Alright, well I just bought my 4th Maxima. Its a 93 GXE with every option except leather and HUD, excellent body, Dark gree w/tan, 190K miles, for $800.

It does however seem to have a coolant leak as there was some under the tire when I bought it, and I had to add about 40oz of water to get it full before I drove it, so tomorrow I will locate it. When I drove the car home and pulled in the garage, it smelled like burned coolant, but I don't think it has anything to do with the head or gasket, because no white smoke comes out the back, and there is still a lot of power. Is there any way that coolant could be landing on the exaust from somewhere?

Also, the transmission cooler on the radiator had the hoses cut off, and a new (as in brand new) looking cooler was in front of the condenser. Why would someone install something like this instead of just replace the stock one?

Will be installing new bushings in the future, so I am sure I will have more questions.

Thanks in Advance!

 

first check and see if the timming belt had been done,

if not do it know now before you lose the engine,

and see if the seal on the side of the engine has been changed,

 

The previous owner is actually neighboors with one of my friends (learned by looking at the title) So I am going to go over there and see if it has been changed. Timing belt is prevention though, so how would this explain the problems I have had?

 

1.water pump gone out
2.leaking hose
3.leaking radiator
4.check all these things until you find the leak...

 

That water pump actually sounds like a possibility. Can you hear it if it has gone out? If not how do you tell?

 

Typically no. In my jeep, yes, as the axle wobbles
U tell by the spot location on the floor. If u dont know the spot, pour some water down near the pump, now u know...

"Why would someone install something like this instead of just replace the stock one?"
- price? Extra one left on the shelf? Faster to swap?

Lots of places in VGE may leak. If leak is minor and onto block, hot engine evaporates the water, only greyish streak is left telling the location. Digital camera with a flash comes handy: drop it into unreachable places and take pics, pics, pics...

See the coolAnt complex city at http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/1, --->page 8:

 

If the coolant is leaking down by the harmonic balancer[crankshaft pulley] then its most likely the W/P......And no they don't make any noise when they are bad....

 

Well there isnt any pressure in the upper radiator hose, and I hear a noise coming from about the location of the water pump, So I am assuming this could be a problem. The previous owner was not driving the car regularly when I bought it, so I do not know how much damage was done. Is there a chance I may have to replace the headgasket as well?, If you press down on the petal right now the car will put out some white smoke, but its not noticible at idle or low RPMs (noticible @ 4000+ RPMS)

 

Yes there is... if steam is billowin from exhaust. If u look at the other suggested pics, u may see that there could also be a leak in lower intake causing this.

Depending what youre up to with u max, I'd try first the radiator 'snake oils', patching those leaks plus the pump swap. I have a couple of cases where it has helped; professional way is to find the leak and repair. Well, if the repair liquid does not work, and u continue to lose coolant, then replace gasket.

 

Would there be anything visible on the block or outside of the head to help me locate the leak? Or do I just have to pull the heads to find out which one it is?

 

Fill it up with water and warm it up to operating temp....Then look for leaks....Its not going to leak when the engine is cold...

 

After I replace the pump I assume. Its making a ton of noise, and there is no pressure in the hose. I definantly don't want to make it worse.

 

Do you know where the leak is yet?????

 

After I replace the pump I assume. Its making a ton of noise, and there is no pressure in the hose. I definantly don't want to make it worse.

Did talk to owner, he owned since 55K miles. Timing belt was done at 120k, dealer told him water pump was good so he never replaced that, Grrr. 190K miles on water pump, not good at all.

He did appear to take great care of it, and had all of the service records. The radiator seems to have a lot of crap/floating stuff mixed in with the water and coolant, so its time for a flush and maybe replacement.

Belt has 70K on it, so I will inspect it when I do the pump, if its bad I will change it then. If it in good shape, I will replace the water pump, and then end up replacing if I have to do the head gaskets.

Anyone here done a gasket for their VGs? I know on some cars it will usually crack the head or block. Is this something I should be worried about, or is it usually just a blown gasket?

Thanks!

 

Should I run the car with a bad water pump? Or should I wait to find the leak until that is replaced?

 

The water pump has a little weep hole in the bottom of it, right behind the pulley shaft...After years of spinning around, the shaft seal wears out and it starts leaking the coolant out of that hole....The water pump is most likely still able to pump coolant through the engine...

To find out if it is the water pump leaking you need to fill up the radiator and overflow tank....Then run the engine to operating temp. at the same time you need to be looking all around the W/P area and other parts of the engine bay for water leaks...a good flashlight helps....

 

Sounds good, I will try that. I hope it still works, there is not much if any pressue in that upper hose compared to in my SE.

 

Thermostat stays closed?

Belt change 60k/5yrs - is already overtime. Replace that, accessory belts, pump & thermostat first. If (?) the engine has survived this far, why teasing it more?

If leak is outside heads, it leaves marks. Seeing the flow marks around intake might be difficult; use cam as suggested. If its inside, not possible to see. If leak gets into oil, that will become cream, if it leaks 'into' cylinder, most probably u get rad pressure up (if no other leaks).

 

Well this is all very odd. I decided to add some belt dressing to all of the drive belts, and when doing so the noise went away that I thought was the waterpump. Also the upper hose has a lot of pressure and is warm now. Temp gauge shows car staying at temp after being driven. Heat is working, so I am assuming that the water pump is working fairly well, however it still needs to be replaced. Also, for some reason I could not get the car to blow out white smoke today, this is all very odd.

 

Thermostat works only Sundays?

Tight belts, no? http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/23

 

Good information, the noise appears to be from the PS Pump/Water Pump belt, as when that belt was sprayed with dressing it quieted down. Guess I will have to check the tightness.

 

Tomorrow I am planning on replacing the lower control arms/bushings on the front. Both sides bushings are shot. Anyone know how long this job takes, or what type of problems I can look forward to ?

Thanks again

 

If you have any oil leaks, fix them first then the bushings..

 

Time is 15min per side, plus toe in adj. Plus + how long u fight with stuck bolts... 1-5hrs. Torch becomes handy if trouble.

Toe in DIY & links http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/18

 

I reccomend a simple and old trick if the hoses feel squishy replace it as far as to teh snake oil to plug small holes in teh radiator they are only tempeary and i have know alot of people that ended up clogging there heater core.

 

Control arm bushings are trickier than I once thought. The metal ring inside one of the bushings was stuck on and I had to take a large torch to it! how do you adjust the toe-in setting?

 

The tie rod ends control the toe in......

 

ahh...I see

 

Nice price on your Maxima, but if it's anything like mine it's gonna need some work and money invested. Mine dripped coolant from the right front lower control arm (passenger side) when the water pump was going out. No loss of cooling power noted until it began to overheat from being low on radiator fluid. I'd do the tbelt, waterpump, and various cam seals soon. Mine cost ~700 dollars. I also repaced control arms due to bad bushings. And my suspension was shot. Now it feels much better on the road...

 

Well of course the metal from the busing is stuck on that big bolt. I can remove the entire arm, just not the metal piece. If I take a torch to it, will that damage anything else? I have never worked with a torch before, always had others do the job. I need to get this done fairly soon, my friend saw the car and offered me $1000 + 1987 Jeep Grand Wagoneer w/towing pkg, so I need to get it fixed up before he changes his mind.

 

Also, what is the name of the little piece that goes on top of the lower control arm to that bar running under the car. That needs to be replaced as well. Anyone know about getting that metal piece off where the bushing is?

Thanks in Advance!

 

Swaybar link. Napa wanted 40 bucks for mine, and I don't think Brian sells them.

 

Just found mine for $12 luckilly. Any input at all on seperating that piece of the control arm from the car??? I really don't want to make it undriveable until I know what I am doing.