hari_jay

Hi I recently bought a used Automatic 1989 Nissan Maxima SE ( 3000 , V6). The only things I found strange about the car was that the temperature guage would work intermittently and that when I start the car about 1 out of 20 times it would hesitate to get into drive .
It was a great car for the past 8 months ( it now has 110k miles on it) and I have been on quite a few long trips in the past .

Recently when I was on a 350 mile drive from houston to laredo Texas, the car was doing great at 75mph on the freeway and everything was fine till the hose that connects the engine to the radiator engine blew off ( It was a 115 degrees outside and the hose as I realised later looked all worn out and consequently gave way ).

In what followed the engine overheated and the motor got severely damaged by the time I could get my car off the freeway safely. I was told by a laredo mechanic that the motor needs replacement. I been quoted $1200 parts and labor by a laredo mechanic for a full motor replacement .
The mechanic says he can find me a late 1990's motor with few (????) miles on it.

As is quite obvious I am quite new to cars in general and to problems with my maxima.

What should I keep in mind going into this major ( for a poor grad student) repair. Is it worth it . I suppose the transmission is still alright ( no major problems until now).
Is the price quoted reasonable.

emax02

iTrader: (1)

$1200 for a motor and labor seems to be a very good deal to me. Have you considered getting your engine rebuilt? It may cost you a little more but your engine will basicaly be brand new which is a lot better then a so so used engine that you know nothing about.BTW with only 110K Miles your car should have a lot of life left, there are lots of members here who are well into the 200K+ Plus club and even some 300K mile cars. Good Luck and I hope you get your problem resolved in a quick and orderly fasion.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

rebuilding the engine would entail more than it's worth in parts.

if it died from overheating, it probably seized, which means it spun several bearings, and the pistons may have to be removed with a hammer.. obviously, it's going to need some serious work to repair the engine.

if he got realy lucky, the only thing that happened was it severely scored the cylinder walls, but that still entails boring out each cylinder and new pistons and rings.

by that time, he's got enough in that rebuild to pay for a complete used engine and a swap.

and yes, $1200 for a swap, including parts and labor is extremely reasonable. it's downright cheap!

90maximaSE

Hey, just lettin you know. Matt93GXe has no clue what he is saying. He talks like knows everything but really is just runnin his mouth. So take it from me an expert and pay no attention to him cause he is an idiot.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Thanks for the compliments. I'll remember that when you're asking for help.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

LOL! Like you know a damn thing. Care to back up you statements with some proof? Thanks I didn't think so.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Ignorance is bliss.....I take it your VERY blissful?



Here's a smiley to make ya feel better:

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

engine for? I'm letting mine go for $400 plus shipping, which is about $50 truck last time I shipped one.

Maximum5spd

Just a suggestion....maybe it will be more $$$$ but maybe ud rather get the 300ZX engine???????

hari_jay

Unfortunately for me the car broke down in laredo and Im in houston 350m away. So I feel powerless in exercising my choice into what kind of engine I get other than a verbal approval .
I guess the engine I will get will be for around 800 and the rest goes towards labour.

Have any of you had a problem with intermittent temp guage function. When I do get my motor replaced is there any chance that that problem will correct itself. Whats the solution. I figured that if my guage worked flawlessly all the time I would have atleast known that the rubber hose was not doing its job the few minutes/seconds before it tore and could have known the engine was pretty hot.

Thanks once again for all your suggestions.

89GXE

Yeah my temp gauge does the same thing I was at one
time able to cure it temorarily by ensuring the screws
in the back of the gauge were tight but some 3 months
after I did that every once in a while the gauge will
spike up to full hot until I bang on the dash then it
will die momentarily and then come back to normal, go
figure. It seems in my experience anyway that it is a
problem exclusive to 89's my mom's 90 and my friends
90 and anoher friends 92 have not had this problem
and I have seen it on another 89 (oddly the same color
as my car hmmm) as far as a permanent fix I have not
been in the dash a second time (maybe I'll get in there
this weekend) but if i find one I'll let you know.

Matt you are right if the motor did overheat it is
most likley more trouble than it is worth to rebuild the
engine in addition to destoyed bearings there is also
warpage that would have to be milled and other nasty
things. $1200!!! that is a great price if the engine
is worth the $800 $400 labor is cheap a lot cheaper
than a dealer (I work as a Nissan tech). A good idea
would be to have the Timing belt, Cam Seals, Water pump,
Tensioner, and Thermostat replaced while the motor is out
of the car it will be a lot eaisier to do and would not
cost as much labor as having it done in the car. Just a
suggestion.

blackonblack

My temp gauge does the same thing...I ignore it. Providing that my fluids are in order. And at worst smoke is not comming out my engine, everything is a.o.k. All that is is a short.

OnTheRoad

Also replace all the rubber hoses to help prevent a reoccurrance. If your tranny is sick or car rusty or dented, I would think twice before doing an engine swap on a car this old. But how poor is a poor grad. student?