I am in the market for a used car, and there are 2 93's available, both 5 speeds. I own a 96, and have owned a 86 and 90 in the past. I know that the 92's had some sort of engine problem, but is that also true of the 93's? How does the manual tranny hold up? Anything else to look out for? Any info about 93's would be greatly appreciated.

 

Matt? I was told that the 93's tranny held up better than the earlier ones. As far as engine problems, the timing systems have been mentioned several times as problematic. Other than that, place the buy. Just make sure you listen to the tranny as you drive and be alert to smoothness between shifts. If you hear a whine from the tranny, especially in neutral with clutch off, then the Main shaft is bad or going and will need a rebuild. If it's bad enough, a new tranny.

 

my manual tranny is perfect after 100K miles. A little notchy when cold but this is normal. I also have some 1st gear whine but this seems to be normal also (couple others have it). I'm pretty sure it's still on the original clutch and it's holding great.

BOSE speaker amp problems are also common, along with bad Valve Timing Controls (VTC). You can diagnose bad VTC's by a loud clacking from the engine when it's warmed up and idling. It may be sporadic though. Also check for broken exhaust manifold studs, I have no experience with this though, mine see fine.

 

just curious what are they asking for them? I'm also looking at 93-94 Se 5spds

 

Both are asking around $5500. 70k miles Good buy?

 

Seems like a good buy to me. I paid $7000 for my 92 two years ago w/ 120K, so I would be more than happy to pay that price even if there are some problems.

 

damn thats hella good!! where are you at? and whats the condition? considering i got my 90 w/ 138k for 4400.

 

I would go for it man. It seems like a good buy. Like they said, listen to the tranny. I do however have a piece of info. on the tranny whine noise. yes, a little bit of this noise is fine, but if it's excessive in first gear and prominent in 2nd, then you are looking at replacing both of those gears, this is what I had to do to mine. The VTC is still a problem in the '93's but other than that and the Bose, good buy.

 

I own a 93 5 speed and they do have the VTC failure. I picked up the parts at brown and sons nissan for about 1/2 the price and the dealership in town fixed it. It is rather pricey either way. I also had a problem with intermittent powerloss which ended up being a coil althought the dealership couldn't figure it out. I have had the car for almost 8 years and those are the two major problems I had. The tranny is fine and lots of fun. Especially when 5.0's try to pull away.

 

How did you go about diagnosing that bad coil? I also have an intermittent power loss (mostly when warm).

 

3xMax where are you located?

 

I originally thought it was because of the VTC failure but the day I got that fixed it died on me on the way home. It was to the point I couldn't drive it. According to a shop in Lansing it was the coils. They just happened to have a car in about a year ago doing the same thing. Unfortunately as far as I know there is no way to diagnos the individual coil so I replaced all 6. Try Brown and Sons nissan for the parts. The dealership was going to charge me over $700 for the coils and I got them for $325. Their in the back of Compact Car Mag. The prices are cheap.

 

I have a 93 Max SE 5 speed that I bought last year for approx. $6k with 114k miles. I have the VTC problem, which, as you say, typically occurs at idle and warm-up. It is intermittent. I learned from doing research on the car before I bought it that it had been repaired @ 60k miles and it is unusual for the problem to re-occur. I began having the oil changed @ nissan where they can put on their oil filter which is desinged to prevent draining and speed oil flow to the springs and sprockets. It honestly has made a difference. I also keep oil additives in it to help minimize the problem. Much improved, and I'm told it's about an $1800 repair, but usually does not lead to any engine failure.

Regarding the coils...I'm very interested in this discussion because I am having the same problem, i.e., intermittent misses. It is getting worse, but as you say, they can't diagnose the faulty coil until it is completely shot. I was quoted about $300 to replace EACH coil! Can you tell me specifically where you bought your coils, what type, etc.? I can find someone to do the work, but I need specifics, if you can.

Also, I have sprung a leak of some type, again, paid about $60 for shop to look for the problem, but could not isolate it...at least they were honest. I think it is p/s fluid, but I've been told maybe transmission. Where is there transmission fluid for these cars? I don' see any place to add fluid to the transmission?

Sorry for the long message, but the conversation here has hit on several areas I'm experiencing problems with. Other than that, the max is awesome. With 127k miles on it now, I'm passing it on to the sons; I bought a 2K1 SE AE 5 speed last month. In some ways, I enjoy the older max more...I'm having adjustment problems to the 17" wheels and Bridgestone Potenza's...trying to get them replaced. They are too harsh for my tastes. I ride with Yokohama's on the Max..AVS, or something like that..@ 100 MPH...smooth and solid as can be...this car is definitely a keeper, and in spite of the mechanicals (which I sort of expected with an older car that really was not pampered), I wouldn't give it up...it will be in the family for a while.

Thanks, and look forward to some feedback. srm

 

I really appreciate all of the replies. I've learned alot from the input. I'm located outside of Philly, and those cars were in the local paper. The problems that were cited with the VTC and coils discourage me from getting into a 93 SE, as I am looking for a car that will give me as few problems as possible. Were these problems corrected in the 94 SE?

 

Well I wouldn't necessarily say the coils are a problem... I mean these cars are 7-9 years old now, and individual coil ignition was pretty new technology when these cars were made. The VTC's were also somewhat new tech.

To SRMTN: $300 for EACH coil is heinous, call Courtesy Nissan (www.courtesyparts.com) or any other number of 'discount' Nissan dealers (find them in the back of car magazines) to get better prices. You can install the coils yourself with a 10mm socket. I bet you can get all 6 for close to $300. As for the leak, manual trannies aren't prone to leak, but if they do, it'll either be the fill or drain plugs, or where the CV joints enter. Plugs are easy, just tighten them a bit. CV joints will take a bit more work. You have to figure out WHAT you're leaking first, if indeed it's manual tranny fluid, it should feel very greasy and smell NASTY. PS fluid should be 'thinner' feeling. And if you desperately want to get rid of those wheels and tires, I'll give you $200

 

Since I got my 93 GXE last week, this thread has been very interesting to me also Still think I got a great deal at $4000 w/126,000 but some of those $$ figures are scary. Thank God for an "engineer/car restorer/hot rod demon in his youth" ex husband. Not wanting child support does wonders for what they will do for you... :-) Altho he is the one having our 16 year old dream of Chevelle's and hemi's (sp?). The child is already listing the mods he wants on the one I bought and I let 3 of them take it to a local restaurant last night..despite my better judgement. I'm sure, altho warnings were flying as they were jumping in (dont know if they heard me over the "Three Six Mafia"), the tranmission was probably put to a test. :-(

 

Yeh $300 is crazy for those coils. Call Brown and Sons Nissan 1-800-237-0003. I got all six for a little over $300. I put them in myself in ten minutes. As far as being discouraged I wouldn't be it has been a great car and every car is going to have its problems but I won't get rid of mine any time soon. The only thing that bugs me is they don't make a supercharger for it. I wish they did so my Dads M3 wouldn't embaress me so bad. As far as the fluid leak check your clutch fluid resevior. My clutch slave cylinder was leaking fluid a while back. It cost me $13 and it took 5 minutes. Two bolts and one line and your done. It might be a possibility. Oh yeh I went to the North American International Car Show this wekend in Detroit and the 2001 SE is nice. I liked the AE too but the side skirts were to much for me. Good choice!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the suggestions and leads on pricing for coils, and possibilities for the leak. I thought that $300 each coil just sounded ridiculous...I mean, aren't they just right there on top? What labor could possibly be involved in removing them to justify $300 a pop! I'll take the good advice and try to go it on my own.

By the way, have any of you found a good auto repair guide for our models? They seem to have just skipped the 92-94 SE model engines. If your not basically a mechanic, how do you know specifically how to get the old coils out and new ones in w/out screwing something up? Any specifics would be appreciated. If too much for the forum, just email.

Thanks, again! srm

 

or Factory Service Manual.
You can usually get them on Ebay and they typically go for 50 bucks or so. or something like 70-80 new from a dealer I think. Try Courtesy Nissan if you dont want to go to Ebay

 

If you want the "basics" then just get a Chilton's from Auto Zone for around $10. It doesn't go into anything major or any wiring but does cover 89-94 models and both VG and VE engines. In five years of owning Max's, I've never had to do anything so major as to need a FSM.