Wreck-Diver

Hello All,

A buddy of mine that I work with has a major problem with his Maxima... it makes a loud knocking sound when idling and driving. He took it to a Nissan dealer that is near work.. I have taken my max there in the past and completely trust them.... they are real good folks. They called him a little while ago and said that it seems to be his timing chain... it needs replacement. On top of that, his connecting rod is going south and they suggested that the engine be replaced as well. Sounds like parts and labor is going to run him about $2000.00 (for timing chain only)... not good, so I was going to ask for suggestions from you good people.

1. Have you all heard of this kind of problem on the Max before? Is it common?
2. Would you recommend he have the engine rebuilt, or replaced?
3. If he has it replaced, can you suggest a place that would have an engine? Maybe he should go with the dealer for that?

I suggested a blown Chevy like they convert on the older Z's, but that may not be practical.

Thanks in advance for your help... I appreciate it and I know he will!

Wade

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

www.car-part.com - get a new engine and have it put in...first go to another independent mechanic and have the problems re-diagnosed.

Wreck-Diver

Thanks for the fast reply njmodi! This really helped.

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

It is cheaper and better to put a used engine w/ lower miles in the car.

Lonely Driver

Sounds like it's time for the vq35de.

nismology

iTrader: (8)

How the hell did somebody determine that a connecting rod is on the way out?? WTF??

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

Ya - thats why I told him to get another opinion first....

Stephen Max

iTrader: (59)

Rod bearings make a very distinctive knocking sound when the clearance gets excessive. Whether or not the mechanic is BSing is another matter.

nismology

iTrader: (8)

A competent mechanic would've been more specific than to say the whole connecting rod was bad. That in itself would cause me to look for another opinion for sure. And these engines are toleranced so tightly that i doubt the rod bearing is the root of his noises. Even if you run the engine with no coolant and no oil, the head gasket is likely to give before anything mechanical does.

Stephen Max

iTrader: (59)

I've met a lot of mechanics who were not too particularly articulate. Besides, maybe the mechanic did indeed say it was a rod bearing and that distinction got lost in the translation along the way to what we read above.

Lonely Driver

My rod bearings were the first to go when my oil pump died.

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

omg ... an oil pump went bad in a MAXIMA ENGINE?? ... I find this hard to believe ... Im pretty certain that if you keep up to date on your maintenance for your maxima, it'll last forever