Yesterday I was going up an incline in my 90 SE when the car began to shudder and run roughly. The last time this happened to me an injector went out.

Here's the part that confuses me; sometimes as I drove today the car quit running roughly and went back to normal. However, when I was backing out of a parking place, the roughness kicked in.

Now the question: It's time to replace the timing belt (120K). Let's say I have to replace the injectors as well. I can't fix my own car so it would have to go to the shop. Total may run 1200 plus here in the L.A. area. Is it worth it or should I work toward finding a 93 or 94 SE? The paint interior and body are decent plus I have rims, but the window regulators no longer function nor does the AC.

 

put some more money and buy 94 SE with no problems....thats wat i would do if i were u

 

find a capable 3rd gen ORGer in the LA area to lend a hand. option #3 ftw.

 

correct me if im wrong but isnt the life of a timing belt 60k doesn't that mean his engine gonna explode pretty soon

also IMO u should keep fixing the car if u like the way it drives if u dont sell it just dont keep buying another car everytime your current one breaks

 

hows ur maf SISSY? mite need some cleaning...

 

2x60=120. if it's been replaced once at 60, it's due again at 120.

and typically i'd assume "sissy" to be a female member...

 

Staying with one car is cheaper than buying one every time something breaks. It's best to buy them used well below the price of new and then take a look at the MSRP and tell yourself you haven't spent that much on the car.

Regulators are easy, timing belt is easy, etc. Though thats not all the 120K is...platinum plugs need to be replaced every 60K, if someone changed the plugs on your car to coppers every 15K.

The rough running is likely a misfire, more often than not caused by the MAF.

edit: What does being female have to do with anything? Heh...I force my girlfriend to help me on my car so she'll learn to work on cars when she has one.

 

yea everyone always asks me "when are you gonna get rid of that thing and get a car that doesn't need so much work?"

"why would i? it's quick, paid for, old enough to still be mostly simple, and i've got the skills to fix it."

 

Are you saying ALL the window regulators are bad?? None of the windows are functioning? Plus no AC?

How about the suspension?

If you are looking at replacing the rest of the injectors (5?) plus a 120k service I believe it's going to cost you more than 1200.

I'm gonna say it's time for something else .

 

Maximas don't need so much work >_>. Well I guess yours does but still motor mounts are cheap enough and if mine were as bad as yours I'd use it as an excuse to pull the engine out and f*** with stuff.

Nobody could ever convince me I'd be better off with a 1996+ or American car. OBD-II makes me sick just thinking about it. I also have bad experiences with carbs so I'm stuck in the 90s cause I love fuel injection. So I'm limited on choices. Maximas are one of the bigger and faster Japanese cars and I have a tall family so the Maxima is pretty much the best car for my daily driver.

 

definetly agree with that the VG is the simplest fuel injected engine ive ever seen theres nothing fancy about it yet its extremely durable reliable and almost has unlimited potential if i total this car im buying another one exactly like it

 

way ahead of you. i am pulling the motor out and f**king with stuff.. probably in september. i'm swapping motors, making a custom VG/VE hybrid-gearing tranny (2nd gen VG, that is), and a slew of other things. the more work i do, the more work i find that needs to be done! but it's ok i can handle it. mostly.

 

what the hell is that?

 

me being the crazy **** i am and doing stuff way harder than it needs to be done

IF i can pull it off it will be the only one of its type that i've ever heard of.

 

sounds like you may have some water or trash in your fuel tank since going uphill and backing up targets it. You might also want check that your fuel pump is secure in the tank and look for any trash/water while you're in there!

 

I'd get something else.
I've done it all many times before.
though if you can't do any of your own work, then yes you need to figure cost of repairing the next car into the equation PLUS tax, registration, insurance costs, license plate transfer. it all adds into a cars total cost for most people
around here, even if the car is free it costs you ~$300 assuming it is 11+ years old.

 

Enlighten me on why a 2nd gen trannys gears would help. I'm not exactly a genius with gear ratios (geez....I use that line alot here...I'm not exactly a genius at)

I can assume this is part of your big super secret Maxima project of total awesomeness.

I could handle all of this if I had one piece of **** Maxima to completely dismantle and not give two ****s if I could put it back together. These dang manuals don't give you any experience and thats the only thing I learn from. Okay okay or decent resolution pictures with MSpaint'd red circles. Either way I'm about to the point to where I'm going to annoy you guys by making a thread of my own to beg for mod help.

 

2nd gen tranny had a larger overall gearspread from 1st to 5th, featuring more space between 4th and 5th. coupled with a ve final drive, i'd have shorter low gears, longer high gears, and VLSD.

 

I'm a 20 year old female and while some females can turn a wrench neither I nor my father can. When our Maximas have problems we have to take them to the shop.

I'm thinking about getting a 2008 Mitsubishi and my dad is interested in my 90though I don't know what to ask. His 89 GXE runs quieter, but doesn't look very nice (paint.) My mom isn't in favor of him owning two older cars that need maintenance (new radiator, rebuilt heads, new speed sensor, new rotors and brakes, new starter and alternator plus a new high pressure power steering hose all in the last year.) That's why my mom questions the logic of having to depend on an older car daily when funds are somewhat limited.

Thanks for the advice

 

Better to depend on an older car than a more expensive one. With $200 a month car payments you could fix $2400 worth of damage a year. My family hasn't spent a quarter of that on the Maxima in 4 years.

 

2 old cars > 1 new car