as of 12:30 last night going down the interstate, the maxima hit the good ol 100,000 miles

car has gutted cats, resonator removed, bc coilovers, and intake hack....

things that will be done by this week are,
timing chain
water pump
timing guides and tensioners
new axles and complete trans flush
es control arm bushings




what are somethings i should look at and replace at 100k??

car runs fine and smooth but i notice alot of heat soak... (idling after a few minutes and not having the get up and go till after 5 minutes of driving)

cel is on due to the o2 heater sensor malfuction

 

Timing chain is a serious job man, 13 hrs I think. The tensioners are only about an hour I think tho

 

Sounds about right for an '03. Mine hit 71K today, but I hardly ever drive it.

Heat soak, eh? You need some phenolic spacers... but you probably already know that.

 

If you haven't done it yet, I recommend changing the power steering pump hose and the radiator. Both will go within the next 25k.

 

And why are you changing the timing chain? I didn't think it was necessary.

 

welcome to the seasoned vets club

 

Here's another, take a good hard look at your lower radiator support. It's a notorious spot for rot on the 5th gen.

 

The timing chain on my 92 snapped and slung right through my valve cover...

I had everything apart and only replaced the tensioners 50 miles prior to it snapping...

Not letting that happen to my 03

 

I had scooped the car high and low to find no signs of rotting or anything... I had replaced the radiator about 2 years ago and didn't see no signs of anything then...

Although, I am thinking about jumping and getting collars and es sub frame bushings to tighten everything up...

 

i guess congrats...

 

The collars are a nice and cheap addition to the car.

 

Im looking to do all ES bushings, and Moog Endlinks in Jan....

 

Don't overlook the ES bushings for the front-sway bar. They won't cost you more than $20, and it will make your steering feel brand new again.

In the course of 12 - 18 months, I had the following replaced:

• both front wheel bearings
• ES bushings in the front sway bar
• Moog end-links for the front sway bar
• Moog outer tie-rod ends
• Moog ball-joints
• ES bushings in the lower control arms

Do all this to the front end of a 9 year old sedan, and you'll think your car is brand new again.

Because race-car.

 

I love seeing the PM work, but doing the Chain seems ridiculous to me. I guess the past experience would make you want to do it, I get that, but seems like a tremendous waste o' money to replace it when there's likely not a thing wrong with it.


Rochester's suggestion for the rad/engine support up front is a greatone. Catching that before it gets bad can save you large on engine mounts, diff bearings, and even just the part itself. You can patch it if it's not bad and it'll last for another 100k.

 

97k here

 

100K maxima doesnt even looses its pep... runs just like it did at 70K.... most high end luxury cars needs rebuilding at this point smh...

 

Nice pick up man! My car is at 102K and still runs strong... Love the Max.

 

He checked for that already.

I remember the first time I read about the rad support rot. Almost scared to look, LOL. Fortunately, after all these NE winters, there was just a lot of bubbly surface rust, but the beam is still solid.

Here's one, OP: after 100K miles, I wouldn't be surprised if your rear-control arm bushing was shredded.

 

Both my Maximas had more than 100k miles on them when I bought them.

I don't see a point in replacing the timing chain, failures are very, very rare.

 

Deece.

 

One thing you don't need to change is that gas milieage.

Whats your secret?? Now that it is winter my trip computer is reading 22.3 and by hand it comes to 19 on a good day. Thats with driving like a 90 year old women says my dad haha

 

No need to change the timing chain, especially on a VQ35 anybody who has done a swap will tell you its a BEEFY chain, seriously its leaps and bounds over the older 2 link chain designs, its REALLY not worth replacing. My old 2 link VQ30 chain has 250k one has 300k if it snaps or breaks then something was wrong with the VTC. Replacing the chain at this age is sort of like replacing the cams or valve springs because they have a few miles on them they might fail.

You can go ahead and change the water pump because it will eventually go out. Go ahead and do motor mounts, sway bar end links as well as the LCA bushings. Essentially everything that is rubber replace with urethane.

 

I resetted the mpg along with my trip computer.... That's 29.1mpg within the 38.8 mile trip... Said low to mid 30s before I took the picture but did a quick 120....


Also, did anyone know our cruise control doesnt accelerate or engage after 90mph?? Found this out on the toll road...

 

how do u get 29 MPG i get only 21

mine has 123K i love it still going strong

 

would say as everyone else - no need to do the timing, might even not need that for entire ownership of the car.

why to change axles if boots are not cracked or torn yet? just preventative?

take a look at the trans-axle bushings, they tend to crack and leak out on some cars

and better check that engine light, as something else might/might not have popped up in addition to that o2 heater code - get a sim for gutted cats

 

221k and the same chain...i dont know of many people that have just changed teh timing chain because, its truthfully not necessary, but if you insist...

 

if your changing the chain, might as well put in a new motor. Probably be the same price lol. No need to do the chain, thats why vqs are great. Just make sure your on top of your oil level.

 

There's a world of differences between the 92 and the 03 Maxima, man. Changing the timing chain is ridiculous and unnecessary. You'll be wasting a whole lot of time and money. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone with a 5th gen on these forums ever having serious problems with the timing chain.


This guy is exactly right.

 

mine is pushing 190K still with the oem chain on it...

 

I know the feeling, I hit 100,000 about a little while ago, currently at 103,080 and she is still running like a beast!

 

this was last night...

whos seen anything over 400 dte

i honestly havent seen it past 280 past few years...

 

After seeing your post, I decided to look up what the DTE number is after ignoring it for the previous year and seven months. Now I feel like an idiot.

 

^^^^ WOW! so you went from 29 mpg down to 21? you take a long trip when you hit 100k and then just city driving since?

 

for those who still don't know dte=distance to empty

 

Pfft

Ages ago

 

I do a lot of back and forth to work and home... Mostly stop and go traffic. Off work, I do a lot of driving to Oklahoma... Sucks here in the city and my lead foot but once I see it getting good gas mileage, I baby it...

 

Mine regularly says that I'm getting 32 MPG, when in reality im only getting 28 after calculating my mileage at the pump. It's just the nature of these systems estimating how much fuel you've used or have left, I've come to realize that usually the estimations in my car are generous by about 4 MPG, so if I'm lazy when I'm done at the gas station I just go by that My 02 Max currently has 94K on it though.

 

This seems odd to me...any time I fill up it's almost always around 400+ and I get at least that.

 

151k miles on mine... I'm glad I read this post, I was seriously considering doing the timing chain on my car, but now you guys have my convinced to just leave it be.