Darkness

I few months ago, I got a multi-point inspection from the dealer, where they identified several issues. I need to figure out, in order of severity, which ones I need to address 1st. On the attached PDF, ignore the top part and the items with a line through them (got those done already). Thanks guys!

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

That's an awful lot of oil leaks. Here is my suggested order of repair.

1 - front motor mount
2 - power steering hoses
3 - control arms

4 - power steering rack

5 - valve cover gaskets
6 - oil pan leaking
7 - transmission pan leaking

Numbers 1, 2, 3 address safety issues. The oil from a leaking power steering hose rots the control arm bushings. The rest are basically are all about the same importance, it all depends on how badly it is leaking. Do do the worst one first.

If you will do your own work, I would suggest cleaning the areas of the leak first. This allows you to see better as to what is leaking and how bad. I wonder if some of the leaks may be oil from one of the other leaks that makes it look like some other part is leaking.

Darkness

Thanks for the advice. But before I could address those issues, I got a new one, and I'm trying to figure out if it was caused by any of the outstanding issues.

A few weeks ago, my aftermarket remote starter and keyless entry stopped working/responding. Then last week, my SES Service Engine Soon light came on. Then last night, as I was driving, the car started to sputter and loose power. I took my foot off the gas and slowly started accelerating again, but the same sputter happened. When I looked down at my dash, I saw this:


A few months ago, my car started overheating and smoking. The mechanic replaced the radiator and it had been fine until now. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with that's happening now, but figured I'd mention it.

CichlidKid

iTrader: (1)

Well you just overheated your engine as indicated by the gauge. If you ever see your engine starting to heat up more that usual PULL OVER and let it cool down. You just really messed up your engine by pegging the gauge like that.

Your heads are now more than likely warped and other damage has done to other key components.

Darkness

The code Autozone pulled was P0128. I had a mechanic look at it, he said the problem is with the catalytic converter. Said there's some sort of restriction in the exhaust system. He replaced the thermostat/housing (it was defective), flushed the cooling system, and did an oil change. I notice the bill includes some antifreeze coolant. There's also so gasket that he charged me $80 for. He said that should buy me some time. He didn't say anything about the doomsday scenario you presented. I'm not sure who to believe at this point.

A few months ago my car started overheating. A different mechanic replaced the radiator. Is the thermostat issue something he should have warned me about? Meaning should I have replaced it at the same time the radiator was replaced, proactively?

Darkness

After getting it back from the mechanic (previous post) while parked, my car was leaking fluid onto my driveway. I'm going to start ordering parts for the 1st group of things you mentioned and hopefully find a mechanic that will do the installs.

Front Motor Mount (Part # 11210-2Y01A)

1. GENUIN NISSAN OEM 112102Y01A Engineer Torque Strut Mount-Side Mount 11210-2Y01A $55
2. NISSAN OEM 112102Y01A Engine Torque Strut Mount-Side Mount 11210-2Y01A $134
3. INSULATOR-ENGINE MOUNTING,FRONT $152

Power Steering Hoses

1. Genuine 2003-2003 Nissan Maxima Suction Hose 49717-5Y705 $63
2. Genuine 497252Y010 Power Steering Return Hose 497252Y010 $33
3. 2000-2003 Nissan Maxima | Power Steering Return Hose Piping OEM NEW Genuine 497252y902 $25

Right Control Arm (Part # 54500-2Y412)

1. Right Front Arm FEBEST 0224-CA33RH OEM 54500-2Y411 $55
2. LINK COMPL-TRANSVERSE,LH $138
3. MOOG Suspension Control Arm and Ball Joint Assembly $183

Left Control Arm (Part # 54501-2Y412)

1. Left Front Arm FEBEST 0224-CA33LH OEM 54501-2Y412 $55
2. LINK COMPL-TRANSVERSE,RH $138
3. MOOG Suspension Control Arm and Ball Joint Assembly CK620355 $183

I spent a lot of time looking through the forums but I have a few questions before I pull the trigger.

There's a huge variance in Front Motor Mount prices. General consensus on the forums in to go OEM here. All 3 I listed are supposed to be OEM, but is there 1 I should I choose over the others? Obviously I'd prefer to go with the cheapest option, but not if it's going to cost me more in the long run.

For the power steering hoses, general consensus on the forums is to go OEM here too to prevent that whining sound. There wasn't much of a variance in prices, so I just went with the cheapest OEM options.

According to the forums, I don't have to go OEM for the control arms, but I see a few different opinions on the best way to go. Again, the variance is huge, so any advice would help.

Darkness

Anybody?

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I have replaced all those parts on my cars at some point or the other and the only part that I would go oem on is the power steering hose. All the others I used aftermarket parts and didn't have any problems.

If you want to order parts on-line, I would suggest parts.com for oem and rockauto.com for aftermarket. They have about the best prices you will find.

IP Cyborg

If your car overheated and is now blowing smoke out the tailpipe, you probably blew the head gasket on one (or both) sides of the block. The engine can still sometimes run smoothly with a blown head gasket , but can still let coolant pass into the cylinder/s resulting in the smoke.

Modern thermostats fail-open and it would not have resulted in overheating. It would have been due-diligence to replace it anyway when replacing the radiator but not necessary.

I am sending out some positive thoughts for you though and hope you don't get too overwhelmed by your car's troubles.

Darkness

I can't remember if it was the control arms or the motor mounts, but I saw a lot of people saying the aftermarket version gave their car a slight vibration/shake. Some people said they noticed it but didn't care, some noticed it and went OEM instead, and some didn't notice any difference in OEM vs aftermarket. The opinions/observations were all over the place, so I couldn't get a general consensus.

Trying to find the exact right parts can be a overwhelming. I called up the dealer and had them give me part numbers for the issues mentioned in the multi-point inspection, then tried to enter those part numbers in the various sites like courtesynissan, rockauto, everythingnissan, ebay, amazon, etc. but sometimes the numbers don't match up or it wasn't clear if it was the right part.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find a lot of the specific brands for certain parts on rockauto that other forum members said they've used successfully. Rather than order the wrong part and have to deal with the hassle, I only chose the parts where I was sure that's what I needed and that were recommended. If there are any specific parts you see in my post that are cheaper on rockauto, would you mind adding the links to this post? That'd be a big help for me.

Darkness

The overheating issue happened end of 2017 and has since been fixed with by replacing the radiator. When it happened, the smoke was only coming from the engine bay, not the tailpipe. But thanks for pointing that out, when I have the mechanic install the control arms, motor mount, and power steering hoses, I'll ask if he can take a look at the head gaskets too, just to be on the safe side.

I was really in a bind when the car smoking incident happened, and had to get it towed to the nearest "reputable" mechanic. It would have been nice if he mentioned the thermostat as an optional repair, but unfortunately that didn't happen.

I'm still trying to find a good mechanic here in Maryland. I've been to at least 3 different ones and I haven't found one that I like. I just want someone thorough, competitively-priced, honest, and will allow me to bring my own pars. Is that too much to ask


If anyone has any good mechanic recommendations in Baltimore, send 'em my way

IP Cyborg

The smoke in engine bay was probably from some kind of fluid getting splashed on the exhaust. It should have been burned off quickly but would have been pretty frightening to experience. I was in a hurry once and had Walmart do an oil change in a Dodge Neon I once owned and they spilled oil on the exhaust manifold...which smoked so much I thought the car was on fire afterwards. I was mega-angry and went back to Wallyworld and delivered some hefty ranting. >< I'll never let a Walmart touch my car again, nor should anybody else!

Anywhoo, your mechanic may not be able to do much checking on the head gasket, and you probably don't need to worry about it. If the head gasket blew you would, most likely, know about it as the car would run like crap and be blowing white smoke out of the tailpipe. Having it overheat briefly probably won't do lasting damage, but I emphasize the 'probably' part because overheating can royally F up an engine quickly. The overheating can weaken the head gasket, however...and some cars will have more problems than others with that. Nissan makes great engines and are pretty darned tough in adverse conditions.

The control arms, motor mounts and power steering hoses are reasonably easy fixes. You could probably do them yourself if you have some basic tools and are willing to offer up some sacrificial finger meat to the car gods.

Darkness

Thanks for the advice regarding the smoking. Everything seems fine on that front but I'll keep an eye out of course.

I don't mind doing interior or basic electronic stuff on my car, but when it comes to actual mechanic repairs or stuff in the engine bay, I don't mind paying to have it done. Since you said they're easy fixes, I'm hoping the mechanic doesn't charge too much for the work. Any ideas on how many hours each job should take, just so I know if the mechanic is trying to hit me in the head?

IP Cyborg

Motor mounts are easy. Just need to use a jack, with a piece of wood for cushion, to slightly lift the engine...just enough to take the weight of the engine off of the mounts/frame...remove the big pin and then undo the mount bolts and then replace with the new mount. I think there are three mounts. The mounts are probably around $100 each and the mechanic may charge for about maybe 2 hours. Maybe $500 total, but that is just a guesstimate. If your current mounts are toast, you will certainly like the improvement of drive feel with new mounts.

The power steering hoses are pretty easy, but may require some special tools (which your mechanic should have already). Probably an hour of labor to do both pressure and return hoses.

The control arms are not hard but can take a bit of time, and you will probably need a 4 wheel alignment afterwards so factor that in the price. I have only replaced those parts on a Jeep Cherokee (super easy) and a 1st generation Toyota MR2 (not so easy, but still not terribly hard). The Cherokee was ridiculously easy to work on for everything..so much room to work with and parts are plentiful and cheap. The Nissan has almost no room to work with and the parts are not so cheap. With a lift, that your mechanic should have, it would be a lot easier. I am not comfortable enough with the Nissan to provide a reasonable guesstimate on it's labor cost to replace those parts...but it shouldn't take more than a couple hours, probably.