So I DO NOT have a 5.5gen but am looking for one. I am finding it very hard to find one with the 6spd. I am searching for them 500 miles away from my house and about 6 turn up and they tend to be over priced.

My Questions
1.Would it be worth it to do a 6spd swap if I bought an Auto?
2.would it be hard to find the 6spd parts(seeing as how it is hard to find a car with 6spd)
3.any idea on how much it would cost? (like a cost benefit kinda thing)

Thank you
Jake

 

Without answering your questions directly, I think that the 'worth' segment of your question is really based on what you value and consider important.

Typically the swap can be anywhere between $1-2k in parts, not including labor. Sourcing is not terribly difficult - between those selling parts on this site, car-part.com, dealers, online retailers, etc.

If the above mentioned figure is worth having a 6spd to you, then go for it.

 

It would be worth it if the car was cheap enough. plus I could potentially sell several if not all of the auto parts

 

Piggybacking on the general question, when swapping-out an auto in favor of a 6 speed, do you need to swap any of the 6 speed vehicle's electronics into the former auto vehicle? Like the ECU or anything?

 

Save yourself the labor and parts and just wait until you can find yourself a 6-speed.

 

well i have been looking for about a year off and on and still not found a good one yet.

 

becuase people with 6spds wont give them away, especially if they have the HLSD. the 02-03s with the HSLD are pretty rare, so if one comes up for sale, is it worth it to you to spend maybe and extra grand for one? whats your price range? if you are one of those guys who wants to spend 7K, you can find one but its going to have 150K on it...

 

wait and find a 6spd

 

man just get a 4th gen 5spd, and do a 3.5 hybrid swap with some bolt-ons, and you be running away from 5.5 gen. and the best part is, you will spend a good bit under $7000

 

Haggle the **** out of the seller.

 

I agree, It cant hurt to try and see if the seller will bite on a low ball offer. Especially in these though economic times you never know how motivated the seller might be.

 

+1

 

yes...b/c a ~200lb weight difference (if even that much) will allow you to "run away from a 5.5 gen"

 

Looking for a year is a long time without finding one. That sucks. I'd say keep looking for a 6spd for like 6 more months and if you can't find one then go with the conversion but there is possibility of something not working right.

It will be worth it if you find one. Trust me.

 

+1 You'll never get added value for the swap either. Wasted money, just be diligent and the right car will come around for you.

 

If they're over priced, then by definition they won't sell, so they're still available.

You'll just have to wait for the price to drop, I guess.

 

and ur stuck with an ugly a$$ 4th gen

 

What is your price range? What are they selling for?

 

I don't think the 4th gens are ugly, They're definitely attractive, but they're just not a cute as their younger sister.

 

 

Man thats some good info. I will keep that on the top of my mind. thank you

Oh for sure with times like this they could use the money.(hopefully)

cant for sure tell if your being sarcastic but who knows if I would do the swap right? I have never done one before....I seem to be dating my wrenches tho. Im sorry Girlfriend......hehe

I do. I dont fully trust my self doing the conversion any ways

Agreed but I would get a great learning experiance.

I already am.......I love the 4th gen and admire it. but just not the looker im lookerin for......

My price range is prob max 8k and they are selling for 7-9 with 100k so I hope to just basically get lucky and 7k is a really really really good deal.

 

lol yea man i was being sarcastic to the other guy. But wait around for a 5.5 6mt. there will be nothing else like it. A few of my friends did swaps actually...

http://forums.maxima.org/members/nyc...s-2k2maxx.html - as you can see the swap looks very clean

and this too

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...you-shift.html

PM them if you really do plan on swapping if you get an automatic. But imo, just get a factory 6mt

 

Y....E.....A....H....bout that......I read thos over and...I will for sure wait to get a 6spd screw the swap.

Thanks for the links man.

 

did you search ebay. craigslist. autotrader?

 

I wouldn't recommend buying an auto with the intention of converting it, it's a rare situation where a car is worthy of the swap anyways. Very recently someone I know wanted me to build up a '96 auto that he had recently purchased from his mom for a great price, he said he wanted the works- a built 3.5 and also said he had to have it converted to stick. I explained to him that it's much easier to sell an auto then a manual and that instead of paying $2k for a swap he could buy a 5-speed and sell the auto for more money. Well sure enough he made out big time, he found a '96 5-speed in way better shape for less money than he sold the auto for, and after getting him a killer deal on CW96's built motor he had an insane car for less than $5k that would kill 90% of the 5.5 gens on here. But anyways, the moral of the story is it usually makes much better sense financially to get the manual in the first place, and I know it seems like it's not the case but if you've ever sold a manual transmission car in any kind of classifieds you know how frustrating it is when people call and double check that it's a manual only to say "Oh, my wife can't drive stick, thanks anyways". Keep looking and good luck.

 

after a year of searching...I will give you one guess.......

Thanks man good story. I had already come to the conclusion of just getting a 6spd but thanks for the reenforcment. we had a hard time trying to sell my first max(Auto) and when I went to sell my SE-R sentra it litterally sold the next day. I put it on car soup for way over the actual price and sold it for way more that its real value. (still lost a lot tho)

Thank you
Jake

 

I found 51 2002-03 6spd Maxima's on AutoTrader.com. Just wait until you find the right car for traveling is a lot easier that converting to a 6spd.

If I was buying my car now there is one in CT and another VA that appeal to me.

When I was looking for a modded Red 95' 5 spd I found one In Kansas City Missouri. I made the deal with conditions over the phone and flew out hopping for the best. I had the SHO checked out a Ford dealer and when I was satisfied we did the paperwork. I drove the the car non-stop (except for gas and food) for KC to Reading PA, what a blast. My wife and some friends still think I a nuts.

 

I remember buying my 5.5 6 SPD the first time after buying it.
Trust me best feeling ever. I didn't even know how to drive stick but being able to adapt
anything is my fortay. It was a car out of my league and now that it's paid off feels not quite as good as the first day I got her and drove it up 15 miles.

As for the conversion save your time and money and find the 6 SPD.
Like someone else said it doesn't add value when you sink 1500-3k. Just be patient and you'll find one.. Probably for a lower price and then haggle them...

Have fun man that first feeling of having it is amazing...especially if you haven't bought a stock car as fast as this one...

 

You're not nuts if the costs of the flight and return trip expenses make sense. I did the same thing for my wife's most recent vehicle. Couldn't find what she wanted locally after several months of looking so I expanded the range of my search. Found what she wanted in North Carolina, near a major airport. Flew down, had the dealer pick me up at the airport, inspected it, bought it and drove 11 hours back, stopping for a 45 minute nap along the way since the whole trip took about 21 hours.

I saved so much on the original cost of the vehicle that the travel costs were less than half the total savings.

An interesting thing I found in this case was that the round-trip ticket was cheaper than the one way ticket by about $30. Bought the round-trip and never used the return ticket.

 

I did the same thing for 20th Anniversary Edition. My Maxima is actually the third vehicle I fle to get. I couldn't find one locally for the right price and with low miles so I widened my search to anywhere in the US. Luckily, the one I found was only 8hrs away. I took a 6am flight, completed the sale by 11am and was back home by 9pm that night.
I spent $120 on the flight, two tanks of gas and a little food. I saved money and have a cool story about where the car came from.

 

What was your price range cause I have one........10k is the cap.unless I can haggle them down from 10 I wont buy one for 10 I dont have that kinda money. i'm not gunna take out a loan, its just not worth it.

You have a SHO? thats sweet man, yeah me and my buddys are pretty big into thos.

but the search is pretty bad I search within 500 miles of my house and I only get 3 maybe in my range. so this is why I am kinda just wonderin on the swap But I have already desided NO on the swap