homeyclaus

iTrader: (1)

Valid?

[Snip!]

You must be new to the prairies. Get a battery warmer to go with your block heater, and as someone else posted, don't park your car facing into the wind, and get some covers for your front grille if you can't do that. You should see what people do up in other cold places - blankets and colemans stoves under the cars, especially diesel trucks.

Car is not turning over = problem with starter or starter circuit IF there is no "click" from the solenoid pushing the gear forward to engage the flywheel.

Ignition and fuel can't help you when your engine is not turning over.

So IF there is no click:

1. whatever lube is in the solenoid area froze solid, and it's stuck. It can't move, and can neither engage the gears on your flywheel nor close the circuit to power the starter motor.

2. There is a connection problem at the starter. You know, it's cold, things get brittle, weird things happen. Nissan's plastic electrical connectors don't like stress at the best of times, and when cold, even at -2C, they're rather brittle.

3. Something in the ECU thinks you ought not to start the car.


Solution 1: Warm up the whole car. Get it to somewhere heated, let the thing thaw out, and see what happens.

Solution 2: Diagnose the starter issue. I doubt you'll find an outdoor mechanic there, so this brings with it the option of solution 1.

graydona

The 1st mark (to the left) is 15 degrees BTDC, the 2nd mark (to the right) is 20 degrees. So I'm at 25 degrees BTDC. I just replaced the battery... do I need to perform "idle air volume learning"?

homeyclaus

iTrader: (1)

Interesting.

I replaced the alternator and battery on my 01 in early December and didn't have to do that. If you leave the battery out for an extended period the ECU will/should relearn from scratch.

Jasjeet

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone know what size tweeters or what brand tweeters will fit in a 03 maxima, i want to replace the stockones. Couldnt find anything in the audio forum.

What would fit?
thanks

02max245

iTrader: (2)

Does anyone know what companies provide ecu chip upgrades for the 2002 maxima.

psvanvic

I have a California Emission 2000 Maxima SE.

I replaced the stock non Bose stereo including using an OEM antenna adapter and wiring harness from an online retailer which sold me the Din kit. I have found that by flexing the antenna adapter the power to the radio would go on and off.

I have never seen anything like like this in installing radios in a few cars over the years. I contacted the online retailer and they sent me another antenna adapter and it works better, but when the car is cold the power to the radio is off and I can either wait or reach in an flex the connector and power comes back on.

I assume this is a grounding issue, which is odd, but I figured the antenna adapter was just from a bad lot. I went to BestBuy's install department and asked to purchase another antenna adapter thinking it would be from a different manufacturer.

The installer said he would sell me one, but that wasn't the problem. I needed to ground the radio another way to the car. He said I could "burn up the ground though the antenna."

I am confused on this one, I have read a few posts and one said that grounding the receiver separately and using the diversity antenna adapter was a BAD idea....not sure what to do.

Any help appreciated....and thanks to this forum for helping me figure out my P0430 code..at least I think...I bought the cat from eastern catalytic and was going to install until using PB blaster and a impact wrench couldn't take the bolts out...taking that in to a pro to install.

------------Update---------------------------------------------------

I didn't find the answer here, but on another forum I got a response that worked so I thought I would share here.

First, the reason that the on/off thing was happening was due to the way nissan gets it ground for the radio. Its through the chassis brackets. The kits sometimes sold use plastic brackets to mount the radio so then there exists no ground except through the antenna. So, I spliced in to the ground wire in the "smart connector" which I guess was hooked up to nothing and grounded to the chassis of the car next to the radio.

Second, after doing this my radio reception went bad. I did some reading on this on this forum and others and it appears that a non diversity radio (which I think all are it seems) can't handle the reception and even the basic Metra or other brand antenna converter doesn't eliminate one antenna leading to bad or multipath reception. I was about to order the one from Metra that may fix this (the N10 instead of the N11) when for kicks I tried the scosche brand converter that looks like a star (has many models on it) from walmart and my radio reception has returned to good with seemingly no multipath interference.

I hope this helps someone, it seems this comes up a lot.

speedracer6

Hey guys, I couldn't find much on a google search or of this site.

Does anyone know how complex it would be to upgrade a 2002 SE 6 speed by adding traction control or LSD from a donor car?

Thanks

Jeff

vrdublu

For a thread for new folks on the site there are very few actual questions being answered. I can't seem to post on any other section of the forum, this is pretty lame ***.

chrys9989

Tonight I was driving home from work, I was on an off/on ramp doing about sixty, when my car just suddenly shut off. No power, no lights, nothing. I brought her to a stop, as I was standing on the side of the rode calling for help, the flashers suddenly came back on. Then I got back in the car and she started up fine. I turned the heat off. When I was safely home, i turned the heat on, the heated seats, and there wasn't an issue. Any thought of what it could be? I intend to have the battery and the alternator checked tomorrow morning, I'm also going to check the cables. THANKS Also, the only code that i have is for the front pre-cat, but I cant imagine that would make the car, turn off.

memphisballer

iTrader: (7)

Theres about 250 pages of questions that have been answered in this section.

Done to cut down on spam.Either get to 15 post count or donate to the org and you can post immediately.

deal with it or close acct.Check wheels/tires section for the answer to your question.

VQP0WER

8.5

00nismomax

help! i decided to drop in a pop charger in my 00 maxima n driving it around for about 200 miles the ses light came on..what to do? what caused it?

mmvit

hey i just got a 2001 se, with cloth interior.. i really want leather, any one know where i cna buy seats that will fit the brackets online?

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

Logically, the first thing would be to check the codes, no?

Check what code(s) it's throwing, then ask for help. There is absolutely no way to tell what it may or may not be.

Grand_hustle17

iTrader: (22)

VQ god has spoken

aleem

I have searched but have not found any thing. I have a 2000 max. have a it for a year now. 135kmiles may be more took out guage cluster someone had it swaped with a junk yard part. Anyways. Transmission(auto) took a crap on me 4 days a go. I was driving about 80mph felt like i ran over something but it didnt. car began to pull very lazy. Park does not work you hear a whining noise same thing in neutral, reverse, 1 and 2. it seem to be pulling in 3rd and 4th. I do drive hard. tranny over heating seems to be the cause even though i have a tranny cooler. Any ways I pulled out the tranny and all that other good stuff. Now my question is because im in fl i have not found one junk yard that has 2000+ nissan max. there is an abundance of 95's - 99's. I looks like those trannys can bolt up. Can it? Also can the standard tranny of that year work on the 00 as well? I found 4 95 to 99 max that has standard. Auto will be rebuilt but i would rather have standard. thanks.

Nyx

Alright, so I bought a 5 speed 2001 SE recently after researching Maximas. This is my second car, and I'm pretty inexperienced (read: ultra newb). My car has already been lowered a little, has some pretty tacky chrome American Racing rims, and has a poorly done tint on the rear (purple AND bubbly, mmmm!).
I'm reading up right now on how to get the sticker off and am trying to find good rims, but have a hit a real problem (mostly with performance parts which is more what I'm interested in). I find parts for 95-99 ad 2002-2003, but there seems to be a lot of parts that aren't specifically for the 2000-01.
For instance: http://www.hawkpadsdirect.com/ has a gap between 1998 and 2002. I've noticed this with a number of other parts a while ago and thought I'd ask what parts aren't cross compatible between the 01s and 02s?

TRBO GUY

Alright - I'm a lurker coming out for some pearls of wisdom. I'm a former mechanic stuck in a bind, with my 2001 GLE stuck in VA at a family member's house (I live in lower AL) after a coolant mishap caused me to head home from the holidays in a different manner. I use lean antifreeze mixtures down here (25%ish) and completely forgot to change it out for a stouter mix before heading up north. Long story short, an 18 degree night found me trying to fire it up with a slushie throughout the cooling system - even pushed by the water pump for a split second before I pulled back the key and caught it from sparking up.

Well... I warmed up the system with some warm water for 30min or so and got it to where I could fire it back up. I tried taking it down a 3 hour drive to a friend's place, and an hour into it, it overheated. Now, on the way back, though the temp gauge went a little high, it was no where near pegging it and overheating.

One puzzling piece of this was how it overheated. Before I fired it back up after the semi-freezing, I remembered that I hadn't replaced the coolant overflow tank cap (long story...), so I found one in my lingering spare parts bin in VA that fit. I couldn't remember if it was vented (I still can't remember), so I put the non-vented cap on and went on my way. The car overheated, filling up the overflow reservoir and forcing it out of the top, basically pressurizing it beyond the cap's threads. When I grabbed a rag a few minutes after removing the overflow cap, and letting the system settle, I popped the radiator cap off and allowed the air escape. Is the cap vented and I just let the system brew, or is it something else/worse? On the way back, I did remove the cap, and as I said, it didn't overheat. If it isn't a vented cap, and that isn't related, I'm hoping there's something other than the obvious possible culprit, a blown head gasket.

Well... there's my story. My background in diagnosis and repairs in street cars is limited mostly to BMWs and Porsches, so I wanted to run this all by you guys who may have ideas specific to this make/model. I really appreciate the help, and I promise I'll contribute more to the boards from now on.

homeyclaus

iTrader: (1)

BMW-foo will serve you well with Nissans.

The overflow tank cap should not matter if it's vented or not - its not under pressure, and the seal isn't really tight enough. 18F isn't that far below freezing, and shouldn't a 25% mix handle that? The chart says 10F for 25% ethylene glycol.

If you popped the main radiator cap, you could have also induced bubbles elsewhere that'll take some time to sort out. Top up, run it, open again, top up. Until the system is completely full of coolant it won't really draw from the overflow correctly.

You'll know if your head gasket went if you're blowing white smoke, something leaks, or if, when you check your oil, there is a white milky build-up on your dipstick. The Gen 5 engines are at least all the same metal, and while they don't like being overheated, at least it's not as bad as an aluminum head on a steel block.

If you had a lot of air in your coolant system, that was probably why the car overheated. That would mean there is a leak somewhere; the next possibility is the water pump not having enjoyed pushing slush, and now it pumps slower, allowing coolant stuck in the engine to overheat. If you did turn it over with the coolant having the consistency of slush, I'd check the water pump and thermostat, in order of cost and ease of access, for damage.

homeyclaus

iTrader: (1)

Body parts are "generally compatible" amongst all gen 5 maximas.

Engine parts are "generally not" compatible, as 03 and 04 models had a slightly different engine.

Brake parts are also "generally not" compatible. More senior members can correct me on this, but didn't the 2000-02's have smaller front brakes?

You'll need to be more specific if you want a more specific answer.

jrich7720

Were the 2002-2003 GLE 17" 7-spoke rims single piece, or did they have a center cap?

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

The '04 model is a 6th gen, not applicable to this section. Do you mean '02 and '03? 'Slightly different' is an understatement.

They have a center cap. Of course, most anything but a steel wheel will. Otherwise there would be no hole (and thus no way to balance the wheel/tire), or you would just have a hole there showing the dust cap on the rear, or the axle nut on the front.

jrich7720

Thanks. I guess I was thinking that maybe the center of the wheel bowed out over the axle nut, but I see what you mean.

I'm thinking about buying a refinished set of these from Ebay, and there are pictures both with and without the center cap. The cap looks seamless in the pictures in which it is included, so that's why I asked.

Thanks again!

jrich7720

Thanks. I guess I was thinking that maybe the center of the wheel bowed out over the axle nut, but I see what you mean.

I'm thinking about buying a refinished set of these from Ebay, and there are pictures both with and without the center cap. The cap looks seamless in the pictures in which it is included, so that's why I asked.

Thanks again!

1stMax2K3SE

I have a question and was wondering if anyone has encountered this before and can assist? With the cold weather here in KS lately, I noticed my heat / AC seems to trickle hot air out of dash and floor ducts, but seems to blow air faster either on just windshield or floor setting… forget it when a two duct setting button is pushed….... I changed the cabin filter too and hasn’t improved Any ideas why air flow would seem restricted with the 2 duct button option pressed?? Also speed 3 seems to be what speed 2 used to be, and 3 is no faster air flow than speed two. Any Ideas would greatly be appreciated

homeyclaus

iTrader: (1)

You're right, 02 and 03, I fat-fingered that.

TdrpMaxima

yep il admit im lazy and dont wanna look through 101 pages i read the 1st page and the last and didnt find my questions so here it goes...

i have a 3.5 liter 6 speed..

1. did plugs about 3k miles figured it would fix my idle issue *i have a slight miss i can feel at idle* im not picky about it just gets annoying sometimes.. had the issue before the plugs and after the plugs so ehh car has 120k miles on it..

2. Sunroof issues i can get the moonroof tilt part if i help it with my hand this is after it was working all spring/summer and now the slider control to just open it wont work but the tilt button like i said does if i help it..

3. i see something about using the 3.0 liter headers on the 3.5?? i was looking into headers for my car b/c mine are gettin rusted and worn like my exhaust and was going to replace everything at once..

Thanks in advance and apoligies for my laziness

TRBO GUY

First of all, I appreciate you spending the time to reply. Secondly, I'm not quite sure what this means. Haha - explain, for favor?

Again, I don't know much about the cooling system on these cars, but if the the overflow tank isn't top-vented, where else is the system open that makes it vented? As far as the mixture goes, I threw the "-ish" qualifier to signify that it wasn't a precise measurement by any means - sorry for the confusion. Either way, it was well on its way to freezing with a slurpie-like mix in the radiator hoses, as well as the motor, as heard when I bumped the motor over.

Unfortunately I hadn't opened up the radiator cap initially. The overflow tank was overflowing with some force, as seen when I unscrewed it and it immediately gushed a bunch of fluid out. The radiator was opened about 5 minutes later and it was clear that there was a good bit of air in the system as it breathed for a few seconds before sputtering some coolant out.

Again, I appreciate the help, but I've encountered multiple HG failures that were chamber to a water jacket that didn't exhibit the normal "coolant smoke." As far as the HG oil/coolant milkshake, we're not talking about that form of failure. I do agree, though, it's good that they're not al. on steel. The HG don't like that as much, for sure.

I don't know - maybe I'm paranoid and the air was present from the work the previous day, but for one, I drove the damned thing on a mountain road after warming up to give the system a chance to burp, and it ran for a full hour, many parts hilly, before it overheated. The overheating wasn't a linear operation either, by the way, and it didn't seem like it had anything to do with load or RPM, at least not consistently.

If this happened someplace closer than a 14 hour drive away, I'd be driving it to do more diagnosis, but with Murphy's Law, of course it didn't happen that way! FML.

PininFarina456

iTrader: (1)

Can someone tell me where I can buy the cover for the cigarette lighter? Or even a part number?

I've looked on courtesy parts, but can't seem to find it.

Thanks!!!

homeyclaus

iTrader: (1)

BMW-foo is BMW mechanical skills/understanding/instinct. I have also never met a BMW that didn't make me feel inflexible

You mean it sounded like your starter turning a slurpee machine at 7-11? That's very, very bad.

The overflow tank cap probably varies on these - don't screw it down like it's a radiator cap - see below.

Well, had you opened the radiator cap you would either have been burned by steam or splashed with hot coolant. The spitting happens when the .8 or so additional atmospheres are removed and fluid that was happily hot at pressure suddenly evaporates.

Agreed on the head gaskets (ain't that a BMW thing?), but if it's because you froze the coolant in the engine it's highly likely that the freezing coolant is what exerted undue pressure on the hg, causing it to fail. In other words, there is little stress on the cylinder to head seals in that case.

Okay, so I'll explain you the differences between your Max and a BMW cooling system:

BMW cooling systems (let's say, a 1985 318i / E30 type), just like a Golf IV, don't have overflow tanks. They have expansion tanks, which are under pressure, and this is where the pressure cap sits. There are usually a couple of hoses going there, and coolant under pressure circulates through the tank while the vehicle is operating. When you fill one full with the engine running, seal it, it'll work out the air bubbles pretty much on its own.

Most Nissans (all sold in north america, I am pretty sure), Toyotas, GM's and Fords have an overflow tank. What happens here is that as pressure builds within the cooling system and the coolant expands, the pressure cap will allow some to escape, which goes into a tube that ends in the bottom of the tank. When the engine cools and the coolant contracts, the pressure goes negative and the coolant is siphoned back from the overflow tank into the system. More retarded designs have bleed screws to let the air out of places in the engine where it accumulates (think Dodge Omni/K-Car non-Mitsubishi and non-VW engines).

Herein lies the issue: The overflow tank system pretty much depends on the cooling system to be 100% full. It has some tolerance, as any air bubbles "should" accumulate in the high and calm point of the system (under the cap) and be pushed out during expansion, and having fluid drawn back in during contraction. However, when you're a quart of coolant short, this won't work in any time frame you'd consider "reasonable".

You fill both systems the same, BUT on overflow systems you must wait for the thermostat to open to top up all the way. On expansion tank systems you should wait.


You're left with the brute force method. The usual warnings about neeing to know what you're doing, keeping objects and body parts away from moving engine parts, and I am not liable if you hurt yourself and/or your puppy dies apply:

1. Open radiator. Fill with coolant.

2. Start car, turn heat to maximum, top up coolant.

3. Let engine warm until thermostat opens (top rad hose will warm up suddenly) and top up again.

4. Rev engine a bit higher, top up, close rad cap.

5. Fill overflow tank half way.

6. Put jug of coolant and a jug of water in the trunk.

7. Go for a drive. Run it normally for some time - don't rev the **** out of it, race people on route 29, or whatever.

8. Have lunch, letting engine cool.

9. Check coolant level in the rad again.

If that turned out okay, you should be okay. If your Maxima's ECU is not throwing SES codes at you, your head gasket is probably okay too - O2 sensors and knock sensors have a way of picking that sort of thing up most of the time.

If it overheats at step 3, your slush machine bent something on the thermostat.

If it overheats at step 7, your water pump didn't like being the slurpee machine agitator, and whatever is holding the blades to the water pump shaft busted somehow.

Best of luck - hope this is helpful.

00nismomax

since im new here, i did the GAB mod on my 00 max with the greedy evo2 cat back..i was wondering if anyone on the forum could tell me any other basic mods i can do?

Souled0ut1

Thanks for making this thread available to noobs (me). I just purchased a 2002 SE 6 speed. I owned a 1991 SE 5 speed for 5 years through college and then went Accord. Back to the Max and am glad. I have a few questions.

1. My 1991 had a Bose stereo that I liked. My 2002 does not but I'm thinking of converting it to Bose. Any suggestions? Should I just get an aftermarket system instead?

2. What do you think is the best cold air intake for my car? I researched around and Injen claims theirs gives a 28HP increase...think that's accurate?

Thanks all for the help in advance. Good to be back in a Maxima.

SuperStasiu

iTrader: (3)

1. Save yourself some time and just go aftermarket the bose unit uses an amp and is wired differently

2. The best cold air for your car would be a GAB or ghetto air box search the 5th/5.5 gen forum for this

SuperStasiu

iTrader: (3)

pulley, timing advance, y-pipe or headers depends on how much you wanna spend

Souled0ut1

Cool I'll check it...thanks for the tips.

SuperStasiu

iTrader: (3)

They should work but the 00-01 automatic and the 95-99 automatic trans are geared differently so your rpms will be higher at certain speeds

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

Actually, you'd end up cruising at a lower RPM. The only changes to gear ratios was in the final drive, jumping from a 3.619 in the A32 to a 3.789 in the A33.

Assuming the same tire size, with an A32 trans you would be traveling at ~108mph at 3500 RPM in 4th. The A33 trans would have you at ~103mph.

The difference isn't drastic by any means, and IME is hardly noticeable.

Souled0ut1

Haaa wait I just checked it out...are you just playing around with the newbie kinda like selling the new freshmen a pool pass?!? Do ppl really make ghetto CAI's and they work better and hold up better than some of these aftermarket kits? If so it should be called a McGyver CAI or something....

...for real?!?

00nismomax

i heard that the timing advance can mess up the max...thats wah the tech at nissan said to me...is this true?

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

Not your typical 2 degree advance, no.