I bought my 99 maxima to a shop few days ago to get the valve cover gasket replaced. It was leaking a bit of oil and the oil somehow is finding its way to the exhaust. I smell it when I am at a stop sign after some highway drive.

I was thinking about replacing it myself, so I bought the valve cover gasket, spark plug seals tubes, intake manifold gasket from the dealer, but due to a lack of courage and time, I decided to have the shop do it. $360 labor for both covers.

Got the car back and noticed a few things that didn’t look quite right to me. Before I bring my car back to the shop, I want to consult the wisdom of this forum and get some opinions before I talk to them.

1) They used plastic zip ties instead of the original metal clips to attach hoses to engine parts.

On the front valve cover, there are two hoses. They used black electric tape plus zip ties to attach one of the hose. I also noticed zip ties in other hose connections as well. The car had its original hoses and metal connectors before they worked on it.

Since these are the hoses that connect to the engine, which runs hot, won’t the plastic harden, break or loosen after a while? Isn't this asking for trouble down the road?

2) They replaced parts of some hoses, a few on the passenger side going down below.. But, instead of one new hose, I see one hose with many different parts connected together. A mix of metal flex tube connected to rubber tube with plastic zip ties again.

Is it OK to mix these metal tubes with rubber tubes in mid-way? Won’t it leak air? I don’t know exactly what these tubes are for, but I assume the original one is stuck on hard so they cut it and replaced parts of it as they don’t have the OEM replacements parts on hand. (that's one reason I decided to have the shop do it since I am not sure about my ability to replace hoses..)

Now this is a standard non-dealer shop with good yelp review, and I’ve done business with them in the past with satisfactory results. But seeing what they have done here is worrisome to me. I would think at least they would use metal hose clamps (or better those where you can tighten with a screw driver, what are they called?) I am guessing they don’t have the OEM parts to replace the whole hose, so they replaced part of it with what they have in stock.

Q1: Should I be concerned about what I am seeing? Or is this pretty standard practice for non-dealer repair shops to repair hose this way?

Q2: should I demand they replace all the plastic zip ties with metal hose clamps?

Q3: should I demand they replace the hose as a whole (I can buy the hose from the dealer if it'll make the car run better..)

Q4: what are the hoses that will get touched during a typical valve cover gasket replacement (both front/back). What are the symptoms if some of these hoses are not air tight?

The car drives OK. I am not 100% sure, but I think I noticed a very slight lack of power during low speed accelerations. My Maxima response very fast to light gas pedal pushes and I feel the car push forward very fast. Now, I seem to notice the RPM goes a bit higher and at low speed the car lacks the quick response it had.. could a slight leak in one of these tubes be causing this? Or does the throttle position sensor needs to be re-calibrated by the PCM since they might have moved it? The differences are very sutble, but I think there are some differences...

Sorry for the long post. I can provide pictures if needed. Any help is appreciated.

 

Hey My car just broke last week and My mechanic says My ECU is broken and he found one used part for $600 but i looked at ebay and found some for $200. I told that to my mechanic but he said it need to match my vin#. I have a 01 Maxima. Can you help me out. thanks

 

If you have an 01, you need to post in the 5th gen section not the 4th gen and you'll probably get more help.

 

Oh My God! Are you sure that this is a real shop with ASE certified mechanics or just some back alley a**hole that claims to be a mechanic? I'm thinking the latter. Were they wearing masks and pointing a gun at you?

Q1 - Using zip ties instead of hose clamps is totally unprofessional. Even if you had brought the car in to them with zip ties, a professional mechanic would have replaced them with proper hose clamps. There is no valid reason for him to have removed a hose clamp and not reinstall it. Hose clamps are re-usable, not one-time shots. If the guy claims that they were old and broke, well, A - he should have replaced it with a real hose clamp and B - only morons with IQs of less than zero break hose clamps. If zip ties were acceptable, the factory would not spend the extra money to put metal clamps on. You can get a hundred zip ties for the price of a metal clamp. Zip ties will harden and crack from the heat and fall off in a couple of years.

Q2 - Absolutely. Zip ties are not an acceptable substitute for a hose clamp. Hose clamps are approximately a half inch wide to distribute the pressure over a larger area to create a good seal. The narrow zip tie is concentrating its clamping pressure over a much smaller area which will result in the zip tie eventually cutting into the hose and damaging it.

Q3 - Absolutely. Using odd-ball left over bits and pieces from other people's cars is at best 3rd world ignorance. However, replacing a hose or two may have been necessary. Hoses do harden and crack over time from the heat of the engine. But you replace the entire hose from end to end, not splice it with left over garbage. Those shysters spent more time patching the hose then it would take to replace the entire piece. You don't have to buy hose from the dealer, theirs isn't any better than the hose the local parts store sells. Hose is cheap. $10 will get you so much hose that you'll need someone to help you carry it out of the store.

Q4 - There are a bunch of hoses that have to be removed. Some are vacuum, some are engine coolant and some are vent hoses. There are several vacuum hoses by the throttle body. There are a couple that are part of the emissions control. There is one that goes between the 2 valve covers that is for the PCV valve (and this hose usually needs to be replaced on our cars after a dozen years). And there are 2 hoses that carry engine coolant for the EGR valve. But there is no way of telling what these crooks messed with that was not necessary. That hose you said they used metal flex tubing on would have to be one of the vent hoses as flex tubing won't hold a vacuum and would leak water.

As far as the car not running right, there may be a vacuum leak or something. I replaced my valve cover gaskets and when I started the car after I was done, it idled just like it did before I took it apart and drives on the road exactly the same. Since those guys don't know which end of a screwdriver is the business end, it's hard to say what they messed up.

 

Thank you DennisMik for the detailed reply. I called them and will bring the car back in a few days.

I looked at it in detail again today. The hose that I said have mix of metal and rubber hose, it is actually the power steering hose. The metal part may be a hose protector. Is that right? Do part of the power steering hose have a outer metal protector hose hold by zip ties? (If so, then I might have paniced seeing the zip ties on the PCV hose and assumed they messed up other hose as well...ok, so maybe they are not as bad as I initially thought...)

The front valve cover (the one that's easy to replace), have 2 hoses, one goes to the other valve cover (PCV?), and one goes to the intake side. What's the function of these two hoses? The spring clamp for the hose that goes back to the intake is not in the proper place. I am wondering if that will affect the car's power...

 

There are no zip ties used by Nissan to hold or secure hoses. You will find them used on the electrical wiring because that's what they were designed for.

The power steering hoses are part metal and part rubber. The ends of the hoses are metal for the connecting points. Then the center is rubber for ease of routing. The power steering hoses are wrapped in a metallic fabric which is to shield the hose from the heat of the engine. I can't remember if a zip tie was used to hold the heat shield fabric in place. For the most part, I don't think Nissan did but maybe it is a non-Nissan replacement hose.

The hose that goes between the 2 valve covers is part of the PCV system. The PCV valve is plugged into the rear valve cover and a hose is used to connect the 2 valve covers. The PCV system is a vacuum system to suck combustion blow-by gasses and oil fumes out of the engine and back into the intale manifold where they are burned in the combustion chambers.

I cannot picture the other hose in my head. I need to go look at my car but it is not here right now. The clamp was no doubt loosened and moved back from the end so the hose could be disconnected. The fact that it is not where it should be is not correct and should be put on properly. It will take all of 30 seconds to correct. Do it yourself. Like I said, I can't picture this hose but I don't think would affect the engine's power.

 

I noticed with my two recent visit to auto repair shop (one dealer, one independent) that they both set the tire pressure to 34psi. Has the All-Data information for the 99 Maxima changed from the standard 32/29 from a few years ago?

I keep my 99 Maxima SE tires at 32psi front, and 29psi back as indicated in the inside of the console cover. I also owned a Infiniti I30 a few years ago from the same year, it had smaller rims and pressure was 29psi all around.

34psi feels a bit harsh for my taste.

 

Thanks again Dennis.

Based on your description, the metal hose I saw is the heat shield from the power steering hose. Now it all makes sense.

Q1: Are there hose clamps on the PCV hose that goes between the 2 valve covers? I got the hose from the dealer, part # 11826, along with a schematic of the crankcase ventilation system. All the other hoses mentioned in the schematics have hose clamp with part #, but that hose that goes between the two valve cover have none.

Now perhaps, just perhaps, there isn’t a hose clamp to begin with, and therefore the tech used a plastic zip ties..

I’ve fixed the 2 clamps that was not clamping on the hose properly. (It was slided to the middle of the hose and never slided back after the hose was put back on..) One hose is part # 11823, connecting the front valve cover to the air duct. The other is connected to the back valve cover. (I think it is also part of the PCV, will check tonight and post..)

The car seems to drive a bit better now. (again I emphasis the differences are subtle, but it feels more ‘normal’ now.)

Q2: My theory is, with a missing clamp, the intake is drawing in additional air (however slight) through the connector and it’s not metered by the MAF. So the MAF says X amount of air is flowing through, when in reality a slightly higher amount may be flowing through. That’s why the RPM revs a bit higher when I accelerate since there’s more air flowing in. Is this possible?

With the fix, the RPM seem to fluctuate less. A light tap on the gas, I do feel the push of the car, but the RPM hardly moves. I think this is the way it was before.

Alternatively, it could be the PCM has simply learned and adjusted to the new setup…

Will post some pics this weekend…

 

Does a 96 SE have shocks, struts, or both?
Is it a DIY kind of job for an amateur with the right tools? Any additional info will be greatly appreciated!

 

Both. Shocks in front, struts in back iirc

 

My car car does not have hose clamps on the hose that runs between the 2 valve covers.

The hose on the driver's side of the front valve cover connects to the MAF. This is the filtered air inlet for the PCV system. The air flows throught the inside of the front valve cover, through the hose on the passenger side of the valve cover to the rear valve cover where it is sucked out of the engine via the PCV valve and goes into the intake manifold to be burned in the cylinders.

The only part of the PCV system that could affect the idle would be the rubber gromet around the PCV valve and the hose between the PCV valve and the intake manifold. The hose that connects the 2 valve covers and the hose between the MAF and the valve cover could be laying on the floor and this would not affect how the engine runs.

 

This is apparently up for some debate. I say it has struts all around (as do most aftermarket manufacturers). For some reason some people believe the rears are shocks.

They are easily replaced with basic hand tools and a spring compressor. I've got a video on rear strut replacement.

The fronts are struts.

 

Incorrect. The front breather hose connects post-MAF. If this were removed, you would have unmetered air entering the intake, which will certainly affect driveability.

 

Hello guys, I have a Nissan Maxima '95 and a little problem with it.
Everytime I start driving The car needs Shift 2 to start running because on Drive it doesn't have the strenght (car goes slowly),once it reaches 35 mph I change it to Drive and the car runs perfect. I'm getting tired of shifting from Drive2 to Drive all the time so my question to you guys is what the car needs to just start running normal?Is it going to be a new transmission (I hope not)? Or the speed sensor (switch)??? I'm a newbie when it comes to cars so any answer will be much appreciated.
Thanks.

 

Is your check engine light on? Does your check engine light work? Take the car to an auto parts store and ask them to read the codes, if there are any. Have you checked your transmission fluid level?

 

I have a part that I was wondering if someone could help me figure out what it is and what it does. It's about 1/4" thick 4" round and is bolted to the passenger fender weld. It has one electrical connection and a place for a vacuum line that's not hooked up.
Thanks

 

A pic would help

 

I dont know if im doing this right but here is a pic. I hope


guess not. can u tell me how to post a pic

 

That's the horn for the factory alarm.

There is no vacuum hose connection. It's a vent.

 

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1336011002

 

can u send me a pic of where the egr valve is?

 

Below the throttle body. Just follow the EGR tube coming from the exhaust manifold.

 

Ok well here is my question, i have a 1995 nissan maxima five speed and i want to install the vafc1 on it because i plan to do the 00v1 intake swap on it in the near future, my question is has anyone done a writeup on this? If so where can i find this link? Ive read that there are differences in the ecus, how do i know if the write up pertains to my ecu? I really would like to install this and have been searching for a detailed write up for quite sometime with no luck and would appreciate any and all information. Thanks in advance

 

OK, so I put in new fronts struts on my '95 about a month ago and now It seems the top center bolt on each strut is loose and the bushings are loose and banging around. When I try and tighten the bolts with a 19mm socket they just spin around along with the strut and will not tighten. There is a hex head at the tip of the strut but I don't have enough room to grab that with an adjustable wrench (or 6mm? socket/wrench) and tighten the bolt with a 19mm wrench at the same time.



Do I have to remove the struts to tighten with the adjustable wrench (or 6mm? socket/wrench) on the hex head and a 19mm wrench on the bolt, or will an impact gun work (if I can find a place that will help me)? Impact will save me the trouble of yanking them out again. Will an impact just spin the bolt and strut around too?

edit: I managed to get a socket on the hex head, and a box end wrench on one of the bolts and it wouldn't budge. Any idea how I can fix this? My bushings are going to be toast if I don't get this fixed ASAP. TIA.

 

You mean the piston lock nut? Good if it's spinning with the shaft, bad if its just spinning with the shaft stationary. What you can you is to have a vise grip or channel locks with rubber hoses fitted on each jaw to protect the shaft while grabbing it and stop it from spinning with the nut. Using an impact gun may destroy it because 58 ft-lbs. is the max torque for the nut.

Basically you're modding a tool that will work the same as a soft jaw pliers.

 

Hey guys! I have a problem with my AC. It is the automatic AC. It works on all speeds, but it is barley pushing any air out. The vents in the middle above the clock have almost no air coming out and the side vents aren't really much better. Any ideas? I don't think it is the blower motor resistor because it works on all settings, just really poorly. Trying to solve this as it just hit 100 degrees today and I live in Texas, so it's only going to get hotter! Thanks for any help I may get!

 

do the vents work normally at any setting, at any level (hot or cool)? The blower itself could be bad...

 

The air comes out on all settings, hot and cold. The amount of air that comes out is pretty pathetic to say the least though. I am starting to think that the blower could be bad, but it seems to work.

 

The fan motor could have developed bad bearings, the fan motors useds Babbit bearings, not ball bearings. Those things loose their lubrication and bind the motor, keeping the motor from spinning. Usually you hear the motor making noise when this happens, but not always. Remove the motor and spin the squirrel cage with your hand and see how free it is.

Another possibility is that leaves and debris is built up in the duct around the motor. Possible but not that likely.

 

Ok I have removed the fan and cleaned it, nothing much was built up, just some dust. I used a multimeter and tested the power to it.. Changes when I change speed and fan is working great. The fan bearings seem to be ok too, no loud noises. Today while driving, it all of a sudden started blowing frigid cold air! It even sounded different than usual, like the air wasn't being blocked by something. I drove home and when I went to the store later on, it was back to barely working. I had my mechanic look at it and he said he was almost positive it is one of the blend doors. So it looks like the next step is going to be removing the whole dash and changing the motors. Not looking forward to taking apart the whole dash though. Is it required to drain the AC system before changing these motors? The mechanic insists it is but I can't see why is it required for something like this. And thanks for the help so far, you guys are great!

 

ok so i just got a 95 max but i have a slight problem, the odometer read isnt fully accurate because it went out, im not sure how to fix it, or what the problem could be. there are times when i see the mileage move, but for the most part, it doesnt. on top of that my rpm starts out at 0 when the car is started and creeps up all the way to 8k by the time im done driving, depending on how long i drive. any suggestions?

 

Buy another cluster from someone off the org. They can be had for about $30-$50.

 

There are 3 motors controlling the air ducts. One for the air re-circulate function that is located near the blower motor. One called the air mix door motor that controls the air temperature based on the setting you made on the heater controls. And the mode door motor that controls which openings the air blows out of.

The air mix motor won't restrict airflow. And that’s a good thing because under the best of conditions, it’s an absolute s.o.b. to replace. Been there, done that.

Between the other two motors, I don’t know which one to point at. The time your car started blowing air, you said that it sounded different. That could be the re-circulate door as the re-circulate mode is noisy under normal conditions. But the faster the air blows, the noisier it is anyway.

The Mode door that directs air to the different vents could be a suspect as it could be in an in-between position and the air doesn't have a clear path to any opening. You can see the mode door motor by getting down in the driver's foot well and looking at the whitish center console. As you press the button on the control panel, watch the arm on the motor for movement. Does it move a lot or just a little bit? That is a difficult question as you probably are not familiar with this. Photo of mode motor -

http://forums.maxima.org/picture.php...ictureid=32619

The re-circulate motor could be failing to move all the way and might block air flow. You could also have leaves and junk leading to the re-circulate door and blocking the air. It is near the fan motor and I think you can see it when you take the glove box out and look up in there. I don't have a photo of it and I can't go look at my car because the wife took it this morning.

Removing the dash isn't as bad as it seems. It's tedious work, not difficult and you don't have to mess with the a/c or heater core. Once you have done it, you'll agree with me. Doing it the first time, you will probably be super cautious and super careful, so it might take 2 - 3 hours. I helped a friend take his dash out. I had done mine and he had never done it. He was working on one side of the car and I was on the other side telling him which screws. Took us 20 minutes.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...dashboard.html

 

So buying another cluster would be better than fixing it right..cuz I rather have a mileage close enough to what it really is

 

New cluster is the easiest. In my opinion, and after screwing with mine to fix it when it broke, It's not worth the hassle when they can be found easily on the org.

Mileage is no biggie even if you get a new one with higher miles. Just record what the mileage is on it when you install it and record the mileage of the old one (your actual mileage) then just add mileage accumulated from what it was when you installed. For instance, you have 100,000 on broken one, new one has 150,000 (50,000 more than you have on car). So, you record the 150,000, drive to 155,000 so you'd add 5000 miles to your old (100,000 mile) cluster. That's what I did. Having higher mileage cluster is really no huge deal. Just explain the situation if you ever have to sell and make sure you keep the recordings. Make sense?

 

I have a question about my 96 5sp. When I cruise through town the car runs like a gem. However, when I give WOT the car sprints to 4k rpm, and everything from 4k on up is really uneven acceleration. It almost feels like I hit boost or lift for a second, then returns to "normal" acceleration. I'll get the boost feeling 3-5 times hitting redline.
I use premium, have ngk plat plugs and new coil packs, along with new oil and all new filters.

 

Oops, 3-5 times from 4k to redline.

 

Hey-

My 1997 Maxima pulls to the right fairly hard for two seconds when shifting into third gear at about 40 MPH -

I had the from front Struts done about a year ago and the UV joints done about 3 months ago - running fine until now

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers

Jim

 

Ordered a Megan Catback for my 95. There used to be a separate model for 95/96 and 97-99 years. Turns out they have now discontinued the ones for the 95/96 (MR-CBS-NM95). They sent me the one for the 97-99 (MR-CBS-NM-97). This kit has the small section of pipe with the bung in it for o2 sensor??. I have a few questions which I couldn't find in other threads.

1. Will this bolt up to the 95 without having to force the alignment with the cat and since B pipe it comes with is shorter?
2. Has anyone installed the 97 version on a 95 or 96 without any alignment problems?
3. What size is the bung, if it's installable at all and I need to plug it?
4. Or send it back and get a specific fitment for a 95 from SR-S or other?

Appreciate any help anyone can offer. I don't want to cut off the stock exhaust and try to bolt up somethiong that doesn't fit correctly. I would think the extenstion peice they offer should be straight since the sotck B pipe to cat end has no curves to it.

 

Check the lower control arm bushings on both sides of the car.