Okay this is one is going to be a hard one to explain.
but first; I am glad that I am back in a Maxima again... I sold my last one 2 years ago, and I knew it was Inevitable that I'd be back in one soon again...

We'll here goes. I picked up a 97SE 5-spd, and when I test drove it everything was fine, that was last week. Today, however I noticed that I am getting a weird humming/vibration sound, it almost sounds like a power steering pump that has ran out of p/s fluid and just makes that annoying noise, but when I inspect it, fluids are at correct level, all appears normal and p/s is functional. So upon trying some things I noticed that if I hear the sound and tap the gas pedal the sound goes away right away, or if I just wait, it would just all the sudden go away, like they a/c compressor shutting off.

Car starts up and idles perfect, drives perfect, everything seems normal. I called the previous owner and he said he was aware of the sound and that the day I test drove it, the sound was present ,funny cause I would have heard it, and asked that same day. He also stated that he took it into Nissan about a 1.5 years ago and they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. So he just kept driving it.

I have all of the paper work and he seems like he took care of the car...
any ideas what it might be???

I really want to keep this one, it's a Manual.

Thanks in advance.

G

it only happens when u turn the wheel???

No, it happens after I start the car, car is parked, and it still will make the sound. I've tried to turn the wheel to see if I could make the sound louder to make it go away. only way to make it go away is to rev the engine, or just drive it. As soon as I stop at a light, it will come back.

Idler pulley starting to go bad?

agreed, I would be aiming towards a belt or pulley. Try to adjust the belts first and see if it goes away.

i am pretty sure mine is making the same humming noise...only on cold starts and goes away when i give it gas. i am going to try the idler pulley as well. funny though, no one ever seems to notice when they're riding with me. kind of like having a small crack in the windshield, no one notices it until you point it out. i just don't like any noise coming from the engine, it bugs the hell out of me.

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Hey Maxina97,

you sure we don't have the same car? the sound bugs the hell out of me too... I got a small crack in my windsheild ...?? okay wait I am looking at your sig... nah... yours is way hotter.

maybe there is a block in the power steering or a pinched hose

Is is possible that a bad axle can cause humming at idle?
I put the car on jack stands and noticed that the boots on both of axles were bad, non-repairable in my opinion. So, I figured the car is 11 years old and went ahead and had both axles replaced. And now, the sounds seems to have gone away. This doesn't make sense to me at all.... how can a bad cv boot cause humming/vibration sound?!!?! I ain't complaining if that is the fix. I just hope it is....I will keep monitoring and to keep my fingers crossed, oh and the car handles much better now too

G

hmm... i woulda said ur harmonic balancer. mine was literally breaking in half and it started with humming until i bought my car 4m my coworker and started driving it hard it started screeching like i can here it 2 blocks away. changed it and goodyear belts and i cant even here it now.

my 97 maxima does the same thing on cold starts..goes away after car is warmed up or driven for a while...anyone know how much this idler pully thing is to repair?

This ancient thread you've bumped describes a sound I have had for years and was solved by Orgers a while back. Fuel pressure regulator. What you hear is the sound resonating from the fuel filter and into the firewall. When you stab the gas pedal it disrupts the frequency of the diaphragm or whatever and momentarily stops the noise. Touch the fuel pressure while it is doing its thing.

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...=droning+noise