sounds like the starter to me, solenied may be sticking. Beat on it a little with a hammer if you can, sometimes that loosens up some of the gunk inside.
Nice max

I'm not sure of your technical know how but you could always pull your starter out and bring it up to Napa and they can test it for you. If its bad they may let you trade it in and give you a discount on your new starter.

My initial thought is yes it is probably your starter. I had a very similar problem in my 4th gen. it ended up being the starter.

i know a bit, is it difficult to get out? if i had some quick directions i could do it

Just for kicks I went into the big3 with some spare cables I had laying around, not replacing but adding or reinforcing the existing cables for now. I did each cable 1 at a time (cant do all 3 at the same time) and started the car to see what the car would do as I added one and noticed the power cable from the alt to the battery gave me a jump in voltage. In the trunk I was getting 13.5 to 13.8 and now it reads 14.0 to 14.2.

Once my new 160 amp alternator arrives later this week I will try and do the big3 over again with better cables. If the results arent that good I will relocate the optima battery to the trunk and buy another batt for the front. thanx for the advice

I have an 03 and took a quick look to see where it is, if you disconnect your power cables and remove the airbox you should be able to see it on the side closet to the firewall. It usually is 2 or 3 bolts holding it to the motor and 1 bolt holding down the power cable from the battery. Not very difficult except you may need to get underneath to get the lower bolt out.

ya i searched and found how to get it out,hopefully it is just the starter.thanks 4 your help and 99silvermist too

I noticed a few posts in various places asking about the big3 so I found a post on sound domain that was pretty helpfull

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthre...e/1#Post312025

but after reading through it all I have to mention that he incorrectly stated that the power cable from the alternator to battery should be fused to the capacitance of the cable, that is wrong. You must use a cable of large enough gauge for the power/load flowing through it, meaning; for example, 2k-01 max alt is 100 amps and 02-03 max alt is 110 amps, 4 gauge cable is rated to 140 amps (if I remember correctly, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) so it would be the wire of choice but 2 or 0 gauge cable would do just fine because there rated for even higher amperage but lower gauge cable would not do because they are rated below the alternators amperage, understanding that - your alternators amperage (or in most cases - the load) is what dictates the size cable because of its amperage, the same would hold true to the fuse on the line. The 2 or 0 gauge will not increase amperage on the line, it may increase the ease of flow of current??? maybe, but the current/load flowing through remains the same. I know alot of people will disagree - many other posts and other sites still argue this point - but I do know this as fact. At any time anybody can speak to an electrician to verify this.

I just wanted to share this

Hi guys,

i own a 2001 SE 20th AE Maxima.
Yesterday i finally finish the polishing on my wheels, they look sick. But the thing is that the center cap look like crap, dull plastic finish.
Anyone know a place i could get aluminum center cap that fits on the OE wheels?
The center caps that i'm looking for are 5.850" DIA, not the dollar coin one.

Thanks for the input.

p.s.: if you really hate someone, just tell him to polish all his 4 wheels . You wont be seeing him for about 6 months. ;oP

I have a question to an issue I've got. I have a 2002 Maxima, and I made a short ram intake pipe from a 4" aluminum pipe that i used to make an intake pipe for my friends supra. Anyway.... My problem is this, I made a hole for the MAF in the pipe and bolted it down in place, its positioned the right way, facing the right direction. But when i start the car it studders and just won't hold a steady idle. When I put the stock system back in, it runs perfect. What could possibly be wrong with this simple pipe set up. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Are you keeping the valve cover breather in line as it is in OEM fashion?

No yesterday I just left it open to atmosphere. I intended to put a filter on it. You think I need to get it attached to the pipe too? There isn't any way to bypass this?

The breather needs to be connected like it origanialy was I'm pretty sure that is why your car is not holding a steady idle.

Here is a link to get them

http://www.courtesyparts.com/betasit...1957_2046_2051&

Ok well I'll try that this weekend and see if that corrects the problem. Thanks fr the help guys. Very much appreciated.

Is there a way I can make my 2000 max auto into a manual. I heard that it isnt that hard of process, I will need a manual transmission. Any input would be helpful.
thanks

My regular mechanic thinks the cat converter in my 2001 GXE needs replacing. I took it in for an intermittent P0420 code. They checked the cat, and think it's bad. I called the dealer to pick their brain, and he thinks that something else (I'm sorry, I forget what he said) MIGHT be causing the cat to look worse on testing than it really is, so I am going to let them check it, too. The car runs fine. If the cat IS bad, what would I notice in terms of how the car runs, mileage, etc.?

if the cat has deteriorated and has not clogged anything you shouldnt notice anything different than the smell of your exhaust and a ses from secondary o2's

Thanks! How would the exhaust smell (compared to normal) and can you explain "ses from secondary 02s" ( I assume it's something about oxygen sensors). Would mileage be affected?

The dealer wants me to bring it in and check something, as apparently a less significant problem can cause cat testing to appear that it's faulty when it's really not. So, I think I'll do that too before I spend BIG bucks.

You'll know it if it smells... it smells like eggs almost....

Ah, so it's a sulfur smell? I'll have to check.

By the way, it PASSED emissions a few weeks ago after the first time the light went on and the code was read. If the cat was going bad, could that possibly happen?

agreed

ive done the same thing...then had to try to get them out of debt and in trouble

hi everybody. im new here n was just wondering where to get the cattman header for my 03 maxima. or if anyone is selling theirs.??? thank n advance

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...-2000-2003-42/
http://forums.maxima.org/general-max...enerations-47/
http://forums.maxima.org/group-deals.../?daysprune=-1

I got home today and had a nice little gift waiting for me from Cattman. My 6 speed bushings.

Installed them this evening after dinner and after everything was put back together I had that little white clip that goes on the left side cable. I'm sure not too many of you know what I'm talking about considering it doesn't even need to come off, but I took it off while figuring out how it all came out.

My question is, do I need to put this piece back on soon or is it ok with it off?

I have been searching for a thread but I cannot find it. If I remember correctly, there was a thread a while back to post pictures of different lighting setups (headlights, fogs, sidemarkers, parking lights) and the types of bulbs that are in each. Can anyone find that thread?

This is all if it even exists.....i am probably just imagining things again.

Specifically I am looking for pics of anyone who has used LED's in their fogs. I know they have relatively low output compared to halogen, but I wanted to see some pics to see how they look.

Thanks.

i know what you are talking about and i recommend putting it back on

What is the setting for a 2000 MAxima spark plug gap? What is a good wat to search/fing info in this forum?

.004

i just changed mine a couple of days ago and i called orileys to ask..but mine were already pregapped when i bought them.

Move the decimal place to the right one place...

0.004?? That sounds a little tight to me... Can anyone confirm this is correct?


EDIT: Ahh, that's more like it.

hey guys i recently bought a 2000 maxima gle. since i bought it, it had this noise coming from the exhaust which sounded louder than most stock exhausts. also i noticed the the car was starting at 2000rpm and took a while for the rpm to decrease when idle. i figured there was a leak in the exhaust so recently i decided to get it on a lift to check whats up and it wasnt the best of scenes. the pipe connecting the muffler was completely rusted in 2 about 10 inches away from the muffler. the muffler is completely disconnected from the rest of the exhaust system (which is all very rusty). i also noticed that the system is pretty much 1 piece and was told it would be $600-800 to replace at the dealer . i havnt gone to the dealer yet but any recommendations on what to do? new stock exhaust system from the dealer or other alternatives? anyone had this problem before?

I have a 2000 SE 5 Spd and when I got it a few months ago, there was nothing wrong with it, and I am hoping that that is still the case. Anyways, every time I make a right turn, no matter how wide or tight I take it, there is this grinding noise that comes from the front driver side tire. I have looked around the forum and seen a few things that almost sound like what my problem is, but usually with some problem that I dont have. Does anyone know what might be the problem? My dad thinks it could be one of the ball joints, but he knows less about cars than I do, so I dont know... also, I have seen answers to the other problems saying that it could be something wrong with the dust shield, which doesnt seem to be too huge to fix, so that wouldn't bother me as much. I just hope that it isn't like my entire front axle that I have to replace... that would suck. SO, any help would be appreciated.

yeah the car starts and runs perfectly, i also noticed that the clock doesnt work anymore either

if you buy the proper plugs...they will already be gaped in specs

02 SE, 107k mile, auto - Catalyst and 02 Sennsor not ready (I/M Monitor) and failed inspection. Check engine light not on. Car drives fine but need to get a renewed inspection sticker. Local mechanic told me to bring to deale - my last option. Anyone have an ideas what's going on? I searched and someone say O2 sensors bad eventhough it's not throwing a code. Please help.

haha my bad. one too many zeros...i was in a rush! didn't mean to click in two 0's

Check the 5th gen classified forum, you can find both stock and aftermarket exhaust systems in there regularly and for a lot less than the dealer wants. A good muffler shop can build you a nice mandrel bent exhaust system for around $400-500 and it should include both a muffler and a resonator.

Did you recently reset the computer? You usually have to drive it 50-60 miles for the system to self check and be considered "ready" to pass an inspection.

Have your mechanic check for any pending codes too. Even if the SES light isn't on, a pending code will cause you to fail as well. You will need to correct any codes and drive 50-60 miles after the computer is reset to pass an inspection.

Thanks Scottwax.
Yes - tried to recently reset CEL for loose gas cap. It still came back on immediately since I forgot to tighten it. Anyway, CEL was gone was once gas cap is tighten. This happens a few thousand miles ago. I've definitely driven the car more than 50-60 miles of various patterns and may not necessarily reflect the driving pattern instructed of Owner's Manual to get the car ready. But with the amount of miles already driven, the car should in theory be ready.

Not sure what you mean to check pending code - not exactly familar with that. I do have an Actron Scantool to check for codes, which I think my local mechanic has similar one - is there a special feature built into the scan tool to check for pending codes?

Anyway, I searched previous thread and found another owner had the same problem as me and it was later determined that one of the rear O2 Sensors when bad even CEL is not on. That owner replaced the sensor, then the catalyst and o2 monitor was shown to be ready to finally pass inspection. I am considering to replace both rear 02 sensors just to give it a shot to see it fixes the problem. If I take it to the dealer, they will more than likely charge me the cost of 2 o2 sensors anyway just to "try" to diagnose the problem or possibly connect it to Consult. What do you think? And thanks for your help.

Hi,

I just bought a 2001 Maxima SE. A little old lady named Evalyn had it before me, and I wanted to give the car a name, so I named her Evalyn.

This car is awesome. Seriously a driver's car, and a sport sedan at heart. I'm loving it.

I can't post a new thread yet - is that because I have to accumulate some posts elsewhere before being allowed to start a new thread?

Evalyn