Hello all, I'm new to the forum. I currently have a 2000 Nissan Maxima which I will have for 7 years come October. It was my first car after getting my license and has treated me fairly well. I do love my car.

Now it was taken to the Nissan dealer the other night, due to the check engine light and a leaking fluid on the passenger side. They called and said quite a bit was wrong with it. For one, the water pump is shot and needs to be replaced. The seals are rotten and whatnot. Second, the radiator has a crack and needs to be replaced. And third, the catalytic converter will have to be replaced at some point which is why the check engine light was on. Nissan gave an estimate of $3,000 dollars. Does this seem reasonable or are they kind of screwing me?

The thing is I have kind of had a lot with my car in the past. Since I have had it my family and I have put in at least 3,000 in repairs. Without a job for what I graduated college in yet, it is difficult to afford a new car yet alone pay $3,000 to fix when I might not even drive it much longer.

I have been doing research to see what I can do myself. The only thing that seems plausible is the radiator. The water pump and cat seem way too complicated for someone that only fixes simple things with his car.

I have a few options.

1. Replace radiator myself and take it somewhere else for the pump and cat.
2. Replace radiator myself and only have the pump fixed since replacing cat isn't imperative.
3. Have a mechanic do it all.

So I'm in a tough situation. I don't see paying $3,000 as a good investment since I fear something else wrong will happen again. And I can't pay for a new car yet without a new job. I would like to get as much out of my car as I can. This is just a very frustrating situation and I am having a hard time making a decision.


So does anyone have any idea what I could expect to be realistically for this? Any advice on my situation is appreciated.

 

screw job

Have the water pump replaced, but not at the dealer. Of course, you can do the radiator.
The cats do not matter on a 2000 (unless they cause performance issues, in which case replace them with a Y pipe). If it runs well and mpg is good, then ignore the cats.

They're called stealerships for a reason.

 

Get some quotes elsewhere for sure. The dealer sure wants to make money off you. OEM parts can be expensive but the water pump for instance is cheap at under $100. You'd be paying for parts mark up and expensive labor rates.

If you feel confident in your abilities to tackle some of the work you will save thousands. Buy a replacement radiator, probably around $100. Might want to reuse the old coolant til the water pump gets replaced.

Any idea which cat needs to be replaced? There are 2 pre cats and a main rear cat.

 

I figured they were screwing me. After doing research I just couldn't add up how they got 3,000. As far as the cat goes I don't think performance is that much affected. I feel like the pick up of my car isn't as good as it used to be but that is all I can tell really. If it's not vital to fix, I will hold off on it.

And I am unsure which cat it is. I will find out when I pick up the car and get the report from them. Unfortunately I don't know any good mechanics around. I have a couple suggestions from close family and friends so I will have to find out from them.

 

Before replacing any of the cats, try replacing the primary O2s. The primary O2 sensors are what your car's computer uses to determine the right air/fuel ratio. The secondary O2 sensors are used by the computer to determine the condition of the cat.

Over time, O2 sensors gets tired and dirty and don't give good readings. By replacing the primary O2s, your car should pick up some pep, get better mileage, and your check engine light may turn off. The secondaries I wouldn't worry too much about for now.

Replace the radiator yourself. Easy peasy.
For the water pump, find a reputable mechanic. Stay away from the dealer. The water pump job involves fiddling with the timing chain components,so if a mechanic screws it up, they can screw your whole engine. For sensitive jobs like this, use OEM parts......for this case OEM water pump AND timing chain tensioner.

Get an OBDII scanner from autozone. The cheaper pocket ones are like $40. You can use it to read the check engine light codes to tell you exactly what's wrong.

There is an absolute wealth of knowledge here on Maxima.org. Take the time to learn and master the search tool. Read the stickies. Every mod/maintenance tip etc has been done and documented on your car.


Here's a link to download the service manual for your car. This is the manual, written by Nissan, which tells you e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g about your car. You could actually use it to build your car from scratch if you wanted to lol;

http://www.boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/

Another thing to bear in mind; the 4th and 5th gen Maxima 3.0s, like yours, are known to go for 400K miles or more with just basic, low cost maintenance. You say you're not ready for a new car. Just take care of yours and it will be around a for a looong time.

Hope this helps!

 

$3k?? Silly Nissan dealership, they are using parts made of platinum!!

 

SuperScro,


How did this turn out?


Also, anyone know a good non-dealer mechanic in the Delaware, Ohio area? It's about 10 miles north of Columbus.


My son's Maxima is leaking from the water pump area. He's got about 135k miles on it. So I'm thinking water pump, timing chain tensioner and thermostat. What other items should I have replaced while it's opened up?


Thanks, Ron

 

you wouldn't see a water pump leak on a VQ. if its in the water pump area it must be a thermostat leak.

 

You would see it through the water pump seep hole. Fairly common on VQ30's. Small leak from the seep hole.

Been a while since he logged on.


https://maxima.org/forums/northeastern-u-s-11/

 

That's good info! I can do the thermostat myself.


I looked through a FSM on how to do the water pump and that made me nervous. I think I could have done it, but was worried about messing up the timing.


Thanks!!

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I looked through the installers area and there are some great links there.


The good news is, I now know about the Installers link and can look through the Upper Midwest region if I need some local help.


The bad news is.... Ohio is in the Upper Midwest region. LOL (Yeah, I know, I'm in flyover country!)


Thanks, again!


Ron

 

Are you saying the leak could be from the water pump instead of the thermostat?


It's definitely a small leak. There's still plenty of coolant in the reservoir. It leaks slightly even when the car is off and only started about 10 days ago.


Thanks, Ron

 

Yes, its common to have the water pump go out on these engines. And yes, it will leak out of the weep hole. When mine went out, I had a nice little puddle on my garage floor right under it. You should be able to trace the leak back to the water pump.

 

weep hole?


how is there a weep hole when the water pump is completely covered by the timing chain cover??

 

Yeah, sorry. The hole is actually on the water pump. Its located between the inner and outer o-ring seals.

I'd assume if its coming from there, an o-ring is failing. Id replace the whole pump instead of just the o-ring. This is a fairly common repair on these engines.

 

if the water pump on a VQ leaks the only way you will see it is by noticing coolant in your oil.


if you have a visible coolant leak onto the floor from the water pump area its not the water pump, that's why I'm guessing thermostat.

 

It must have been designed to fail outward. Fact is, coolant in your oil would mean absolute disaster for your engine.

Also, the thermostat most likely will not leak. Even if completely blocked, the cooling system still circulates coolant through the heads. None of it goes through the radiator of course.

 

Getting to 3k is not hard to do when you're talking about shops/ dealerships.

The Catalytic converters they are going to use are OEM, and those guys are crazy expensive. $567-$700 for the main cat, and about the same for each pre-cat.


Add a timing chain job with the water pump as well as the radiator I can see that reaching upwards of 3k.

Do the important items first like the water pump and radiator. Probably have the mechanic do both since he's changing out the coolant anyways. I doubt he'd charge you a fortune to install that with the water pump. The issue with the cat, get the codes pulled yourself at autozone for free, come back and post up what they are and i'm sure you're not the first one to have that same, exact issue on here.

 

I have not had a water pump leak coolant into the oil. This would not end well at all. Search the threads for a better explanation of how the coolant leaks externally. When the water pump is failing (the seal), it leaks externally. I presume its designed to leak between the timing cover and the block.

BUT, if you'd like to replace the thermostat first because that's what you think the cause of the leak is, go ahead and do that. If its still leaking, then do the water pump.

 

I agree with these approaches, O2 sensor can set check engine light but if it runs ok dont fix it

 

I used to celebrate exhaust issues with upgrades! Maybe headers and a hi-flow cat are in order?

 

You can not just replace catalytic with test pipes some states do require annual emissions test. I've lived in Ohio for 3 years and they never asked for an emissions on the western side(lima)

You don't need to buy any obd scanners autozone will do that for free just write down the code number. But yes o2 would be your main priority as cats don't fail unless clogged or exposed to extreme heat that will melt from really lean conditions

 

DIY Video: VQ35DE Timing Chain Tensioner and Water Pump Replacement: