I just bought a 2002 Maxima 140K and was wondering if anyone has pictures of the exact oem set up from the factory stock exhaust and what it should look like.. The engine pipe assy looks almost like a 2 pipe header assy coming off the eng on mine!

 

Your description could fit the stock exhaust on any V engine.

How about you take a photo of your car and post it so we can look at it?

 

 

I'd be worried about the beginning of the exhaust...

 

That appears to be a stock y-pipe. The rear bank goes down, then towards front, then 180 degrees to back.

The y-pipe on left is a Cattman y-pipe, the other is Walker stock style y-pipe. The Cattman is way better performance wise.

 

enough of that mess man, i took off 184k stock bone dry and totally intact, not entirely sure your experience and repetition of the possible outcomes make that such a common issue.

 

You have stock exhaust my friend.

 

Well, let's see. I owned a maxima that blew up from the cats (75k mi). I own a spec v that had a disintegrating cat (big oil burner from it). I swapped a motor on another maxima with a disintegrating cat. I have a friend with an altima that blew up from the cat.
There's many threads on here with people whose engine blew from the cats or installed headers and the cats were ****ed. Nissan had a recall for the QRs, but just band aided them, so they would last out of warranty (all of them still blew up). Half of the 3.5 maximas/altimas (and ALL of the QRs) on CL are for sale b/c the cat is bad or already blew the motor. There's 1 million links online about blown motors from the cats.

If you drive all hwy miles like a grandma, then it's unlikely to happen for a long time. Quit driving like a ***** and you'll find out.

It is a very real time bomb. You can be in denial all you want, but every engine will be ruined from the cats.

 

and your suggestion for someone new to this platform would be....

 

Gut your precats and install O2 spacers or sims.

 

thanks for the reply. while I haven't really looked at the entire exhaust setup so I have no idea what's involved in removing the precat. so whats the alternative to removing and gutting the precat and remove and replace it all together? whats needed and approx. how much is the part?

thanks

 

You have to remove the manifolds. The front is easy, but the rear is difficult, especially depending on the rust level. Front precat falls out or is easy to pop out. The rear precat is usually pretty solid and has to be drilled/punched apart.
Or just install headers.

 

ok...I was just looking at the obx header set up for my 01 and looks like the its a 3 piece set up. is this correct? if so, looks like the header on the rear at the firewall (hardest one to remove/install) is welded to the (y-pipe?) or whatever its called. any issues with installing it as its connected?
thanks

 

Oh, I wasn't paying attention to your car. 3.0s don't have cat problems (although they could clog at very high mileage). You can just put on a y pipe and only need to gut the rear cat if you're looking for a little more performance.

The obx is a two piece and that's a little weird, but it does install pretty easy (I did it from the bottom and was able to reach all of the studs). Fitment can be a concern b/c it's cheaply made. I would just do the Y pipe on a 3.0 unless you're going to be doing full boltons.

 

great...i'll go for the y-pipe.
thanks for your help

edit: i'd also like a tad bit more rumble out of the muffler. any recommendations on a muffler or axle back that would provide a little more sound.

 

I might be selling my Cattman y-pipe after I get the flex-pipe replaced.

 

Looks like a Stillen OG 4th gen Y. I'd rather have that.

Equal length.