My car has a rattle as it appears alot of other maximas do aswell(appears at about 3000rpm then disappears). My car also has a bad Maf which since its an 02 also appears to not be suprising.

So after reading around here on the forums for a few hours it seems most likey to me that the precats are done on it. It already has crazy oil consumption so the boat has already sailed on that it was like that when i got the car. But this rattle is very annoying.

Anyway, after reading through the forums i have decided that gutting the precats is the easiest/cheapest solution. My question is, i see some people are saying you have to have an o2sim to make that option work.... and then some people say you dont. Is this because of the difference between a 5.5 and a 5 gen and im just not reading between the lines or something.

So i was wondering if there are any 5.5genners out there who have gutted there precats and what they did and what there experience has been. Ive already ordered a new Maf on that front, and when i did the spark plugs i noticed that alot of oil appeared to be going into the intake via the PCV so im gonna put a home depot catch can on and see what that does for me.

Anyway, any info appretiated, thanks.

 

check out my post http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...eration-3.html

 

yea i see that, im hoping that someone who has actually done this will comment since all you seem to find in general here is hearsay.

 

has no one figured out these issues ?

 

wouldn't seem so.

 

I think more people would be able to offer advice from experience if the precats weren't so damn hard to get out.

 

If it is the precats, gut them and run a O2 simulator!

 

that's what im planning what i was looking for was people who had done it and would have some first hand feedback on their experience with the process. Either way when i do it ill make sure to say how it goes.

 

does any one have any pics of what the precats look like? i looked under my car and i see the mesh piece of exhaust, and then what looks like the cat and then muffler i think

 

sorry to get off topic on your thread, but My 2002 Maxima has had a rattle, very subtle, at first for 1 year. However, the noise is extremely loud now after any sort of acceleration. I took it to my mechanic and he said the timing chain was loose, or something in there is broken. He said it is very labour intensive and could take him up to 10-12 hours of work, which = $1200!!! so does anyone have/had this problem? the price seems excessive, but better than the $5k+ to get a new engine if the timing chain goes and rips the engine apart.

Thanks for any info, and sorry for going off topic!

 

It's more likely to be an exhaust rattle than a timing chain issue. I wouldn't waste your money on getting your timing chain cover taken off because it's probably not the issue.

 

the exhaust rattle comes from the engine cover though? and it is really loud like mine is? sorry im not too knowledgeable of engines... and if it could the exhaust how much would that fix go for?

 

you might want to take a video and post it just incase your mechanic is right... could be a different sound all together.

 

For a super common issue on these cars there isnt really any info.

 

Found out the rattle was coming from degrading cats. Dealership said the material inside starts to breakdown and therefore the rattle sound (poor quality cats). Had cats replaced - problem solved. Also had codes for cat issues.

Also had 3-4 straps put on around the aluminum heat shields to quiet their rattle.

Also, the dealership mechanic said the broken down material in the cats could get sucked back into the engine from back pressure. I find this hard to believe, but he said that's the cause of oil burning issues in the 02's and 03's.

Had my engine replaced due to excessive oil burning (1 quart every 500 miles). Also had a severe misfire problem. Got a used engine from Japan with around 40,000 miles on it. No oil burning, but still a nagging misfire problem. Plugs, coils, injectors all replaced. Corroded injector connector replaced. Still misfires. Very inconsistent.

Any suggestions? If this car weren't such a blast to drive I probably wouldn't have spent so much money trying to get it to work right.