I'm thinking of restoring the family '84 Max we've had since I was born, but it needs a little work. The valve stem seals are shot and as such the spark plugs foul every other day and need cleaning.

The motor currently has ~330k miles on it but the car hasn't been driven in at least a three years. I was wondering how many miles you guys have put on your Max. What goes wrong the most in the 1st gens? I would say these motors are fairly stout, but that is just an observation from this one car that has been in the family forever (it's been across the country on more than two occasions, from Alabama to California).

Also, are prices for parts fairly cheap? Just mechanical parts, as I may be doing my own body and paint work.

 

run run away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



thats what i would do



or you can completly restore it, mabey fit a vg or ve or vq in there, that would be cool

 

Your motor was not an exception.
For this reason used ones have very little value. Don't spend a minute on the 330k mile motor unless it has some sentimental attachment for you. Used VG's with 100k miles aren't worth more than $300, so find one of those and swap yourself out of 230k miles.

I bought a VQ for $400 with 33k miles on it. There's just no demand. Lucky us.

 

Yeah I would agree that the motor isn't worth fixing. Like belteshazzar said, you could just get one from a junkyard for cheap and less work.

 

You can put a L 2.8 in the car. The motor is out of a 77 to 82 280Z.

 

Guys, the motor still runs (and it's the original). The valve stem seals leak. Not a hard fix at all (for me at least). I'm talking about reliability against catastrophic failure like spun bearings, thrown rods, damaged cranks, pistons through the hood, etc. I could easily fix the heads on the Max for ~$50, depending on how much valve stem seals cost for this thing.

I have considered doing an L28 swap but I'm not sure how complex it can get when mating it to the stock ATX drivetrain. Plus I'd like to keep as much money as I can to spend on college things and/or that car down there in my sig.

BTW has anyone here had driveshaft issues? This car is on it's second or third and even it is starting to go out.

 

Hey man fix it up.Because if anything happened you would miss the car...

 

BTW has anyone here had driveshaft issues? This car is on it's second or third and even it is starting to go out

Hi, I have an '84 wagon, 170,000 miles, and replaced the 2 piece driveshaft with a one piece, from Driveshaft Specialists in San Antiono Tx. It cost me $239.00 and they had a no charge for shipping deal at the time, July, 05
The one piece works great, and eliminates the center bearing. Nissan wanted $700.00 for the 2 piece, and wouldn't sell it in pieces!
Restore it, you'll love it!!! Earl

 

wait, when did they go to FWD? I didn't know an '84 was RWD!

I drove an '85 Sentra to 260k miles just to see if I could, so I know where you're coming from. I'm not saying abandon the car, or neccisarily the motor either, just know how little it would take to solve several things at once with a low(er) mileage unit.

 

1st gen is RWD, kinda cool, i would like so see a drag strip version


or it could be the TOTAL sleeper, and if it was right it could be fast, you could win some $

 

85 model year is when the first fwd maxima came out.

S

 

it would be sweeeeeet if there was a AWD maxima, then we could be a lot quicker and more reputable


could you make a 1st gen into awd?? would it be easier then converting fwd to awd???

 

The saying that you can do anything with enough money applies here I think. It wouldn't be easy at all as you would need a transfer case from an awd vehicle and then make it fit, not to mention driving the front wheels. Pretty much impossible unless you are a serious fabricator or have very deep pockets.

 

Too much hassle for the added weight IMO. AWD rocks for 1.6 60' launches and the increased handling is awesome, but if you want a drag car AWD is not the most competitive way to go about it. Eventually the drivetrain loss catches up to you. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of stupid fast AWD cars out there, but when it comes down to it RWD is just more efficient in a drag situation.

Now, give me an autocross or road race situation and I'll take AWD all day.

I've toyed with the idea of turbocharging the Max. It would be hilarious to wax someone in a 12 second Max, and mighty fun to drive too. Maybe if it isn't too expensive I might do it. But for now I'm just going to get it running.

 

Thanks. That sounds like a great deal. The part that keeps going out on the driveshafts is the bearing, so I was thinking of having them replaced with universal bearings so that I wouldn't have to toss the whole shaft.

I may start a thread on my project as soon as it gets started. I don't have a lot of time between classes but I'll definitely find a weekend to take the motor apart and put it back together.