Can't make a build thread since I'm not doing any type of special build, but figured a thread to keep track of my progress and what I do/did to my car. A start to finish if you will.

Morning after the purchase no plates yet





All stock except for a cone filter.

Got plates, then tints tonight. Tinted all around at 35%. Pics are junk but I will get better ones in the daylight.



Blank keys showed up today along with hoodstruts. Should have the struts in tomorrow and the keys cut also.


I guess not too bad of start from owning the car for a week if that.

The goal is to have it look somewhat like Sil Se's car or as clean as it
http://forums.maxima.org/maxima-mont...ima-month.html

 

paint your wiper arms, they're faded like mine were.

pretty clean max, love the black how many miles?

 

Lol I was looking at those today it's on the list of things to do. 92k miles

 

nice low mileage. good luck with it

 

Damn you got the hood struts that quick I just shipped them yesterday

 

Start in on the cleaning, Get a can of MAF cleaner and Electronic contact cleaner and start with the TB, IACV, MAF, and EGR.. Seafoam it and call it a day.

 

Brakes

Well here is how today went (ugh)
Went to autozone and got some wipers, rear rotors and pads and a can of brake clean. $121 I was on my way.
The bracket bolts were a ***** to break loose, but I got them. The caliper wasn't compressing so it was stuck. A trip to autozone for a caliper $62 and I was back at work. I was wondering why I had 4 lug nuts and noticed a stud was broke. A trip back to autozone to get both, $4 and I left.
Flip the car around and pull the caliper, guess what it was stuck too so I went back to autozone for that and a bottle of brake fluid. $67+ later I went back to work.
The bolt for the stupid brake pad bracket snapped on me. Oh great, A trip to autozone for the bracket they that didn't have in stock. Figured I would try napa since they are across the street, no luck and $10 more if they had it.
Went to another autozone and $15 later I went home to finish the job. Looked high and low for bolts that would work and no luck. So I took the tap and die and figured they are 10x1.25mm. So I went to ace hardware and got some bolts. And back to work again.
I bled all 4 corners and the brake pedal is still mushy. So after 6.5 hours of messing around I'm going to look at it tomorrow.
Other things I got done, were hood struts and wipers. Big whoop. Going in an hour to have the remote start installed. So I will have gotten a lot done today.
So in closing 6 trips to autozone, 1 trip to napa, 1 trip to ace hardware and a partridge in a pare tree.
I spent wayyyy more than expected today. And while under there I realized that there is no flange where the axle back flange is, it was all welded together. So that doesn't help for a bolt on axle back. Ugh.

 

I got my rotors today Thanks for the fast shipping!

 

Your calipers were fine, you needed to turn the pistons to screw them back into the calipers. There is a tool for this, less that $10.00.

 

Yep I have that tool and it didn't work at all.

 

Well if anything could go right on this car I'll simply **** myself. Bought oil today to do an oil change after the remote start gets put in. Dropped it off at 11am at the shop (the guy does it for dealers and has been doing them for 15 years so I had no problem dropping it off to him) he said 2-3hours. So I go home and nap and do nothing until 3pm then I decide to go check on the car. He said he is almost done has to put the door panel on so I'm waiting outside and he comes to get me. Car threw a MAF code so he noticed the hackjob wiring at the ecu end. Someone had an safc in there before, which is all fine but people if you plan on installing something do it RIGHT.
They stripped the wires 1/2" away from the pin so it's damn near impossible to wrap tape around them that close. Also they didn't solder the connections, just wrapped the wire around once and that was it. Then cut the wires when they were done. Biggest hack job I had ever seen.
The wire for the maf pulled apart so I told the guy I would fix it. He gave me some extra wire and his soldering iron so I fixed it and fixed a few other issues there. I have more to fix on my own time and in my own house.
While waiting I had a kid come drop off a headunit for me. I get it and look it over real quick toss him some cash and decided I'll wire up the connectors while I wait. Come to realize the aux cable he gave me was a sham. He had no idea what he had.
It has rca's on one end and stereo jack on the other and no adapter for the alpine. He said he just hooked up red/white. So this dummy had the rca input for his mp3/ipod connector hooked up to the output of his pre amps.
After fighting with him for 20 min over text messages he then realized what I meant and said oh sorry. Awesome..
7 hours into the remote start install things aren't looking any better. Trunk pop doesn't work, car cranks too long on occasion, but not all the time. One remote didn't work.
He said the brain box is bad and to come back on monday and he will have a new brain box and 2 brand new remotes for me.
Guess I'll get to my oil change and brake job later seeing how the day is all wasted now.

Oh and I was going to put my radio in when I got home and started taking things apart and realized someone had a radio in there before since half the screws were missing, I said F it I'll do it later. Also while the remote start installer had the door panel off to run the wiring for the lock/unlock I had him put in a pioneer speaker I had sitting around since the stocker didn't work..and the pioneer didn't either. So I'm guessing it has more wiring issues behind the headunit.

 

Hey eFLO, what would you recommend to paint wiper arms? Flat black i'd assume? Did you take them off the car or just mask off everything? Sorry for threadjack.
And Hey Gamble...good luck with the car. Wish mine was in as good of condition, haha. It's a fun car though, hope you enjoy it.

 

One nut takes them off. It's not worth masking or overspray to paint them on the vehicle. Flat black, a scuff with some Scothbrite, a bent hanger to suspend them from a tree branch, a day with little/no wind, and spray. Done.

 

Did the radio install last night at 2am, ugh. You can tell it was taken apart before because of things cracked and missing screws. The sosche (sp) install kit sucks but for a quick install and $15 it will do for now. Also the stock headunit was taken apart maybe someone got a cd stuck, I don't know, but the cover wasnt on properly. Either way it shorted the output for the front left speaker. All the speakers work now so I am happy. Pics to follow later.

 

I wouldn't trust anyone who sells stereo equipment.

Not that there's anything wrong with aftermarket stereos or that nobody who likes good sound can't be trusted, but if there's one sector of the automotive aftermarket that's most generously sprinkled with d-bags, it's audio. There you're most likely to run into someone who:
a) Doesn't know what he's doing
b) Knows well enough but doesn't care enough to do a good job
c) Rips you off
d) Some combination of the above.

Probably there are more quality people doing quality work than otherwise, but there's enough otherwise to make me nervous.

U gots a fabbo car though. Looks very clean.

 

Good to hear you got it working! Like I said I never messed with the radio when I had the car but it always looked to me like everything wasn't lined up right.

 

It's not big deal I'm not worried about it. Could of been someone messing with it, or it could of been a big pot hole, who knows and who cares. It's all good, good thing you sold it to the right person
Some progress pics

Btw these rainX latitude wiper blades are awesome


Love me some good hood struts


This will do for now. No more pics for now. Going to tackle the brakes again tomorrow and run my amp wires if I have time.

 

Today's update

Picked up some parts.


Fuel filter installed, not too bad to get at I guess. Not a fan of those clamps, they don't seem very safe IMO. Ran the car afterwards and tightened the screws again.


Did an oil change and new filter.
Changed the oil pressure switch also. Make sure to put teflon paste on the threads for good measure.

PCV valve is right on top but sucks to get at unless you have the right tools. 10min and that was done.

Car never came with a battery tie down, well it did I found it jammed in the engine bay somewhere and only had 1 J hook at the top piece. So I replaced the J hooks. A huge $2.99 at autozone.

Got a new trans gasket and screen, but I'll get to that next week when I get some fluid.

The hood had play when it was latched down so I had to adjust the latch so the hood would be nice and tight when closed. No big deal there.

Seafoam, ugh ya. I spent a lot this week on stuff so if I could save $10 I would. The original method before seafoam came out or before it became popular was the same method was to use ATF (auto trans fluid). I have done this on multiple cars and it works just as good. So did that and let it idle for 20min and everything is squeaky clean now.

Went back to look at my squishy brake pedal. Jacked the car up on all fours with the wheels off and bled them again. Also bled them with the car running. The problem came to be that I had a dirty bleeder on the front. Took it off and cleaned it out, bled that side again and the brake pedal feels great now. No problems.

Also took off the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) to make sure it had 33teeth and it did. So I put it back on.

Took the taillight off to see about red/clear and it didn't want to come apart how I wanted it to, and I see that it said I need acrylic plastic which I did not know. So I put it back together.
I think I got a good amount of work done today.

 

I'm trying to figure out what I want to do to the car this weekend. I don't have many options as I'm all out of funds at the moment. I have everything for the transmission pan/filter change.
I'll put in my sub/amp.
Polish the headlights I I remember to.
Anyone else have any ideas. Car has 92k miles so aside from the 95k oil change I don't think there is much left. Also the radiator cap is new looks like it was replaced by the last owner.

Brought the car back last night to get a new brain and new remote for the remote start. New brain went in and it all works, but I guess someone messed up with the remote and gave my installer the same one he gave them. So he has to go back again today and get me yet another remote. So if I have time today I'll be back for another one. I told him to ***** and see if they can upgrade to an LCD one

 

Well today was ok I guess. I went to troubleshoot why my speedo was reading slow. Took the cluster out and noticed that the speedo needle was sitting higher than the rest if you look at it from the side. Pushed it down and it didn't go anywhere so I did some searching.
Moved the needle till I hit resistance and marked the spot. Spun it a few times and pulled the needle off. Put it back on and put it at the calibration point. Drove it and it seemed better but still far off. Took it apart again.
Then a bulb burnt out so I replaced it. Put the cluster in the car w/o the plastic cover on it. Drove around and found the police radars that read your speed so I saw how far off I was. Pulled over and moved the needled past the calibration point and turned around, did that a few times. Couldn't really go past 40 since it's in a big speed trap area. Headed home the long way and to my surprise on a side road I see another speed sign. So I pass it doing 30mph. Dead even.
Turn around and do it at 40mph. Dead even.
Turned around and floored it to 50mph. Dead even.

Seems like that is all fixed. Put the plastic panel in and didn't see the trip reset plastic piece sticking out and it broke. FML. Then the big black cover that holds the security light and dimmer switch. I had a ***** of a time getting it in there and was thinking to myself, damn this is pretty forgiving. And then it cracked in the corner. FML. 2 other things to fix now, but they won't be a problem at all.

 

Good to hear you fixed the speedo issue

 

someone might have screwed with the needle maybe because they rolled back the miles
pm me the vin and your email on chicago forum (grzesiu), i will see what kind of stuff i can dig up

 

we figured out why the odo was broken, the previous owner got it at auction for cheap with 189,995 miles back on 9/20/2010 , rolled it back 100k miles while braking the speed and flipped it with 92,000 miles
i would contact local authorities and secretary of state because this is illegal and a felony by IL law
unless the seller wants to refund him gamble least $1500 off the price if not more for being a tool, than gamble here is a useful link which will help you
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/pu...eter_fraud.pdf
if you kept a copy of the title it will have both owners sign with 92k miles showing, SoS can get you a copy if you forgot to make one

 

WTF are you serious? I owned this car before Gamble and when I bought it it had 89k about to be 90k it even had it signed on the front of the title that it had 89k. The guy I bought it from had got it from the auction I knew that because the front was signed by the people who previously owned it and it said 89k. So someone rolled the miles back?

 

what was the dealer you bought it from? they should be reported to the state

04/25/1997 IL Independent Source
VEHICLE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED TO DEALER
09/18/1997 BERWYN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
09/29/1997 BERWYN, IL 10 Motor Vehicle Dept.
TITLE (Title #:T7272481004)
05/21/1998 BERWYN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/21/1999 BERWYN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
06/01/2000 BERWYN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
04/19/2001 HILLSIDE, IL 40,000 State Agency
PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
06/22/2001 BERWYN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/30/2002 BERWYN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
03/24/2003 CHICAGO, IL 64,000 State Agency PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
06/12/2003 OAK LAWN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/08/2004 OAK LAWN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
03/09/2005 CHICAGO, IL 81,000 Independent Emission Source FAILED EMISSION INSPECTION
04/18/2005 CHICAGO, IL Independent Emission Source
PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
06/15/2005 OAK LAWN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
06/28/2006 OAK LAWN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/26/2007 CHICAGO, IL 130,000 Independent Emission Source PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION
06/15/2007 OAK LAWN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/27/2008 OAK LAWN, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
09/01/2009 CHICAGO RIDGE, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
09/18/2009 CHICAGO RIDGE, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
TITLE (Title #:X9261676026)
EXCLUDED/EXEMPT
09/20/2010 IL 189,995 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
10/12/2010 BURBANK, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
11/03/2010 BURBANK, IL Motor Vehicle Dept.
TITLE (Title #:X0307683132)
EXCLUDED/EXEMPT

 

That was when I bought it right there. That POS I can't believe that ****. I seen the car on CL and purchased it from him but the thing thats not making sense is even the people before him on the title (since he was a 2nd reassignment) had 89k on the front of the title where they signed. Did he somehow modify the title?

 

The title doesn't show the mileage I got from you.

 

It doesn't have the mileage at the top? When I got the vehicle the mileage was filled in at the front of the title where the people had signed I remember because I checked it to make sure everything was legit.

 

Here's hoping everything works out for ya.. Your Max looks a lot like the one I recently purchased.

 

My car has the same issue. How did you adjust it?

 

craigslist is full of scams, when i was looking for a car for my gf broski, every maxima i checked had some kind of too good to be true mileage, or it had 60k in 2001 and 61k in 2009 on the report lol
he might have erased the mileage on the title or the auction house never put it on the title when it was sold, and he wrote in what he wanted
sucks that gamble got the shaft on it, but you live and you learn
i would still report the dealer car was bought from to the state

 

I hope I can find the bill of sale and report his ***. Hopefully can get some money from him it says 1500 in the link you posted. I'd definitely have to split it with gamble since he ended up with the car. The whole killing part is the car rides like it really has that low of a mileage, I remember when I test drove it I had just gotten out of a car crash with my 5th gen and it felt so much better and stronger.

 

Yo Max performance...

Do u have the unlimited Carfax account? Thats cool man.

To OP,

Honestly as i was reading the thread, it didnt surprise me the Odo had been rolled back. U was doin way to much to a car that had so little miles. Especially with calipers being seized. That sucks man. But keep up the good work with the whip.

To 2000 Maxima King,

yo man when u get the new whip?? I been out of the loop for awhile lol.

 

Hope you find that bill of sale. I'm waiting for a call back from Secretary of state police to see what they can do.
Needless to say I'm ****ing pissed.


Now I wonder what else I have to do to the car to make it reliable? All I wanted was a nice reliable car to pick up and drop off my 9month old daughter. I sold my last car because it had 192k miles and now I'm in the same boat.

 

That sucks *** man. For the most part, the max is a reliable car, and trannies or engines are abundant in case anything major ever happens. But for the money u spent u def could have gotten something younger.

My advice with the odo...dont report it immediately. Contact the person who did it and let them know u know they did it and how much u want back. If they refuse, then sue them. Court system always PITA and makes things costs more. Try to settle out of court first for some outrageous amount. Chances are the guy will pay anything to you to not be fined by govt.

 

car are pretty reliable, check out the lower core support for rust, and condition of fluids
you should be able to get 300k out of it
if it runs decent and feels decent, chances are someone maintained it right

 

2000_maxima_king owned it before me. So if he has proof it was the seller before him then we shall go after him.
Also the car is leaking coolant and oil still. I changed the oil pressure switch and I hope to god it's not the upper oil pan gasket. I need to go to a car wash that sprays under the car and then I can find my leak.

 

Hey Gamble, I'm trying to do the same kind of thing in terms of just improving my 98 Maxima. I was wondering if your antenna still works well and if you've replaced the motor because I'm considering whether it's worth it. Thanks

 

The Greek: Antenna problems are often just the result of the "toothed" nylon cord inside the antenna mast breaking. The mast is only a few bucks and can be replaced. I'll start a new thread for you rather than hijacking this one - look for it.

Gamble/King: Good luck with the sleezebag dealer. Hope you can get some bucks out of him - then turn his a** in anyway!

 

Thanks for the clarification, I'm actually looking into getting a new mast now. Didn't mean to hijack this thread.