Oblongshapes

iTrader: (1)

I was looking into purchasing a 1991 Maxima approaching 100,000 miles with a freshly rebuilt auto tranny. I was curious on any problems that any of you have encountered with yours.... Are they reliable and dependent? Any common problems that seem to come up at that mileage?

thanks

maximagxe90

100k miles with these cars is nothing,

there more cars on this board that has more then 100k miles,

some even have 200k miles,

my car has over 119k miles and approaching 120k miles,

so your car will last a long time if taken care of,

the alternator will go out if it is original,

and the fuel injector will go out if it is original,

and the spark plugs will need to be replaced if it hasn't been replaced already,

the fuel filter will need to be replaced if it hasn't been already replaced,

so these are some things you should check when you get the car,

and do the basic tune-up:

cap/plugs/wires/fuel filters,

i hope that it is enough info for you,

and check out the stickies for other repairs on your car,

Tom

Exhaust Manifold Studs tend to break

Wiking

Maxima is reliable, if reliable user(s). Suggest a glimpse to mirror [not rearview mirror], make assesment on what u see.

Accelerate any ol donkie with a screw, it will disintegrate under the load. Build it up to stand the new requirements, it might become reliable [see above]. Note that any computerized system, age over 5 yrs will have continuous problems
...w/o maintenance, read: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/14

CyMax

iTrader: (5)

Isn't a 91 a 2nd Gen??

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

2nd gen. 85-88

3rd gen. 89-94

CyMax

iTrader: (5)

So a first Gen actually had to wait for Dinosaurs to rot to get gas!?!?!?

dantegl

I''l stand by my third gen till it dies. has 200+ on the motor and over 100+ on the tranny. excellent car. still has the original fuel injectors (knock on wood). but yeah other than lots of body work i need (frame needs some repair) and some suspension work this car is gorgeous.

garbury

iTrader: (4)

The reliabilty on my cars have been excellent. Sure, the problems arise that people mentioned, but you can't avoid problems in old vehicles, they are a given. My VG maxima has about 120k and it has taken a harsh beating. It was my first car, and I used to just run it like mad. I would floor it everywhere (even on cold startup), slide it around corners as fast as I could, hit speed bumps at highway speeds, go offroading, ebrake slides in mud/water/dirt....I was about as reckless as you can be with a car. I took care of it with routine maintenance, however, and it runs like the day I got it. I am not even half as abusive as before, but it stiil takes punishment. My radiator cracked about a month ago, and on a drive home in HOT tucson weather, I didnt notice my temp guage at the high point until I was close to my parent's house when it dropped back to normal (indicating no fluid, just hot air). I had run the engine dry, and let it just cook for about a half hour drive. Fixed the radiator and changed the oil, and it ran just like it did before. The tranny hasn't slipped yet after 40k Garbury miles, and it doesn't show any sign of fatigue. The car seems to be bulletproof.

goon9

iTrader: (13)

[QUOTE=garbury]The reliabilty on my cars have been excellent. Sure, the problems arise that people mentioned, but you can't avoid problems in old vehicles, they are a given. My VG maxima has about 120k and it has taken a harsh beating....

SOmeone should show you a good beating.

Alex_V

Why for actually using a car insted of *****-footing around like 99% of the population? you going to go beat up some drifters too? LoL

~Alex

vansskaterfreek

iTrader: (14)

ive driven my car for about 2,000+ miles so far, i've only had the car on the road a little over a month, and i beat the living **** out of this thing.. i mean EVERY time i stop and go i floor the dam thing. everythign is fine besides the auto tranny, as you shoult know not many front wheel drive cars' tranny's cannot stand that kinda beating. but everythign else on this car is AWESOME!!! it is fast as **** too!

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

my first concern would be that "freshly rebuilt" trans. once rebuit the lifespan around here appears to be pretty short. (BTW that only applies to the VGs A/T, the VE uses a different trans)
next is the injectors on my list of worries, but that's much lower of a worry to me.
also contro arm bushings can be an issue if the car has an oil leak.

MyBlue92Maxima

iTrader: (2)

changing an injector is like 2 hours worth of work and about 70-80 bucks, thats not to bad , id just be worried about that tranny going bad , alot of people complain about there auto's dieing...my 5spd has 172,xxx miles and is still on origional motor+tranny, no clutch replaced , no visible oil leek , i check the engine dipstick too, always shows full..ive replaced 1 injector and the flex pipe that was it on my 92

LQ91SE

I've got 210k on my 91 5 sp. SE.

It still has original:

Engine/Transmission/Clutch

Injectors/Oxy Sensor/Plug Wires

It still gets 27+ MPG, no oil leaks and passes emissions with flying colors

The Alternator gave out at 205k (brushes were WAY worn but still putting out 12.3 volts)

Things that have been replaced since new:

Timing Belts (77k,140k,200k)
Clutch Master Cyl. (65k)
Power Steering Hose (190k) leaking
Axles (150k) Steering Rack (195k) both for torn boots
Ball Joints (150k) worn
Rear Brake Caliper (130k)frozen
Water Pump (200k) still good,but I got scared.


As you can see, this car has been mechanically reliable.
Now the Windows and Bose are a different story......

VEvolution

Remember.. Change the Timing belt every 60K or less for good measure.

Hornswoggler

The weak points that I hear of:

later SE's get some VTC ticking or something. I have heard that the GXE engine is more reliable (maybe somebody can help elaborate or correct me if wrong)

The automatic transmissions have been getting a lot of attention lately. Mine is dying, going to get an estimate/diagnosis tomorrow.

But no car is perfect.

189k miles on mine. It's been great except for recently the tranny. over 50k of those miles have been under my lead foot. hehe

shalp

iTrader: (1)

164k on my 91' it still drives strong and hard.

Dillbag

iTrader: (4)

yep, 3rg gen's are tough *******. I drove mine around with a bad rod-knock (lower engine noise) for a couple YEARS! and i didn't ever cut it any slack,drove it hard until right before i decided to rebuild. SHIFT_beefy. But yeah, like everbody else said, get it checked out well, but still any older car WILL have some bugs to work out, just fix 'em and get over it and keep on rollin'. I guess you need a beater for when it comes time for the turbo install / tuning process?

maxitech

iTrader: (7)

I love my car, but just know that if you are buying one this old, you have to like to tinker and turn wrenches. In the spring I MOVED just so I could have a garage to work on my Maxima (and sled)

maxmaxima91

I bought my 91 VG 5 spd off of my brother 3 years ago when i turned 16. For the first year i drove like a 16 year old that thought he had a fast car. That was at 110k, now it has 175k and has been boosted for 5000 miles. Everything is still original (engine, tranny, alternator, axles, even all of the window moters. I love the VG it may not be as fast as the VE but so far for me it has seemed indestructable even at 10 psi of boost. I trust it so much this friday im driveing the car from Chicago to Pheonix and back, great drive.

geoff.doctor

Iv'e owned 3 MAximas. My first was a 90 SE, it was in great shape, and had 165000 miles on it. I got in an accident after only owning it for 5000 miles and 4 months. It was on original everything except brakes and oil, and exaust had been replaced, and ran great until that point.

The next one is a 93 VE. This one has not been quite as reliable. I have drove 8000 miles in 4 months time. The 3rd week I owned it, the clutch went out with no notice. I showed the disc to my uncle who is a mechanic, and he thought it was probably the previous owners bad driving (Clutch was down to bare metal, and only had 42K on it!!!). Last week my CV joint started making noise, and I had to replace the driver side axle. It has also needed a ball joint and a condenser, totaling about $250 in parts in the 4 months I have owned it. Now it does have 210K miles on the body, but it has a new engine with only 90K on it. So maybe these parts are prone to failure with those miles.

The last max I picked up off of ebay for $280. Its a 90 GXE. It has a bad auto tranny, so I am in the process of putting a new one it. It also needs some exaust work, and has some rust. I plan on doing these things, as well as the timing belt, and either keeping it as a beater, or selling it. it has 162k on it.

Overall, I think these older max's are vary reliable. Treat them well and they will give you many years of reliable service.

VEvolution

Can't wait to see how the current Maxima's turn out in reliability 10 yrs from now.