2001 Maxima 20th Anniversary Radiator Support Advice
11-09-2017, 10:07 PM
#1
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 5
2001 Maxima 20th Anniversary Radiator Support Advice
I was working on my car this weekend and realized my radiator bushings on top were off and my radiator is sagging a little bit. I was upset to look under and find that my center of the radiator core support is completely rusted out to the point where my hood latch is not mounted, and I am not sure if my main support is connected to it. The sides look okay, but the center is terrible.
https://imgur.com/a/mJWf9
This led me to googling on the issue to find it is a very very common issue with the older maximas, and it is a widespread fault. The OEM piece is $200 for just the lower support. The whole radiator support is $50-100 aftermarket. It appears I only need the lower piece and online people say to go with the OEM for this part. I am thinking repairs will cost around $300-$600 but I will have to get estimates from local body shops. The rest of the vehicle has rust on the underside, but it does not seem extreme to me. There are issues when jacking it up, that I use certain points with a wood board on my jack to spread the weight. Hopefully the auto body shops have a good second opinion. The car has 125,000 miles on it and has been taken care of. I bought it 3 years ago from the original owner, it has never been involved in a crash, and it has been maintained well. The car runs well and I have not had any check engine issues other than an evap leak since I bought it, which I fixed this weekend by replacing my fuel neck. There was also an 02 sensor that I had to replace. Other than that the maintenance I have done since I bought it is as follows...
**Already Done**
-All brake rotors and pads
-Front struts/shocks
-Front Right tie rod
-Front Right Control Arm
-Front Right sway bar
-02 Sensor replacement
-New headlight assemblies
-New tires
-New fuel neck
-Exaust sleeve repairs
-New Radiator
**Future plans**
-New Back Shocks/Struts
-Front Left Sway bar
-Front Left Tie Rods
-Front Left Control Arm
The car runs great and I feel that I have a lot of miles left on my engine, but I am not sure if it is best to save the money and get a newer car. I have the money to do it, but I am frugal and I prefer not to drop 10k+ on a newer car if I do not need one, and if I can run this one til it dies. What are your suggestions on my current situation? any advice or comments are welcome
I brought it to a few shops and decided on one shop. The shop will use a $90 aftermarket support, cut out the bottom, and use that for $700. They will use the OEM lower only for $930 or the whole OEM frame for $1500. One of my biggest concerns moving forward is I want to use aftermarket and am looking for advice on if that will last long at all. I do not plan on using it at all to jack up my car, but do not want to do this job again in 2 years. Any advice appreciated!
https://imgur.com/a/mJWf9
This led me to googling on the issue to find it is a very very common issue with the older maximas, and it is a widespread fault. The OEM piece is $200 for just the lower support. The whole radiator support is $50-100 aftermarket. It appears I only need the lower piece and online people say to go with the OEM for this part. I am thinking repairs will cost around $300-$600 but I will have to get estimates from local body shops. The rest of the vehicle has rust on the underside, but it does not seem extreme to me. There are issues when jacking it up, that I use certain points with a wood board on my jack to spread the weight. Hopefully the auto body shops have a good second opinion. The car has 125,000 miles on it and has been taken care of. I bought it 3 years ago from the original owner, it has never been involved in a crash, and it has been maintained well. The car runs well and I have not had any check engine issues other than an evap leak since I bought it, which I fixed this weekend by replacing my fuel neck. There was also an 02 sensor that I had to replace. Other than that the maintenance I have done since I bought it is as follows...
**Already Done**
-All brake rotors and pads
-Front struts/shocks
-Front Right tie rod
-Front Right Control Arm
-Front Right sway bar
-02 Sensor replacement
-New headlight assemblies
-New tires
-New fuel neck
-Exaust sleeve repairs
-New Radiator
**Future plans**
-New Back Shocks/Struts
-Front Left Sway bar
-Front Left Tie Rods
-Front Left Control Arm
The car runs great and I feel that I have a lot of miles left on my engine, but I am not sure if it is best to save the money and get a newer car. I have the money to do it, but I am frugal and I prefer not to drop 10k+ on a newer car if I do not need one, and if I can run this one til it dies. What are your suggestions on my current situation? any advice or comments are welcome
I brought it to a few shops and decided on one shop. The shop will use a $90 aftermarket support, cut out the bottom, and use that for $700. They will use the OEM lower only for $930 or the whole OEM frame for $1500. One of my biggest concerns moving forward is I want to use aftermarket and am looking for advice on if that will last long at all. I do not plan on using it at all to jack up my car, but do not want to do this job again in 2 years. Any advice appreciated!
11-11-2017, 03:54 PM
#2
Keep the car, it's young and should last you quite a long time. However if there is a noticable amount of rust adding up, I would suggest to only replace things as they break, rather than prevantative maintenance. Many things on this car last a surprisingly long time, out of your future plans I would say the most important is the rear suspension, they don't last long. Spend the extra $230 and get the OEM lower, will last longer, well worth the extra $$$. Also I think this should be moved to the 5th gen section of the forums.
Last edited by flames101sully; 11-11-2017 at 04:04 PM.
11-12-2017, 01:31 AM
#3
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 5
Keep the car, it's young and should last you quite a long time. However if there is a noticable amount of rust adding up, I would suggest to only replace things as they break, rather than prevantative maintenance. Many things on this car last a surprisingly long time, out of your future plans I would say the most important is the rear suspension, they don't last long. Spend the extra $230 and get the OEM lower, will last longer, well worth the extra $$$. Also I think this should be moved to the 5th gen section of the forums.