maxionchrome

I own a 2000 maxima with the vq30 3.0l 5spd manual. i have restored the entire car to perfection but the engine/transmission has 190000kms and isnt fun to drive anymore. I am a mechanic and am capable of doing this swap but would like to have some advice / step by step guidance from someone who has done this before.

Basically i want to put the newest and best engine I can, in this car. So i figure go with the 3.5l 6spd

maxionchrome

from what i have heard the stock downpipe or ypipe on the vq30 engines are very restricting. when i put my header back exhaust i noticed a nice increase in hp

maxionchrome

I have a 2000 maxima with the vq30 3.0l with 5spd manual.
I want to swap a 3.5l with the 6spd manual. can somone reffer me to a swap guide

VQP0WER

It's a pretty involved job. Are you mechanically inclined and have tools?

maxionchrome

yes im a mechanic by trade. i work on hd trucks right now. but i worked on cars my whole life. i have a full tool box down to an ob2 scanner. air tools everything. I would just like an opinion/ideas. basically i want to know what engine i should swap in. I want to have the baddest 00' maxi in town. i could get a brand new 03' vq35 off ebay for 1300

squiggy2469

2000 I30 190,000 miles. I noticed some grease inside wheel well and took off wheel, grease was everywhere. I figured torn boot but checked all around and no tears anywhere. Most of it is on outside of lower strut mount and can't figure out where it is coming from...any suggestions? (it's definitely grease, not oil)

maxionchrome

The only thing that contains grease in that area that would do that is the grease from your cv boot. it may not appear ripped but there is a metal clamp around the boot to seal in the grease. i would check that. if it is missing get a new one for 5 bux and fill er back with grease. I have blown many axles and every time i get a mess in my wheel well.

VQP0WER

I was replying to the other poster about his timing chain replacement. I would check in the All Motor section about full swaps.

squiggy2469

I swear I checked both ends of the boot but I'll check again, thanks Maxion for the quick reply!

phillymd00

Ha! I can change my own oil. Replace a Battery. That's about it. No Tools either. How much is this gonna run me? Ballpark figure?

nystateofmind308

iTrader: (1)

Got a few questions about HIDs. I just bought a 2k maxima and I wanna get HIDs on the car. I've been researching for some time now and I've read all kinds of tutorials and whatnot, but I've come the conclusion that its not as simple as it seems. I see people talking about 4300k and 5000k, and 35w ballasts, but still can't really grasp the idea. I read somewhere that 2k maximas use h4 hid kits but not too sure about what wattage i need or if i should get a PnP or relay harness. Maybe someone who has done the conversion can help me out? I would also like to know about the foglight portion of HIDs. Any help is appretiated. Thanks

axima24

is there anyway i can get walkthroughs for a 5th gen

axima24

check your powersteering hose. i had the same experice

VQP0WER

I would say close to $1k, but I've never had it done before. After reading the ESM, there is alot to remove. Maybe someone who has gotten one replaced can chime in.

9999

Turning on/off the sub output on my HU doesnt do anything for some reason. It actually shows the subs being turned on when the stereo is restarted, not that it makes a difference since theyre not coming on...

benm_130

Well, it was the battery. $100 at AutoZone and the max is purring like a kitten. Thanks to all you guys for your help.

VQP0WER

Ok.

Does the amp turn on when you turn the radio on? If not, the either the amp is dead OR you don't have the signal wire hooked up properly.

If the amp does turn on, but no sound from sub, your signal wires are not connected properly, or your sub/amp is dead....

Pretty easy stuff to diagnose.

9999

Yeah the amp turns on along with the radio. The amp has been hooked up to the subs since it was in my old car, and it hasnt been messed with since I took it out of my old car and into my new one, so theres really no reason my subs or amp would just die on me, especially considering the amp is almost brand new and it was all working fine before.

VQP0WER

Do you have your RCA plugs installed into the right jacks in the back of the HU? Make sure they are plugged into the "preamp output".

ssantos

Does anyone know how to permanently turn off or disable the "airbag check" light on the instrument panel of a 2001. Both my airbags blew up on a minor frontal collision and I didn't replace them; instead I got just the covers; everything looks ok, but the light on the instrument panel is allways on.

I don't plan on replacing the airbags again; tried so far to deactivate the light by pulling out the fuses for the airbag module and doesn't work. Any suggestions?

Tee00Max

iTrader: (18)

ss santos..go to 5th gen how-to's and their is a how to on the Airbag reset..follow those instructions and you should be good.....

schlmeil

Ok, I'm not a big poster, mostly a reader. I'm looking into new suspension, my stock setup is worn out. I read through a ton of posts and I don't think I saw anyone running Tokico Blues with H&R springs. Why not?

The Blues with H&R is the setup that looks good to me (don't want to pay for the Illuminas just to get adjustability, my Max is my daily driver) because I want to keep a close to stock ride with slight increase in handling (don't want the fiance *****ing about bumps, still want to take offramps fast when alone). I was considering GR2s with H&R springs, but I was told by TireRack / local auto parts store that KYB GR2's cannot run with H&R springs because the GR2s can't handle the lowering. Anyone else hear that?

Thanks for the input.

richierich

Hey fellow owners! I've been online for a while and browse through to help fix my little issues here and there. I searched this thread and many others to try to figure out 2 things but had no luck. Can anyone help me on the following?

My car is a 2000 SE:
1. The seat belt light comes on periodically and flashes continuously, even with the belt on. It does not happen every time I start the car.

2. For some reason, while going from LA to Vegas or LA to San Fran, when going up the mountain, I think the torque convertor unlocks and leaves the car out of overdrive. This happens probably around 2000 feet in elevation. It stays in 4th, so around 80mph and 4k rpm, killing my mpg. It doesn't go back to overdrive unless I come closer to sea level and shut the car off and wait a few minutes before driving off. DOes anyone have any idea what the heck is going on? I took it to the dealer and had the transmission flush and the dealer didn't know jack.....


I appreciate your help!

richierich

I forgot to mention that the owners manual states that the blinking light has something to do with the seat belt tensioner. But I have no idea why it would be turning on and off intermittently.

While I still have it at top of mind....a few more questions.
1. My e-brake gets stuck at the right rear wheel. Is this common? Car was in Michigan snow and salt for 6 years....boo. I have to crawl under car and use a metal pipe or something to free the spring/brake line area. For some reason when I brake and get the pedal past a certain point, I also hear a slight popping noise or something like that. Any thoughts?

2. Is it difficult to replace the hood cable? Has anyone done it and have pics to show me how to do it?

3. The headlights are getting dim since they are getting translucent on the inside. It seems like they just need to be polished. Has anyone cleaned the inside of the headlights and do they have pics or anything to tell me how to do it?

4. When the A/C is on, the fans behind the radiator kick on. However, they are somewhat noisy and vibrate slightly. Is that normal? The car was in a front end accident years ago. I believe these are OE replacement parts.

Thanks so much in advance!!!

GigEmAgs07

so last week i got a SES light and the code was p0155 or something like that... had to do with an o2 sensor. After driving up to dallas this past weekend, the light went off and has not come back on since. is this common? or is the o2 sensor still screwed?

evalyn

Think I'm gonna get tint this weekend. Suggestions on what looks good on a silver 01 SE?

richierich

I would say go with the 35% tint all around (except for the windshield). This is the same darkness as the SUV factory tint. It's dark enough at night but not too dark.

schlmeil

I have 35% on the side windows, slightly darker on the rear windshield to block out more headlights at night.

richierich

I've had limo tint all around and it was way too dark. Even with the 35%, I have not seen pedestrians stepping off the curb to cross the street. Luckily I haven't hit anyone.

schlmeil

I agree, even with 35%. Be extra careful when it's raining at night, it can be difficult to see. Any tint, even 20%, will give you a much better look than clear glass and will block out UV rays and some heat, so go on the cautious side and talk to the installer, who can help you decide.

richierich

Just keep in mind when they talk percent of tint, that is how much light is allowed into the car. So the lower the number, the less light allowed in. So limo is 5%, SUV factory tint is 35%.

On a side note, any help with my questions posted earlier?

evalyn

Over the weekend, I took off one of my wheels, and 1 of the 5 lug nuts was on so crooked that I had to strip it and the lug to get it off. What would it take to fix this?

Nelsito65

Replacing the damaged stud involves taking off caliper and rotor. After you do that, rotate the plate that holds all the studs so the damaged one lines up with an opening behind it and knock that stud out. Insert a new one and push it through, tightening it with the nut against that plate (flat side of nut against the plate). Once it is in there, remove the nut, install the rotor and caliper, put the tire back on and you are on your way.

evalyn

Fantastic. Thank you so much. Best place to buy studs and nuts?

Nelsito65

Any autoparts store of your choice will do. Just give them your car information and whether they are front or rear.

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Just out of curiosity, does the front and rear really have different studs?

Nelsito65

I said that to be on the safe side because they are on my wife's car. However, hers has front calipers and rear drums and that could be the reason why they are different. I can't say for sure if the front studs are the same as the rear ones on 5th gen maximas.

d.sull

sorry, may be a dumb question but do the 2002-04 headlight housings fit in the 01 max? Thanks.

osama1234

Hi,

First of all, nice site. Second, the first part is my first name , and i've had tise screen name for a long time everywhere on the net, just figure i'd let you know, not trying to offend anyone.

I'm having the issue where my 2001 Maxima's engine is sounding strange under certain circumstances. Since I am not sure it's in fact called knocking or if it is something else, I'm not sure if i've been searching using the right term on here.

I get noise that is in this clip from 0:10-0:11 and 0:21-0:23. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9d6g...eature=related

This is what i hear sitting in the car, while driving up a hill casually. I can't reproduce the noise unless the car is under load (going up a hill) so i dont know what it sounds like in the engine bay at all. Is this knock?

Just to further describe it, it isn't rpm dependent, i can get this noise at 2100rpm going up a hill and not get it cruising at 2100 rpm. Also the interesting thing is that if i am going up a hill casually it occurs, but if i give it more throttle (when its making this noise) where it jumps to 4000 rpm, the noise goes away.

It seems perhaps in my mind the car might not be getting enough air, because giving it more throttle makes it go away. I was thinking maybe it was the MAF. I thought I read somehwere these maximas usually have O2 sensors go usually. So i'm leaning towards MAF or o2 sensor, but reading this forum has made me think maybe its the spark plugs. Also someone mentioned in a thread to change the fuel filter, but i dont know if they're a lone opinion on that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

evalyn

How hard is it to replace your own brake pads? I've read the write-ups, but I'm not sure if I'm man enough. I can change belts, replace an ignition switch, and install a car stereo. That's the extent of my experience.

On a scale of 1-10, if changing your motor oil is a 1 and rebuilding the engine is a 10, what do you think replacing brake pads is?