I just got my trans fuild changed at a local shop,(not nissan) and the mechanic notice that my 96 max was leaking oil. He wasn't able to see from what part of the engine it was leaking from, but he thinks it might be from the timing belt pan. He said that he has worked on many maximas with the same problem and that its a defect.
Has anyone had this problem, and how much did it cost to fix cause he said its an expensive job, like about 1,500.
1,500 cause of the labor that it takes to get to the pan and change the gasket. I'm going to check with nissan before i do anything.

 

I doubt if it was the timing chain housing. Is that what you were referring to? It's probably the Oil Pressure Switch. This is common on all 4th gener's. Oil tends to leak out all the time, but at little consumption. This switch is a defect made by Nissan. I had heard it's better to by an aftermarket one, not a Nissan OEM. I would check here first, and then look around for other possible areas.

 

Mine did that and didnt catch it till it fryed an oring. That was gonna cost a lot so i bought a new engine. If it is just the seal 1500 sounds around the mark because all they have to do is change the timing chain and while they are doing it they change the seal anyway.

 

did he specifically say timing belt? if he did, then he was lying about saying he works on Maximas and knows that is a defect. we dont have a timing belt, we have timing chain,

assuming you have a 4th gen since you posted in the 4th gen forum.

 

I've heard of several people having an oil leak from the timing cover with 100k+ miles. If you shop around you may get the labor down to $1200 but it's still not cheap. Have you switched to a lighter weight or synthetic oil recently?

 

Exactly. Go to a different mechanic from now on, your current guy is a liar.

Also, do your own work, sheesh...

 

i had a quote from the local nissan dealer for $1100 to replace all the timing chain parts on my 95..and thats $300 in parts...$1500 he is yanking your chain. the leak could be the lower or upper oil pan, or the front mail seal too...i really doubt the timing cover would be leaking with how much nissan goops on the sealing surface. someone else commented on the oil-pressure sending unit...and he's right. that's the cheapest thing, replace it first before you panic about spending 4 digits on a leak...