S1cTech

My Gen 4 transmission I think is going so I had my uncle go to an auction and put an offer down on one...


So far its a Silver, 03 maxima. Standard with black leather sunroof. etc. I didn't get the mileage yet but he will see if he will take the offer and I am pretty pumped. I'd like to have a black or a white one but I can go with Silver for the price we are getting it for....

things. I am super pumped about...

the 50hp and 6 speed

and the back seats go down lol


Other than that yeah a newer max. Seems to basically be a gen 4 on some roids lol


Now is the VQ30 to VQ35 difference gonna be super night and day? I want my awesome throttle response too in the 03 that my Gen 4 has. I also have a y pipe. I wonder what I can sell it for? I think I will make more money parting out my gen4 than selling it. It has 240k miles on it.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

The 2003 Maxima is a 6 speed, you will love the power of it. Years ago I went from a 97 SE 5 speed to an 03 SE 6 speed and it was great. The best mods I did were putting on a COSMO CAI and the budget short throw shift that I learned about from this site. Oh yeah, you can't go wrong with a front strut bar either. The 5.5 has an oil consumption problem but if you check your oil regularly it won't be a problem. When your timing chain sounds like it's dragging you need some oil. My car used about a half qt every 1500 miles. You can also get the valve cover from an 04 Maxima to fix the oil leak into the #6 sparkplug well.

S1cTech

awesome. Thanks! Anything to look for engine wise to tell if it is oil consuming one?

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

wipe your finger in the mufflers outlet, if black grunge comes out on your finger its burning oil. if the tailpipe is clean metal its not burning oil

S1cTech

Well black stuff always comes out cause technically all cars burn some oil but is it supposed to be really thick and gross?

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

S1cTech, just be aware that a lot of the 2003 engines burned oil, albeit at different levels but most of them do. Then there's the issue of oil getting into the #6 sparkplug well. Like I said mine went thru about a half quart every 1500 to 2000 miles depending on how aggressive I drove. The weird thing was that my car didn't have the usual signs associated with oil burning (sooty tailpipe and smoke at startup). The best advice I would tell you is to get in the habit of opening your hood 2 or 3 times a month.

Check all your fluid levels, battery terminals and the radiator seals, cause the Nissan designed radiator (plastic pressed onto aluminum) is going to fail sooner or later. Once again if you hear a rattling sound while the engine is under a load (driving up a hill, or fast acceleration) you need to add some oil.

If you bring the oil level up quick enough the rattle will go away, (no damage done) but if you neglect the sound and the chain gets stretched (hence damaged) then the sound will not go away.

I had 2 friends who let it go too far, their cars still drove fine but the noise became too much for one and he eventually got rid of his car.

george__

iTrader: (1)

evap canister + valve!

AWeb80

sounds like what I need on mine.....


Your car might be mines twin

AWeb80

I have a P1448 and P0455 code that keeps popping up. both evap systems codes....

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

can be thick and gross. my Nissan trucks tailpipe had thick black tar almost coming in the muffler

not all cars burn oil, both of my Toyotas have clean muffler outlets

TexasTex

iTrader: (1)

Good luck OP. I drove a couple 4th gens before I bought mine and I tell you what, BIG DIFFERENCE. The 4th was nice, but the 5.5 was noticeably faster. And I love the silver. I'd trade you!

Any update?


Good info. Can you point me in the direction of the budget short throw? Are you talking about the guy in Canada that builds them and swaps with you?

tosheto

iTrader: (5)

You will like the 03. Personally I would prefer silver. Mine is black and sucks a**. I am never buying a black car again. It is very hard to keep clean.

TexasTex

iTrader: (1)

Amen to that. I am however, a glutton for punishment. This is my FIFTH black vehicle and I ***** about how I'll never do it again with EVERY black vehicle I have.

Amerikaner83

iTrader: (17)

that's a well known problem..."once you go black..."

TexasTex

iTrader: (1)

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you called me a perv...

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

No, it's actually just a drill and thread tap deal. There was a guy on this site who posted the instructions for it. I'll see it I can find the printed instructions from when I did mine and send them to you.

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Black soot = not an oil burner. My 95 has black ish all out the back end and it doesn't burn an ounce.

No cats will do that and running rich.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

Good info. Can you point me in the direction of the budget short throw? Are you talking about the guy in Canada that builds them and swaps with you?[/QUOTE]


Use the "advanced search" option using the keywords "free sts". There is a post by Trooplewis dated 10-18-2010 and one by Rochester dated 11-15-2010. Both posts have pictures detailing the steps. Basically what you're doing is changing the pivot point of your stock shifter to a different angle. This subtle change made a very noticeable difference and it took me about 3 or 4 hours from start to finish.

viking89

Dont mean to hijack the thread but Ive got an oil burning question as well

Just got an 02 6sp and Im pretty sure it burns oil. I got it from a sketchy lot at a really really good price, black sooty tailpipe and white smoke on start up... Never dealt with oil burning before

I got a free oil change from them and they put in Valvoline, but I'm not sure if they used 5w30 or 10w30.... Id assume 5w30 but cant be sure. How bad would it be to combine 2 different weight oils when refilling lost oil? Engine gonna explode?

Secondly, when I'm adding my own oil, would it have to be valvoline again? Or can different brands be mixed.

Just tryin to take care of my new max properly!

Amerikaner83

iTrader: (17)

If you got a free oil change then they didn't mix weights, they may have used 10-30 instead of 5-30 but I really doubt they mixed them. You'll be fine.

Same with brands...you can mix brands without issue. Hell, if you were in a CRUNCH you could mix weights too but you won't blow the engine.


White smoke at startup is a good indication of oil burner...it's also a symptom of a head gasket failure. But they're not common on the VQ motor.

The biggest indicator of an oil burner? Check the oil monthly and if you're low, you've got an oil burner

viking89

^ Ok. So it's alright to mix brands, and possible to mix weights (thought not ideal). 10-4

Thanks for the info, I dunno what I'd do without you guys

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Just don't mix synthetic with dino.

viking89

Gotcha, thanks

TexasTex

iTrader: (1)

Awesome man! I grew up working on all kinds of vehicles and I wouldn't consider myself novice by any means.

How difficult would you rate this? I need to be able to carve out a time to do it.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

It's very easy and I don't consider myself a mechanic either. I learn by reading manuals and knowing when the job needs to be done by a shop.

The tools you'll need are a drill a self threading tap and a screw for the newly threaded hole.

Earlier I said it took me 3 or 4 hours, I looked at my maintenance records for my 03 Maxima and it actually only took me 2 hours.

TexasTex

iTrader: (1)

Yea, now I'm really wanting to do this.

AWeb80

Drill a 5/16" hole next to the stock mount under the hood.

press teh clevis pin up from the bottom, slide the cable over and put the clip/pin back in.

Seems easy and I'll do it this weekend if I have time


http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...arts-list.html

TexasTex

iTrader: (1)

Wow, that actually looks pretty easy.

cashoit

yo S1 man,

Movin on up huh lol.

Nice man. In for pics!