I owned a '94 maxima. Loved the car, except the auto tranny got rebuilt at about 70K miles, then it went again at 110K miles. I got one from a wrecker and swapped it out. Sold car to a friend and it's holding. Just wondering if the auto trannys on these were weak, or did I just have bad luck?

the car I'm looking at is a 1990, low miler (65K miles). Owner says timing belt is done. I seem to recall 2 different V6 motors, one of which was the tried, tested and true version, and the other was higher performance but potentially more problems. VG30E?? something like that.

Only other ugly problem I remember is the fuel filler tube was prone to rusting out as it trapped dirt, etc...

Anything else to look at carefully? should i look at something in the next gen? The price is right on this, which is my motivation.

THANKS!!

 

automatic GXE tranny were made by Nissan for 4 cylinder engines, with a torquey V6 like VG30E theyre bound to not handle it, best to use a VE 5spd tranny or wire up a VE automatic

VE30DE had more HP, VG30E was tried and true in a bunch of different vehicles. VE30DE were 92-94 SE, so you have a VG30E again

 

should have mentioned dont let it steer you away, if you just take care of the tranny it should be fine. my GXE auto tranny lasted to 429,000km before 1st would bog from takeoffs sometimes. just dont go from drive to reverse/reverse to drive moving, stop all the way, use the Ebrake before going into park, etc. and it will be fine. i did all that and still drove the hell out of my tranny always

 

Do routine maintenance and don't bat the hell out of it. If it dies then what chrome suggested is an option for you. If you use a VE auto tranny then you will need to swap in VE hubs with VE axles. I'm not quite sure if you have to all the plugs match up. If your interested then hit the search.

 

^ VE auto tranny has pretty much never been done, nobody has figured out how to do the wiring though apparently one person did it. VE 5spd has been done though

 

Thats right! I just remembered there was one that didn't work. Scratch what I said. That info is when swapping over a VE 5spd onto a VG.

 

My 1989 GXE has original A/T with a 160 thou on the odo. It's not ment for racing by any means but I feel confident that it will last. I do routine PM's and a Super tranny cooler couldn't hurt either. OP already mentioned this but I use the E-brake first before putting into park, I do this with all A/T's.

 

thanks for the info guys, I was quite happy with my old VG. reliable. already had good power.

I called the seller yesterday, his ad says it has to sell TODAY!! So we speak and I ask for the emissions history (we have to have Aircare done every 1-2 years). I can check it with VIN # myself, but i need VIN. It's also a good thing to check the history to see what the mileage was every year; ESPECIALLY on an older car like this with such low mileage. We spoke at 3Pm, and he said he'd have it to me by 4-4:30. Called twice more, he still wasn't home. Still haven't heard back. What a moron. I'd buy it right away if he'd provide info. All i need is VIN number. So if he wants it gone so bad like his ad says, wouldn't it make sense to deal with the buyer in front of you and provide simple, basic info? I hung around waiting to hear back. Now I'm pizzed and don't trust him.

 

Go for it and invest in some injectors......They seem to last for about 20 yrs......

 

true true!