NEW O3 MaX SE 6spd Owner, any advice?
 

Hey guys, glad to be a member.

I just got a silver 03 SE 6spd with 57.000 Km on it, nissan warranty till Oct06. Is there anything I should do right of the bat? Anything I should look out for? The car is mint as far as I can tell. Anyhelp would be appreciated. I am a total newbe to the Maxima , but man I love the car.

Welcome and cheers. Be prepared for many years of Org surfing for answers. Advise: take your VIN number to a Nissan dealer and have them check to see if any recalls or warranty work has been done on the car. If not, have them do the recall work. Check the "how-to" sticky to find the TSB's posted for the Max. Next, change your tranny fluid to Redline MT-90, 3 quarts, again check the "how-to" sticky if you want to do it yourself. There will be more opinions to follow this one so hang on for a great ride.

Thanx for the great welcome and the reply/tips. I feel a lot better knowing I have such an amazing resource as Max.org. I can't think of a better way to get more familiar with this outstanding vehicle. Keep up the great work.

welcome to the .org. I just recently got a max 2k3 6pd, as well.

How are you enjoying the max 6spd experience thus far?

good luck with it, let the modding begin :)

first thing .. upgrade brakes..

http://hpautoworks.com/hpaushsh00ma.html


best mod to date

Got an old version of a short throw shifter ..works good for me

old version??

you do know that the 2k2-2k3 maxes haved different trannies from the earlier maxes right??

congrats on the Max. Check out the for sale section for good deals on some mods for your Max:)

I agree with the other guys. Brakes, suspension. I upgraded my intake, y-pipe, and exhaust and I regret it. I wish (performance wise) I would have just left the car alone. The gains are little and in the long run more of a pain than it is worth. My suggestion performance wise if I was to do it again, buythe cattman or hotshot headers and leave it at that. To me, the headers are the only worth while performance gain that you will never regret.

Just my .02

Mark

Hmm thanx for the tips guys, I think for now if anything I'd consider the short shifter, seems like an enjoyable mod, as the stock does feel a bit `trucky'. I was actually wondering about the fuel. Owners manual had 87 octane as suitable, but recommends 91+. What the scoop on the fuel for these engines? I know most ppl say always 91 if you have the choice/$, but will 87 really harm the vehicle?

I cant get enough of the max.
:happyface

i recently purchased an '03 6 (32k miles) speed as well. The first few things that I have done so far are replace the tranny fluid with Redline MT-90, added clear side markers with polarg bulbs, and installed an Otto FSTB. Its only been a few hundred miles with the fluid, but so far, its really smooth, especially on down shifts. The clear markers look great, not much else to say about them. And the Otto strut bar, well....i just installed it tonight and I havent done much driving yet, ....but the night is young. Gongrats on the purchase,....Im sure you'll LOVE the car!

WOW , seems like that tranny fluid is very popular with you guys, k im sold. Is this something u can do on ur own or best have a mech do it?

do a 60k service per manual.

Do it yourself... there should be a how-to in the Sticky threads at the top of the page... either that or there's one in the Fluids and Lubricants forum... I forget where it is...

Btw, apart from the 5th Gen forum, there are other forums for more specific things, so take a look around there too.... Classifieds, Fluids, Tires, etc....

Welcome to the .Org...

Looking back on my order of mods, if I did it again first thing I'd do is suspension....

Btw, here's a link to somewhere you can get Redline stuff...

http://www.myoilshop.com/

Hey guys, I also have a question about the cluth on my 03 MAX. It seems a little on the stiff side as compared to me old Jetta. Is this normal? I am worried that maybe the clutch is might not last too long.

"a little on the stiff side" is kinda subjective there... but I know my clutch is stiffer than a 2002 Jetta's, a 1998 Civic's, and a stock 2002 WRX that belonged to people I knew, so I think its normal. I'm not sure how that relates to how long it'll last though :scratch:, care to share more details about that?

Ok lets see, the car has 57 kms, not miles on it. It is an 03. I agree `stiff ' is really subjective and relative to what one is used to. So this is why I am asking. I cant sense any clutch slippage at all, it just seems a little stiffer than what I am used to and or have driven before (ie my friends o2 jetta, and gf's carolla, as well as my own 93 jetta) I was simply concerned that it may be a sign of a bad/overused clutch. I cant think of anything else I can throw in here from a describitive, qualitative stand point about it. But it seems that from what you said this is quite normal. In the end i have no problem with it, as it is a matter of getting used to, I was just concerned about whether or not it is normal, as it does require a bit more effort to get it all the way down to the ground than most cars i have driven.

Sorry to just jump in , but whats the deal with this tranny fluid. Is there some problem that the stock lube is causing? just curious. THanks

<<Sorry to just jump in , but whats the deal with this tranny fluid. Is there some problem that the stock lube is causing? just curious. THanks>>

jimmycapp, I experienced grinding going into 3rd gear @ about 9K miles. Took the car to Nissan and they did a complete overhaul/repair (whatever). Car is fine now. A lot of the owners have changed their fluids to Redline, and seem to be enjoying success with that. There is a link out there somewhere, which I think is from the Max service manual which states specifically which fluid to use (I forget now, but obviously it is from Nissan). If you are exp. grinding, and are still under warranty, get it repaired from Nissan. There are so many people that have had 3rd gear grinding problems. IF u look at my receipt, they repaired bearings, and who knows what else (I dont' have it with me right now), but it was clearly a mechanical fault. If switching to Redline works, then fine, but I think if u're under warranty, get it repaired. Like I said, I did, and so far the car is fine. HTH.

Yeah it does take more effort...

Anyways, thanks for the details... I was just curious... since I wasn't sure if I should say if mine was "fine" when maybe I had a problem. It is stiff relative to others, but I've had the car for 37k miles now and have had no slipping or grinding with the clutch, therefore, unless there is something internal that I'm not aware of. So I can safely say that my clutch is stiff, but it hasn't given me any problems. Only time will tell right? :)

Enjoy the car...

I changed it just for the sake of changing it to something a little better. I don't really notice any difference from stock but oh well. Redline is just good piece of mind.

Interesting. Cuse I have been noticing the last couple days a grinding going into 3rd. I have the car going in for a check engine light tomorrow and i think ill have them take a look at that. THanks for the help.

The Maxima clutch is known to be notchy and I know what you mean about being stiff. Its not really stiff but compared to a VW its a lot stiffer. You can throw a VW shift so fast... I think the Redline fluid may help but I think thats just the way the shift feels on a 2k3 Maxima.


-mike

Hmm I so notice that when i rest my hand on the knob I feel grinding through the knob I dont on my other cars.