What's wrong with this engine bay?
Aside from the rust on the bolts, other hardware and those rad brackets, that engine bay is immaculate. You have no idea what rust is until you look at 5th gen that has spent all its years in the North East.
You guys are just paranoid, all those bolts are just surface rust, Yea sure my radiator supportes look like this too, and the coolant pipes above the exhaust manifold commonly get corroded. This car probably was exposed to salt in the northeast. Pretty clean engine bay IMO. As long as the bottom of the car isnt too bad its fine.
To be honest, from my professional standpoint, this engine bay doesn't look all that unusual.
I am NOT saying that these rust are normal, but these rusts are very common in cars driven by the coastline or in areas where salt is used.
These rust pop out and look out of place because the engine bay has been very nicely detailed. On a very dirty engine bay, these rust would fit right into place. But on a clean engine, they look a little unnatural.
Truthfully, just take some rust primer and black paint on these brackets. All that matters is that the body is not rusted. But chance is that the subframe or crossmembers are probably very rusted already, and no amount of spray paint is going to correct those lower structural areas of the car.
I am NOT saying that these rust are normal, but these rusts are very common in cars driven by the coastline or in areas where salt is used.
These rust pop out and look out of place because the engine bay has been very nicely detailed. On a very dirty engine bay, these rust would fit right into place. But on a clean engine, they look a little unnatural.
Truthfully, just take some rust primer and black paint on these brackets. All that matters is that the body is not rusted. But chance is that the subframe or crossmembers are probably very rusted already, and no amount of spray paint is going to correct those lower structural areas of the car.
Very good, mist_max!Seriously, there's nothing wrong by that picture. So what if some of the little bolts and brackets are rusted... it's a 10 year old car, for crissakes! In fact, from that POV, your engine bay is amazingly clean. If the little bolts and brackets bother you, replace the bolts and paint the brackets. A wire wheel can make a huge difference before painting things like that.
You know, if this were 30 years ago, a 10 year old car from the Northeast with 95K miles would be ready for the junk heap.
You shouldn't be complaining, you should be pleased. Get your head on straight, Kevin.
yeah for sure the only thing I see wrong with that pic is a serious lack of mods... that rust is nothing. I'm sure I have just as much if not more. The car looks like its survived some harsh canadian winters or a coastal community.
I probably should have mentioned this earlier but this is not my Maxima. I am currently in the market for another one and came upon one with unusual rust (in my opinion) which is raising a yellow flag in my head. Thank you all for the feedback though! Will definitely bring this car to a mechanic to get it thoroughly inspected.
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AaronL
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
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Nov 15, 2020 11:52 AM





