Thank you very much for the consideration and dedicated section for Noobs. This will be my first post and desperately hope someone can assist me with troubleshooting my 95 max as I'm kind of at a standstill.

First let me preface by informing you that I did replace my radiator back at the end of May due to a crack (still looks intact from what I can see), I have checked the hoses and connections and haven't found any leaks/cracks,

A few weeks ago my car started overheating, I checked the radiator levels which were low and I could see a slow leak dripping down the oil pan. After some research I had come to the conclusion that it is most likely my water pump failing on me. Due to my work schedule and home life I have very few daylight hours that I am able to get my husband to watch the kids so I can work on the car. Since it first overheated we have been topping off the radiator every other day or so.

Well, my husband (who is absolutely NOT a car person) called me up last Friday to inform me that my car had broken down on him, while he was on his way home from picking up the kids, and it would not start. He informed me that the car stalled out on him a few times but started right back up, the whole while the temp gauge stayed steadily at the 1/2 way mark. After probing him some more, I found that he had failed to top off the radiator the last two days (I may be filing for divorce soon )

I got a ride out to where my car was and first disconnected the neg terminal from the battery hoping it was just a safety mechanism stopping the ignition. After reconnecting the battery terminal the car still wouldn't start. I checked the coolant level which was of course empty. I started pouring water into the radiator and checked beneath the oil pan to see that the leak had now turned into a gush. I had the car towed home and that is where it sits now.

Over the weekend I drained the oil, removed the alternator belt and tensioner, removed the access covers for both the water pump and timing chain housings, pinned back the chain tensioner and removed that but cannot find where I am able to move the slack of the chain up to the pump. At that point I was starting to lose sunshine, so I decided to quickly pour some water in the radiator to see if I could actually see it coming out of the weep hole, but it's not I have borrowed a hydraulic jack from a buddy to see if I can get a better view if I jack up the motor some but haven't gotten that far quite yet (waiting on my husband to wake up and watch the kids).

So my questions:
1. How do I move the slack on the timing chain up to the pump?
2. Since the leak is now a gush and is not visibly coming out of the pump now that the cover is off, am I wrong about the pump?
3. I'm kind of nervous about messing up the timing so any tips/tricks in that regard would serve well to reduce my apprehension.

If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to listen to my rant. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Here is a 3 part video on changing the water pump. This is by an Org member, Pmohr. Here is the link to all of his videos that you may want to bookmark - http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...E3C3345DC2C64F

Part 1 -


Part 2 -


Part 3 -

 

Thanks for the quick reply Dennis! Pmohr is my hero The above videos are actually what I had used as my guide last weekend, however you'll notice at the start of video 2 he has the view on the water pump while he's adjusting the crank I'm having a difficult time getting the 19mm to fit on anything in the housing and since I could not see in the video where he connected it I'm unfortunately lost.

 

He used the bolt in the harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley for turning the crankshaft. If you turn the speaker volume up, you can hear him say "crank pulley". The time of the video is 1:46 when he says it. Because he is not by the microphone, it is real soft.

I honestly don't know if you can get a socket on the crank pulley without going through the wheel well. Since you couldn't see him in the video as he did this, I think he did go through the wheel well. To do it this way, you would have to have the car jacked up and the wheel removed. Another one of his videos, how to change the power steering pump belt, he goes through the wheel well for that, but you can see the crankshaft pulley in that video as he does the power steering belt.

 

Yay for new problems.. So my car is overheating, there is def a leak somewhere that I can't find, weird thing is tho my heater isn't blowing hot air. Any ideas?

 

The heater will not blow hot air if the radiator is low on water or there is air trapped in the engine, so that part is normal for the situation.

When you fill the radiator, you have to "burp" the cooling system. After you have filled the radiator with as much coolant as it will take, run the engine with the radiator cap off. Once the coolant starts to circulate, any trapped air should come out. This could a minute or two after the thermostat opens and the coolant circulates. It may splash a little bit, depending on how much air is in the engine. It is preferable to have the car on an up-hill incline when you do this.

As to where is the leak, that is a bit more difficult to answer. Lots of possibilities. The radiator may be starting to leak. The nissan radiator will start to leak on the top corner where the radiator hose connects. When this first starts, it is a small leak and the coolant evaporates and you don't see any puddles. As the leak gets worse, you will eventually see the the coolant. Check around the area of the hose. The coolant leaves a discoloration when it evaporates and it looks grayish as if muddy water had splashed in the area. You may even see what looks like muddy water splashed on the engine.

This same thing can happen with a hose. A small pin hole will develop and the leak is small at first. So check all your hoses too, look for signs of antifreeze discoloration.

 

Filled radiator and found it almost pouring out of the seal of the oil pan. Radiator obviously won't stay full. Any ideas?

 

That's exactly where mine is gushing out Possibly your water pump...

 

Thanks again Dennis! I was able to get the slack moved up without jacking up the motor, luckily turning the wheel all the way to the right allowed enough access.

I got the chain up behind the pump and attempted to walk it out with the 8 x 1.25 bolts as described in the video however the pump did not move. Instead the top "ear" broke off It seams like someone super glued the pump in there....any suggestions on how to maneuver it out without having the bolt hole to work with?

 

I don't know what to say to this. I have not changed a water pump in a Nissan so I don't have any experience for this situation.

You can either send Pmohr a pm and see if he will respond, he doesn't post very often lately. Or you could start a new thread in the main section instead of using this "I am new here and..." thread.

Sorry

 

No worries, I already pm'd Pmohr so we'll see if he hops on at all. Until I hit the 15 post threshold I cannot start a new thread. I'm slowly but surely trying to hit that mark so I can do just that, but I don't want to spam unnecessary posts to achieve my goal.

I'm gonna work on my husbands car tomorrow, hoping a relatively quick swap on his thermostat will get us back to 1 working vehicle. Wish me luck!

 

The 15 post think was eliminated several months ago, so you can start a thread if you want to.

Good luck on getting the other car fixed!

 

Hey everyone I'm new here and had a question, but before I get into that I just want to say this forum has been very helpful in the past and I should have signed up a while ago! Excellent forum filled with lots of information and some pretty smart people too. I hope to meet you all and share the Maxima love . But anyways to my question.

Recently my check engine light came on and I took it down to Autozone to have it checked, the guy told me it was a knock sensor. The CEL went off later that day. I haven't felt any knocking or hard accelerating, so is there any other ways to tell a knock sensor is bad? Some additional details...

My battery had a busted cell and the alternator needed to be replaced. My car died in the road and after getting a jump this was when the CEL problem began. Put a new battery and alternator in and shortly after this is when the CEL turned off. Does anyone think that this had something to do with it?

Thanks,
Sam

 

the knock sensor will NOT, I repeat, will NOT trigger the CEL.

It may show a code, but will not trigger the CEL. INvest in a code reader, so you can see for yourself what the actual CODE is...CELs have many codes so we can't tell you that yes your alternator problem caused your original CEL or whatever...but we CAN tell you that it may have had something to do with it, sure.

 

What would cause my RPM to drop while my car is in drive and stopped? I drive a 98 Nissan Maxima. it drops from 800 RPM down to about 500 RPM then rises back up. it sits there for about 5-10 secs then drops again. if my a/c is running it dorps more often. also While I was driving and stopped at a stop light my car dropped out of drive I had to drop down into 2 to drive then I went back in drive with no issues until I dropped below 1,000 RPM any ideas at what could cause this. I checked my trans fluid and it was good.

 

My KS triggered the cel to come on and that was the only code. When I pulled the ks out, it had a large crack in it. So yeah, the ks by itself will trigger the light to come on.

 

Thanks for the Noob section here I have used this site as a reference so far and now I have hit a point where I cannot find an answer and need some suggestions. My wife has a 96 Maxima 5 spd and in the 5 years I have known her this car has always had issues with starting. 1 key works better than another key, she can get it to crank right away, I have problems getting it to start but can usually get it started, and most any repair shop has to roll start it to get it to crank. When it doesn't start, you can turn the key to start and there is no response from the starter. Recently it quit working all together and even my wife can't start it. It will roll start however and run fine. The battery is showing 12+ volts sitting and also when the key is turned to start.

I checked the voltage on the starter solenoid and the large wire from the battery has 12 volts constant, the small wire to the solenoid however had 0 volts when starting. I replaced the starter with a used starter with the same results, all you hear when the key is turned to start are the relays under the dash click and the relay under the hook click.

I replaced the inhibit clutch interlock relay believing it was bad with the same results. I unhooked and checked the wire to the clutch safety switch with a multimeter and when the key was turned to start it was showing 12 volts. I checked the switch itself on ohms and it was showing a connection being made by the switch when pressed. I connected the wire back to the switch and tried pressing it in with my finger and starting the car with the same results.

I unhooked the small wire to the starter solenoid and it was showing 12 volts when the key was turned to start. I back checked the plug and it was showing 12 volts until connection was made to the solenoid plug and it immediately went to 0 volts. I believed the 2nd starter may have been bad so I went and purchased a "new" remanufactured starter from the autoparts store with the same results as the previous 2 starters. The small wire shows 12 volts on the multimeter until it plugs to the solenoid where it immediately drops to 0 volts.

I decided to check all the fuses with a test light and all checked out fine. I thought to simplify things I would use the test light to check the same switches and plugs I previously checked with the multimeter. When I checked the small plug to the solenoid I had no illumination. I checked simultaneously with the multimeter and as with the solenoid connection the multimeter was showing 12 volts until I touched the wire with the test light and it immediately went to 0 volts.

I checked the wire to the clutch safety switch again and with the multimeter it was showing 12 volts when the key was turned to start however when I checked it with the test light I had illumination but very dim illumination. Unfortunately with the position of that wire and only having 2 hands I was unable to check it with the multimeter and test light simultaneously to see what the voltage did but obviously it was diminished due to the dimness of the test light.

I am at a loss now and have no idea what could be causing this situation. I personally have never been able to check a wire with a multimeter and have voltage on it but when I check it with a test light get nothing. It's like any load what so ever that gets put on it immediately drops the voltage to 0 at the solenoid and if the load is applied closer to the ignition like at the clutch safety switch the voltage drops but not so much that I can't get some response from the test light. I don't know if it could be the ignition switch or cylinder maybe or if I have a short in a wire somewhere that only shows itself when a load is applied but all the wiring is still enclosed in the wiring harnesses so I wouldn't think that would be the case. Any suggestions because I'm dumbfounded??????????

 

ground the starter.

 

So I've decided to change the 4 suspensions on my 96 max.
Started with the rear ones first. Every time I change something on my max I take into consideration that a bolt or something will break/jam since it is 18 y/o and that I live in Quebec ( snow/rust/salt..)
I start working on the bolt that connects the rear strut assembly with the torsion beam.
I get the bolt moving but the nut that is enclosed in the torsion beam and is not supposed to move ( letting you unscrew the bolt) has rusted and is no more an hexagone but now round and turning with the bolt as I try to unscrew it...
Same things on both rear sides...

1. Anyone has had similar problems ?
2. Tips to remove the bolt without wrecking the torsion beam nut support?
3. Any other tips on changing the struts are welcome


Thanks guys!

 

anyone?

 

1. Vice grips
2. Cut it off
3. Drill it out

 

Did not want to go there, but I think i'll just cut the bolt off.. cut out the bolt each side of the strut and pop the strut out with the uncut part of the bolt still inside the strut. I'll by new bolts and nuts and replace them.
thanks gixxxer

 

Does anyone come on this thread at all? It looks like its not the best place to get advice..
Kinda sucks that you have to get 15 posts to start a thread cuz I still have precise questions on my rear shocks.
Both rear shocks are supposed to be the same ( same part # 181 293 monroe) and yet the one on the driver's side does not fit as if the mounting bracket was off set by an inch or two so I can't get the bolts from the bracket in the trunk holes...
Can it be my torsion beam that has been kinda of twisted with the years? or the schock mounting bracket that was not properly fixed? Even my old schocks do not fit if I change them from passenger to driver's side...
should I just get a spring compressor and re-arrange the mounting bracket so it fits???
someone help please?!

 

IIRC they are offset just a bit differently side to side. All you should need to do is rotate the top mount.

 

EDIT: PM'd

 

hey guys, so just recently ive been noticing something with my left headlight. a while ago my low beam ( i think thats what you call it ? the light that we turn on for night driving ) burnt out on my left side which now had me driving with only my right headlight on at night. i thought perhaps its the bulb (altho my DRL's on BOTH headlights work just fine) and i decided to replace it. the new bulb i put in worked jsut great, both the DRL and low beam worked just fine until just recently. couple days ago the SAME thing happened as before, my low beam on the left went out (leaving me with 1 headlight on at night) but once again, BOTH headlights work just fine when im using the DRL. is this something electrical?

 

yeah, cant you get vice grips around the stud, which would allow you to hold it inplace so it doesnt spin as you try and break the nut loose?

 

I've been floating around here for a good while absorbing information, but I have a question that I can't find an answer to searching here or at other maxima boards.

I have a 98 with automatic climate control. The air mix door motor hasn't worked for about a year, not because of the motor but rather the signal doesn't get to it. It hasn't been a pressing deal since I could disconnect the door from the motor and position it manually. However, about a month ago my vent door motor got stuck on defrost and won't switch to any other setting. Again, the motor is fine but it won't get a signal.

The diagnostic in the control head throws a code 26-. I forgot what the code means, but the dash indicates a short. I've tracked the lines for the two motors back through the harness between the control and the motors and they are fine. The diagnostic procedure states to replace the auto amp in the event the motors test ok.

I've bookmarked a replacement control unit (with ambient button, may as well upgrade in a since I can't find just the auto amp for this type of control interface) and want to see if anyone here sees if I missed something before I spring for it.

 

The 26 code says that the mode door motor and/or air mix door motor do not operate normally. But you know that all ready. If you followed the "Diagnostic Procedure 5" on page HA-99 in the FSM and double checked that you did the procedure correctly, then you have come to the right conclusion.

I'm not sure what you mean by upgrading with an ambient button. The ambient button was a standard feature in the 98 model. You said you reserved a control unit. If it is a new one from Nissan, I can understand your concern as they won't take it back. I bought a junkyard unit for $25, but I screwed up the diagnosing and my problem was a bad air mix motor, hence my double check comment.

 

Thanks. I wanted to make sure since the one I'm looking at is on ebay (I haven't run across a maxima newer than 97 in any junk yard around here, though I did catch a steal on an I30 rearview mirror), and wanted to mae sure I wouldn't be sinking money on something that wasn't the problem. What I meant by upgrade is the faceplate on mine doesn't have the ambient button and I'd have to fashion one unless I found one with a button already on it, which I found.

 

this may be a dumb question but it seems the negative wire running to my cig lighter was cut and electric taped at some point. should i disconnect the battery to hook it back up or is there no risk there.

 

Get a test light and find out if there's voltage at that wire first. If its cut someone was eliminating some problem wether it be a drain on the battery or popped fuse or something staying on. Does your power outlet work?

 

thats my bad i should have been more specific. it worked until today when i accidentally unhooked it, the plug is loose from the console and when i unplugged my radar detector it came with it which pulled the previously electric taped wires apart. i was curious if i would have to unhook the battery because i have terrible luck with electrical and theres alot of diy stuff that the previous owner who i never met did like hids the audio and god knows what else, theres a random button hanging by the fuse box that i dont know anything about. he probably had something spliced in to it before i bought it but right now i cant see anything extra so i was hoping i could reconnect it without unhooking the battery or risking blowing anything out.

 

If the wire is actually a ground wire, then no, you don't have to disconnect the battery. But you better be sure that it is a ground. You can test to see if the wire has voltage on it like maxed_out_99 said or you can play it safe and disconnect the battery.

 

I have a Black 96 Maxima wreck in the front end. Bought it to fix and drive but lost my job. So now I am going to take to the scrap yard. Figured I would give people a chance to get those little parts they need very cheep. The interior is VERY CLEAN!!!! nothing broken. As shipping will be expensive for some parts the price on stuff will be very cheap. Like door panels $10 each. All seats ( Black leather Front two heated will come with everything needed.. No rips) $150. Anything else you need just let me know with a price you are willing to pay. mostly any offers excepted. I live in Illinois. I have pics but dont know how to post them. Send me a number and I will text pics to you. Or tell me how to post pics. Any questions message me. SORRY IF THIS IS NOT WHERE I SHOULD HAVE POSTED THIS. Please move it to right place if so.

All Money through Ebay or Paypal. I will only except paypal payments so everyone is covered.

 

I picked up my first maxima (95 gle) in may and has been nothing but problems (owner before me was a wannabe mechanic) that out in the open, I live in Connecticut and in the cold, my car has issues starting. there are 3 things that happen at separate times. 1.) it will start but i have to leave my foot on the gas before it idles on its own. 2.) it will only give me a clicking noise, after waiting a couple minutes it will start normally. and 3.) after my car sits at work i sometimes get a whiny sound, then once it gets over that it idles alright. it was suggested that it could involve my fuel injection, but wasnt really sure? any ideas? please and thanks in advance

 

Question, do I need to use Teflon tape on the oil pressure switch's threading before I put it back into the upper oil pan??

 

No, just screw it in tight.

 

Hello All,

Newb here and I have a question.

I just bought a 95 nissan maxima with 149k on the clock today. The owner of the car had it inspected and it passed the MD State Inspection. Which is a tough inspection compared to other states. I just dont know if it was a legit inspection.

Heres the problem. Ive driven the car 30 miles so far. Mostly on flat terrain. But tonight on my way home, while breaking for a redlight downhill on a bumpy road, I hear a strange dull knocking noise. It went something like "knock knock knock knock knock knock" I wasnt sure if it was the car or not since I had the radio on.

Then about 5 miles later it happened again while pulling into my driveway. I live at the bottom of the hill and theres a dip at the end of my driveway. It happened as soon as I started up the driveway. Only this time is seemed to not last as long. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Ill be taking it to an inspection station tomorrow or wed to have it inspected by someone else. Just want to see if I can get an ideas on here.

Thanks,

Dan

 

Well, I achieved the final word award. YES!

Ok, heres an update. I went out and pulled in and out of my driveway to get a better feel for the noise. It sounds like someone is banging an empty cambells soup can. Im gonna have my guy check it out in the next few day. Ill post my findings,