When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I replaced my fan motor with a newer fan. My old one made a chirping noise and it was extremely annoying. Would just happen randomly and it was no good. Did it in the parking lot of work after 9 - security thought I was trying to steal a radio - just told him I had only just found the motivation to do this now, and didn't want to wait until it was too cold.
Also put a 6-speed shift **** on the automatic. Old shifter was starting to show wear. Looks good with the redline shift boot. I know - obviously it's not right, but it looks and feels so much better, especially as someone who likes to shift an automatic. A little weight and a better grip goes a long way. This will do well to further confuse people at the full service car wash.
Saturday nights in my city are kind of like the car show nights, so I went down to see the action. Everyone meets up in the parking lots on the near south side. Lots of Chevy/Corvette guys, and TONS of Hondas. The 350z and G35 are very popular here in the Nissan line up, but still not as common. Tonight was the first night I saw what appeared to be a predominately Nissan/Infiniti meet up. Maybe I will show up sometime. Talked to a Scion TC guy who had a tastefully built car (no idea of internals) at a light, said he had never seen me before. I know most of us Max people like the whole lower-profile setup, but this was coming from a guy who I had only been familiar with because of his neon green rims.
I did get to do a "sprint" with a Grand Am and a Mitsibishi Eclipse which was fun. Manually shifting the automatic when it's warm is a wonderful thing when revving higher. With the HD2 shift kit, it shifts just like a manual. The response times were amazing. No noticeable delay what so ever.
so turns out i'm a slow hack mechanic. yesterday i made it as far as removing the uim. today replaced both vc gaskets, new spark plugs, finished oil change. i spend more time trying to clean the valve covers than i thought i would and still didn't get them perfect. ripped the hose between the two covers so putting the uim back on is on hold.
things i plan on doing before putting everything back together:
iacv coolant bypass
clean egr tube - looked pretty clogged, i'm still scratching my head how to get the 2nd bolt off this thing
Any pics? Sounds like a good change over the normal look
Here's my interior. Little dirty, but you get the idea.
I really like the look if the leather shift boots and black steering wheel on top of the brown and grey colors. I swapped to the MT trim bezel, and MT shift **** with Redline boots with white stitching. Just looks way better than the AT trim.
Ok so I get home after a 3 day trip leaving the max in the garage, only to find my garage smelling like an Investigation Discovery, 1st 48 crime scene I look under the car only to find maggots dropping from the engine bay. Turns out it looks like a baby possum somehow got wedged behind the power steering pulley WTF ....So with my N95 mask on, i tried to poke it out with no luck, I ended up going to the car wash and pressure spraying it out no problem. I swear i have the best luck sometimes
Here's my interior. Little dirty, but you get the idea.
I really like the look if the leather shift boots and black steering wheel on top of the brown and grey colors. I swapped to the MT trim bezel, and MT shift **** with Redline boots with white stitching. Just looks way better than the AT trim.
nice...looks sweet! so...is the swap plug and play or what. oh...and how are you able to select the gear positions?
The 6 speed shift **** is plug and play. It has the same screw pattern as the auto. Might look weird without a boot though.
You can manual select gear positions just by rolling the shifter into 1, 2, 3, and 4 (D). When you go for a drive in these positions, you can rev as high as you like. There isn't a whole lot of a point in doing so in normal driving though, as the automatic transmission knows when it's best to shift and can do so faster. I also can't speak much for manually shifting on a stock auto transmission. It can be really useful for preventing your transmission from upshifting when you're turning a corner or not wanting to needlessly shift when driving slowly, such as in traffic. It can be great for preventing the weird upshift into second the car likes to do at certain cruising RPMs when you decide to hit the gas. When you're done shifting manually, or hit 4th, you can just shift from any gear back to D and it will take back over seamlessly. Just avoid upshifting. Just put it back to D.
I forgot to mention I did this on a 02/03 model auto. It has a gated shifter, so there's no button. On the 5.5, it locks you into P/R and to move out you have to tap the brake.
$35K fully loaded with complete warranty, alarm system, and maintenance for 5 years. We went through the Costco car purchase program. No haggling. It was very convenient and fast. We were in and out of the dealer with the car in less than 3 hours. If you know what kind of car you want, used or new, I highly recommend this program because you can get cars under the dealer invoice cost! It's crazy.
Too many damn bells and whistles. What a difference between a 2K Maxima.
My wife was too nervous to drive it so she told me to drive it for a week and give her a tutorial on the car. Ultimately it will be her car and I get her 2001 Ford Explorer...yay.
Last edited by foodmanry; Oct 26, 2015 at 05:14 AM.
That's an expensive thing to do to your 5th gen today.
Well my 5th gen was being a b1tch on Friday and Saturday. It was overheating, wouldn't start, and there is coolant drain/loss somewhere. On Sunday I was diagnosing it and see it needed a new battery, a new alternator, a radiator, and possibly the head gasket is leaking.
I was finally over the car. It now sits in our garage for the last time today. Likely onto our shop mechanic who will buy it at a bargain and throw a used engine in it.
Got led interior lights installed. Also put then in the trunk and license plate. Installed led high beam lights and front running lights. Washed and waxed my daughters 03 maxima and put interior led in it too.
Still need to do the reverse lights, brake lights, and fog lights
$35K fully loaded with complete warranty, alarm system, and maintenance for 5 years. We went through the Costco car purchase program. No haggling. It was very convenient and fast. We were in and out of the dealer with the car in less than 3 hours. If you know what kind of car you want, used or new, I highly recommend this program because you can get cars under the dealer invoice cost! It's crazy.
Too many damn bells and whistles. What a difference between a 2K Maxima.
My wife was too nervous to drive it so she told me to drive it for a week and give her a tutorial on the car. Ultimately it will be her car and I get her 2001 Ford Explorer...yay.
Well! I am sure your wife will love it.
That car is more reliable than almost anything else on the road ... so, why bother with the warranty? Being a retired person I may be too "cheap" here, but one of my friends claims he only paid $22-23K for a basic version (no tax, no alarms, no warranty or other options, and purchased last-year model in Jan/Feb of next year).
Good luck. I suspect that you'll miss your Maxima, though .....
Well! I am sure your wife will love it. That car is more reliable than almost anything else on the road ... so, why bother with the warranty? Being a retired person I may be too "cheap" here, but one of my friends claims he only paid $22-23K for a basic version (no tax, no alarms, no warranty or other options, and purchased last-year model in Jan/Feb of next year). Good luck. I suspect that you'll miss your Maxima, though .....
Because we will be driving it for a long time to come. Yes it is reliable but nothing is 100% and the warranty was actually very inexpensive for 10 years. Two minor repairs jobs would cost more than what we paid for the warranty. There is too much electrical cr8p that can go wrong and that stuff starts to act up in the later years of the car.
So for me...it is peace of mind and knowing we have absolutely nothing to worry about or even pay for at least 5 years (except gas of course). After 5 we pay for maintenance.
We both have great jobs and our time is much more valuable to us than money. One can always make money...especially in our fields. Time is what we pay for.
Because we will be driving it for a long time to come. Yes it is reliable but nothing is 100% and the warranty was actually very inexpensive for 10 years. Two minor repairs jobs would cost more than what we paid for the warranty. There is too much electrical cr8p that can go wrong and that stuff starts to act up in the later years of the car.
So for me...it is peace of mind and knowing we have absolutely nothing to worry about or even pay for at least 5 years (except gas of course). After 5 we pay for maintenance.
We both have great jobs and our time is much more valuable to us than money. One can always make money...especially in our fields. Time is what we pay for.
Can you Jack from the axle? I thought that was a no no
I can't imagine why people poo poo RSBs. When I installed mine the difference was immediately noticeable (and I didn't even have it adjusted to be really firm).
Normally, when you turn at speed the *** end feels like she can just slip out. It's not controlled. With the bar, though, it just feels solid.
well got a little more time to make a full post so the last few weekends this is what i've been up to, it SHOULD have been a 1 day job but i stretched it out to 2+ weekends because i'm slow and have no idea what i'm doing and i had to wait for some parts. i'll make it pic heavy because that's what we're all here for anyways.
before:
after:
i started this job to fix an oil leak, front and rear valve cover gaskets. this is the furthest i've been into tearing things down.
once valve covers removed, i went ahead and cleaned them up as best as i wanted to:
before:
after:
cleaned up the uim/lim interface:
before:
after:
new gaskets cause i broke the old ones oops:
replaced spark plugs while i was in there:
pcv hoses were brittle as fck and broke when i took them off so i ordered replacements, which is why this project really dragged out so long. napa tried to give me some gm crap that didn't fit.
splurged on some sweet valve stem caps while i was buying dealership crap, i think i posted this already so whatever
all in all this is the most advanced work i've done on the car. minor stumble putting the uim back on b/c i'm an idiot, but my confidence is building and i'm glad it all fired up and ran flawlessly the third time i tried. 1st time missed a vac tube. 2nd time it ran, but forgot to plug maf and swirl control valve thingy. 3rd time fired up and running like a boss!
tldr- 15 years old, 223k miles and runs like a top
i don't see what would be wrong with that, but i don't really know. here's what the fsm tells you
i used the spots shown here, but will prob have to try something new now that i can't jack under that axle anymore
Those are terrible locations b/c it will damage the metal and a lot of stands may hit hit the floor pan (it's only good for scissor jacks). You want to use the points that were used for assembly (I believe that's what they were used for).
On 5th gen I use the two cups in front where it bolts that sub-frame piece to the body. The rear spots are in front of the tires where you'd put the lift pads at.
4th gens don't have the front cups but they do have some flat pieces bolting the same sub-frame piece to the body.
Last edited by Child_uv_KoRn; Nov 2, 2015 at 01:47 AM.
time to go find some rubber to go with
I look under the car only to find maggots dropping from the engine bay. Turns out it looks like a baby possum somehow got wedged behind the power steering pulley WTF 
....So with my N95 mask on, i tried to poke it out with no luck, I ended up going to the car wash and pressure spraying it out no problem. I swear i have the best luck sometimes 
