Hey All,

I have 1996 Maxima Se. In cold weather, my car has trouble starting and I have to push on the gas pedal a little to getted started. Battery is fine. I was told to have my throttle body flush and clean. I did that and it's still having problems. I was told to get a tune up. Can anybody recommend me what brand of spark plug and wire, cap & rotor, and brake pads (front & rear) to get. Or can you tell me what should I get done when doing a tune up. Thank you for your help.

 

So your throttle body is clean? Okay, you will probably want to run some type of fuel system cleaner through your system. I suggest Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner concentrate. Spark plugs, stick with NGKs. The 4th generation maxima uses direction ignition, there is not distributor, rotor or cap. Brake pads, it's really up to you. Stock pads work well if you want quiet yet decent performance. Just pick up a set at the dealer. Do a search for brake pads and you'll find other alternatives. How many miles are on your car? Automatic? Manual? Details please.

ZuM

 

I am getting ready to do a tune up on my car as soon as it reaches 90K, go here and you will see some of the stuff for a tune up that are needed. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=174751

 

Thanks,Zum and Sonic,

Hey Zum, I have about 115,000 miles and automatic. I recently took my car to Monro Muffler to get my fuel injection clean and asked the guy if it will clean the throttle body and he said yes. Should I clean it again using the over the counter products? By the way, I have to buy 6 and not 4 spark plugs? Right? I used to have 1994 Honda Accord and that is why I am asking. But hey, I love the V6 and power of the maxima. Never go back to 4 cylinders. I guessed I can buy the parts and take it to a mechanic to do. Anything else, let me know. Thanks a million.

 

Yes, you will need 6 plugs. You will also need to flush and change your automatic tranny fluid. Make sure you change the oil also. There is only one way to know that all this stuff was done correctly. Do it yourself! Take the intake apart and make sure it was actually cleaned. You can change the plugs yourself. Do a search for these subjects and you can find instructions on how to do all this. It's pretty easy. Just need a few basic tools.

ZuM

 

Thanks.

 

It's not possible to flush your auto tranny yourself. You can either take it to a shop which will do a T-Flush and will cost you around $60-$80 or you drain and refill the tranny, which gets most but not all the fluid out. A car with 115K miles they may not do the T-flush.

As for Tune-up:
6 NGK Spark Plugs
New Belts
PCV Valve
Fuel Filter
Change oil

For Nissan products look at: www.courtesyparts.com
- Call them and mention you are a member of maxima.org and you get an additional discount

For Brakes:
www.eatricezone.com
www.southwestautoworks.com
- Aftermarket brakes are sometimes even cheaper than OEM replacements

Great How-to's: http://www.motorvate.ca/

 

I didn't say he had to do that himself. But anyways. You're not entirely correct. He can use the hose that goes to the tranny from the radiator. Disconnect the hose and start the car. Just keep the fluid topped off. Quite a few guys have used this method. I personally wouldn't try it. You can drain and fill multiple times also. You can drop the tranny pan yourself and clean. T-Flush isn't your only option.

 

you can indeed do a "flush" yourself....its quite easy on the maxima....search the forum for it, there is a link to full instructions and pictures somewhere.

the word flush is kind of inaccurate...you are "exchanging" fluid.....

the "tranny flush" machines use the transmissions own pump to pump out the old fluid...they splice the T-flush machine into the engine transmission lines and start the car. the machines at the shops do one thing....assist feeding in fresh fluid by means of air pressure or an electric pump...but they [should] do it at a matched rate to that at which the transmission is pumping out. this myth of "washing out the clutches" on high mileage cars is crap. Also, flushing DOES not clean the filter.....but the maxima only has a screen anyway.

if you are uncomfortable with the "flush" procedure you can simply drain and fill the pan three or four times over the course of a week and that will exchange 85%+ of the fluid....the maxima has a drain plug making this very easy...

a fuel system cleaner that you add to the gas tank will not clean your intake and throttle body. But there are intake manifold cleaners out there. Motorcraft makes a good one (carburetor tune up), so does 3M, Seafoam, Grease Lighting...etc....these cleaners willclean the valves and the combustion chamber as well. cleaning the throttle body can be done by hand in 15 minutes. Some shops have a "motor vac" machine i think its called...this will clean the intake, injectors and throttle body....but will cost you...and is another job you can do yourself with over the counter stuff.

plugs.....NGK all the way....period. doesn't matter if you use the cheap copper ones or the mid/high end platinums...NGK's all run great but a platinum plug will last longer. I just tried the poor man's platinum in mine (gold power).....but will let you know in 30,000 miles how well they are lasting.

someone else made the comment if you want it doen right do it yourself....i fully agree.....with all the members here you have a lot of knowledge you can tap into....

good luck,
john