A week ago out of the blue, my car died, had to tow it home. Check engine lights were code 0011 and 0021. I did a compression check and the cylinder banks closest to the radiator were low (between 120-150) and the other bank was good at 190-200. Thinking it was either a headgasket, valves, or some issue with that head, I started to remove everything to take the head off. In the process I noticed this:

http://home.comcast.net/~jmrecker/hollow_precat.jpg

The precat is hollow.... hmm where did the pieces go?

http://home.comcast.net/~jmrecker/maincat_chunks.jpg

Most ended up in the main cat! Reading up on Nissan SpecV's in the past I remember there being a recall in 2002 for blown motors due to this very reason. Is there one for maximas?? Any way I can get nissan to pay for this?

My car: 2002 Maxima 6spd, ~63k miles.
Ive had the motor replaced by nissan about 30k miles ago due to screw in intake manifold rattling loose and getting sucked into the motor.

 

man it sounds like you just bought the wrong max, ive heard of a MAF recall, but not for blown engines. i dont know, check the nissan webiste for any recalls,

 

If that was the replacement engine, it should have the same powertrain warranty as a new one would. I would not have removed anything ahead of time though. They may try to wiggle out of fixing itafter you removed things.

 

That picture with the chunks in it looks like a small snake hiding inside.

 

Darn. Your precats disintegrated and went backwards. B15 SE-R Spec-V guys are experiencing a similar problem. Their precats get hot and disintegrate, but then some small pieces are actually sucked forward into the engine. Nasty problem.

 

How can exhaust system parts get sucked into a cylinder?

 

I don't know how bits of the precat can flow the wrong way, but Nissan actually issued a recall about it. Here's a short excerpt:

DATE: JULY 29, 2003
FROM : PARTS AND SERVICE OPERATIONS
SUBJECT: 2002-03 ALTIMA/2002-04 SENTRA 2.5 LITER ENG. EXHAUST CAMPAIGN

ATTENTION - DEALER PRINCIPALS, SALES, PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGERS

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO PREVIOUS COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO THIS CAMPAIGN. ADDITIONAL VEHICLES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE CAMPAIGN AND THERE ARE NOW 5 PNC CODES RELATED TO THIS CAMPAIGN BASED ON MODEL, MODEL YEAR AND THE SPECIFIC REPAIR REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE CAMPAIGN.

***** CONDITION/NISSAN ACTION *****

ON SOME 2002-2003 ALTIMA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THE EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN MAY CATCH DEBRIS FROM THE ROAD THAT COULD BE IGNITED BY CONTACT WITH THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND CAUSE A FIRE. IN ADDITION, ON BOTH THE 2002-2003 ALTIMA AND THE 2002-2004 SENTRA EQUIPPED WITH THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT CERTAIN ENGINE OPERATING CONDITIONS MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE PRE-CATALYST. MATERIAL FROM INSIDE A DAMAGED PRE-CATALYST COULD ENTER THE ENGINE AND RESULT IN INCREASED OIL CONSUMPTION. IF THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL IS NOT CHECKED ON A PERIODIC BASIS AND DROPS BELOW THE LOW LEVEL, AND THE DRIVER CONTINUES TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE IGNORING NOTICEABLE ENGINE NOISE, ENGINE DAMAGE MAY OCCUR WHICH COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

*EDITED FOR THE 340980934th TIME*

The recall I'm quoting above is NOT for Maximas, by the way. It's for a similar precat disintegration problem in the QR25 engine in the Altima and Sentra SE-R. You should check to see if there is a similar recall out for the Maxima if you are having precat disintegration problems.

 

Looks like Cattman needs to make a lot more headers ASAP!!!


I'm getting a set FOR SURE after looking at this sh**....

 

The same thing happened to DMBmaxima. I would think your new engine would have the same warranty applied to it.

 

the reason that the catalytic converter got sucked back up into the engine is because instead of using an egr valve on the 2.5 they mad it have a really aggressive valve overlap instead.....placing a catalytic converter right next to the engine is where nissan f***** up in my opinion thats why i just got rid of mine. not only can you have this problem but think about all the heat that is building up right there.