX off, and install the new one. I'm not much of a mechanic and the biggest project I've done is replace spark plugs on an impala. With a tutorial and some confidence, I think I'll attempt installing the HX by myself. I think I can do it but bleeding the system and doing it properly scares me. I've seen videos using an airlift and videos only using a funnel but I'm not sure which of these to do and if one is better than another. The last thing I need is my engine overheating while I'm away from home and knowing I f'd up my car. Any tips or recommendations for bleeding the system are welcome
Thanks

You can DIY it.

See if this helps: AMS Red Alpha Heat Exchanger DIY installation

 

[Brooksbrooks]

You can definitely do it yourself. Sounds like you did all your research. My tuner stressed that I completely drain the system before using an airlift vacuum tool to refill it. Here is the updated service bulletin on how to perform the procedure...

It looks confusing, but basically use the airlift tool. The pumps run max when you give it more than half throttle. So after you let the car warm up, drive it and check it every time you get out/in the car. Refill it to max, repeat.