The noise started with a a little squeak in the morning then it would go away. Then it would come whenever I would start the car then go away. Now since yesterday I have a full blown squeak that gets more intense when I put my foot on the gas. You can hear me in the garage two levels down. I look at the pulley assembly and see one of them is a little wobbly. Will this give out before I get a chance to fix it in a couple of days. I have to drive my car to work and also pretty busy. My Maxima SE is over 20 years old (made in April 1994) and I am wondering what will go next.

 

It should definitely last until you have a chance to fix it. It could be the alternator pulley or the AC compressor pulley bearing too. An automotive stethoscope can help pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Even a long tube stuck to the side of your ear will help pinpoint the true source of the noise.

 

If you see it wobbling can you tell us is it the big pulley aka crank pulley, which does eventually wobble. Or small one which is the tensioner pulley,

 

It is the larger pulley that I see wobbling. Yesterday was a warmer day and it squealing like crazy on low rpm and under 25 mph. Today still making noise but not as much. Taking it to my guy tomorrow to take care of this. My car runs pretty quiet so this is driving me nuts.

 

Oh, the crank pulley. Yeah, you need to get that checked out sooner than later.

 

Yes you need to get that crank pulley checked out and replaced, its starting to seperate, the reason why its squealing. Pretty soon it will eat up your drive belts. I paid $150 for a new one from autozone.

 

How much would an overall repair cost to replace the pulley if I took it to a mechanic? New in town and literally no free time to work on my Maxima.

 

They should charge you for 1-2 hours of labor. Call around and get a few quotes

 

It must be pulley season again.. I recently saw another thread with the pulley separation issue..

I snagged one on eBay from the following seller a few years ago. It is still working great. I think I paid around $107 for it as I recall. Later the same seller listed the part for $31.95 and shows it sold out. At that price, no wonder they are sold out.

http://www.am-autoparts.com/1996/Nis...-balancer.html

It is a fairly easy DIY job as I recall. I also changed the front main seal for kicks when I did my swap since it had over 250,000 miles on it at the time.

:

 

I have to change my front main seal also. Is this a very difficult job? One mechanic tried to to charge me close to $900 for doing the work. Said it involved taking off the transmission and so forth.

 

Rear main you mean?
If it is in fact the rear main, yes you need to remove the transmission and the upper oil pan.

It's more than likely just the half moon seal directly under the rear main though.

 

Sorry the rear main seal. Is the price of $900 the going rate. I know it is a lot of work. I have to do it before next winter. The smell of oil last year when the car started up was too much. Funny thing I periodically check under the car and no major leaks.