I have a 2002 Maxima GLE, only 144k miles on it. It's very good condition. Parts get old etc. it seems I need 3 parts for the Heatshield Exhaust. At 2,500 rpms and higher it's very loud, compared to silent when things are working properly.

I checked with a local dealership, and the part numbers are no longer made by Nissan. Are there alternatives? I hate when cars get older and are in very good condition but part supplies disappear. This sucks.Thanks!

Part numbers:
20853-8J100 - Lower Shelter
20853-5Y700 - Lower Shelter
20853-8J110 - Lower Shelter

 

Those parts are still available from Japan, none of them are more than $40 Canadian (dollary doos)

https://www.amayama.com/en/part/nissan/208538j100

https://www.amayama.com/en/part/nissan/208535y700

https://www.amayama.com/en/part/nissan/208538j110

 

cut em off. theyre less important than you think.

 

Wow, how did you find them? Thanks Have you ordered from them?

 

Nothing would surprise me. What do they really do? I don't know enough about this car because I've had to replace very little over its life.

If I cut them off, does the noise remain? I really don't know why so much noise is generated to begin with.

 

don't even waste money replacing the shields, they make no difference when it comes to sound. I took them off when I gutted all the cats so they wouldn't rattle later on. I ran the 3.5 setup from January 2013 until November of 2021gutted with no shields until I switched to 4th gen fed spec exhaust manifold and Warpspeed Y...

I don't remember if I had to put the shield bolts back in to stop bolt hole leaks...

if you hear noise check for exhaust leaks, might need new gaskets.

 

What is the 3.5 setup?

The car was masking a ton of noise over 2,500 rpms. The sound was gradual, meaning it is a bit louder, and as months passed it grew louder. I thought it was a hole in exhaust pipes actually, based on what other cars I owned sounded like w/the same noise that needed new pipe/s.
When I brought it in, they checked and didn't notice anything wrong with the pipes. However they noticed the exhaust shield/s was loose it sounds like. So they tightened it up I guess (I'd need to check- they didn't replace parts that much I know). And at that point the car was silent like it was decades ago.

In about 3 months it started again, same as before gradually louder over time (maybe 4 months to reach its loudest).

That's why I ask if removing the shields keeps the noise or not. Removing them doesn't seem to make sense based on the above observations. I'm just puzzled.

 

if loose heat shields are in fact the cause of your noise removing them would remove the noise. they cant make noise if theyre not there.

 

Good point, then I can't figure out what's wrong, nor how they corrected it.

 

Just be careful with Amayama, I would contact them first to ensure the parts are actually in stock. They oddly showed multiple long discontinued parts for my 1991 Toyota Crown as In Stock and I pulled a YOLO and ordered $1k of parts, got the entire amount refunded weeks later with an email apologizing that the parts weren't really in stock

 

I've ordered from them several times. The rear lateral link was the most expensive, and had to wait for a new production run to happen before they were able to send it.