billy bronco

Okay, I’m brand new here, I bought a 1994 Maxima GXE last night. Has 77K miles, one non smoking owner, fairly good shape. How did I do: Has 4 mix matched tires with good tread, six inch rip in leather drivers seat, one back wind temperamental, comes with remote start, no rust, one little dent in hood, other than that seems clean and cared for. Paid $3200. I know absolutely nothing about these cars. I drove it and it seemed to go well so I bought it (not like me)

One concern is the timing belt has not been replaced. Is this something (Me) the backyard mechanic can do, or should I opt to bring it to a mechanic, how much $$$ should it cost? I guess I have to learn about these power windows, seems they have there problems. One goes down, grinds at the stop and has difficulty going back up with out a hand then does a lot of grinding noise. The power antenna has its issues too.

SEguy182

start by reading the 3rd gen faqs at the top of this forum.

broncoguy

Yes, read the FAQs and the technical stuff. It will give you about 90% of what you need to know, like the fact that window regulators and power antennas are common issues with these cars, and what the other common issues are. Sounds like from what you posted, you did pretty good. 77K is pretty low miles- as you look around, you'll see that lots of people here have upper 100s to over 200K. They will last if you take care of them. As to the timing belt, the change interval is 60K, so you are a bit over. I would have it done, or do it yourself, if possible. There are tech posts on here and on 4DSC.com as to how to change it. read those and judge for yourself if you think you can do it. A broken timing belt can do lots of nasty things, and whatever it will cost to replace now will definitely be less than what it will cost to replace once it breaks and bends your valves.... i.e maintenance vs. repair..

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

You have pretty common problems, but nothing serious. Being as your car is 10 years old (even with the low miles), I would change the timing belt sooner, rather than later. Time can be as big an enemy as miles when it comes to rubber.

The window is very likely the regulator. You can do this yourself and save over $100 in stealership fees. Improved regulators can be had from Courtesy Nissan and off of ebay for about $60 and they are easy to fix.

The antennas are not very good, even though mine still works. You can get another power one, but I think it's easier to just get a "fixed" one that doesn't go up and down.

You might be able to get the seat re-stitched at an upholstery shop. It might not look perfect, but 3rd gen leather in good shape isn't that easy to come by. Replacement leather covers will run you several hundred bucks.

billy bronco

Seems the cost is about $500 to have shop do belt, lots of labor. I can do this myself I'm sure. What is the best service manual to buy? I can't find a link that details how to replace the belt and what is involved. If its just labor, I have plenty of time. Looks like you need to pull water pump & more, what other items should I replace at the same time?

billy bronco

Tried to price part belt A Autozone:

Do I have dual or sinle overhead cam, how do I know? If single is it round teeth or square, how do I know before tearing down?

jaguax

iTrader: (1)

You have single overhead cam. Your engine is the VG30E. The GXE has SOHC and the SE has DOHC.

Edit - You got a great car though. Not the fastest model or anything, but a damn reliable car. I have a 1994 GXE too with around 112k miles. No problems at all aside from the usual maintanence stuff. Only one window regulator broke in my car, in the rear right door. Very easy to replace.

broncoguy

Go to the general maintenance sticky at the top of the main 3rd gen forum. The first post is Matt's, and he has a link to the timing belt info I was referring to. Doesn't look horrible, but it will take some time.

DARHAW-MAX

Billy --

Congratulations on getting a GXE and welcome to the forum. As for the timing belt, it is not too hard to do, but it will take a while if you have not done it before. While you are there, replace the water pump, drive belts, thermostat and coolant hoses. As for which belt to get, go to the dearlership and get an OEM belt. This is one area that you do not want to skimp on!

Since you are going to be doing this major maintenance, you may also want to look into replace your distributor cap and rotor (these seem to get forgotten pretty often), spark plugs, fuel filter, PCV valve, coolant change and tranny flush. None of this is terrible expensive for the DIY. To do all of that--excluding the timing belt and related maintenance--the price in parts and supplies should run no more than about $120.00 (I am guessing on the high side). After you do all of this, you will now have a "clean slate" from which to work with.

As for the windows, like the other members have stated: it is probably a regulator. Easy and cheap for DIY.

Manuals. The best one to get is the official FSM. I believe there is a link in the FAQ showing where to order one from. If not, check nissanusa.com. They have an address that you can write to order one. Another option is to search e-bay. Usually, a FSM can be had for a very good price there. Alternative manuals include Chiltons and Haynes; however, I find that the Chiltons is a better one. You can easily get one from any automotive store for about $14.00. It will cover '93 thru '94 (however, it is also good for my '92 SE).

Keep us posted and let us know how it all turned out.

billy bronco

Well that sounds like the best news yet! I plan to buy a Nissan service manual $100, hopefully that is a good choice. Anyone ever buy these books on CD Rom?

I need some pointers on this timing belt change. I plan to do it myself, can't be too bad. Does anyone know if I need any specail tools?

Thanks....

jaguax

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't buy it on CD-ROM. It's no where near as convienent as a book. A book you can take outside and read while you are working on the car.

DARHAW-MAX

The FSM will cover the timing belt install pretty thoroughly; however, you do have to be aware that there are different size screws for the upper and lower timing belt covers. Just make sure that you install the right size in the right hole. It is not bad, but just a little frustrating when you have to remove bolts to put the right ones in. No special tools needed other that what a good DIY person will already have. Oh, I almost forget. It is recommended that you also change the timing belt tensioner. The first time I changed my belt, I did not do this; however, all seemed to be fine. The second time, I did. Again, this is not too expensive. I believe about $25.00 or so.

Make sure you drain the coolant before you start. Otherwise, you will have a nice mess. Let's see, what else. Hmmmm.

Oh, have you looked at the CV boots? Although they are pretty stout, you may have one that is already busted or getting ready to bust. The easiest solution--for me that is--is to just replace the whole axle assembly. Again, this is not a bad job. Just messy.

billy bronco

This is great, the car will be delivered in 30 minutes can't wait to check her out more closely. All of you have been great help so far on my first day of MAXAMA...

DARHAW-MAX

Other things to look for:

Rear brakes: drum or disk.
Front oil seal leakage (at that mileage, you should be a-okay)
Front wheel bearings (again, at that mileage, that may not be a problem)
Tie rod and ball joints
Power steering bellow boots (pain in the **** to get back on)
Suspenstion bushings (my SE had severly worn front stabilizer bar bushings)


Adding an auto-tranny cooler would be a modest upgrade that will pay back great dividens in the future of the tranny.

Heck, I love my 3rd gen so much, I had to have two. Good luck and let us know what you find when you do your inspection. Darn near any question you have can be easily answered.

broncoguy

Matt's link has pictures....

billy bronco

Can you tell me which link Matt has for the timing belt exchange, I can't seem to find it? Also car manufactured 11/93 I assume it uses the updated deep square tooth belt instead of shallow round tooth (do I have the correct)???? SOHC/VG30E

broncoguy

Go back to the main 3rd Gen discussion page. 6th post from the top says "sticky- general maintenance links"....click. There is a link called "VG timing belt replacement". It is actually for a Villager/Quest minivan, but it is still a VG. It has several good pictures.

billy bronco

Okay, guess I was thrown off by the Villiger/Quest is that the same engine or something?

billy bronco

I must be stupid because I can't get there. Can't find file for timing belt change under general maintenance, HELP!

m_maxxy

Here you go

billy bronco

Thank you, this is of great help!