Negafen

There is currently an 87 maxima sitting in my driveway, it doesn't currently start.

If I get it running and repaired in the next week it is mine to keep. This shouldn't be difficult, it ran when it was parked maybe a year or so ago. If I fail it gets turned into a cube

I'm going to log what I've done, and hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction to save it.




So when it arrives first thing I do is give it a quick look over, and everything looks fine. I grab my extra battery and hook it up, try to give it a crank. nothing happens. Double check connections, grab a booster, and try again.

Loud clicking, and that's it. Ok, starter.

I drop the starter out, give it a once over, take it apart, reseat the shifter, now it's working like it's supposed to. Put it back in aaaand click click click. Damn.

I have someone else crank the ignition for me and I notice that the belts are going really really slowly. So I wonder if it's seized or too much drag, so, oil change.

The oil comes out black as night, and FULL of gunk. God damn.

Right now I'm waiting for my strap wrench to come back so I can get the dang filter off (who decided that was a good spot for it *sigh*). So I can fill it back up with oil.

I've got a fuel filter to replace the current one, but I can't get it off while the system is still pressurized, so that'll have to wait a bit.
I've also noticed the belts are just shy of disintegrating. But haven't gotten them yet. Don't currently have transportation (part of why getting this max going would be wonderful)

Any suggestions at this point? Any useful things for me to check? I'm going to go check my battery to make sure i haven't worn it down and it's not simply that preventing the maxima from starting.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

hows the alternator?

and dont even think about getting it crushed, theres lots of people here who would buy it, these cars are rare now and if you get it crushed there will be a mob at your door

edit- WTF holy guests Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 12 (1 members and 11 guests)

Negafen

haha, well, I only know how to bench test the alt on a running car. But the engine should at least turn over even without an alt, no?

I'm not so sure on Mr Battery. He reads 0 volts, I charge him for even a second, unhook charger, 11 volts, but rapidly counting down? What? He reads high enough to accept charge (when he reads) but doesn't seem to like it too much, what's up? Bring Mr battery back? he's only a year old and has a 3 year warranty

-edit: Maybe i should have used my other thread title idea Minima to Maxima, see how many guest views I'd get then?

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

not necessarily, my 3rd gens alternator went late last year and when i tried to turn it over, there were a few clicks the first time and after that absolutely nothing

arsonist63086

ok let me see if what i tell you works...1- what you can do is remove all the spark plugs and spray wd4 or any bold loosener spray in the cylinders, and let it sit and crank the car without the plugs to you will have less resistance for the starter... 2- you need a good battery charger with jump start function or just have some jumper cables and a extra batt or car to help you jump start.. 3- once you get the engine to turn over remove the distributor cap to see if the rotor spins (no spin = blown t-belt) if it turns put cap back on and check for spark from coil to distributor cap.....

their are more steps but this are the main ones .. post up you results so we can see what we do from there

LastTraintoMEM

It sounds like a bad battery. Also, make sure the AC switch is off. My compressor is seized, and if the AC switch is pushed on, it kills the engine or burns the belts depending on engine RPM.

BenStoked

iTrader: (7)

so far, sounds like a bad batt to me, too. if it's quickly dropping voltage, it's shot. new (or at least, good) battery should cure it.
also recommend changing the gas. year old gas (esp. with ethanol) will gunk up, get nasty.

Negafen

I posted earlier but the forum ate it, argh.

So, today I tried (without success) to get the oil filter off, it is mounted in a really horrendous way. I think tomorrow I'll get myself a filter wrench, even if I only use it for this one change.

I changed the plugs, while I had them out a bit of wd40 down the holes. They're not so hard to change once you get down to it. Extensions are a godsend though. Here are the old plugs

I had checked one of the plugs earlier, and already threw it away, so no picture of that plug. They look pretty decent, if a bit overdue for a change.

If I have time tomorrow I'm going to drop by canadian tire, exchange my bad battery (it's one year old and has a nine year warranty, I really would have thought it'd last longer than that) and get a filter wrench.

I'm starting to suspect it may JUST be the battery, since everything else seems in pretty good order.

Voltage only tends to show about 8 on the gauge, so that's not great either.

Old gas was stabilized when it was parked, I poured about 2 extra gallons of fresh gas in, gas tank needle doesn't move (hope it's not bust)

Don't have a partner so it's hard to crank it while watching for results. Anybody want to come help? There's a case of beer in it for you

Only concern at the moment is if I managed to get the plug wires back on, I feel like I failed to on at least 2 cylinders since they're so tough to get at.



-edit: Is there an easy way to drain the gas? give it its best fighting chance

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

easiest way would be to siphon it (could get most of it probably) or else just drop the tank, ive never done either but apparently dropping the gas tank is a pain in the ***.

Canadian Tire= youre in Canada, which Province?

Negafen

I'm in B.C. quite a trek for you I'd say

arsonist63086

for the oil filter buy a claw wrentch http://www.machinemart.co.uk/images/.../040211424.jpg it will be the best thing you buy for your tool box... and you can make a remote start triger for the starter to check for rotation and spark if no help is around ... buy just connecting a wier to the starters start wier (its the lil thin one) and the other side to the bat when you want to turn the ingine...

Negafen

I picked up a claw, and was swearing at the thing until I realized I could use it with my air wrench. That did the trick.

Dropped in the new battery, and it started right up no problem. Awesome!

While I had it up for the change I changed the front brake pads.

Went to take it for a little test drive and ran into a new problem. The brakes are super soft, and don't really work. Will have to look into it tomorrow.

Also, it DEFINITELY needs the belts changed, they sound TERRIBLE. Will keep you guys
posted

Big_E-Dog

iTrader: (14)

sounds awsome, you should bleed the brakes and shesk for leaks.

BenStoked

iTrader: (7)

it's good to hear you have gotten her on the road, again.
food for thought: don't bleed the brakes, do a brake fluid change. uses a hair more than a normal bleeding, but well worth it for safety sake. hardly anyone changes their brake fluid, even though its never a bad idea.

yevgenievich

over time brake fluid gets contaminated and it's a good idea to change it. I would check the tensioner pulley as well when changing the belts

bradcoe

does anyone know how to drain the gas tank of an 87 max se 5spd?

Negafen

Someone is not too clear on the point of the 10 posts rule. Further that's answered in this same thread, a few posts up.

I don't think you should work on your own car if this is too hard for you pal. At the very least get a Haynes.


It's been pouring the past few days, so I haven't really been wrenching. So I guess I'll ask a pair of questions and show off tonight's handiwork.

To replace brake fluid just siphon the reservoir, put fresh in, and bleed remaining old fluid out? That should work fine ya? Anyone have any luck with those one man brake bleeder thingies? I don't have a helper.


Also, when I get into the guts of the belt changes, anything i should know/be aware of? They seem a bit of an inaccessible mess at the moment haha

yevgenievich

i always had to get somebody to help bleeding brakes, the one man bleeders often let air trough. You can siphon most of the fluid out but need to make sure not to let air in and then start adding new fluid.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

shouldnt jack other peoples threads, but to get most of it out, siphon. or if you need all of it out, drop the tank

Negafen

Brake fluid completely replaced, and brakes bled. Perfect, now they feel excellent.

I have run into another problem, no start again. But I know it's the parking safety switch. Since there is a LOT of play in the shifter I'm going to calibrate the linkage and hope that takes care of it.

Can you spot my rainy day project? Not a great bit of polishing, didn't have any polishing compound or any grit finer than 400, it also seemed silly to put a mirror finish in an engine bay that looks like that.

arsonist63086

thats one clean *** 2gen max engine bay...

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

holy crap thats clean for a 23 year old engine bay

DIASISS OF JASSICS.COM

very nice!

Negafen

edit: let me reexplain.


I bled the brakes, drove around the block and wasn't satisfied with the stopping performance. I got a friend to help me bleed the brakes, that was going okay, but the rear right kept putting only the tiniest bit of fluid and huge gobs of air if I opened the valve a bit too far, so I had to open it only the tiniest amount. No pressure would build anymore.

Teflon tape didn't help, so I figured I'd just go get a speed bleeder valve, I got and installed the valve, it also just pumps a lot of bubbles, but it won't close regardless of tightening?

Is the seal in the caliper toast or something? I'm not sure how to fix whatever it is that's happening here.

Where do I even start looking for a problem? I hope you guys are as awesome at diagnostics as always


Also, how on earth am i supposed to change these belts haha?

Negafen

update: Stops okay with car running, and pedal to the floor, so the brake booster works.

I just bled through the whole damn reservoir twice (refilling as I went) and still I got 50% air and 50% fluid. It's dark now, but I'll try bleeding a different brake to see if they're all doing it, or just the one.

Also, I think the speedbleeder wouldn't close due to being much shorter, so the big book of parts the store had seems to have been wrong. My normal bleeder closes just fine.


It bleeds super slowly, and then huge air bubble all at once, then slow bleed, then huge air bubble. It continues to do that so long as there is pressure. Cap on reservoir, cap off reservoir, running or not running. Two person process, one person with bleed valve, or one person with fluid container above caliper.

Hose on that corner looked okay, no brake fluid under car. Where should I look for the air invasion?

arsonist63086

the way i see it caterpilers leak brake fluid when they are toast.. look into checking/replacing the master cylinder and also bleed out the rear.. master cylinder...

Negafen

While I have a bit of a hard time understanding arsonist, I'm pretty sure it's the MC, so it's getting changed. New one coming in tomorrow.

I swapped the worn looking belts, and it still squeals in an extremely annoying way. I took a look at the various pulleys and noticed that the biggest one is a bit wobbly, and I think the source of the noise.

It's also got a bit of a tic tic tic to the squeal. The tensioners seemed okay?

yevgenievich

if squiling either misaligned pulley somewhere or not enough tension. Is the crank pulley the one that wables?

arsonist63086

lol ... sorry but yeah was pointing you towrds the M.C.

Negafen

Everything seems to be working nicely, and the car is insured.

Tomorrow however it faces its greatest challenge. A trip from Vancouver to Calgary. 1000km each way (620miles).

Definitely going to be bringing a few tools, and crossing my fingers.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

Ayy Edmonton>Calgary

Negafen

But I'm going to be traveling by car, not boat.

Negafen

Kaplow. Spectacular failure.

Some existing frame damage took out the steering and the car was abandoned in kamloops.

Right now I'm deciding whether I tow it home and part it out (since everything else is all but perfect) or let it be crushed, or give it away/sell it to someone in kamloops

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

thats sh1tty, i would try to sell it

Negafen

Well, it's a four and a half hour drive from my house. So it might be a bit difficult.

It's an easy repair if you have the space and time to do it. Just needs the control arm replaced.

The engine is awesome, and it used less than $70 of gas from vancouver to calgary (which is a feat I don't understand in the slightest).

I'm kind of upset because the engine is perfect I dumped so much time into tuning it juuust right. And the transmission is wonderful, and I had fixed the stereo, etc. etc. Everything was super great except that the control arm threw a hissy fit. Its starting to seem that the friend I lent it to curbed it pretty hard in calgary (fresh curb rash on rim) and then the highway finished it off.

So ya, if any of you guys want it, be my guest