97MaximaSE

ive had mine on for a few months now with no problems yet....maybe its just the 3.5's

][ 35

iTrader: (2)

so any one else with 3.5L have this problems? or is it just Infiniti I35 that is having problems..... but i would think that the engine would be exactly the same as the maxima 3.5L

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

to find out if they even make steel sleeves for their UDPs?

By the way, my mechanic said that installing the sleeve is no big deal . . . provided it's made, of course. Simply remove the pulley, epoxy the sleeve onto the end, and reinstall the pulley. If the sleeve is not made, however, then we may all have bought a bunch of rather expensive door stops.

I have not had a problem with rough starts, squealing belts or SES lights since I installed my RVM UDP. Nor have I developed an oil leak yet. But if I do develop an oil leak and if RVM does not make a steel sleeve, I like running with a UDP well enough to invest in a UR rather than return to the stock pulley.

][ 35

iTrader: (2)

i contacted the RVM about the UDP and only thing they kept saying was machanic installed it all wrong that is why ur having problems.... when asked about the steel sleeves they said it's not needed...
that blows.....

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

I'm afraid that's not correct. My mechanic also indicated that a steel sleeve was likely needed.

I just sent the following e-mail to RVM:

Apparently a problem is beginning to surface with your UDPs on Nissan Maximas. The end of the UDP that enters the engine is supposed to be covered with a steel sleeve. The purpose of the sleeve is to prevent the oil seal from gouging the soft aluminum of the UDP and causing an oil leak.

My UDP did not ship with a steel sleeve nor have I experienced a problem with oil leakage yet. But I'd feel more secure if you could provide me with the sleeve just in case. (My mechanic advises that the sleeve can be retrofitted if a leak develops.)

I'll let you know how they respond.

][ 35

iTrader: (2)

hummm.... well if u look at my UDP (if u look above u'll see the picture of my UDP) the oil seal has gouged into the RVM UDP..... and i don't know much about car so i went with what the machanic told me....... what else would have cause the oil seal to gouged into the UDP like in my picture?

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Trust me. The RVM UDP should have been equipped with a steel sleeve.

I just sent a follow-up e-mail to RVM. Here's what I said:

In case you're wondering whether your pulley should be equipped with a steel sleeve, the following appears in Unorthodox Racing's installation instructions for their Maxima UDP:

The new crankshaft pulley is equipped with a steel sleeve that the engine oil seal rides. Check to make sure that the sleeve is on the pulley. Otherwise, do not install as a major oil leak or other serious engine damage could occur.

The saga continues . . .

96max5sp

This sucks! I was going to have it installed soon GODAMMIT! Why can't they just admit they were wrong before it gets out of hand. I hope its resolved soon so i can have it installed soon.

][ 35

iTrader: (2)

damn i need to learn to read again b/c can't read... i thought u said that it was not need like the RVM

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Well there's good news and bad news in all this. The good news is that there's absolutely nothing wrong with the pullies. Every one of them can be retrofitted with a steel sleeve, even the ones that have been "damaged" by the oil seal. The bad news is that we have no idea if a steel sleeve is available and if not, whether and when RVM will make one available. If RVM doesn't have a steel sleeve and doesn't make one available quickly, then the only sensible thing to do is to remove their pulley before a problem develops. At that point, the pulley should be inspected and if found to be damaged by the oil seal (and I assume EVERY ONE OF THEM will show some degree of damage), returned to RVM for a full refund.

I'll let you know if I hear from RVM.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

I received the following response from RVM:

"sir, we do not include them [steel sleeves], please remove the pulley, and retorque it to spec, that solved it for about all of the customers."

I responded, to wit:

"My pulley IS torqued to spec. And I have not yet experienced an oil leak. But this does raise an interesting question."

"If all the other underdrive pulleys on the market including the UR pulley require the use of a steel sleeve to prevent abrasion from the oil seal, how is it that yours does not?"

Stay tuned!

Kanaka

iTrader: (4)

There seems to be two problems with the RVM pulleys. One is an oil leak and one is people having a hard time starting their cars. I installed my pulley 2 weeks ago. I have figured out the problem with the starting problem. Everyone who has a hard time starting their car and getting a 4-7 code probably has a miscut timing ring. This is the ring that is held on by the 4 screws. if you remove the ring and compare it to your stock ring, you will see that the two single tabs line up, but the double tab is about 1/8" off. This will send a bad signal to the crank position sensor and your engine will have a hard time starting since it doesn't know the correct position of the crankshaft/pistons/etc.
The fix would be to either cut the bad tabs off and weld them on where whey should be, or try and call RVM and get a replacement. I did the later, and am waiting for a replacement.

As for the first problem about the oil leak, I have a question for all those who have this problem since I had my pulley on for only 3 days and do not have a leak(yet). Did you change your oil seal when you installed your pulley? That may be part of the problem. Also, even if we are able to get the steel/brass sleeves, wouldn't we need to put the pulley on a lathe to take the diameter of the shaft down so that the sleeve will not bulge out? I think this would be a great deal of work for most people. you can't just slap the sleeve on or it will stick out and probably not fit.

][ 35

iTrader: (2)

well i was one of first few that got the UDP pulley on when the first GD ended..... so i have had the RVM UDP on for more then 4 month now.... and that is about how long it took for the dent to appear and start to leak oil..... and as for the steel sleeves.... my machanic told me it's pretty thin sleeve that u can put over but he did said that we might have to shave the UDP little to make fit perfect...
but he also added that if the sleeve is thin enough we should be able to get away with it since the oil seal is still rubber it's flexable...

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

"Because we sell cheap pulleys and you get what you pay for sir."

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

That was NOT their response, SR20DEN.

Let's get this straight. There is nothing inherently wrong with the design of the RVM UDP. RVM simply needs to provide a steel sleeve for the oil seal to ride on.

My guess as to what happened is this. When RVM was designing the Maxima pulley, they looked at a UR pulley for a Honda and saw that it did not contain a steel sleeve. They then made the assumption that NO pulley needs to contain a steel sleeve. Unfortunately, they were mistaken.

My experience of RVM is that they're a quality company that doesn't run away from issues. If it can be proven to them that they should have provided a steel sleeve with their Maxima pulleys, then I suspect that they'll do just that.

I'm working this issue with them right now. Stay tuned.

][ 35

iTrader: (2)

very well said..... RVM UDP itself is good fit.... just need the sleeve on it so that oil seal don't eat through it...... i'm hoping they make the right choice.....

Maxman2000

iTrader: (5)

Well the ECU has to adjust to the Pulley from what I heard.

Anachronism

Now I am glad I went with the UR UDP . To me an intake is nothing more than some bent pipes and any company can make one as good as another. Throw a quality filter on the end and there is really no difference. On the other hand a crankshaft pully is a precision engine component and in my opinion it is worth paying a little more for a tried and true brand and I am glad I did. 1/8" on an intake is nothing but on a pully it can cause major problems.

That oil seal is pretty hard, I had a hard time prying mine out (but it was below freezing when I did my install). Is it possible that the mechanic forgot to put a little oil on the seal perhaps accelerating the wear by causing the pully to be rubbing against the dry seal?

The steel sleeve on the UR udp is pretty thin, possibly one could be added and still squeezed in to the oil seal . Has anyone sent RVM racing the link to this thread? Hopefully they will do the right thing for you guys.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

They said that the steel sleeve is NOT necessary and that UR only recently began adding it to their Maxima pullies. They said that of the 200 Maxima pulleys they've sold so far, they've only received three or four complaints regarding oil leakage. They did, however, say that they would begin adding steel sleeves to their Maxima pulleys beginning with the next production run.

RVM indicated that they could not simply add a sleeve to the existing pullies. The old pullies would have to be machined to accept the sleeve. So for those who have had oil leak problems, I'd suggest you go directly to RVM and ask them for a replacement pulley.

Good luck.

96max5sp

Are all the timing rings bad or just the first batch because i got mine from the $75 second froup of pullies. damn this sucks.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

It's not the timing ring, 96max5sp. It's a steel sleeve that fits around the rear of the pulley and prevents the oil seal from abrading the aluminum.

96max5sp

I know but i also hear a lot of people saying the timing ring where the two tabs are is off by an 1/8th of an inch and that is why some people are having trouble starting their cars.

Anachronism

It looks like there are two separate issues (problems) with this pulley.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Hmmmm. Well that's certainly not good. Fortunately, it's not a problem I've run into. But I do have something interesting to report.

In my conversations with RVM, they indicated that they chose not to sleeve the Maxima pulley because UR didn't sleeve its Maxima pulleys at the time RVM was investigating that issue. Under the circumstances, I thought it might be best to send an e-mail to UR asking them if they ever produced an unsleeved Maxima pulley. This was UR's reply:

The Maxima pulley has always had the steel sleeve. If you think your pulley doesn't have one please call me at 631-586-9525 ext.12.

Joe Menechino

I forwarded a copy of UR's reply to RVM.

hombre

iTrader: (1)

It may have been metioned earlier in the thread, but the crank pulleys from http://www.definitivemotorsports.com have the steel sleeve as well.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Close, hombre. It's a bronze sleeve. But it should do the trick. Practically anything's better than bare aluminum!

03BlkSETE

iTrader: (3)

Actually it's bronze which Nick from Definitive claims is the better choice for this application.

96max5sp

Are they going to be giving us the new pulley for free and paying for installation if this one leaks or the timing ring is set wrong? By the way what is their e-mail i didn't see it on the website?

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

I'd say the chances of that are less than average.

Quote:

By the way what is their e-mail i didn't see it on the website?

DOHCCivicNA1250@aol.com

97MaximaSE

has anyone with a 4th gen had problems or just 5th gens.....i have about 10 thousand miles on mine now with no problems yet

96max5sp

Thats a relief at least someone has put some major time on their UDP and its not developed a problem. I'll probrably have it installed and if a problem occurs complain to RVM which will probrably get me no where and then i'll proceed to buy an unorthodox pulley. ah the joys of modding

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

ardika

iTrader: (3)

...it would be nicer if we could get it right the first time.

Kanaka

iTrader: (4)

the way to check if your timing ring is off is to take a piece of paper and trace the ring. then rotate the ring so the next tab lines up with the marks you made on the paper. if your pulley is correct, you will notice that the two single tabs and one of the double tabs will always line up with the marks. if it's off, the two single tabs and the GAP between the double tabs will always line up. the two single tabs should be 120 degrees off of each other. and one of the double tabs should be 120 degrees off of the other single tabs. what happened was on my pulley the 120 degree mark was the GAP between the tabs, not one of the tabs. this was like 1/8" difference on the position of the double tab. Seems like a simple mistake, but it kept my car from starting. so for now i'm on stock pulley.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Did you bring this to RVM's attention, Kanaka? If you did, what was their response?

Kanaka

iTrader: (4)

Yes. Eli said to mail the ring back to him and he would send me a new ring. I called him 4/13. He said he received my ring and mailed me a new one. Still waiting.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

That's been my experience with RVM up to now. They've seemed very attentive and prompt in responding to problems. But their unwillingness to admit that failing to sleeve their UDPs may cause them to leak oil is worrisome, to say the least. Even more worrisome is their unwillingness to take corrective action for those who have experienced oil leaks using their UDPs.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

The moderators have allowed me to set up a sticky thread to track oil leak problems with RVM UDPs. If your RVM UDP leaks oil, please go here and vote:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=207479

Thanks.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

Yeah, and the ECU has to adjust for the tires on the car, and what you had for breakfast that morning etc. etc.

Blu

iTrader: (63)

I am having quite a conflict with the company as a whole right now. Stay tuned..........