Ok, so let's start from the beginning. I get towed, so I decide to move out of my moms apartment and over to my dads after paying $200. On my way home from work it is raining, and I am driving home. Everything was running just fine, but as soon as I got off the freeway, I noticed the lights dimmed, and the RPM gauge went limp when I turned the lights on/off. I am then thinking "oh ****" so I try to give it some gas hoping I get home (it was bout .5 miles from home) but the thing just died...at night...at an intersection, when it is downpouring.

Thank god for AAA, I had it towed home, then to an auto repair shop where the alternator and battery cable was replaced. That set me back $600 (don't ask, please), so I am now stoked that it is at least working. I then noticed a strange knocking noise the day after so I thought something was loose (it wasn't concistant). Everything was running fine and strong, but it was just making that knocking noise with a few pops. Now my guess was that perhaps the timing belt slipped. It is running strong right now and the shop is only 5 miles and I have AAA, no biggy...

WRONG! As soon as I start it the next mourning to take it to the service shop, I noticed it had virtually NO power! I would give it full throttle and it owuld barely get to 1500 RPM. I didn't stop at the stop signs but rather did a California stop with hazzards on hoping "come on baby, just a little bit further!" Just to my luck, I reach a hill...and I have to go up it. I get about half way and it just looses all power, so I crank the now power-steeringless steering wheel on a car rolling on momentum to the side of the road where I then parked and broke out the cell phone.

Now let me remind you, the car IS NOT overheated at this point. The temp is fine, and yet I all the sudden saw SMOKE, not steam but SMOKE rise from the hood. I ran out of the car, popped the hood and found a small fire in the front coming off of the valve cover gaskets. I threw sand on it, and that is that....now that car shop is saying $600 to replace the timing belt and I am saying screw that. I'll just take the car home and maybe tow it to school for a project car for me to learn how to work on cars some more on.

Truely a sad sad week....I lost my Maxima temporarily on several occasions! So now...though I hate to admit it, I am forced to get a cheap little Honda Civic to tide me over for awhile (snif snif)

 

sounds like a bad series of events.. I doubt your timing belt has anything to do with it. could be the crank or camshaft sprockets busting off because that would be somewhat gradual. course that wouldn't explain a fire breaking out. what did this mechanic say?

 

Disaster? I think not...
This is a disaster....



The shop you are taking your car to is taking you for a butt ride...They probably screwed your car up when they replaced the alternator/battery cable...Timing belts do not smoke when they go bad,they just break and bend all your valves...

Take it to someone else,or learn how to fix it yourself..

 

Hah yeah ok you win!
Seriously though, the gaskets on the thing were shot and I knew that, and I think that on top of the timing belt slipping is what might of caused it. The plan is for me to just fix it myself, but in the meanwhile, I need a car, and hopefully I'll get this civic for $2000 or so.

Also, is the VG engine a clearance or non-clearance engine?

 

VG= non-clearance. If the belt slipped then valves are bent. The fire issue is weird tho.

 

Timing belts rarely slip...they break and that is that. I'd say 50% chance there is an underlying issue and 50% chance the shop screwed you over (actually 100% chance on that...$120 alternator + battery cable + labor =$600!?!?! I think not...that's an hour or hour and a half labor tops!) You have the right idea, though. Get in there, learn how to work on it yourself, and fix the issue for cheap. I know how you feel with shops...Up here in redneckville if it doesn't say ford or chevy on the hood they ain't done gonna know how to work on it but will still charge you out the @$$. Good luck, we're here to help when you need us!

 

I called Knights Automotive and asked him what he might of thought it was to get this: Crank and bearings tried to weld together after the car cooled down overnight due to some problem with oil distribution or such which in turn of me trying to drive it put a lot of strain on the engine which then tried to reroute the heat to the exhaust which heated up the oil leak I already had to cause the fire. Something like that from what I understood.

 

My thoughts...Oil leaking from the front valve cover dripped on the exhaust manifold enough to cause the oil to ignite..

Some pics of the effected area in the engine would help us out..

 

yeah, can u get some pics...

 

Well it is in the shop and I haven't had the time, nor the means of transportation to get there, so unfortuneatly, not at this moment. We shall see though in a day or so.

PS: Now that I have had some time to give this some thought, I think what I really want to do is keep the maxima as a project car like I originally said, and instead of getting a civic or some low millage car, go for a RWD Infiniti. From the looks of it the 94-96(?) versions are fairly cheap even for the Q series. That or spend the $1000 and have a new VG30 engine put in my Maxima not knowing how much longer that auto tranny will last concidering it will slip a couple hundred RPM and jerk into 2nd or 3rd gear.

 

Sorry for the double post, but we decided to have a different service center replace the engine for $950 (500 parts, 450 labor).

Now I am faced with the fact that they will be using SOME of the old parts off the old engine (such as the fuel injects...they are replacing stuff like theormastat(sp?), timing belt, ect.). The question is, how much should I expect to pay for a full set of fuel injectors? This place wanted $100 each for Bosche and $120 or so for OEM. I know they need to be replaced, but I would rather not have to pay so much for them! Need a reply ASAP! Thanks!

 

HAHA -- I saw that on ebay! I tried to get my wife to let me buy it

but she said no

 

Bosch = OEM and that price isn't that far off, though I can cut a deal on all 6 if needed

 

you will own 2 engines and 12 fuel injectors. why buy 6 more? the ones on your current motor are probably working and i wouldn't doubt that the set on the replacement motor work as well, unless they're known to be faulty..

 

They are taking the old engine.

 

so grab the injectors before it goes