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Hi Group. My 87 wagon had an incident, hit in side-rear. bent rear axel. twisted frame enough that the windshield shattered. . About 180k miles. Is it worth more than scrap? Can a windshield be located? anyone needing nice alloy wheels (5), or other parts? Thanks!
Yes, It powered up but was not working when I got the car 3 years ago, and i never had it looked at. It had that high-pitched static problem, maybe antenna plus interference (?). I am pretty sure it has a factory equalizer as well. I know i sound stupid, but i can't picture it in my mind at the moment, and the car is on a back street in downtown Chattanooga, as I ponder whether to have it towed to my house, or to junk yard. If i could find a windshield i would fix it.
Hi,
That is a real shame, and I feel bad about swooping in.
So first, let me say that the windshield should be easy to replace; I had a couple of stars on mine (86 Maxima wagon, same color as yours), and was quoted $170 for replacement; I chose to "fix" the stars for $80 -- makes no financial sense, but I preferred to have the original. If your car can be fixed otherwise, windshield should not stop you.
But if you are parting out, I do have a few minor trim parts I would like, perhaps we could take this offline (if it is OK) so we don't clutter the forum.
Briefly, I am interested in the roof-rack I see in your picture (if original Nissan), 2 upholstery "buttons" (a couple more for spare would be great), and driver's door armrest.
I also suggest that if you do junk the car, take off the wheels first (if possible). Whereas I do not need them, I am sure they would be useful to others.
Thanks Paul. I have your info if I go the parts/scrap route. How long ago were you quoted that $170. everyone i call says not available, and i haven't run across a 2nd Gen parts car on the net at this point.
I got my windshield quotes this April/ May from my mechanic's contact and from someone I found on Yelp and from Safelite (who advertise so much on TV). I just checked on the Safelite website to replace windshield for your car in Chattanooga, and they quoted about $300 (plus $50 for mobile service, i.e. if they come to you). Just saying that even if you don't have the local shops as in Los Angeles, there are still options.
Yes, It powered up but was not working when I got the car 3 years ago, and i never had it looked at. It had that high-pitched static problem, maybe antenna plus interference (?). I am pretty sure it has a factory equalizer as well. I know i sound stupid, but i can't picture it in my mind at the moment, and the car is on a back street in downtown Chattanooga, as I ponder whether to have it towed to my house, or to junk yard. If i could find a windshield i would fix it.
I also have a 87 Maxima (wagon), and I feel your pain. Mine has a few chips in the windscreen, nothing too bad, but a few months ago I did look into getting a replacement.
I was amazed to discover that SAFELITE could put a brand new windscreen in the car for about $350, including new chrome trim around it. Apparently, they can make the screens and do not have to rely on getting OEM ones from Japan (that no longer exist, and when they did, were close to $1000).
So you should be able to get the windscreen taken care off.
However, if you decide to scrap the Maxima, I would be most interested in some parts - mainly TRIM parts,
BTW: With reference to the radio.. if it is in a condition anywhere near mine (which was well taken care of),
(1) The belts in the Cassette have turned to Goo
(2) The plastic gears are so brittle now, that they probably have cracked off their spindles.
(3) The electrolytic Caps in the radio are so old and dried up, that the electronics in it is badly malfunctioning.
I ended up this year fitting a "China" Android Head Unit -- nice thing about the old Maxima is that the Radio area is a Standard 2DIN, so getting a modern replacement Android Head Unit is readily possible, and easy to install.
Anyway, please be sure to let me know if you have parts for sale !!!
Big "Thank you" to Jim for selling me his rear-ended Nissan Maxima Wagon.
It's so much of relief to know that I now have a source of those difficult/impossible to find parts (apart from the driver rear axle !)
Donor car - facing right. My car - Facing left (with window tint). Radio replacement with Android Head Unit.
BTW: The Radio in the Donor car does not appear to work.. stuck on AM -- Equalizer appear to function -- can hear the AM static change as the filter bands are changed. I think there is a cassette stuck in it, so maybe that's why it won't switch correctly to Radio Mode. I will check it out in the next few days, and if it looks salvageable, will make it know here in the forum, in case anyone wants it.
Fitted the 1st Donor part to my car today, The Black rear trim that runs along the top of the rear bumper.
Amazingly, that was not damaged at all at the Crash Impact end on the donor car, and when removed, cleaned up like a Brand new replacement part, It is a major improvement on my original part, that had let water into itself, and had severely rusted at both ends.
Strip everything off, then scrap the stripped down chassis....
I think "NO"
(a)Too much work .. got better things to do
(b) Where do i store the parts.. far easier to store them attached to the Donor, and just remove them as needed.
(c) Even the stripped Chassis has a potential use, if I ever need to cut out rusted areas, and replace with good metal area from the donor.
I guess I would build some shelves or buy some steel cabinets and start a mini warehouse for those that are in need of 2nd Gen parts until you use them all! Just saying! Keeps stuff from degrading as fast and could possibly keep the rats/mice from eating all your wiring up!
I purchased Jim's totaled 87 Nissan Maxima Wagon.
Unfortunately, way beyond economic repair, so it is a "parts" car now.
The radio is NOT WORKING. The tape mechanism has melted belts .. could be replaced, but the actual Radio electronics is "Fried" as well, so not worth repairing.
You can get a nice new one with Bluetooth for $30-$40.
BTW: The Radio in Jim's 1987 Maxima Wagon is different to mine.
I think Jim's Maxima might have been for the Canadian market originally.
The Radio enclosure is NOT standard 2Din, like mine is .. In Jim's the radio and the Equalizer are two separate items, and are Trapezoidal , not a Rectangular unit like mine. That means the (broken) Trim around it is different as well.
1st One is Jim's Radio
2nd one is pic of the same model that I had.
(Mine was beyond repair as well)
FYI: The first ("Jim's radio") picture is the same -- radio & trim -- as the one in my 86 Maxima wagon. And same as all 86s (I believe this from my experience shopping for a replacement, mostly on eBay). So if you are sure that Jim's is indeed an 87 and perhaps Canadian, then I'd guess that Canadian cars carried over the 86 design in 87.
FYI: The first ("Jim's radio") picture is the same -- radio & trim -- as the one in my 86 Maxima wagon. And same as all 86s (I believe this from my experience shopping for a replacement, mostly on eBay). So if you are sure that Jim's is indeed an 87 and perhaps Canadian, then I'd guess that Canadian cars carried over the 86 design in 87.
According to the Vin # JN1HU15S1HX040### it is 1987 -- suspect early 1987 as 040###
The reason I thought that the car was a Canadian Model, is that in the "Nissan Maxima 1987 Service Manual" SM7E-OU11U0 ( Car is Model WHU11), it has pictures of both Radios, and notes that the one that is "Jim's" Radio is Canadian Models.)
Anyway, BOTH Radios have seen better days. I spent some considerable time working on both of them .. they have to be highly disassembled to get to the belts, and when I saw the state of the belts, and the Old 31+ old electronics, I decided it was not worth even putting them back together again, so they got trashed.
Another difference -- there is a 3 way toggle switch on the trim by the Brake Handle, that my car does not have. No picture on the switch, or it has worn off. NO IDEA what it does.
Mine as a dealer fitted ON/Off switch fitted there, for the Dealer Added Fog Lights. JIm's car does not have Dealer added Fog Lights.
Did an Oil Flush Transmission fluid Change this weekend. That fixed the Automatic Drive intermittent issue, and the engine runs a lot smoother with the new oil.
A/C is not working, and no Freon visible is sight-glass, so I assume the Freon has leaked away to such a low level, that it no longer operates the Low Freon detector switch, that protects the compressor.
Going to get a friend of mine (AC Man) to test vacuum for leaks, and re-fill it so I can test that the compressor and other components are OK. Then I will know if I have viable replacements in case I need them in later years.
I think the Engine & Transmission are now OK "tested" spares.
Took a look at the crash area as well. The actual brake. axle, suspension parts look OK... but the top mount for the shocks/springs has been pushed into the car by the crash, so the wheel is now about 10-20 degrees pushed in at the top. Would need some major bodywork to correct. Not sure why the windscreen broke. The rest of the frame seems to be true .. all 3 of the other doors open and close fine, and there is no obvious misalignment of body panels, apart form the immediate crash area. I am assuming there was more a flex of the frame, and the windscreen was most affected, and cracked. (Might even have had the start of a crack before the crash).
This 2nd gen forum seems to be pretty quite these day .. not so many 2nd gens still around or people interested in such an old vehicle. ? This Thread seems to be the most active in years !!!
(Going to get a friend of mine (AC Man) to test vacuum for leaks, and re-fill it so I can test that the compressor and other components are OK. Then I will know if I have viable replacements in case I need them in later years)
I'm sure that's a R-12 system so good luck with that!
(Going to get a friend of mine (AC Man) to test vacuum for leaks, and re-fill it so I can test that the compressor and other components are OK. Then I will know if I have viable replacements in case I need them in later years)
I'm sure that's a R-12 system so good luck with that!
You actually are Correct !!! .. It's "Probably" R-12 -- expensive stuff -- but my Guy does R-12. so yes, I have "Good Luck".
It could well also have been updated to a more recent Refrigerant, as many older R-12 have been.
I'll let my "AC Man" deal with that.
Also, in order to TEST the unit & it's components, it is not necessary to use that expensive R-12.
There are cheaper & more readily alternatives, although they do not work as well as the Original R-12, they are quite adequate for compatible for "Testing".
(But I am sure you know all this already).
BTW: R-12 is still readily available, and has actually gone back down in price in recent years.
What has continued to go up, now to ridiculous levels, is what AC companies are charging customers for that R-12... daylight robbery
(unless you happen on an "Honest" AC Tech )
07-23-2018, 09:10 AM
