I have had my Max. since '97 (30K miles) and have maintained it very well. It's now got about 108K miles. I plan to send it with my daughter going off to school this fall. I plan to do all the usual maintenance stuff, fluid flushes, brakes, filters, belts, etc. It has a very new Optima Red battery.

I don't want to just throw money at it, but she will be about 1,600 miles from home and I really want to do as much as reasonably affordable to keep it 99.99% reliable. I am thinking about replacing the alternator and/or starter. Maybe the water pump (but was done at 65K with the timing belt change).

I am thinking about what else I should do and if I should even bother with the alternator or starter. Any opinions / suggestions?
Thanks!

P.S. - Bose radio still flaky. Planning on looking at new ones. However, it really does seem like a solder joint or temperature sensitive component (power transistor or something like that). She's reasonably happy with the sound quality of the Bose (I know many are not) so I again would like to avoid spending money on a brand new head unit and speakers.

 

let her go with it as is,
if something breaks I'm sure a fellow orger would be more than happy to help a pretty young lady out.
that is if you trust em too.

 

I'm sure you understand why I'll be spending the whole summer on preventative maintenance.

Hey, I'm finally getting around to install the gas hood springs I bought from you. I just looked at them briefly and have not plowed through the instructions, but it looks like I need to drill the pin off the mounting bracket attached to the hood. Is that right?

 

I think so

 

I was just in a situation of how much to do on my 94 gxe with 120K, a question of what to replace to keep it reliable. My alternator died at ~85K miles, but wasn't that big of deal, even though it went out at night. Unfortunately a Nissan dealer alternator was expensive. A battery with a large reserve capacity should allow you to limp home, but on the Maxima it is tough to know when the alternator is going because there is no voltage gauge. My water pump was leaking, so I had it changed at the 120K mile service. I had timing belt, tensioner, waterpump replaced, as well as the accessory belts. My car also needed new shifter bushings because sometimes the trans didn't go directly into Drive. I also had to get all 4 struts replaced because the ride and handling had diminished. I also had a ball joint replaced. I also had the thermostat and radiator hoses replaced. The car is reliable, but 99.9% reliablity is unrealistic on a 10yr old car. The above list are somethings to check. Have a trusted mechanic familiar with Maximas check it over. I'd make sure it had good hoses, battery, tires and brakes-and give her a cell phone. Today with cell phones, you don't seem to need quite so perfect of a car. Good luck.

 

describe the bose problem in more detail please. I'd also recommend a new distributor cap and rotor. And make sure to not flush the transmission, but to drop the pan, change the filter and refill what drains.

 

I'm curious why you say not to flush the transmission, but to drop the pan. Even with dropping the pan, you can't get all the old fluid and contanimants out, the best thing to do is to have it flushed.

Good call on the cell phone thing, because for the price of a road side assistance membership, and a cell, with just regular preventative maintainance of the car, it will be a lot cheaper than changing accessories like the waterpump and alternator. Waterpumps and alternators are one of those things that can fail in 6 months, or 6 years, so really, changing them isn't going to increase reliability that much.

 

NEVER FLUSH ANY TRANSMISSION!
It is guaranteed to cause premature transmission failure!
Shopsike it because they know you'll be back for a trans within a year.

 

Full Tune Up,all Fluids,water Pump,check Brakes,new Radio From Ebay,install A Amp/volt Gauge To Keep Track Of The Alternator..replace Battery, Changed The O2 Sensor

 

Thanks for the ideas. I have done or have parts for everything but the water pump and alternator. Battery is new last fall (Optima Red top).

Water pump only has 42K on it. Seems too soon to change. Alternator has 107K.

Internetautomar - on several of my vechicle over the years I have both flushed and dropped the pan. It makes no sense to me why a total flush would cause a tranny to fail. It's just a fluid change including the torque converter. Granted it's a must to drop the pan at least every other time and change the filter too.

I found a guy this week that will repair the head unit and provide a full 1 year guarantee. He says its a very common problem. I talked to him on the phone so he couldn't "point" and show me the exact location, but in he said that there is a set of solder joints that tend to fail under one of the chips. You have to pull the chip to get at them. Seems there was a run of the boards where these solder joints were not very strong. Anyway, pull the chip, resolder all the underlying joints and replace the chip. He replaces the chip since it's just easier to get a new one back in. If I find out more details, I'll post later.

 

Haha, I've heard of water pumps going at early mileages, but the one in my engine went up until recently (133k, 7k miles ago)...and then the bearings went. I should've replaced when I heard the rattling sound, but I was stubborn and waited for it to lock up...not good for the engine. I'd watch out for it.

The big thing I'd say is...make sure you're daughter knows a thing or two about maintenence in general before sending it off. I'm 18 (just graduted HS this year) and I have a couple years auto shop (not that I really learned much) and stuff under my belt. I find the biggest killer out there, is people who honestly just don't know how to take proper care of their vehicles. Seems like you're pretty on top of keeping the car in good con'd though, but just making sure.

 

think about how a flush works, and its purpose.
It a high pressure fluid being pumped through the tranny to remove deposits and varnish.
Which do you think is easier to remove:
A. Varnish off of the VB
B. Friction material off of the Bands and friction plates.

it has a very high mortality rate on "problematic" trannies of which the VG tranny is.
I currently have a car that was fine, then got flushed, now it shift like ice.

 

floods - tnx. She has happily learned a few things. When she first started driving I showed her and then had her change a tire. Also, changed the oil herself a couple times.

She just worked with me to change spark plugs, but I had to get them broken free first. They were really tight despite antiseize.

I plan to redo the F and R brakes and she'll "help" with that.

She also knows how and has jumped several other cars ("dead" friends cars).

Oh, and has a cell phone and AAA card.

Internet automar - I am not trying to be a pain, but want to understand. I do understand what you last posted but the machines I have seen and have had used on my vehicles are not under any particular additional pressure. They simply connect to the radiator tranny line connections and "fill and replace" the fluid as it would normally flow through the radiator. I must be missing something. ??

 

a couple of specs off of an RTI machine
"• Operating Range 320 to 1220 F (00 to 500 C).
• Pump - Positive Displacement Gear Pump, 4 quarts (3.8 liters) per minute. "

could find the operating pressure.
But that temp range is WAY too high for any automatic trans.

 

That's the spec of the temp range of them machine, not necessarily the temp of the fluid. It's a simple pump and does not heat the tranny fluid.

Also, even the pump is only 1 gallon per minutes. That's far from high pressure given the diameter of the lines/hoses.