Guys I really need some good solid answers to these questions because I am not sure if I should sell my car and get a new one or just fix these problems (if they are not very expensive).

1. I tried raising the idle like you guys said, by putting the ECU to diagnostic mode and adjusting the idle.
a. When I turned it to diagnostic mode my Check Engine light was blinking. But when I brought it to my mechanic he put it on his computer diagnostic and it said that everything was OK.
b. The car will not go any higher then where it is now, I can turn the screw all the way up and the idle doesn't go past like 550-600 RPM's in drive or in Park. If I go past a certain point with the screw I hear air coming from it. It sounds like a popped tire deflating. I have no clue why.
c. And when I come to a stop the car still seems to lose some idle and drops below 500 RPMS for some reason.

2. The damn tranny is really getting on my nerves. It shifts, but it seems like it yanks into 2nd gear. It's not smooth. When it shifts in the other gears it seems ok, but it just yanks into 2nd. It has been doing this for some time now. I was advised to switch to a synthetic blend of tranny fluid but nobody ever answered the question I had: Which fluid should I use and is there something I should do before putting the new fluid in? Any special hints besides just flushing the whole thing out and dumping new fluid in?
a. Most of the time if I hit the brakes at a stop sign and I don't quite stop I just roll and see that nobody is coming and hit the gas, the car is like very sluggish. I have to really hit the pedal before she cathces up. -Weird-?

3. When I turn my steering wheel to either side it makes a clicking noise. I never heard it before, it just started to happen about 6 months ago. My mechanic just looked under my car and he didn't say anything about the CV Joints. I am not sure what it can be.

I know that I am a pain in the butt with all my questions and problems. But I really need to know if I should sell this car or not. Right now I know I can get 4500 bucks for it from somebody. So hopefully you guys can help because I put 6000 into the car and I bought it for 2000. So I am gonna get ripped off on the sale but it is still not that bad. Please help if you can, any advice. I love my car.

1989 Nissan Maxima SE
Automatic Tranny

Help. Heehee. =)

 

Let's see, you have a 13 year old car that runs like crap and may need a new transmission, and someone will pay you $4500 for it? I think the answer should be obvious. A good intake cleaning (TB, IAC and manifold) should fix the idle problem. A trans flush and change to Mobil 1, or Valvoline Maxlife ATF, may get the trans working better for a while. I don't know what the deal is with the steering (a fluid change of the PS fluid may help).
Now, recently my kid totaled my wife's 88 Max. He was going to pay to replace it so we wanted to keep the price under 5k. There was no way I was going to buy a used 3rd gen Max (way too many things go wrong on these cars when they go past 10 years). What I got, for under 5k, was a 96 Mercury Mystique (74k miles). V6, DOHC, 24v all aluminum engine that makes 170hp. 4 wheel independent suspension with 4 wheel disc brakes. Faster (stock vs. stock) than any VG, auto Max and handles better (it is speed governed to 118mph though). Nice car. I think it's the best "Maxima" you can get for under $5k.