There are plenty of universal replacement antenna available. Couple things to consider, mast height - Nothing harder to take than to go through the installation process only to hit the key and have the antenna extend to the sky, looking totally funky......

I have not seen the connection for the actual radio at the antenna, but on one car I had to re-reun the entire wire all the way to the radio, sometimes that can be a challenge

Here is a option:



Like anything, shop around, you might be able to find a deal.

Good luck!

 

Here are the old spark plugs from my 1994 Maxima



Here you can see some combustion residue on the threads - this can cause plugs to stick, difficult to remove. Worst case - strip the hole..



Many people use anti-sieze on the threads of new plugs prior to installing them.

I do

 

^^ pretty much; new masts are cheap, semi-easy to install. probably the hardest part for me was the nut on the top of the motor, which is the base of the antenna. I didn't have a proper tool, so I used a pair of small needle nose, scratched the aych-eee-double-hockeystick out of it.

I personally don't mind too much, considering the radio quality did indeed improve. I distinctly remember being amazed when I drove through Norman, and was able to actually pick up the KATT, no static.

 

THIS haha. they actually make a tool (or kit of tools for universal-ness) that are made to undo that top nut. but alas i didn't know about the tool until afterwards so mine suffered the same fate as yours.

 

You ROCK bro. I could just follow the instructions provided by the site for installation, right?

 

yea, or someone here made a video writeup a while back.. i forget who it was tho. maybe colombianmax?

 

Found crazy4maxima's thread. It has a 6-part video, I will see what I can do.

BTW, does the SE need a tuneup at 100k mark?

 

wtf does being an "SE" have to do with anything if you don't state the year? having stiffer springs & struts, Bose stereo, white-faced gauges and a spoiler doesn't have anything to do with tuneup intervals

89-91 SE is a VG, so are all 89-94 GXE's. unless you have a 92-94 SE then your "SE" is nothing special.

the proper question to ask is "the VG" or "the VE". VG needs regular tuneups just like any other car with copper plugs and a distributor, as well as needing a new timing belt/tensioner every 60k miles. VE has longer intervals due to platinum plugs and a coil-on-plug ignition and theoretically the timing chain system is maintenance free tho sometimes they need new chain tensioners.

but honestly, if you have to ask, give it a tuneup now rather than later.

 

Thinking of picking up at 1990 one owner Maxima that needs a little work for $500. Is it worth my time? Its my brothers that he bought new so I know its been maintained very well. I just dont know how easy it is to take it apart and throw in new injectors. Any input is appreciated. TIA.

 

Yes, any car will need a tune up at the 100k mark

See j-rod..wasn't that easy? Instead of your 3 paragraph rant?

this is your last warning...lay off the newbies man, they don't know the history/lingo/etc of these cars, so cut them some slack, or stop posting..

 

> 's



just let me part out my GXE for a couple months then have DanNY delete my account, i won't have any further use for it after that.

 

Whatever man...just stop bashing the newbies in here..i could care less what you do with your car or acct..

 

auto or stick? $500 is pretty good for needing little work, injectors arent impossible to do by yourself but apparently it takes some know how/time, but then again most mechanics charge quite alot

 

Sorry to **** you off, but I thought you'd saw my first post here stating that it was a '94. I do not know about the ways around this forum, but I do know well enough about the history of the car. Just be nice and friendly, yeah?

To be more specific, I was trying to ask about anything that's especially problematic about the car that will have to be replaced. Such as cooling systems etc.

 

on VE's the VTC seem to be a problem (ticking), but apparently most people dont do anything about it, most of the time it doesnt cause damage, and its a fairly pricey fix/the parts are hard to find

 

"Newbies" are the lifeblood of any forum.

Just have to keep watch for the occassional bots and trolls.

 

There are basics that apply to almost every car.

Other than routine oil changes, and I still recommend every 3000 mile intervals no matter what miracle oil you use, but that is another "story".

Engine: Change plugs ($12.00), check wires/cap and rotor*. Replace PVC valve ($3.00). Check air filter, replace if needed ($12.00).

Check all vacuum lines - are the hard and brittle?

These can easily be replaced with quality silicone hose replacement for only a few dollars.

Fluids - Engine Coolant (replace), Brakes (replace/flush/bleed - same applies of you have a hydraulic clutch), Steering (check), Transmission (check and probably replace, not sure if these cars have an internal filter or not, if so, I'd replace it as well. I am not a fan of the types of systems that hook into the cooler lines and flush the transmission, do it however the factory manual suggests).

Sometimes I'll use a turkey baster to draw out as much fluid as I can from the power steering and just replace that with new. Same for brakes/clutch, although those really deserve a true flush/bleed.

Other food for thought - checking shocks/wheel bearings (replace/repack as needed), brakes, this time the pad condition.

Tires, check condition and the air pressure frequently too.

That's my list, off the top of my head, good luck and yes, your contributions are appreciated.

As are everyones.

* = Prices vary, and it is often better to spend more for known quality as good parts will last significantly longer than checker knockoffs.

 

i didn't see that post

that's why i have my year/model show up under username, so no matter what point in the conversion i'm in, people would know the details of my car. as most people will tell you the main thing to be particular with on your car is the VTCs and the quality of the oil and oil filter. Oh, and the knock sensors tend to crap out on the VE. the VE's auto tranny is better than the VG's, the VE doesn't need the same kind of timing system maintainence as the VG's, and you never have to do disty/rotor/wires because there are none. Everything else is just a replace-it-if-it-breaks thing.. any car can have a radiator or hoses or alternator go bad over time.

 

this applies to your 94 gxe (VG) but hot his 94 se (VE). honestly if you ever get a chance to get a 92-94 SE 5spd, go for it. You'll like it a hell of a lot better than your current maxima.

and before you guys go on a hissy fit again i'm EDUCATING ujm not biitching him out

 

I like my Porsche 944 a heck of a lot better than my Maxima, and I'm sure that would apply to any variant of the Maxima



The Maxima is a nice little car, runs a lot better than it has any right too. After the plugs and air filter, it's a hoot.

Definate sleeper.

Screw the stick shift, I'm getting too old, the 944 is a 5 speed, it has it's place, not in my Maxima, thank you.

The "schooling" I want comes in the form of maintenance and performance related tweeks and mods to the Maxima. I'm not real interested in anyones elses perception on what I could or should like, too old for that drivel and drama.

Schooling, reminds me of a video I put up on youtube a while back -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcKyZBx1Z_M

Good stuff, thanks CapedCadaver

 

i concede my point. my only complaint about the 5 speed in the maxima was the position of the shifter... the pivot point is practically on the floor, well below the seat cushion, so it feels like a truck shifter. And making the shifter any shorter meant i had to lean over to shift gears. My Z has a much higher shifter location and it makes a big difference.

 

So you wanna compare sticks?





Back to the Maxima - maybe a custom shifter is in order? Get it right and then sell copies!

 

I'm about to pick up a 91 Max. It has been in an accident, fram is bent so the oil pan is sitting on the cross-member I'm told. I haven't got a chance to really look at it but the wheels don't seem to be out of place at all so I'd assume it's either not that bad or that it's not the frame that's bent but components. Any thoughts? I haven't picked the car up but thought I'd see if anyone has any suggestions where to look. If I can repair it that would be great, if not I'll just part it out. Any advice is welcome.

 

yea that's what i'm talking about

but realistically there's no way to "fix" the ergonomics of the Maxima's low-mounted shifter, because it uses metal rods rather than cables. in order to move the shifter 6 inches up and 6 inches back, massive modifications to the floorpan, handbrake, center console, and shifter rods would be in order.. it would cost hundreds of dollars to pull off. Only real reasonable way to do it would be a VQ35 6spd swap, whose transmission uses a cable-actuated shifter. But that's a whole 'nother bag of worms since the VQ and VG/VE have vastly different motor/trans mount arrangements. But more to the point... I'm done with the maxima. Parting her out this spring, then junking the body. So there'd be no real benefit in it for me. Looking at getting my Z driveable, then ditching my Honduh Shiitvic for either an Audi A4 or a pickup truck.

 

It could be done "on the cheap" -

Just weld up whatever bend/length you want on a used core - the bottom "half" would be stock, the upper portion, whatever you decide on!

 

How about -

Originally -



"bent" -

 

bending it would be even worse and more truck-like.. the problem is that when the pivot so low, the only way to get the shift **** in a good position is to make the shifter itself very very long/tall. my goal would have been to physically change the pivot ball location, about 6 inches up and 6 inches back, to use a straigher, shorter shifter, like the porsche and z have. but in doing so, the stock shift rods would not properly reach the transmission without modifying the hole that the shifter normally sits in, plus my "preferred" location would interfere with the stock location of the handbrake.

 

Ah, makes the automatic seem all the better!

 

eh.. ergonomically, yes. driving experience, no. my civic on the other hand, i wish were automatic b/c it's a PITA to keep the revs over 2500 at all times, rather than picking up at 1500rpm after a turn like i could with the torquey VG in my maxima.

 

I can relate with that.

At one time, I had too many goodies on my 944 - tuned Bursch header, open intake, blah blah blah - made more power all right, way up in the power band!

I turned it all back to stock, it now makes more power where I drive the car at all the time, far more enjoyable - and it's still cruise at a ton and get 30+ MPG!

Most Maxima's will leave it for dead in any short sprints, but toss in any distance and/or a few corners, well, the 944 is in it's element then.

Cars, I like cars.

and motorcycles.....

 

well this thing has no power anywhere, low or high. it goes from 20lb/ft @ 1000rpm to like 80lb/ft @ 2500... slowly builds to 114 lb/ft around 4500 but that's all she's got to give.

meanwhile i could do almost everything i ever need to do with the maxima at 3500rpm or less. you're making me miss my maxima actually i drove it last weekend, but it was open-ypipe ever since i sold my WSP ypipe, so i had to stay out of the gas for noise reasons (so as not to get pulled)

 

quick question, my timing belt was done by the previous owner in 2004 at 380,000km. its at 419,000km now, so i know mileage wise it should be good until 480,000km but should i still change it this year because of how old it is? IIRC its 7 years right?

 

Are those Y-Pipes everything everyone seems to say they are?

Noticably more power?

What's up with your's

 

they give decent gain and are a good first mod, dont go for Pacesetter for 3rd gens though because they have bad fitment issues

 

yeah, it definitely made the car faster. mostly in the midrange, not much in low or high. my car, in 90-degree weather, ran a 16.4, but 6 months later nc90gxe's stock VG-5 only ran a 17.2 in much colder weather (cold = more power). Granted I got a little help from my shorter-geared VE-5 tranny which also has LSD.. but not enough to make that much of a difference.

 

ok i have a 1990 maxima, i am currently in the process of doing a full restore on it. body is getting stripped down to bare metal, rot spots r getting sheet metaled. interior is getting replaced, motor and tranny swap within the nxt year or so. (216k on this beast) anyways to the point, i am looking for a good website wich has doors available. i only need to replace one on the rear passanger side cuz its pretty rotted out. no junk yards around here have em and i cant find anything online. also if you guys know of any other sites they cary all around 90 maxima parts for me to browse that would be helpfull as well.

 

Ebay has quite a few 3rd gen doors for cheap, but it depends where you are because shipping to some places can kill you

 

ok, hey by the way you were the one to kind of help me with my alarm situation a little while back. what happend was the lock cylinders on all the doors were jammed up ( after i said there was no way all 3 jammed up) so after being locked out of my car for a week i took it apart soaked it in wd-40 (so i wuldnt have seperate keys) and replaced it and put my key in and turned it. and shut my alarm off lol. didnt even have to **** with it as much as i did. somthing i believed was really complicated turned out so simple.

 

Hi! I am new here and i just bought a 3rd gen from an auction for 300 dollars. Well, after we won it, we figured out that it only has reverse, no d,2, or 1. So, we had it towed back and did a little research. I did a search, but ran into really nothing, lots of non related threads came up, and i didn't really want to read through them all. We figured out that this has a VG30E... Single cam. We also figured out that the transmission was a RE4F02A. So, before pouring lots of money trying to band-aid the transmission, I thought I would sign up on here and ask. I looked at replacing the filter, then found out dis-assembly and the removal of the transmission was required. The fluid looks like turds. We drained a little bit because it was over-filled and saw very few pieces of bronze looking junk in there. I'm not really familiar with these cars, however I am mechanically inclined, so pulling the transmission wouldn't be a big deal. So here are my options.

1 Spend money on fluid and a filter, and it is just as much labor as trying to do another transmission.

2 Junkyard transmission. Our junkyard offers a guarantee. So were not out any money if it doesn't work. Were not looking to spend money on a newly rebuilt one.

3 5 speed swap? I haven't seen any info on this, a step by step, or atleast parts list would help immensely. I have done a 5 speed swap on a 240 convertible.

4 Say to hell with it, and send it to the junk yard, they are willing to give me 350 bucks, exactly what i have in it.

Edit: I checked the linkage allready too.

 

5spd swap parts would be..

flywheel
clutch
tranny
both metal plates between engine and tranny
gussets (bolts to block, reaches to lower tranny bolt holes)
shifter assembly + boot
front tranny mount bracket (bolts to frame of car)
front and rear tranny mounts
clutch pedal assembly + spacer on inside of firewall
brake pedal or just cut the pedal with a sawzall.
clutch + start switch wiring from clutch pedal
master cylinder
hardline from master cylinder to "damper junction"
soft line from junction to slave cylinder (don't bother with the junction itself... clutch feels better w/o it)
slave cylinder
bolts

if you get a VE tranny to put on a VG car, you will need the hubs and axles from the VE car also, and you'll need to find a VG flywheel elsewhere cuz the VE flywheel has 8 center bolts, not 6.


if you want a 5spd swap, where do you live? i'm in NC, and i have most of one ready to sell. just need to gather a few other parts before i have everything you'd need.