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I am back after a long time out. I signed up for the ORG before I could even drive. My first car was a 1995 GLE which I wrecked in late 2011. I ended up buying a 2002 SE which was a huge headache as it consumed oil like crazy and left me and my wife stranded numerous times.
After getting married, I went into the Honda game and got my wife a 4Runner, knowing that one day I would want another 4th gen if possible. My buddy asked me to help him find a nice beater car from down here and offered his Maxima as payment. I took him up on it immediately. The car currently sits at almost 125,000 miles, very low for a 4th gen.
Since I've gotten it, I have swapped my climate control module to one from an i30, installed an auto-dimming mirror from an i30, installed chrome interior door pulls from an i30, replaced the bottom half of the driver's seat as the original one had a slight tear, installed a one piece rear carpet also from an i30 and today I swapped in a steering wheel from a G20. As you can see, the original steering was well loved and could have been cleaned any better. The G20 wheel is also a little smaller in diameter and thickness which is a joy to hold when driving.
If anyone has a lead on any of the following parts, please let me know: wood grain steering wheel and wood grain steering wheel.
sounds to me like you wanted an infiniti. heck my 95 is still alive with 287,000 on her, got an intake leak and my key fob isn't working but she still runs pretty good. almost bought a 98 just like that a few weeks ago, but it needed too much work. clean her up and have you done all the fluids and mid-life refresh yet?
sounds to me like you wanted an infiniti. heck my 95 is still alive with 287,000 on her, got an intake leak and my key fob isn't working but she still runs pretty good. almost bought a 98 just like that a few weeks ago, but it needed too much work. clean her up and have you done all the fluids and mid-life refresh yet?
Haha! Its tough to find a clean I30 anymore. I swapped in a lot of the Infiniti parts because I like the late 90's luxury touches, no matter how cheesy they are by today's standards. The Autodimming Mirror is probably the favorite mod I have done, its so practical!
I have not done the fluids and mid-life refresh yet... what all does that entail?
Haha! Its tough to find a clean I30 anymore. I swapped in a lot of the Infiniti parts because I like the late 90's luxury touches, no matter how cheesy they are by today's standards. The Autodimming Mirror is probably the favorite mod I have done, its so practical!
I have not done the fluids and mid-life refresh yet... what all does that entail?
Very nice 4th gen. I personally like the I30 details as well. and +1 on the problematic 5.5gen
Haha! Its tough to find a clean I30 anymore. I swapped in a lot of the Infiniti parts because I like the late 90's luxury touches, no matter how cheesy they are by today's standards. The Autodimming Mirror is probably the favorite mod I have done, its so practical!
I have not done the fluids and mid-life refresh yet... what all does that entail?
there's some threads about it, end links, maf, coils, wearable parts. there's a couple of threads about it by cs_ar, he makes his cars look like new.
The goal is to mechaniclly service and restore the car so that it can be driven as well and as reliably as a late model car for the next 10 years or 100k miles.
Some members cars look great,but have mechanical issues which affect reliability or full enjoyment. Such as taking the car on family vacation for a couple of thousand miles on the hottest weekend of the year. In air conditioned comfort. Almost like a new one.
The goal is to mechaniclly service and restore the car so that it can be driven as well and as reliably as a late model car for the next 10 years or 100k miles.
Some members cars look great,but have mechanical issues which affect reliability or full enjoyment. Such as taking the car on family vacation for a couple of thousand miles on the hottest weekend of the year. In air conditioned comfort. Almost like a new one.
I will have to check it out. The car is from Michigan and there are a few rusty spots that are eyesores. I have been keeping my eyes out for some aftermarket exhaust parts as that needs to be addressed. All in due time I guess.
Did you have a 5.5 with issues as well? It made me almost not want to have a Maxima anymore.
oooohh yes 100% and coming from a bulletproof 4th gen and a 5th gen (still the daily) it was quite shocking. Within 2k kms I have had numerous issues like:
1. Oil burning having to top it off every 750kms (00' still doesn't burn or leak any at it's km's)
2. Throttle Relay Fuse bad - Car not driveable, wouldn't respond when you pressed the pedal. Thank god for maxima org, otherwise I would have taken this to a shop.
3. Car almost died everytime pressing in the clutch- Luckily cleaning MAF fixed it
4. Cylinder 2 misfired- coil replacement fixed it
5. Knock Sensor code- replacing knock sensor fixed it
6. Car would start then die- Replacing Camshaft Sesnor on Bank 1 fixed it- Also lucky that I didn't have to replace the crankshaft and camshaft bank 2 to fix it
7. Brake caliper was sticking- replaced and didn't fix it because also the brake line was bad.
Now currently I have a P0420 Code for the Catalyst System.... Fun times.
oooohh yes 100% and coming from a bulletproof 4th gen and a 5th gen (still the daily) it was quite shocking. Within 2k kms I have had numerous issues like:
1. Oil burning having to top it off every 750kms (00' still doesn't burn or leak any at it's km's)
2. Throttle Relay Fuse bad - Car not driveable, wouldn't respond when you pressed the pedal. Thank god for maxima org, otherwise I would have taken this to a shop.
3. Car almost died everytime pressing in the clutch- Luckily cleaning MAF fixed it
4. Cylinder 2 misfired- coil replacement fixed it
5. Knock Sensor code- replacing knock sensor fixed it
6. Car would start then die- Replacing Camshaft Sesnor on Bank 1 fixed it- Also lucky that I didn't have to replace the crankshaft and camshaft bank 2 to fix it
7. Brake caliper was sticking- replaced and didn't fix it because also the brake line was bad.
Now currently I have a P0420 Code for the Catalyst System.... Fun times.
I had the same issues. I bought the car in December of 2011.
About a month afterwards, I ended up having to replace the thermostat. A year later I had to replace both precats, cats, and o2 sensors (to pass state inspection), boy was that an expensive fix! Later on in the summer of 2013 the car left me stranded in WV due to a bad alternator (I am from NC.) If you know the 5.5 you know how much of a pain it is to get to the alternator. After that things were pretty good but then in 2015 it stranded me on the highway again with a misfire. I ended up changing the coil packs and it was fine. Then a few days later it left my wife stranded (which was the point of no return for me as my wife would be driving it regularly). I pulled the codes and I pretty much needed to re-do the o2 sensors again and then all the crankshaft position sensors (I believe there were 3.) At this point the car had close to 200,000 miles and I knew there would be other issues with how much oil it consumed and the consistent unreliability. I decide to sell it to some mechanic for a few hundred and rid myself of the issues.
All that to say, I am glad to be back in a Maxima, specifically a 4th Gen!
I had the same issues. I bought the car in December of 2011.
About a month afterwards, I ended up having to replace the thermostat. A year later I had to replace both precats, cats, and o2 sensors (to pass state inspection), boy was that an expensive fix! Later on in the summer of 2013 the car left me stranded in WV due to a bad alternator (I am from NC.) If you know the 5.5 you know how much of a pain it is to get to the alternator. After that things were pretty good but then in 2015 it stranded me on the highway again with a misfire. I ended up changing the coil packs and it was fine. Then a few days later it left my wife stranded (which was the point of no return for me as my wife would be driving it regularly). I pulled the codes and I pretty much needed to re-do the o2 sensors again and then all the crankshaft position sensors (I believe there were 3.) At this point the car had close to 200,000 miles and I knew there would be other issues with how much oil it consumed and the consistent unreliability. I decide to sell it to some mechanic for a few hundred and rid myself of the issues.
All that to say, I am glad to be back in a Maxima, specifically a 4th Gen!
Yeah, I am almost at that point. Sell it for quite a bit less than I paid or part it out and find another 4th or 5th gen, preferably with manual (The good aspect of the 2003, although that transmission has it's quirks).
Glad your back in a hopefully reliabile maxima again. Be sure to drain and refill that transmission fluid a couple of times. Made a huge difference in the 00's shifting (Didn't change it for around 250,000kms). Cheapest fluid for me was OEM at the Brasso Nissan dealership.
Yeah, I am almost at that point. Sell it for quite a bit less than I paid or part it out and find another 4th or 5th gen, preferably with manual (The good aspect of the 2003, although that transmission has it's quirks).
Glad your back in a hopefully reliabile maxima again. Be sure to drain and refill that transmission fluid a couple of times. Made a huge difference in the 00's shifting (Didn't change it for around 250,000kms). Cheapest fluid for me was OEM at the Brasso Nissan dealership.
heck my 95 is still alive with 287,000 on her, got an intake leak and my key fob isn't working but she still runs pretty good. almost bought a 98 just like that a few weeks ago, but it needed too much work. clean her up and have you done all the fluids and mid-life refresh yet?
