Hi guys,

I had our 1991 Maxima SE with 75k miles in for a L.O.F., tune-up service, and a Massachusetts inspection sticker and the technician said that the manifold studs were rusted and some were broken. He said that it would fail emmission testing unless I had the studs and gaskets replaced to the tune of $900.

I have observed that there is a ticking sound when driving the car cold. This sound disappears after a few minutes of driving when the engine has warmed up and hasn't been a problem for this past year or so. I understand that with the engine warmed up the gaskets expand. By the way, the car has been running smoothly and as quietly as before.

1. Does this justify the $900 in order to get an inspection sticker?
2. Is it possible to get the car fully warmed up by doing some highway driving before bringing it in for an inspection instead?
3. I know that I would need to eventually have the manifold studs replaced so is the $900 for this labor-intensive job reasonable?

Thanks to all in advance.

Brian M.
1991 Maxima SE - 75k miles, bone-stock, sport package, very well kept

 

900 is a lot if i was your neighbour i do it for 200
first it depends on what manifold it is the front is easy
the rear is more difficult specialy when the studs are
broken.
when you have a thrgen you have to find out to do it your
self,because big change it will happen again.
if you have possibility to do it yourself i can give you
some information from my service manual

.

 

Thanks for the response.

The price is for the studs on both the front and rear manifolds. I mentioned to the service manager that I understand that the service department is going by the book rate and that his experienced tech could probably do it in half the time. The service manager explained to me that they could not really estimate how long it would take due to the fact that some of the studs might have to be drilled through. Some cars take a shorter time and other cars are still in the shop after 2 days depending on how the bad the studs are. Is this true?

Cheers.

 

Find a good local car mechanic...i had this problem and it cost me $600 to replace the 8 or 10 bolts and nuts that hold the manifold on and the gasket was replaced. Its mostly labor because of the b#%ch it is to get to the manifolds.

Good luck.

 

the dealer is trying to screw you.
my front studs took me a full saturday (9am to about 7pm) to replace my first try- that also included several hours of polishing my intake manifold because I had it off the car.

that's also because I didn't know what I was getting into since it was my first time to really work on the car.

As for a mechanic who knows this car and engine, the studs are a 4-5 hour job. remove Y pipe, alternator, radiator fan shroud, lower intake manifold, A/C compressor.. then both manifolds are right there- easy access from underneath.
each broken stud takes 5-10 minutes to drill out, and frozen ones take that long also. I'd say you might have 1 or 2 broken studs on each side, but shouldn't be any more than that. if you only hear it when it's cold, I'd say you've probably only got one or two broken studs total.

the rear studs are harder to get to, but they're still not bad- expecially if the mechanic knows what he's doing and has an angled drill that can get in small clearances.

I'd say 4-5 hours is conservative for a real mechanic. if I were doing it again, I could probably do it in that much or less in my garage, without a lift and many handy shop tools.

the parts themselves should run you about $50/side. the studs are about $5each for the stud, nut, and washer, then the gasket is about $25.

 

i just got mine done this weekend. what a difference it made!! you should shop around to find a better price. i had a mechanic do mine for $160 parts(gasket) and labor. the manifold was sent out and machined.

 

Is it true that we could use the 300Z manifold studs for our Maximas? Both the N/A and turbo Z uses the same studs right? I heard that they could resist future breakage due to higher tolerance to heat stress and rust resistance. These studs could fit VE30DE engines? I need to replace 3 broken studs and want to know my options before I start. If the Z studs do fit, I might as well do all the studs for preventive maintanance. Thanks.

 

When you buy the studs from the dealer, they should say "turbo" somewhere in the part label. all nissan dealers should already be using the turbo VG studs when you ask to replace them for your car.

If they don't, tell them to check their TSBs for the last 5 or 6 years, and give you the turbo studs..

that being said, I'm not positive the VE studs are the same as the VG. I don't see why they wouldn't be though.