My 89 se (is) making a noise like there is a hole somewhere under the engine. I had the flex y pipe(whatever that is) replaced and it is still making that truck type sound. Other people said its the manifold. What am I dealing with here??

 

its the studs on the manifold

 

i get a ticking noise when i speed up. does that have to do with the manifolds?

 

yep my gxe made the same noise when the studs were broken,

 

so its only the studs thats good to know because the guys at midas said it was a broken manifold

where can i get some suds from? should i have nissan install them

 

my broken studs are horrible...at first the noise would stop when the engine warmed up, but now i sound like mo-ped coming down the street after 3 hours of driving...its a lil embarassin...but my system drowns out the noise for the most part!!

 

If it sounds like a lawn mower, its the manifold leaking. Just replace the gaskets, if you find more while your doing that then you will know after you get that far.

94 max gxe, another story...........
97 pathfinder, same problem (cracked manifold)

 

I read an article a while back on the patherfinder that has the VG where the guy had a long fight with Nissan because the "design" of the manifold was so poor due to the shape of it that the hot exhaust gasses were forced down sharply causing that particular area of the manifold to get extremely hot, causing warpage(and or cracks) which in turn stresses the studs and snaps them. He was saying that its not the studs but the poorly designed manifold that is the culprit. I had my studs broken and the stealer said my manifold was too warped and was cracked. If I find the article I'll share the link.
Just a different spin on the whole broken stud problem, since pathfinders have had the same issue.

 

ALL VGs have this issue, whether it's on the pathfinder, Maxima, 300ZX, Quest, 200SX, etc.

 

yep mine has been leaking for 3 years its a 500.00 repair form what i was told

 

It's really a $60-80 repair if you do the work yourself. I replaced all 12 of my studs earlier this year. I had one broken on the front and two on the rear. It's a major PITA to do, but it can be done in your driveway with normal hand tools. About the only special things you'll need is a right angle drill adapter (about $20) and I suggest left twist drill bits since they have a tendancy to work the studs loose as you drill. Right twist bits have a tendancy to tighten the broken stud as you drill.

I wouldn't suggest replacing just the manifold gasket. You're doing 90% of the work and receiving a short lived benefit. Without replacing the broken stud that brand new gasket will start leaking again within weeks.

 

all right so where do you live, u can come and do mine!!!

 

Yea, I heard that about pathfinders too (NISMO shop mechanic told me)...I'm gona replace it after I get the maxima fixed and out of the garage. Hopefully by the end of next week. Sounds terrible.... but it is easy to get to.

Thats the hardest thing I've had to do on the Maxima is the exhaust manifold (rear). Almost no room to work. I actually attach the rear manifold to the head before I install the head. Then I only have to connect the down pipe.

 

I did both manifolds on the car. The rear was actually easier then the front. Once you remove the down pipe, engine support and the rear motor mount there's plenty of room.... (HA!)

 

can someone do a write up??

 

I think there is one on 4dsc.com...

 

ok guys, the big red banner up top.

i just replaced all 12 studs & 2 gaskets & milled my manifolds down to par
there are at least 5 separate write ups (2i used w/nice, pretty pics) just
SEARCH it's there for you
oh yeah. it's a pain in the ***

 

Shoult, if you had to remove all that, how on earth did you get it reconnected with an exhaust manifold there? Souns like alot of busted knuckles to me.....

 

The back side was SO much easier then the front, really. Once you get those three things out of the way it's cake. It SOUNDS way more difficult then it really is.

 

so there will be a little blood sacrifice you need to meake in any DIY procedure(the more complicated or intense the job, more blood required) and the studs are no exception.
i will say it's not neccesary to remove the mounts and crossbar under your engine, but it gives you at least twice the room to work with and a better angle with a drill.
oh yea. good luck.