2001 Maxima GLE with 135,000 miles. Got honked at today at a stoplight because it appears there is white smoke coming from the passenger side of the engine bay. It's not a lot, but it is there. When I stop the car (leave it running) and open the hood, the white smoke comes up but dissipates quickly. Puffs of the white smoke can be seen when stopped at a stoplight also. Just drove home (15 minute drive) and had the white smoke with this information:

1. There are no idiot lights on.
2. The coolant looks full.
3. The oil level is full.
4. The engine does not run hot (temp gauge looked perfectly normal).
5. Engine operating power as normal.

Recently changed the oil. Perhaps I under or over tightened the oil filter? I have a spare oil filter, so was thinking of taking that off tomorrow, looking at it, and replacing it if it was cracked, rubber ring damaged,etc... In addition, I'd be interested in areas to look for any kind of leaks on that side of the engine bay. Otherwise, even though the mileage is up there the car is well cared for over its life.

The smoke looked very much like this video (this is NOT my car), but in my car it appears to be coming more from below (serpentine belt/oil filter/lower side of engine area).

Hope my 2001 Maxima can keep on living!! I'm hoping for another 80,000 miles on this car!!

 

Look at the top of the radiator. The seams are known to eventually crack and cause steam to escape. If the seams are going, you will see white dried liquid spots.

 

After work today, changed the oil filter (just for the sake of it). Smoke appeared more from the front area of the engine in the space between the engine and radiator. There are no drips/liquids under the car. The radiator hoses are not leaking. I replaced the radiator about 1 year or so ago because the top inlet pipe area (plastic) cracked.

I let the car idle for 5 or so minutes in the driveway. Engine got up to normal temp and idled perfectly. One thing I noticed is that the radiator fans never kicked in. That doesn't seem normal?

 

Saw the threads on turning the AC on to see if the fans work. Yes, if I turn on the AC, both fans come right on (and appear to be running high speed). Looking around the engine bay under underneath, I see the following:

1. Up front by the dipstick, definitely grime/oil along the valve cover area (makes sense for a car with 135,000 miles)
2. The power steering reservoir hose that goes to the back side of the engine is grime/dirty as can be. "Caked" with grime would be a good description. Power steering fluid level looks fine however.
3. From underneath, there are definitely fluids on the passenger side control arm area behind the oil pan.

I'm getting the feeling that my old beauty 2001 Maxima is reaching the end (for me anyway). :-(

 

Well, I think I found the leak. Cleaned up the grime of the front of the engine and it appears to be a pretty good oil leak at the front valve cover dead center (there are some numbers etched there). Actual little pool of oil showed up after a quick drive around the block.

#1 I am glad it is the front valve cover (although I would not be surprised to see a leak in the rear valve cover).

We'll see how hard of a job this ends up being for me.

 

Quick question: Called into my local O'Reilly Auto and they have either Fel-Pro or Mahle for the gasket set. Is one of these an OEM for the gasket set? I'm familiar with the Mahle brand but not the Fel-Pro. Any recommendation? Or get the set from a dealer?

 

Fel-pro makes some of the best gaskets and some low end too. I've had good luck with them. However valve cover gaskets from the dealer are only like $20.

 

Got the Fel-Pro gaskets from OReilly for $59.99 - my $5 birthday coupon. Lucky me. The gasket set was a kit with all the spark plug seals and grommets. God help me if I ever have to do the rear valve cover (which I personally won't as I know my limits), but at least I have the parts if it comes to that. Anyway, I'm all buttoned up and will let the RTV placed in the left corners (if facing the motor) of the valve cover sealing area cure overnight per the package instructions and fire her up in the morning.

 

I need to get new blow-by hoses coming off the valve cover. What's a good place to get these?

Pieces: 11823 and 11826 in the pic linked below

http://www.jp-carparts.com/nissan/pa...fig=118&page=1

Thanks.

 

Those are molded hoses. You probably won't find them in an auto parts store. You can generic non-molded hose if you want to, I did.

If you want the molded hose then you will have to get the nissan part. A place to check is nissanpartsdeal.com.
https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/part...agram=118_A001

The link you provided is showing parts for a 2 liter engine. The part numbers are not the correct ones for the 3.0 liter engine.

 

What are the inner diameters of the two hoses? I'll probably go the non-molded routed also.

 

The bigger hose is 5/8" and it fits very snug. I think the other one is 3/8".