sb001

If any of you venture over to the 4th gen forum you'll notice I had a 99 maxima that I put 400k miles on. I sold that a couple weeks ago (to a fellow maxima.org member actually) still running like a top. You will also see I started a thread entitled "looking for a new Maxima."
Well it ain't a Maxima but yesterday I purcahsed a 2002 Infiniti I35 with 157,000 miles for $1600. Runs and drives very well except for a slight shudder on acceleration- pretty sure this is tie rod/ control arm related. Will take a look when I get a chance. Also has a nice ding in the driver's rear quarter panel. Only other issue is AC does not blow cold air- I am not feeling/ hearing the compressor kick on and the RPMs don't seem to change when I hit AUTO so I'm thinking compressor clutch-- not a big deal to replace.
Everything else is quite good with the car. Will the 3.5L V6 be as reliable as that formidable 3.0L in the 99?? Only time will tell...

sb001

sb001

Dent in the quarter panel:








Worth fixing or don't worry about it?

maximaxi

That dent is nothing to worry about

If you can rub off the white streaks, you wouldn't even know the dent is even there in the first place

sb001

Unfortunately there's also that surface rust spot there that needs to be treated. But you're right if it's more than a few hundred bucks I won't worry about it.

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

The compressor won't turn on if the system is low on refigerant. Put a gauge on the low side service port to check.

sb001

Thanks, yeah I was aware of this, it uses refrigerant hi/low pressure switches to trigger the relay that kicks the compressor on if I remember correctly-- or something like that.

sb001

EDIT: Fixed the AC-- it was just a bad relay!!




Swapped it with the fog lamp relay and good to go!

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

Nice easy fix! Maybe you'll get lucky on the shudder.

​​​

sb001

The white streaks don't come off, they are marks in the paint. Also that rusted area is starting to bother me.
I found a guy on craigslist a couple days ago who does body work out of his own garage, it's a legit business and he does repair estimates, works with insurance companies etc he just doesn't have the overhead so his prices are lower. I asked him for an estimate to get this repaired and got a quote of $750. (That does not include the bumper just the quarter panel damage.) I am seriously starting to think I need to get this done sooner than later and that seems like a decent price IMO although that additional $750 drives the total cost of the car up to $2350-- a price point I'm not nearly as happy with.
If it wasn't for being able to fix the AC by just swapping the relay I definitely wouldn't even be considering it, but considering that easy repair it might be worth throwing the money toward the dent to make sure that rust doesn't spread.
In other news, the front bumper is missing the three supports inside the air intake area (in front of the lower part of the radiator) -- they were broken off so I'm also a bit concerned about debris flying in there and putting a hole in the radiator. That can be fixed by just getting a new bumper of course- but I can't find one on car-part.com in the burgundy color anywhere close to me. Closest one I found is about 5 hours away. I also wonder if just getting another rear bumper would be the better way to go as well- the marks on the bumper are worse than what I first thought, someone has bondoed this bumper (yeah they bondoed a plastic bumper) and then painted over it- some of it came off literally in chips when I took it to the car wash today.
And then there's the suspension issue as well- so all in all not nearly as good a deal as I was hoping. Just gotta take all this step by step and hopefully at the end of the road I'll have a decent looking good driving dependable car.

sb001

Got a pretty decent quote of $850 to fix both the rear quarter panel and the bumper on the car- talking to the body guy we noticed this quarter panel has been repainted before- lots of question marks about what happened with this car before I got it. probably going to go ahead and get it done next week.

sb001

Well... the story gets worse with this car...
I visited some friends up in Iowa the last few days. On the trip the shudder on acceleration I was experiencing grew worse, so while there I took it to their mechanic, and he diagnosed it as a broken engine mount. So I paid him $200 to get it fixed.
Now, the shudder on acceleration is completely gone, BUT... oh my GOD, the ride now is HORRENDOUSLY rough!! Every single time I go over the slightest bump or uneven pavement it feels like this car is bottoming out with no support, I am feeling every ounce of it. It did not feel like this at all before the motor mount was fixed, so it makes me wonder if shocks/ struts, or something else is also bad on this car and perhaps the engine itself was absorbing a lot of the energy that now has to go somewhere else?? Or is it possible they used a cheap mount that has no give and that is causing an issue??
The 6 hour drive from Iowa back to Arkansas had me seriously considering counting my losses and selling this thing, and I haven't even gotten to the ding yet. (There's also a very annoying "droning" sound coming from the wheels whenever I get up to around 60mph that is also driving me nuts.) Buyer's remorse is certainly starting to set in... How could fixing a motor mount cause the ride to be SO much rougher???