Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

10-15 whp.
Should all be listed on warpspeed's site.

dabull69

Just picked up an 01 se 5spd. 99k. $3750 off a dealer lot. Always been a fan of maxima's but mostly owned German (audi/vw). So what are the typical beginner mods?

a33_ridah

iTrader: (10)

As you're close to 100k mark you may wish to change spark plugs as far as maintenance.
Mods; are you looking for more go or show mods for starters?

maxiiiboy

I have found that on my 2000 SE, adding a Real Anti-sway Bar made a big difference. It really "leveled" the car, and almost completely eliminated body leaning in turns. I also added Front Tower bar for more stiffness; here, the impact was less noticeable.

dabull69

little bit of both. but mostly performance. appearance wise im thinking i wanna do a 20th aniv clone. is there a thread anywhere that states the difference between the se and the 20th? i found some stuff but alot of conflicting info. i know the body kit, pedals, shift ****, and trim. but what gives it the 5 extra hp? and what is the difference between the maxima and i30 motors?
thanks in advance.

D.Stillwell

Exterior:
1. AE Lip kit
2. AE headlights
3. AE special finish on the 17" wheels
4. I30 muffler with turned down tips (supposed 5 extra hp LOL)
5. AE badge on trunk under "SE"

Engine:
1. Its all the same engine (VQ30DEK) and 5 extra hp = LOL it was a marketing gimmick.
2. AE has special engine cover which is the i30 cover but with Nissan badging

Interior:
1. AE perforated seats
2. AE pedals
3. AE shift ****
4. kick plates

I Believe thats all of it. Good luck with it

dabull69

I read something about the 20th having lsd and the se doesn't.

D.Stillwell

This is true, forgot that one. They have VLSD.

dabull69

Ok so I'm trying to figure out what all option packages I have. I have leather, heated seats, power driver and passenger seats, sunroof, 17's, climate control, side airbags, Bose, and homelink that I know of. Does this mean I should have washer fluid warning light and heated mirrors as well? From what I can tell from my searching so far I have all factory options except traction control. Anything that I'm missing?

kpic2k1

Hey all!

Bought a 2k1 AE 5spd a few months ago and stumbled about the .org shortly there after. I have been lurking/using the search function on this site for all my mod/maintenance needs Thought it was finally time to chime in and say thank you to everyone for all the help and inspiration!

Mods so far:

Warpspeed Y-Pipe
Custom test pipe, b-pipe and stock AE muffler
Pop charger w/ stock mid-pipe resonator
Vogtland/KYB ebay drop kit special
Sony 6.1" touch screen H.U. w/ stock Bose amps/speakers

Mods for the future:

NWP spacer kit
Flowmaster 40 series muffler - love the tone now, but could handle a little more rumble
18" 350Z/G35 rims unless I can find some Altima SE-R's
Big brake kit after rims
Considering light weight pulleys
2k2-2k3 Front end swap
Coilovers

Car has 54k miles, fully loaded and is silver mist on black leather. This is a Canadian car and didn't come with the AE body kit, but I've been looking at the Classic Stillen 4pc kit and think that is the route i'll take if I ever break down/win the lotto. I love my Max and can't believe how many I see out there now that I have one - although the same thing happened when I had my Mini

Ok sorry for all the smilies, thanks again for all the help, and I hope somewhere down the road I can return the favor!

Kevin

D.Stillwell

^^ Cograts on the car, nice find. Thats some low low miles. I hope no rust issues being from Canada and all...

I wouldnt feel too bad about the lip kit not being there personally, does zero for performance and little for looks. Stillen kit is too bulky IMO, esp. the front.

And why do u wanna 5.5 front conversion? You got an AE, only so few of em left...Represent for us 5th gens!

Mr.Snuggles

Hey all, names Garrett and I got a 2k2 super black 6 speed. Perfect black leather interior (which is what ultimately sold me) great paint, just a few dings from what looks like hail. 147k miles, heated seats, wheel... Well it's loaded. I've owned 3 other Nissan's... OK well two of them where Infiniti g20's; 96 p10, that was highly modded, just not turboed... And a p11 2k2 5port that I loved, and just got totaled two weeks ago. Was and still am a member on G20.net, bunch of awesome guys over there. Oh and an 84 z 2+2 with a turbo swap..... As far as mods go on the max, I've already done the big 3(plus a few more) grounded it and the an obx UDP and new belts on it. Big air cleaner delete with a cone filter on the end now... Gonna led the crap out of it... These lights just aren't very bright. Previous owner did all 6 coil packs from Nissan, NGK iridium plugs, Monroe quick struts x4 (strut, spring mount, boot, bump stop), new maf, drilled and slotted rotors with new pads on all four corners, gaskets on vc's and intake manifold, radiator fan assembly, both hoses, brand new tint, both sensor 1 o2 sensors, big trans and motor mounts, slave cylinder plus the line, one full Moog UCA (power steering leak, not on a Nissan lol) the other one just got a moog bj. And a slew of other stuff I don't have to do. About 80% of that stuff was purchased from the dealer and all of it within the last 6 months. Receipts for parts and labor that took me about two hours to go thru... Which was awesome. I'm going to test fit some wheels off of my cousins eclipse and see if they look good enough, and if they don't, I may be putting my chrome 18s on... But man I don't like chrome lol. Anyway so that's me. I don't know how to post pics here yet, but there's some on the my5thgen.org, look up Mr.Snuggles lol.

MaximaFan4140

Just bought my first 5th Gen today...2003 SE w/out leather(I hate leather) one owner, garage kept with all maintenance records on carfax since bought off lot, 117k miles...gonna keep it stock cuz its my daily for now lol...been a 3rd and 4th gen owner for years and have been apart of the .org for awhile. Cant wait to get my hands dirty soon with some light mods.

D.Stillwell

Stock? Light mods?



Why u no do heavy modz in Maxima?

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Weighs too much.

89rodknocker

Infiniti Master Tech Checking in from the Bay Area Ca. Just picked up a 2000 I30 for the wifey with 135k miles. From the original owner. Going to be modding soon just have some maintenance itmes to take care of first.

rich_price

Hello all -
I just picked up a 2003 SE, 3.5 V6 and 6 speed manual. Only has 49,740 miles, all dealer maintained with service records and receipts.

It's silver with black leather and way better optioned than I thought it would be. It has seat warmers, steering wheel warmer, Heated mirrors, powered sunroof, Driver's seat memory recall, passenger electronic seat controls, homelink, auto dim mirror with the compass readout, Bose audio with 6 CD changer, auto heat & A/C.

The front and rear bumper covers, the side-impact door trim pieces and the wheels are pretty beat up with a lot of chips/ road rash / scratches. Looks like whomever owned the car before couldn't park worth a lick. Other than that, the paint, glass and trim are about 8.5 / 10 ( nothing a weekend with a rotary buffer and some compound won't take care of) , the interior is 9/10 , and mechanically about 9/10. No rust, no rattles, leaks or squeals. It's quiet, powerful and runs strong.

Got it for 6K ( Dealer wanted 8.5K ?!?!?!?! )

I come from the GM V8 world ; my "Fun" car is a heavily modded 2006 Pontiac GTO. I'm used to a forum community for parts / advice and help, but new to THIS forum. I'm also an avid DIYer for maintenance and modding. This Maxima is now my Daily driver / family sedan. From reviews and information I got here, it should last me quite a while !

Hope to be a contributor here and thank you all for the wealth of information already available !

Dustin0308

Hey guys. Just got a 2003 Maxima GLE with 118,000 miles on it. I have to put a new radiator in it but thats not to bad. Car drives great. Future plans are to improve the ride quality, (im used to a 2011 Chevy Cruze which drove fantastic), improve the handling. May also change the exterior color of the car. Thats just to start. Here are some pics.

theherdmaster

Hello members of the .org, I hail from Colorado and I go to school in Michigan for mechanical engineering. I just bought a 2000 Maxima SE with a manual trans and 163k miles on her. My Dad's '95 Maxima was the first car I ever drove and now I guess I'm returning to that first love. This is my first Nissan and I'm looking forward to putting the reliability and fun I've been promised to the test. I've already been using the .org to access factory service manuals and other how-to/DIY information and I'll be sure to continuously use it.

She needs a little TLC, but for the most part she's in decent shape. The body has some character, but I don't think I'll be addressing that much. Money is tight, and I'm mostly interested in keeping the mechanics strong. I may look into some mods, but that will depend on what sort of money I have available. The first thing I'll be doing is a full brake job along with a tanny fluid change. After that, it's due for a deep clean and some power washing in the engine bay. I'll be looking into the suspension as well, because I believe I've heard clicking from an axle in the front and the ride is a bit bumpy. As far as the engine goes, it's a bit whiny, so I'll be looking into that. Oh, and the SES light is on, so I'll be trying to have my codes read tomorrow.

I've attached some pictures if anyone is interested. Anyways, I have the alloy wheels (I believe they're the 17's), a moonroof, the black rear tail-lights, a power driver's seat, fog lights, the cd-playing head unit, and a cloth interior. I believe that's it as far as extras go.

I'll be taking full advantage of the info on this site and the search function.

Nyshadow

Just Picked up a 2003 Maxima 6MT about a month ago. Got it for a steal. This is my first Nissan period so far it's been good. I would love to track down a set of illuminated door sills, but the guy on here that was making them for the 5th gen doesn't do it anymore. :-(

nugs_nugsy

hello friends. i am not a new owner of this generation maxima but have had my 2002 GLE since, well, 2002.

I love this ****ing car. it's fast as hell and looks great for a four-door sedan. the way i explain it to my friends is this: it's like nissan took the 350z, added two doors, made it FWD and changed the bodykit. that's the only way most of them seem to comprehend how fun this thing is to drive because they've never heard of maximas being good like that.

with the exception of the transmission and the rear shocks everything is still stock. if i had about $8000 of disposable income i would love to put a minimalistic aero kit and sideskirts on it as well as drop the suspension height a little so it doesn't look like it's standing on its tiptoes wearing a skirt. i live in new england and even the rough winter can't bring this thing down. and it's fun to drift (but only in the snow, haha)

emmveekay

New 03 Maxima SE owner here! This is my first Nissan ever, pretty nice and pretty comfy. Looking forward to many years with it =)

Sortus

Just picked up a 01 GXE w/174k. Its blue with some paint fade and grey interior. I love the car. I had a 98 when i was younger but this 01 is badass. I have alot of ideas for the car but need the $$$$$. Will post pictures soon.

mo neenja31

Hello guys, new member here. Two weeks ago, I got my first car, a 2003 Nissan Maxima GLE. I've always had a soft spot for the 5th gen Max's and thought they would make a perfect first car since they were more practical than the other cars I originally sought. Only issue is that it's not a 6 spd manual and it has some battle scars, but I got the car for a steal.



Bought it for $3900 with 105k on the odometer.

BillC

Hi All. Maxima/I30 #4 for me.

On Saturday, I bought a silver 2002 SE, auto/non-Bose/cloth, 174K miles to replace the Ruby 2000 SE auto/Bose/cloth that I owned in January for a total of 4 days before I crashed it. I also owned a Black 98SE 5M/Bose/cloth from 10/1999-38K miles to 6/2013-236K miles. Loved that car and still miss it. Power steering was on the way out, alternator died and the subframe spar where the front motor mount support bolted up underneath was completely rusted away. Thank you MN winters and salt. I got a 1999 I30 with only 112K shortly after the 98 died. It lost a headgasket back in November. That sucked.

The 2002 has the dent in the rear bumper shown in the pics, rust along the top of the rear wheel wells, and little dings with rust in them. The fuel filler door hinges are rusted. One foglight is out but I haven't looked to see if that's just a bulb or if it's broken beyond that.

Engine runs smooth and as Jeremy Clarkson would say: It has more torques than either the 2000 or the 98 5 spd had. Today I noticed detonation under load at low RPMS and what feels like a misfire at high RPMs. The check engine light was on when I bought it, and the guy scanned it with 2 different code scanners with no results. He reset the codes to get rid of the light. The light came back on this evening and I scanned it with my cheapie scanner. Threw a P1448: Evap canister vent valve or something like that, and that's it. That shouldn't have anything to do with detonation or misfires. I'll check the plugs this weekend, replace if necessary and see if that helps, and will put in 91 octane next time I fuel up. Power steering pump is whining and there's a very slow drip leak. My short-lived 2000 and at least 2 others I've looked at had a leak in the high pressure line.

Interior is good except the stereo and vents look like someone beat them with a rubber mallet and the stereo is dead. Not a big deal, those are easy to replace, and a local junkyard is showing 2 in stock for $100 and $90. My only question so far is this: Will a Bose stereo plug into the non-Bose harnesses and will it work? I don't expect it to sound better since I don't have the Bose speaker set (if it's different from the non-Bose ones). It will just open up more options for me to try to find a replacement radio. There aren't too many out there. I'd rather stick with stock because I can replace it myself. I'm not going to attempt to wire in an aftermarket stereo myself. NOOOOOOO. Bad juju. Bad. Guaranteed release of magic smoke under my efforts.

After tax, fees and title transfer, I paid $2125 for it, and I had $3K total available to spend so I'm ok with spending some on repairs.

I really miss the radio and hope to run to the junkyard this weekend.

So....hi!

Jstew865

New to the Nissan world. Just got my hands on a 2003 Maxima SE. She's auto and has 176k on her and she runs great. I was really supposed when I drove it for the first time. I have always drove American made trucks with the exception of the Tiburon! I will be looking into upgrading/modding her for performance and appearance. Mainly performance at first tho. Any advice and ideas are greatly appreciated. Here from Knoxville. Thanx in advanced!

maxiiiboy

A non-Bose headunit will work with a Bose speakers as long as you use an adapter; this adapter is sold by most audio shops, and most of them will happily install it for you. (I have done that after my Bose headunit failed). Re. the opposite combination, i.e. (Bose headunit, non-Bose speakers) I am not sure; I would ask you nearest audio shop whether they sell such an adapter.

However, the Bose headunits are known to be less reliable than the non-Bose/OEM. They fail often, and they fail in large numbers at about this age of our cars. So, buying a non-Bose headunit that's compatible with your speakers might be the simplest, the most reliable, and probably the least expensive solution of all.

ryneparker

2003 SE with 108k, 2 owner, dealership bought and a clean Carfax. Planning to start small (intake/exhaust) and work up to more power mods along the way. I'm probably going to keep the body stock to maintain the sleeper look.

Has a very nice Alpine deck, and the factory Bose speakers provide plenty of punch for now.

Can I just say, I was not prepared for the amount of power it makes even stock. I am in love with this car.

tilDeath

First Maxima. I wanted to buy a truck and told myself that if I ever owned another car it would have to be a Maxima. Well, what do you know?

1 owner, 01 Maxima 3.0 Auto. Base-ish model. Mildly Optioned.

Runs pretty good. It has a bit of a cold starting problem I need to check on and the check engine light has it's good days and bad days. Last time I checked the codes It was throwing something o2 sensor related. I think it's running lean.

All minor problems.

I've always been used to a heavily supportive message board and it looks like I once again got lucky by finding this one.

I'm an avid DIY'er and I am eager to use all the information I have found here to continue to improve my car, and hopefully help improve other users by my Modifications and sure to be, screw ups, along the way to teach others how not to do it. lol.

My future plans involve beefing up the performance, handling, and then appearance. In that order.

So far I have Blacked out my headlight houses, upgraded to halogens, cleared the corners, Blacked out my taillights, added some aftermarket Fog Lights, a K&N Airfilter, and a few LED mods (which I don't plan on stopping til the whole car is LED'ed)..

But I look forward to sharing my ownership experience with all of you and the board and hope I can be as much help as It looks like the existing users are already to people like me.

Here she is, so far.
PICTURES

maxiiiboy

Car looks nice - same color scheme as my 2000SE. Good luck with it!
I would suggest doing some preventive maintenance before starting on performance mods:

• Find out what maintenance work the previous owner did, in particular in the context of the items suggested below. Check you codes, incl. pending codes.
• Disconnect your electronic engine mounts; there are two electronic mounts, one front and one rear.
• Replace your IACV, or implement a coolant bypass, or both.
• Replace fuse #58 (15A) in "Fusible Link and Fuse Box" with a 7.5A fuse.
• Read the following thread https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...d-seconds.html .

I have done something quite bad - I told you what to do without explaining why! However, the "fried ECU" thread will explain it all. Let me just say that doing these things will save you big headaches a lot of $$ in the future.

tilDeath

.

Wow thanks for the starter pack. Greatly appreciated. I've Already started changing out fluidsand things like brakes and other things I'm not so sure about the previous maintenance. Tranny slipped outta 2nd or 3rd gear during one of my first high rpm stabs so haven't done it since. Added some Lucas but def 1 of the first things ill need to change out n replace the filter etc.

maxiiiboy

My did not slip but got a bit jerky at around 125k miles. I dropped the pan, cleaned the magnets, and did three consecutive " drain an fills". It now drives smooth and quiet, like new.

ShamelessCrimes

Been lurking for over a year, picking up little bits here and there.

I'm the fourth owner of my 03 Max Se, after my girlfriend (who's scared of WOT) and her father (sensible driver with dealership maintenance) and the first owner who, I would guess, liked to smear fecal matter on the headliner so I can't say how the first 50k went, but she's at 150k now and running strong.

Having the max for a daily driver is awesome. It's got a lot of really nice creature features that I don't see in many other cars (both front windows auto up AND down?!) and I don't mind that it's got the 'nads to pass on the highway when you need to. More than anything I've taken to the VQ35, and I really want to put one into a RWD car.

Now, my first car was a Ford Probe, and I rather like the flippy-uppy headlights from that, so from these two FF-style cars, I've decided to put a FWD VQ35 into a 240Sx (S13) as homage to both.

I've never gotten into the extremist notions-- I don't like slammed ricers, and I don't respect 9- second 1/4 mile V8 bowties, because neither one seems practical. And don't get me started on sound drag. To me, I like a touring coupe, something with a humble but proud power, something with a respectable dyno slip and drag time, finishing well at the autocross and concours, which is well suited to road trips and daily driving.

I don't plan on having this project take years and years. I have realistic expectations and a working man's budget, and I don't think I'm married to using *this* motor (probably steal a low mileage one out of a Quest), but in the meantime I'll drive my Max and hunt the salvage auctions, and start to have a presence on this fine forum.

What I'm doing to my Max now: Interior lighting. LED map and vanity bulbs, next week dome and doors. Maybe trunk and licence plate.

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

FWD 240sx, huh?
Will that be a first?

tilDeath

No. He said he wants to put the motor in a rwd. Wait I'm confused. Like a rear powerplant rwd? Or taking the rwd n making in fwd. Either or sounds like a job

ShamelessCrimes

Yeah, I want to go through the trouble of making my own mounts and turning a transverse motor and using it to drive the rear wheels. It's gonna be a lot of work but I'm planning it out so I can take it in a series of weekend projects and try to keep it in a reasonable budget. thinking 6k with half of it being ECU/harness work and a rolling 240s13 shell.

(that almost sounds sarcastic...)

Many moons ago a user by the name of IRAX came through these parts looking to do the same thing, but all his siggys say something to the effect of "I drive a BRZ now, y'all have a nice life in yer nissans"

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Wow.

Power to you man.
Please make a build thread.

BillC

Thanks for the response. I actually managed to find a cherry non-Bose headunit on eBay for $24+$8.75 shipping. I snapped that one up immediately as the rest of the ones I saw on there were in the $125-175 range. The screws holding the mounting brackets to the old one were tightened by Thor himself, and needed a friend with a drill press to get them out. Once I had the brackets I just put it all back together and it works perfectly.

I took it to a shop, they replaced the high pressure line and said the pump was fine. They said what's making the noise is a bearing on the A/C compressor. I don't have the dough right now to replace that so I'll live with it until I can scratch that cash together.

The only concern I have now is the transmission is slow to shift from 1-2 under full throttle. I've seen posts on here saying that's A) due to $#!tty design, B) changing to AMSOIL ATF can help, C) indicative of needing a new TCM, or D) a shift kit can help. Not sure what to believe. Under regular throttle it shifts fine, so I guess I'll just not do that anymore.

Also, when I bought the car it had a scent emitter thingy in the A/C vent. After a while it got too overpowering so I took it out. After a week or so, the car aired out enough that I could smell the cigarette smoke that the scent thingy was put in to cover up. So I put a can of HVAC deodorizer in the vents and I have 2 more if necessary. I bought a couple bottles of Febreze and a jug of white vinegar to use after suggestions of former smokers.

silver01se

2k1 SE, as the username looks, 174,900 on the clock. I'm guessing 3rd owner? Problems are (that I can see)

3 bad struts
Left side speakers don't work
Different color pass door and front qtr panel (was wrecked)
And of course the notorious window motors for the front

Runs like a top though, its an interim car until I get my '03 TL-S fixed (blown head gasket). And hey, I only paid $1,000 for the max

Previous L30 Altima owner. Not too new to Nissan, but my forte is Honda. Said altima was a 99 gxe. 5mt.

Samuelphillis

Hey there, Im new to the site, familiar with maximas.

Started in 2012 on my 16th bday, parents got me a '92 maxima gxe, black, nice car, body was immaculate for its age, and in decent mechanical shape. had 275k on it, so it was an okay first car i guess. Ran that baby for a great 2 years, too many problems here and then finally decided to upgrade. Wasn't planning on getting another maxima, but just the way it worked out ended up with a '96 gle, white this time. Got a good deal from an auction, trunk had nasty rust on it. Didn't take long to find a replacement from the junkyard and switched it out, car looked good as new. got it with about 180k on it, had it for a year and my brothers been driving it ever since.

Currently I am driving a '03 maxima se, in a dark dark blue, not sure if its navy or royal, I want to say midnight blue but i have no idea what its actually called. Body is in great condition, minor ding in the front bumper but we have already got fresh one on the way. My dad claims that it is the "platinum anniversary edition", although I have no idea if that is true or not. Its got all the toys for an 03, heated power leather seats, sunroof, power everything, auto climate control, heated steering wheel, etc. Has been a great car for me so far, I have already replaced the malfunctioning bose stereo with another bose stereo from a 02 maxima in order to keep the nice factory look. Also switched out the taillights for some I found on another 5th gen that have a slightly different look to them. Biggest upgrade was the set of 350z wheels i put on, definitely gives the max a bolder look. Anyway, I will post some pictures later, always used this site in the past for troubleshooting and thought i would just join already. Thanks!