2000 maxima stock w/ 3" cattman catback , 173000 miles

worst nightmare. Just spent 300 dollars putting a new a/c because the old one was tapping, and within 48 hours of getting my car back, obscene amounts of white smoke come out of the back of my engine near the passenger side strut (exhaust has no smoke)

It only smokes after about 5-10 minutes of running, and doesn't smell like oil. What do you guys think it might be? Could it just be fluid that fell onto the catalytic converter and is getting burnt off? Also my steering is a bit wobbly I don't know if its related but that's in the same area. No engine lights.

Worst case a blown head gasket =(. I asked around for estimates of swapping in another VQ30DEK, and I got a bunch of ~$1500 dollars. Every mechanic I asked refuses to try a VQ35 swap for any reasonable price, saying theres no such thing as a straightforward engine swap.

Please help I don't want to pick up another part time job I'm already taking classes and working one!!

 

if you need a new motor then try car-parts.com.... wouldnt a blown head gasket have smoke coming from the exhaust??? you said there was none of that...


EDIT: a DE-K thats stock with a cattman 3"... you should be loosing power with such setup... to each his own though

 

I didn't notice any loss in power, I have a GAB btw.

So you're sure that if no white smoke is blowing out of the exhaust, then its not a blown head gasket?

 

as far as i knew it would be coming out the exhaust.. any oil leaks that you are aware of?

 

There weren't any when I got my last tune-up, but I reached in today behind the engine where the smoke was coming from and it seemed a little slimy. I guess I'll check that first before I start crying about breaking my engine after 6 months of having it.

 

Check your Power steering HP hose. It's possible it got disturbed and cracked when the A/C pump was replaced.

 

This.

Or you have an A/C leak.

First order of business is to locate exactly where the smoke is coming from.

 

thnx

I checked again to make sure, and I do have a little white smoke coming out of the exhaust. I really wanted to do a 3.5 swap eventually but idk if my wallet's ready for it right now.

So the mechanic (not the same guy that did any of my earlier stuff, this guy runs a performance shop) said that replacing the VQ30DEK is supposed take 17 hours of labor, with a cost estimate of ~$1500 dollars total (parts, labor, tax). I asked about the 3.5 and he said that in the past when he tried to swap in other engines (but he's never done this swap) he's had to fabricate engine mounts, rework shifter linkages and throtter cables, used adaptor harnesses and one time had to redo the wiring from scratch, and sometimes it still threw OBD codes after it was all over.

If any of you guys swapped a 3.5, how much do you think is a fair cost to ask from him?? And what kind of proof can I give him that its not a ridiculous swap, are there any write-ups online with pics, etc? I looked for it on this site and couldn't find anything besides a couple threads addressing specific questions.

 

Take a look at the 4th gen writeup on VQpower.com. It's basically the same. There's very little wiring, you just swap timing components and run the DEK ECU/sensors/timing equipment on the 3.5.

 

And welcome yourself to all the oil burning problem that comes with the 3.5... if speed is more to you than reliability then go for it... otherwise just keep the DE-K

 

I dont burn a drop.

 

The minimum don't speak for the maximum... if u have 100 vq35's and 25 don't burn oil doesn't mean that vq35's don't burn oil... buying a used engine is damn near over a 90% chance of oil burnage...

 

He can just get a newer VQ...

 

U can buy a VQ with 0 miles and still may run into oil problems, now you just spent about 4K+ for problems when for 4K you can damn near buy a 6spd 5.5

 

so you're saying that the 3.5 swap is not worth it? How much did you pay to get it done (assuming you didn't do it yourself).

 

If you're not going to attempt it yourself or assist in the process... the total cost might cross the price of simply buying a 5.5 gen!

 

Vq35 swap is about $2000-2200 includes motor, prep work and install

 

$2,200 can go towards a new-used Max, as an option, too.

 

Same