I’m looking at a ’97 GXE for my daughter as a replacement for her totaled Mazda 626. I found one that is a one owner with 110k miles. All seems good with the interior and exterior but once I climbed under the car I found these 3 leaks.

Transmission


How severe is this leak? Does it need repair or can I just deal with it by adding fluid? Note: the transmission shifts fine and the fluid looks and smells good. Our previous 626 had a leak in the same location but didn’t affect transmission performance as long as I kept an eye on the level.


Power Steering




This is my main concern. The owner mentioned they have to add fluid a few times a year but haven’t recently. You can clearly see from under the hood looking down behind the engine there is a leak due to the gunk collecting on the rack. Once I got under I also found this rubber piece cracked. Again, how serious is this? I the rack or PS pump on its last leg? It drove and steered fine and I didn’t hear any “groaning” noises.


Oil


Small leak from the back of the oil pan (I think). Not too concerned if it’s a pan gasket or if from the filter. Is this common for a 4th gen with over 100k miles?


Thanks in advance for any advice. The rest of the vehicle and engine appear to be fine and if the above issues aren’t that big of a deal, I’ll probably jump on this one.

Mike

 

IMO all of your leaks are very common with 4th gen's
Pic#1 Rear main seal, monitor engine oil weekly that looks pretty bad notourious in vq's part $9 labor ? lets not go there
pic#2 Rack&pinion mount bushings, leak may have caused wear as well as time clean & check all lines rack may be on its way
Pic#3 very common/Need better pics could be anything: oil pan gasket/oil filter/oil psi switch..take pictures from different angles. not that serious.

Just judging from the pics you have more leaks .It depends on how much you want to spend.

 

Thanks for the reply. In Pic#1 you say "monitor engine oil". Did you mean transmission? The picture is of the transmission case and the fluid dripping is red. Also I'm not sure what you meant by "notourious in vq's part $9 labor ? lets not go there".

After searching through some old posts it doesn't seem too uncommon for the rack to give out with this many miles. Looks like a rack is about $300 and a DIY is not that hard *if* you can get the Y-pipe off. In my case this may be difficult looking at the rust on the exhaust (this was a northern car).

Not too worried about the oil leak at the pan. The gasket and sender are easy to replace.

The only other things that concern me about the car is that it is a northern car and after looking at the pictures again there is more rust than I'm used to seeing on my Virginia cars. May not be a big deal but it doesn't look pretty. The other thing is it was hit HARD in the left rear between the passenger door and rear fender. I saw the body shop figures from the damage in 2002 - over $9000. Hit hard enough on the side to blow both airbags and the rear window out. The work looks good but still something to think about. Oh yeah the rear axle and trailing arms we're just replaced last year. Residual damage from the accident I guess.

Again everything else about the car looks good for a 10 year old Maxima. My question is, is it worth $4200?

 

find another maxima with less or no leaks, i bought mine with 203.000 KM on her and (god forbid) nothing is leaking

There are plenty of maximas around for sale, i would look elsewhere. unless this one is going super cheap, then its worth to use the moeny u saved buying the car-- to repair it.

 

Well for $4200 I would whine about the leaks and bring down the price.

I see a rear main seal leak (pic 1), possibly a power steering rack or power steering line leak (common) (pic 2-3), a torn steering rack bushing (pic 2), and either a leftover mess from an oil change, or maybe the oil pressure sender is leaking (pic 4).

The rear main seal requires removal of the tranny. Probably $500 minimum.
The power steering rack may need replaced - easily $500, maybe $1000. (DIY is $200, but fairly detailed)
The leak by the oil pan should be pretty easy - maybe $50.

Dave

 

Pic#1 indicates engine oil leaking from the rear main seal.
I said this is notorious withs 4th gen's because ive seen this alot
The rear main seal cost about $9.00 but the labor is very expensive it involves
removing the tranny & flywheel/flexplate $4200 is too much for the car as is.
I agree with andrei3333 & dgeesaman .Lower the price to atleast $3200 or find a better one for less .I bought 1 from a dealer & 2 on ebay. Shop around, iam sure you will find a better deal

 

Thanks guys!

I don't think the owner will let it go for $3200 so I think I'd be better off if I keep looking. Also the previous accident damage and the surface rust underneath from being a northern car all it's life is swaying my decission not to get this one.