Maxima 2002 MB

I took in my 2002 Maxima this morning for the 60,000 mile service (60,307 actual miles) figuring this would be the usual checkup, the dealer calls me in the afternoon and tells me that the valve cover needs to be replaced. His reason was that the "oil is leaking into the cylinder and sparkplugs and causing the engine to knock or missfire".

Since I am not a car expert I would like to know if this makes any sense at all and if so would the warranty cover for this type of repair? I know I already exceeded the 3yrs/36,000 miles warranty but how about the drivetrain warranty? Or are they any technical service bulletins about this that maybe I can leverage in order to cover for this repair?

Right now I am looking at around $1,050 (tax included) for total repairs (tune-up at around $500 and valve cover replacement another $500 or so). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Bluesbrekr

iTrader: (4)

I can't see why the valve cover would need to be replaced. The gasket, yes, but not the cover itself.

bladerunr

iTrader: (14)

Your valve cover gasket may need replacing. Find a private mechanic and get a second opinion. Go to the regionals section and ask your fellow eastern MA Max owners about reputable shops. Don't give the dealer a $1000.

GBAUER

iTrader: (2)

Out of curiosity: how much oil were you losing? Did you get valve rattle at 1500 to 2500 rpms under little or no load? Did you car seem to stutter slightly at idle? I'm having all of the above problems and am curious if you saw those symptoms before. I've been scratchin' my head for about a month and a half now (haven't had the time to open my engine up yet).

pruizgarcia

iTrader: (1)

He must be talking about the rear valve cover since you have to take off the intake manifold, air box, and some vacuum hoses and sensors. The front valve cover is a breeze to replace (half hour job) and wouldn't justify the $500. Valve cover is about $95, gasket $10. One more thing. The only way he can diagnose replacement is if he noticed oil around the gasket (visible), or, removed the cover to check your plugs and noticed oil in one or more of the spark plug chambers which in turn seeped to the spark plugs causing one or more to foul. I say not likely unless the spark plug was so loose it let oil in. And, this is not part of the 60K service to check or replace the plugs since they are suppose to last 100k. Also, if the tune-up includes spark plug replacement, then he is already removing the intake manifold, so the cost should be nowhere close to $1K. Get a second opinion amd ask how did he make this determination. You also haven't mentioned if you have been using any amount of oil...

Pedro

frankd121

iTrader: (1)

valve cover gasket...valve covers won't warp or deform under normal operating conditions.

adriand

iTrader: (1)

I had the same exact issue this weekend when I was doing a tune up. Lucky I found it instead of the dealer and them trying to stiff me for it. It seemed there was about 2 tablespoons of oil in the tube but there was no oil on the tip of the plug since the boot was seated pretty well. I took off the cover to see if the gasket was bad but it seemed fine. Do you know which one it was? Mine was the one in the rear closest to the intake side. It seemed that the outer ring of the gasket was reinforced with metal so if you try to replace it you may end up messing it up. I ended up putting everything back together and hope that nothing messes up. I would ask to see how much one of those gaskets cost and if their not much replace yourself if your able to.

CEFIRO

When I change my spark plugs i dont take out the intake manifold!!!

GBAUER

iTrader: (2)

That's the .5 liter difference.

CEFIRO

So in the 3.5 u gotta take out the IM every furkin time u change the plugs. Good luck to the guys that get the NGK coppers that need to be swaped every 20k miles. Every time i change my plugs is about 15min. I dont wanna imagine having to take out the IM!

Maxima 2002 MB

I noticed a slight rattle maybe starting around 56,000 miles or so, whenever I accelerate slowly (low RPM's) I could feel the engine vibrate or stutter (also noticed loss of power). It got worst and worst as winter came, figure it was just the colder then normal temperatures in NE this year. To be honest I really don't know how much oil I was losing (if any) since I never paid attention to it, always changed the oil at around 3500 miles at the shop and none of those techs ever mentioned anything to me.

As of right now the car is already in the dealer with the valve cover removed (they discovered the leak halfway performing the 60K service) so I figure I just have it repaired and bring it up with Nissan once I get the car back and see where I get with it. Anyone think I might be able to get somewhere with Nissan? Or should I just not bother?

Although I have to say I was really surprised when they told me that the spark plugs were being replaced as part of the 60K service, $429 for the regular V6 tune-up but lucky me the car had platinum plugs so it was another $65 over the base price.

Didn't I read somewhere in the brochure when I first purchased my car about the engine not needing any service for 105,000 miles (or something of that nature?) Or was I just imagining things?

pruizgarcia

iTrader: (1)

On 02-03 Max, you don't have to take the intake manifold completely off for a tune-up. You can just unbolt it and position it accordingly to reach each spark plug. This way most of the vacuum hoses and sensors don't have to be disconnected. But, you still have to be very careful everytime you reposition it so that nothing gets whacked or damaged. Here is a pic when I removed the rear cover (42,000 miles). Nice and clean...

http://home.tampabay.rr.com/latino/valvec/index.html

Pedro

GBAUER

iTrader: (2)

Hey, Pedro, link doesn't work. Did you ever have the annoying rattle?


BTW: nice color! Great minds think alike.

GBAUER

iTrader: (2)

Any updates? Did the new plugs fix it?

bladerunr

iTrader: (14)

[/QUOTE]Although I have to say I was really surprised when they told me that the spark plugs were being replaced as part of the 60K service, $429 for the regular V6 tune-up but lucky me the car had platinum plugs so it was another $65 over the base price.

Didn't I read somewhere in the brochure when I first purchased my car about the engine not needing any service for 105,000 miles (or something of that nature?) Or was I just imagining things?[/QUOTE]


Pedro gave you the low down on the tune up interval. It sounds like you are getting hosed. I would definitely biatch slap the dealership. Find a reputable mechanic and give him the business next time.

pruizgarcia

iTrader: (1)

Gbauer: The link seems to work from my side. I will check it out. I didn't have any rattles. In my case I just wanted to change the plugs and check them out since I purchased the car used. This is an old habit of mine; tune-up, radiator, tranny flush, new filters when I purchase a use car. This is when I noticed I had oil in one of my rear spark plug chambers.

Pedro

GBAUER

iTrader: (2)

d@mn! never opened my valve covers! I wonder if I can't find a few ponies in there somewhere.... I think I see some... Here little ponies....

dkotanto

iTrader: (1)

I had the exact same problem with my rear plug closest to the intake. I did take the recommendation of a member and ordered the 2004 valve covers for $24 each vs. $96 for the 5.5 gen. I ordered all the gaskets as well as the spark plug tubes. I was hoping to do it this weekend but the parts haven't arrived yet. I ordered from www.garrants-nissan.com and got 25% discount by ordering on-line.

Jaws

Let us know how it goes.