Probably not struts themselves. Could be strut mount(s), transverse motor mount, or sway bar endlink(s).

The only SURE way to tell if your struts are blown is by visual check - is the seal broken and oil all around the strut piston?

 

Gonna have to take the tires off and check for oil leaking from the struts. How can you check the other three options you mentioned?

 

Strut mounts - the same way you bounce the car up and down, do it with the hood up. Look at the center nut in the strut mount. If there's movement, or if it is not 100% centered, you need a new mount.

Endlinks - Put the car up on ramps. Have someone under the car looking for movement in the endlinks as someone else pushes the car up and down again.

Transverse mount is kind of tough. You can lift the hood, engage brakes, put the car in drive and rev the engine, if there's excessive movement in the engine your mounts MAY be shot - but once again it's hard to tell which mount it could be - because there are 4 of them. If the noise is passenger side then it's likely the transverse mount if it's none of the above.

edit...just found a WAY better explained way of checking your Motor mounts:
http://forums.maxima.org/7963607-post21.html

 

Im no mechanical but have a lil experience with cars. My brother has a 5.5 gen maxima. He started the car after sitting all day. Drove it about six blocks and it cut off on him. It hasnt started since except with starter fluid. We hear the pump. I took off the fuel pressure regulator to see if it was getting fuel at the rail, which it is. I know its getting spark because it will start with starter fluid. It has had the recall done on it. We replaced both css and the cps sensors. Still wont start. Next we will take off the maf sensor and clean it. Since it is getting fuel at the rail as will as it will start with starter fluid which is means its getting spark. The only thing I can think of is the ecu isnt allowing the injectors to spray for what ever reason(sensor ect.). any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and thanks for having this great forum.

 

Thanks for the very detailed instructions! I will definitely check these out later tonight when I'm home. Your help was greatly appreciated.

I'm very mechanically inclined when it comes to replacing parts and general maintenance, but troubleshooting is something I'm not good at.

Thanks again bro!

 

My pleasure - good luck

 

I have a 2002 SE all stock with 225-50-17 LS-2 on it. Just found a good set of 235-50-17 michelin energy and wondered if they would fit and if anyone has run these on their Max.

Mark

 

from my experience with tires. they should fit no problem.

 

I have a 2001 maxima se and i am in desperate need of stock headers with the cat assembly. can anyone be of assistance

 

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...al-precat.html

 

I have 5th gen maxima, my ashtray bulb is out...
Where do i need to look to get a replacement and is there anywhere a tutorial?
Thanks.

 

The VIAS solenoid activates and deactivates a butterfly valve. How does the ECM know when it is not functioning correctly? Does the VIAS solenoid send some voltage back to the ECM at different times to throw a code?

 

I'll try to keep this brief:

I was pulling onto a highway the other day and needed to floor it to get up to speed ASAP. I lost power and the engine died. I was able to roll onto a side road. I was able to start the engine but it would cut out after a 3-5 seconds. I called a tow truck. Before the tow arrived, I started the engine and it stayed on. I turned the car around to make it easier to get on the truck. I noticed two thingsCheck engine light was on and I smelled fuel. I turned it off. Had it towed to the dealer, which has been pretty good to deal with in the past.
They dignosed the following:
MAF sensor failed
CAT convertor failed

repair cost: 2617.00 + tax.

I had it towed home.

My plan is to do the following:

Clean and inspect MAF sensor with CRC MAF sensor cleaner (7.99)

Have a universal cat convertor installed (150-200)

Using a computer, I'll delete the check engine codes. IF a CHK engine code re-apperas and it seems to be the MAF sensor, I'll replace it. (180-280).

Also, I'm planning to replace the spark plugs, fuel filter and change oil.

Does this sound like a reasonable order of operations?

Has anyone had a similar experience, but had a different diagnosis?

Just looked at the diagnostic invoice from the dealer. These two codes are what they are basing their diagnosis on: P0420 Catalyst Malfunction) & P1102 (MAF Sensor)

Any help or comments appreciated. Thanks.

 

You will need to replace the MAF if cleaning it doesn't work, there is a thread about converting a much less expensive 00-01 MAF to use in an 02-03. Which cat failed? You have two pre-cats and one main cat.

 

That is the problem. Don't know for sure. Hoping it is the universal one toward the middle of car. I'm hoping running a computer (borrowed) will point in the right direction. I understand the "direct fit" cats are much more expensive.

 

'02 Maxima SE

Yesterday, I looked at a generic MAF sensor removal video, but when looking at mine today, it looks like there's a lot more to it than I thought. Anyone on here have step by step instructions or a link to a good video.

OK, I checked out Jason's guide to removing and cleaningthe MAF sensor. Very easy! I guess what looks more difficult is taking out the sensor with the housing that its contained in.....Any videos, links or posts regarding that. I think mine may be shot so plan to order one Monday. Thanks.

 

OK I have been reading plenty of post that either point to a IACV or a intake manifold gasket. Being the novice mechanic I am I know that I can pull off the throttle body with the IACV and give it a thorough cleaning. The car will start up just fine and rev to about 1500 RPM and then about 1-2 seconds later the idle will go down almost to 500 RPM or less and either jump around 300-500 and eventually may die. Sometimes although it is very sporadic it will also do this when it is warmed up at stop lights but usually will not die then. I am noticing a little bit of hesitation but not much. I have also been experience coming to stop lights it will just die out of nowhere and I start it back up and it will die again right away. It also sometimes does this after short trips. Does someone have a 100 % reason why this is happening. New MAF and plugs just installed. No codes or SES light on. Now when the car dies the SES light and all others light up until started again. Will it throw a code when it dies then erase once it runs normal again? I am confused. There is a hissing noise coming from top of the intake close to the throttle body but I have sprayed it down with tb cleaner and no fluctuations. I am not sure if that is normal or not? I do not see any vacuum leaks that are visable. WTF!

 

I believe I saw somewhere that there may be a member that sells MAF sensors. If so, would someone please reference that thread or link me to it. Thank you!

 

So, i went through the carwash today with my antenna up (i forgot to turn off my headunit) of course it bent and broke. i dont like the power mast anyway i think its ugly. I want to buy a nice little carbon fiber stationary antenna and want to know if and how i can convert the power mast to a stationary one. thanks

 

O.K. I passed on those because of the bad reveiws. So I'm still looking for a new set. My new ? is what is a good all season that are reasonably priced. They are for my sons car and we live in the northeast so winter driving is a concern. It's his first car and so far he is enjoying it (2002 SE 6sp). We had some Nokians on a 96 GLE but they were more of a winter tire and I hated the Goodyear LS that we have had before. I've read a few reviews but some first hand knowledge is what I'm looking for.

 

As far as fog lights go, are GXE trim models of 2001 maxima prewired for the fog lights?
Thanks.

 

Yes. You'll just need the kit which comes with the lamps and new light stock. Your relay should already be installed.

 

Hey everyone, I've got a 2000 automatic here and I'm having some tranny problems. If I hit the gas 50% or more, it refuses to downshift, so I get NO power. Also, when that happens, when it finally gets around 5500 rpms, I'll just stay there (perhaps that's the rev limiter). From what I've read, its not the tcm because this tends to affect the higher gears. I've read that there is a sensor by the driver side wheel that could need replacment? Thanks in advance.

 

Where would i be able to purchase this kit? I can get the OEM fog lights off this guy i know for dirt cheap...

 

Courtesy Nissan:

http://www.courtesyparts.com/nissan-...956_5834_5836&

$153 includes everything.

 

Thanks.

 

i need help my cluster light wont light up but everything else works such as the trunk light door light etc can anyone please help???

 

There is a famous orger - daveb, just look for his name in search field.
He's a great guy, sells MAF sensors for around 90$. He gives us good discounts too. He works for South Point Nissan. Once again - great guy, it's a pleasure to buy from him.


edit: that's the price for 00-01 MAFs, but you could search this forum and find how to convert it to 02-03, it's not that hard and taking 30 mins max.

 

first you should try out the dimmer adjustment ****/wheel - it's on the left hand side on the dash board, behind steering wheel. Just to check one thing - are the lights on radio(if you have stock one) are up? same question if you have a digital climate control?

Next step will be to check fuses under the hood - next to your airbox, driver's side (not sure, but i guess it was third row for me) and fuses under the dashboard (to the left and underneath the steering wheel).

 

I own a 2000 GXE maxima I bought early last September.

The prev. owner sold it to me for $4150 with 115k miles. After I bought the car i noticed there was two parts unplugged, and these are unknown items but I plugged it in and i get a like a weird sound every time the car makes a stop or when I start or turn it off and its coming from the front of the car.

I've been getting about 250 miles average and if I'm lucky 300 in Bellevue, Washington (has a crap load of hills). My dad and my brother said turn Overdrive off for better mileage but didn't make a difference. I was wondering is there any other way I can get better mileage?
I change oil every 5000-7000 miles with Fram oil filters, with 5w-30 oil, unknown brand air filter and 35psi on 16" stock alloy with unknown summer tires...

Ive been thinking about changing the spark plugs, putting seafoam in my gas tank, oil and intake manifold, new o2 sensors, a new intake and a new muffler to increase my mileage. I have about $2000 to drop so give me some recommendations for parts.

Also I'm in a search of a new light housing for hids and new speakers for the GXE any recommendations?

If anyone from the Seattle area could tell me their average miles in a tank that would be great.

 

Those plugs that were unplugged - are the harnesses dark red/maroon color? If so, they're your motor mounts, and you should leave them unplugged in case the mounts are shot, you don't fry your ECU.

Spark plugs, seafoam, PCV valve, fuel & air filters will all help you increase mileage - by how much is the uncertainty.

 

So i was having a grinding moaning noise from my passenger front side, could not visually see anything, and did not smell like anything was getting hot after a 30 min trip. Had a clunk when accelerating and also a rough idle. All has been fixed after motor mounts were replaced. Bottom 2 were really bad, the rear one actually had the bushing fall out of the bracket, and the front one had the bolt guide fall out. Top mounts were totally cracked through also. Car does have 194k miles and I believe they were the original due to the torque at which they were applied. Although I do have an automatic i used the set from ebay for 140$ and car runs like brand new. However I will not be doing that again. The mount on the passenger side was a pain. All that is left is for a trans flush and to punch my cat after I put my o2 sims in.

 

I think this is a good place to post my question.
Ok
so
I am looking at replacing my transmission in my '05 sentra se-r, seeing as ive blown up the stock one, stock it comes with the re4f04b and doing research has lead me to thinking i would be better off with a re4f04w, either way I would want a built one from either level 10 or ipt, but seeing as no one in the sentra community knows anything about auto trans's I'm havine a hard time finding out info. I road/oval race my sentra so an lsd would be awsome for coming out of turns and launching. Now that you have some background, on to the question. Do the re4f04b and the re4f04w have the same mounts, bell housing, and electronics? From what I could tell it seems that all I would need are some axles. I would really like to maintain the factory computers for simplicity. any info would be greatly apreciated, race season is coming up and i really need to get moving on this.

 

hello all,
i am having issues with my 2001 maxima the symptoms are as follows:
rough idle/ stalling upon cold start up
fluctuation of idle no matter what (usually btween 650- 850 rpms more so when cold)
i am getting two DTCs for a lean condition on both banks
a loud hissing/whistling noise coming from under the intake, more prevalent at highway speeds around 2500 rpms when throttle is around 40% but goes away when more/less throttle is applied (is this normal? its been that way since i bought it, always thought it sounded cool and never was suspicious untill now)
i ran some tests today wit my DTC scanner, TPS, MAF, IAT, coolant temp sensors all appear to be fuctioning properly and give consistent readings when the car is driven, now i am suspecting either an intake leak or the infamous IACV, wich i know nothing about on this car. any input would be appreciated.
note: the car has been running poorly ever since i bought it last summer, and seems to have gotten worse over the past week or so (stalling), thats why ive finally worked up the steam to type this out and get a little insight from the diehard maxima enthusiasts here.

 

Definitely sounds like an intake leak. Replace the IM gasket.

 

Its a #74 bulb. Im not sure where to get a replacement but you can get an LED on eBay for a few bucks. To replace it theres a great video that helped me out a lot when i first figured how to open up the dash (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlp2KuWpoFI) the socket twists to expose the bulb and the bulb pulls straight out.

 

im getting approx 14mpg, I think i can hear a slight, very faint, knocking when its idling but im not sure if its really knocking or just the sound of the engine. thinking o2's? This is city driving. purposely keeping under 2k whenever possible. MPG reading on dash is also at 14 and i know how everyone says they are 2-3 miles optimistic.

121k miles, previous owner had replaced belt and tensioner but didnt mention any sensors

 

well i got SES for the bank 1 sensor 2 reading high voltage.what could be causeing this?just a faulty o2 or is there something more that could be goin on.

 

Hi all,

I have a 2003 Max and it has been making a screeching noise after I start it for a few months now in the cold weather. It starts right after I start the car up and usually lasts for less than 30 seconds. However, it doesn't happen AT ALL if the heat or A/C isn't turned on. So, I'm thinking it is some kind of tension belt associated with the A/C system. Can someone please tell me for sure what this is and what I could do.

Thanks,
TJ

 

Hi I need help with a speedometer problem on my 2000 Maxima SE A/T. I've done as much research as i could but I'm close to giving up on the problem. I'll try to be as detailed as possible so please bear with me.
3 or so months ago I bought the car from an independent shop, the car was listed as having 3 electrical problems including the speedometer not working. I fixed the other 2 but the speedometer is something that has been very hard for me to diagnose. I found out my car was supposed to have a speed sensor on the transmission besides the revolution sensor, it is indicated the transmission had been replaced for one of a 2001 year car, so I bought the speed sensor and the wiring harness for the sensor at a dealer, after that i tested the speed around the neighborhood and it seemed to be working as opposed to before. I was WRONG... as soon as I took the car into the highway I noticed that once reached around 55 mph the speedometer needle would start dropping the faster I went, then when I reduced my speed it would go back up to the speed where it started dropping and down again, working normally. then it ocurred to me that MAYBE the instrument cluster had also been replaced for a newer one since it only had 90k miles on it, so I went on ebay and got one that I thought would be the right fit for my car. the description seemed to be right, plus it had over 200k miles. Once it arrived I switched them over and NOTHING I had the exact same problem!
so I decide, that possibly I had a defective speed sensor to begin with, so I went and bought another one from Autozone just to test the theory, guess what?... same problem, I've read as many wiring diagrams as I could get off AllData and Mitchel on demand, but i feel I have reached a dead end for I have tested almost every component part of the speedometer, (excluding ECM, TCM) next I connected a Genisys Evo(scan tool) to the car, and drove around while checking the following inputs: all 4 wheel speed sensors, Vehicle Speed sensor, Engine Speed, Transmission Gear, TPS voltage and %. all looked normal as they were reading around the same speed BUT I noticed something weird one of the data lines reading "Vehicle Speed Engine read my speed correctly at times for example 72 mph then suddenly would drop to 23 mph. now keep in mind this wasn't the signal coming from the transmission's Vehicle Speed Sensor for this one was labeled "Vehicle Speed Transmission" and its reading was always at a steady speed.
So that is my dilemma, What could I be missing? Is it possible the cluster I bought was also wrong? if so how do I identify if the cluster is the exact model I need for my car? and Where does the reading for vehicle speed Engine signal come from? I need a very detailed explanation to how the reading on the cluster is calculated.
P.S i did some basic resistance testing of some of the wiring from from the VSS to the cluster and to the TCM, but it seems to be ok, is there a better way of testing the wiring?
Any help is apeciated

Erick