**This isn't my car, I'm posting this for a friend.**


Gentlemen,

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima, of which the Nissan Dealer just told me I have a warped intake manifold. This part is apparently plastic. Now here are the symptoms: When cold, and only when cold, and running at idle, the car runs very rough. By rough I mean surging RPMs and cutting off. Nissan wants a cool $1100 to replace this piece, but I am not very confident in their assessment or skills to fix this car. I brought it in for the same symptoms, as which time they replace some airflow meters or sensors, when it was still under warranty.

I have a couple of questions, if anyone can take a stab, I'd be very grateful.

1. Does this assessment sound accurate for the symptoms? I know its near impossible to diagnose the issue across the interweb, but it could be right on. The mechanic says he sprayed some starter fluid around the intake which stopped it from running rough, thereby coming to their conclusion.

2. Can anyone recommend a cheaper than factory alternative or aftermarket intake? I wouldn't mind a performance increase, but everything else is stock so it couldn't be radical.

3. How hard is this piece to replace? I consider myself fairly skilled at shadetree mechanics, and have replaced upper and lower intakes on mustang 5.0s. The mechanice says there are several gaskets invloved, as well as being hard to get to.

Again thanks in advance.

 

1.)Never heard of one being warped. I have heard of gaskets going bad. Sounds like you have some sort of vacuum leak that goes away when the engine warms up.
(Or possibly a sensor or wire)
Where the leak is coming from. (and if it's actually warped or has a bad gasket is unknown.)

2.)Yes, some searches would probably be your friend here. Others haven't noticed much of a gain w/o exhaust mods. IIRC, most people who swap intakes loose low in torque and gain high RPM torque

3.)...IF, I say again IF that is the problem here is the pricing info..From Alldata
Intake Manifold Gasket
.
. Replace
. .
. . Manifold Gasket 4.0 hours
. . Manifold Gasket . 1403538U01 . $32.32

. . Plenum Gasket 3.5 hours
Plenum Gasket . 140332Y901 . $3.13

manifold prices. (retail)- DaveB would probably have them cheaper.

Intake Manifold
. . California . 140013Y102 $564.95

. . Federal . 140032Y900 . $389.07

Intake Plenum
. .
. . Federal . 140102Y921 $441.34

. . California . 140103Y111 $480.56


I've never had to do one on a max but figure for the lamen with crapsman tools in his personal garage add about 75%-100% to book time that will most likely get you close to how long it would take you..(figure around 6-7 hours, for a diy'er to do it.)

 

i have taken mine off and put it back on, not that hard, just pay attention to all the hoses. it took me about one hour to get it off because i had to find everything. then it took about 45 minutes to put back on. not real hard but not for a newb mechanic

 

Thanks to Lushka for posting this for me.

I am not sure the exact location of the leak, I will need to perform the same test as the Nissan dealership.

Sounds like I should try replacing all of the gaskets first.

I wasn't able to find a search feature here, might because Im a brand new user.

Thanks for the info.

 

There's a search feature, but I believe it's disabled for those who do not donate. Too bad, even old school members like me can't even use it.

 

Here's how to search
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=368622
Post # 2 is the way I used to do it.
copy/paste is your friend
When you pull the manifold you can check if it's warped pretty easily. take something that is perfectly straight. (We have tools at work for this purpose, you need something that lays PERFECTLY flat) Lay it across the gasket side of the manifold and try to slide a leaf feeler under it. Press down on both ends of the straight edge. How ever much you can slide under the straight edge is how warped it is..You also shouldn't be able to see any light coming through between the straight edge and the manifold.
If it is slightly warped (unlikely) you could probably just have it resurface by a machine shop for $50.00 or less.

A pic of the leaf feeler
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...pecialty+Tools

Also if you find the area where the leak is coming from it probably wouldn't hurt to check all the manifold hoses around that location just to make sure they are tight and not cracked.

 

Oh yeah, I totally forgot about searching through Yahoo. I've been browsing the for-sale forum too much

 

It is fairly easy to take off, just takes patience and time. Be VERY careful with the plenum bolts.

Could just be the gasket and that is under $10 from the dealer. Start there, replace the gasket and see if it gets better. look for any leaks, if that does not do it, all you lost was $10 and an afternoon.

 

People....enough of this search BS.

The Nissan diagnosis sounds like a load of horse crap to me. "Warped intake manifold?" Are you kidding me? Did they say your blinker fluid is low as well?

A few things to do/questions for you:

1. Do you have the SES (service engine soon) light on?

2. Intake Manifold is NOT the same as the INTAKE (which you mention) or the THROTTLE BODY (which someone else in this thread alluded to).

3. There are a few different things that could cause what you are describing in terms of performance (or lack thereof), but the most likely culprit is a vacuum leak. This can be in various places throughout the air box, vacuum hoses, throttle body gasket/seal, etc. Yes, the intake manifold gasket could be bad, but that doesn't mean the IM itself is "warped".

4. Take the car to a different shop, and DON'T tell them what the dealer said. Most likely a mechanic who knows what he's talking about can solve this problem with a new gasket, or by tightening a seal, etc...

5. Whatever you do, don't let that dealer work on the car. They are full of ****.

 

or, you could go to a junkyard, pull the IM off in about 20 minutes of work, pay about $50 for it, and install it on your car (with new gaskets from the dealer).

Either way, don't even THINK about letting those dealer idiots touch your car. They are obviously trying to rip your buddy off....

 

I agree, when they quoted me $1100 for the repair, I told them to shut the hood and don't touch anything else.

Thanks for all the tips, you guys rock.

 

I'm with irish on this. No SES light? No second opinion yet? I've never heard of a warped intake manifold on a 5th Gen Maxima and very few on fuel injected cars in general. If it were warped (badly enough), it would run roughly constantly, not just at warm-up. Also agreeing with irish, its most likely a vacuum leak somewhere in the air intake stream. Since I am not an expert, I am not trying to speculate exactly where but I would start looking just before and after the throttle body first and then on to the actual manifold for a hose that's not connected, crimped, or maybe even has a hole. Someone probably knows exactly where all the lines are but I don't since I've yet to have to deal with that.

Another possiblity, albeit a lesser one, is that a gasket is either broken or possibly on its way out. Again, I've never taken the entire intake manifold apart on a Nissan yet but I've had a similar problem with an old Ford 5.0 (which is obviously much less technological than is the 3.0) and it was a bad gasket/lack of a seal between the upper and lower intake manifolds. A few bucks and an hour later, it ran much better.

Good luck. And whatever you do, don't let that dealership touch it again.

 

by the way, I notice you're in Richmond. I would drop into the mid-atlantic forum and see if there's someone local who can take a look for you. There are several very maxima-knowledgeable guys down in Richmond.

here's the link:
http://forums.maxima.org/forumdisplay.php?f=14

 

Irish I didnt answer your question about the SES light. Yes it was on, and the dealer shop said it was a catalytic converter code. The mechanic then said Maxes throw this code alot, but it is usually another problem. They must have cleared the code, it wasnt on during the drive home.

 

With all the facts stated above it sounds like a sensor. Someone correct me if I am wrong but woldn't a vaccum leak keep running like crap after the car was warm? Sounds like a sensor that is not running correctly when the car is cold (I think it is called closed loop) then when is warms up (to open loop) it rins fine. Just taking a stab at it feel free to corect me if I am wrong. Also strange that they said a catalytic converter code and they didnt bother you about them wanting to fix it. Im surprised they didnt jump on another thing to fix to get more money out of you.

 

How long has it been since you've had the SES light turned off? It it's been more than a few days, then I would imagine that the code really was unrelated, as there's been ample time for it to cycle through the tests.

I tend to feel that it's a gasket problem. Once the car warms up and the area around the gasket has expanded, it may compensate for the bad seal.

 

this does sound like a lot of BSfrom the dealer! and before you even go taking off the manifold urself (which is not that hard of a job as they told you) to check if its straight (which is a good idea) check all the vacume hoses like everyone said, and if there is no SES light it may likely be the MAF.

manifold will likely warp if its very very hot and you spray cold water on it, has this ever happened? well even if it did these are composite manifolds and dont react to temp changes like metal, it will crack before it warps.

like evryone said...DONT GO BACK THERE!!!

 

I have never sprayed the engine with cold water while cold or hot. I am going to replace the gaskets and see how it goes, sounds like a pretty cheap first attempt.

btw this lovely dealer is Pence Nissan. Now that the warranty is out, I will never go back.

You guys rock, thanks for the help.

Oh, will normal auto places (Advance, Zone) have these gaskets? Or will I have to go back to the dealer? And is any sealant needed on any of the ports or surfaces?

 

you only need the gasket and as far as I know, yes you need to get it from a dealer. Call Dave B for one because chances are the dealer does not stock them anyway. The only reason they had one for me was because they had an intake job cancel on them.

 

Anyone have DaveB's contact info? I sent him a PM a couple of days ago and haven't heard from him yet.

 

daveb'S number is 1-888-254-6060, during work hours.

make sure you ask for Dave BURNETTE. There is another Dave B. that works there too, who won't give the org discount. Dave a great guy, make sure to mention you are on the org.

 

Hi There, I just wanted to ask a quick question does anybody have a picture of the backside of a 2001 Nissan Maxima Intake Plenum? I am just about ready to remove mines but I think they have bolts behind it. And if I can have a picture of the back and bottom if possible then I can see how many bolt holes they are. Thank you,
PS I am trying to remove the fuel injectors and I also seem to hear a vacuum leak. I will share my outcome later.