Please read.

I privately bought a '96 GLE with 140,000 miles about 5 months ago. The person I bought it from was the original owner and car was in good shape.
About a month or so after purchase, anti-freeze was leaking onto my driveway from the Max. One day i took a look and it seems like its coming from near the oil pan. It was actually leaking from somewhere above then onto the oil pan itself. I immediately assumed it was the water pump.
Later on, i brought it to a new mechanic i have never been to before, but i heard he was a good mechanic. He assumed it was the water pump too. So two days later, after i got out of school, i assumed he had put on the new water pump and i would be on my way. He told my father earlier that the BLOCK was CRACKED and that nothing was wrong with the water pump. So he said the motor would not last much longer than a year. He said he just put something on the trouble spot temporarily to spot the leaking. He also said that he would buy a motor and install for about $1,400.
Is this likely to happen or is he Bull****tting? I was expecting to go for 200,000 miles with the motor but i don't know if thats gonna happen. I mean the thing pulls like a beast and there are no warning signs of the motor giving up anytime soon. The oil is still amber colored and the coolant is clean and i make sure the radiotor is filled with water/coolant all the time.
Any suggestions of opinions?
BTW it starts leaking most of the time when the engine is on for a minute or so if that helps.

 

Dont know what to say about a cracked engine block on a Max, but $1400 for a swap including the engine is a decent price.

 

Never heard of a vq30de developing a crack. Could the last owner have been negligent on maintance?

 

Did he acually see a physical crack?

My car is doing the same exact thing. For me, I don't have any real concerns of what it is because I will have a fresh 3.5 installed soon.

But I havent heard of any VQ block cracking, but also not saying it can't happen. I have heard of many water pumps failing though.

 

Yeah, hard to believe, i know. Well he told my father there was a crack but i don't know how severe it is. I don't know exactly where the crack is. I'm guessing somewhere near the timing chain area. Anyone ever heard of a cracked engine block on a vq30?

 

When I had my water pump replaced, the mechanic supposedly cracked the side aluminum engine cover and the oil pan. From what he told me, this happened since the seal on the cover did not come off too easily and they had to force it off. The good thing was that the shop truthfully admitted cracking the parts and replaced all the items at no cost (of course). Oh and those replaced items looked huge, too! Must have cost them quite a bit to get new parts.

I'm not trying to blame your mechanic, but I would be very suspicious, especially if the crack happens to be on the engine cover...

 

wow never heard of a crack vq30de, blown yeah but not cracked.

wat the $1400 price including a new engine? or was that just the labor? if it is $1400 including a good low milage engine that is a good price, I got a new tranny and clutch for $1600.

I'd get a 2nd and 3rd opinion, 2nd from another good reputable mechanic, and 3rd from a nissan dealership if they say the block is cracked then I'd go with the $1400 engine swap, make sure milage is lower than 60K

 

i have seen two maxima's that had a crack in the block. both in florida. one was my uncles who is a mechanic per say and the other was a really nice looking yellow max that i was gonna buy but my uncle who had the cracked block spotted the same prob. in the other max so no buy for me.

 

ye this sucks

 

That's why god invented JB Weld.

 

Swap in a VQ35 instead while you're at it.

 

Does it work well? I doubt it will last too long.

 

I am thinking of just swapping in a vq30de-k from a 2000 or 2001. Will it bolt on directly without alterations? BTW how much does a good low mileage VQ35 cost? are they easy to find?

 

Never seen a cracked VQ30DE, prove it with pics.

The water pump is inside the timing cover...the timing cover covers the timing chains.....and it may look like (to an idiot mechanic) a cracked block.

I'd check again.

 

I'll get a second opinion. vq30 is strong but not invincible. I'm assuming the previous owner did not keep an eye on the radiator coolant and the block expanded and therefore cracked. I only had the Max for 5 months and babied it. Any motor will crack if you don't maintain it properly. Anyway this sucks.

 

Get a second opinion.

 

Could be leaking from one of the coolant drain plugs on the block...

...maybe

 

You'll have a problem fitting that under there because of the VI which 95-99's don't have. Basically your hood won't close. I do recall however that with some modification somebody did manage to get it under there. Check around the forums because if you do end up getting a new engine that might not be a bad idea as the VI on the 00/01' is far better than the MEVI anyways.

LEMAR

 

You can't simply drop in a 5th gen motor without some work.

In any case I'd get a second opinion, and then drive this engine until it dies. If it's pulling like a beast and you can live with the leaking, what's to keep you continuing to drive it for a while?

 

There is no hood or firewall clearance problems with the DE-k VIM.

I am not sure what sensors are different but if you use everthing from your motor, namely sensors, but keep the intake manifold then it would work.

 

The hood closes just fine. I know of 5 or 6 people that have VI's in their 4th gen including myself.