Ok I just got this Max in June from my gf's parents (they had too many cars)... it runs great and aside from the usual problems, which I have fixed thanks to this forum , There is nothing major, EXCEPT:

1) Pushed in Headlights, and Grille only about 10-15mm, nothing major but still an issue ... does anyone know how to set them straight (the headlight on the driver's side and the grille)? Perhaps someone whos got the E36's on, and has taken out the stock lights.

2) Yellow coloured bumper - the paint has been scratched off of my black bumper, and is revealing a bright yellow school bus colour. Should I attempt to strip and them paint myself?

3) Dent near the pushed in headlight (probably from the same accident), is this an issue I should worry about (ie potential for rust)? Or should I take it to a body shop?

4) BAD RUST... WARNING MAX LOVERS MAY CRINGE... just look at the pics and you'll see what I'm talking about.... what can I do about this? Should I also take this to a professional body shop?

PICS ARE HERE: http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...hreadid=211358

Thanks in advance,


PS I'm sorry if some of you cried at the pics of my injured max

 

Dude that's odd, because my drivers side headlight is also slightly pushed in. Maybe it has to do with that adjustment screw thingy.

 

Yeah I don't know if it was a structural issue or if it was because of an accident... what screw are you alking about? that white plastic one behind the headlight near the corners?

 

Yeah that's the one. I know that there is an adjustment screw for angling the headlights and I believe that is it.

The question is though is it the cause of the pushed in headlight???

 

The plastic screw adjusts the angle of the headlight up and down in relation to the road. There is also a long metal adjustment screw on the bottom right (on the passengers side) and left (on the drivers side) that moves the headlight in and out, try adjusting that too, mine was broken (stripped threads) so I could just push the headlight in and out but it wouldn't pass inspection like that... go figure

 

Rust sucks. I don't think that is worth taking to a body shop. You need a lot of parts. Those bottom pieces have to be cut out and new pieces need to be welded in. Not cheap and very labor intensive. I would guess the work is very easily over $1000, then you are looking at probably at least another $1000 to repaint (Maaco maybe cheaper). Plus, you likely have more rust under the car.

I would try to find a DOA maxima and put your motor and tranny in it, if you have pretty low miles. You can probably find something like this if you are patient:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2434866141

I suppose you use salt on the roads when it snows? yuck. Salt has ruined many a good car!

best of luck.

 

Hey thanks man... I think I'd rather keep the cash and just run the car into the ground... but had I bought the car in the first place I probably would have considered it.

BTW there is as much salt on the roads up here as there is snow , I don't understand why we don't use an alternative .

 

HOLY CRAP SON!!!

That has got to be the sickest amount of rust I've seen on a Max (except maybe shavedmax's totally rotted out wheel wells). I'd check on the fuel filler too cause that's a known issue for 3rd gens that have seen lots of salt. That is a sick amount of work needed for that ride, but it's not beyond repair. I've had an insane amount of body work done along with a repaint for about $1k before but that's because I got hooked up by some Mexican friends. Good luck with whatever you do tho.

 

Oregon and Washington don't allow salt on the roads. East of the Cascades there isn't much rain. I think we get about 12-15" total precip for the year (a lot of that snow in the winter) and 300 days of sunshine. Everyone thinks all it does is rain in Oregon...

Anyway, we use sand and/or crushed volcanic (red) rock for the snow. It works good in helping traction. It just looks messy once the snow has melted.

Plus, studded tires are legal (I have a set for my Max) so people that drive a lot in the winter here get them.

With the tire technology (studs, Blizzak, Observe, etc) I don't know why salt is used so much back there.

Anyway, good luck with your max. I wouldn't bother with the rust much. Probably not worth the expense. Drive it and save your money for a better car down the road. Just my $.02

 

Where abouts can I do that? (please don't tell me to use the "search" feature )

Thanks.

 

1) Great work down there... they use sand/studded tires in europe too (at least in the scandinavian countries), I wish toronto (all of canada too) would follow suite

2) Yeah that's what like 9 out of 10 people said... just drive it into the ground as it is.... i think i might just do that, thanks for the input .

 

Why don't you search???


Just look behind your driver's side rear tire and check out that little tube tucked in the wheel well (ok... so it's not really so little). Make sure it looks alright, not corroded and check to make sure nothing is leaking from it. There was a recall for it actually, but I don't think the Kanuck Maxs were part of it... tho I could be wrong. For the specifics... you actually have to search on that one.

 

1) it's bad enough I've got this "need to use search feature and read FAQ" thing

2) I'll do a search for sure... thanks again