I need everyones ideas....
My 2X rebuilt tranny is....gettin...there once again. Its only been 30k or so since the 2nd rebuild ... and for the past 8k miles i have been having to push it into 2nd gear to have a "smoother" transition because if it is babied into 2nd it bangs, and on top of that i had noticed today when going from 1st into second...i can hear a springy metal erky noise while it shifts(like a old metal mattress).. not good.... ....it seems totally impratical to get a new trans or rebuild this a 3rd time. I am ready for a new 5.5 Gen... but..on the other hand...i just want to ride this beauty as long as possible for the rest of the year? FYI the car is still strong otherwise and if it wasnt for this annoying tranny i wouldnt have any doubt to get around for another year with no worries (mechanically). So is it ok to keep pushing it like this? Or is it gonna really hurt one of these days and pretty much blow! I dont know what the prices are on gettin a rebuild or reinstall? Even possibly from you guys here. (Neighbor did both rebuilds for cheap... parts and labor 500-600 each time) Or should i suck it up and accept that this one of a kind 3rd gen is.....about to be gone.... the worst part is that it looks better than it ever ever ever did. .....any suggestions...are appreciated. THANKS:

 

do a have 5 speed swap and keep it it looks good

 

looks like you're about to go through what I'm in the middle of. I decided to keep my 92gxe even though the autotrans went out. Instead of rebuilding (1200) or buying used (800+) I bought a parts car with a good trans much cheaper that the other 2 options. I also needed other parts too, so I got a lot for the money. You car looks nice! So you probably just need a transmission replacement. If your neighbor can rebuid he surely could do a 5 speed swap. That's what I want to do in the future! Good luck.

 

i want to keep her so bad but at the same time i cant drop much money into her.....im so lost...with what to do.

 

Think about it,you say you can't drop that much money into your car,but yet your thinking about buying a 5.5 gen maxima??...Two monthly car payments on a 03 maxima will buy a rebuild for your tranny....Hmmmmm...Do the math..

 

Like Greeny said -- do some math and figure out the cost of rebuilding tranny vs. new car payment.

That's why I still drive a 3rd gen instead of a G35 and also why I sold my 06 Tundra and bought a 94 GMC 4x4 to replace it. I could afford it, but I don't really want the payments.

You might also want to look into having a different shop rebuild your tranny.

 

its ...like...when is too much too much.......i have spent...over 6k...on this thing on keepin it running alone in the past 3 years ?(not mods)

 

I was thinking exactly like you were but when I sat down at dealer ship and started talking math on newer car I walked Im still working on gettin my maxima up and running again. Hope this new tranny I got works for a long time..

 

... what did it need?..

hah, I was so sure this thread was going to be about a dying VE before I opened it...

 

Well,i'm guessing the reason you have spent that much on repairs is because you having repair shops do all the usual repairs needed on a 13 yr old car..if you were to do the repairs yourself the cost would be less than half that,much less....

 

steering rack/pump
2nd trans rebuild
timing belt/h2o pump
manifold studs front and rear (seperate times yea...the second i pulled away after they did the first studs, i heard the same noise if not worse and obviously needed the others .only if i had you guys then)
wheel cylinders
lower ball joints
2 injectors
struts and all of the things i tend to forget...

 

very true...no doubt....luckly a friend the the rebuilds but...i doubt hes around to do it again...... now...to let everyone know.there are alot of other things that are pointing me away from this beauty.just to name a few..like needs ac charge, windsheild, and this annoying suspension noise and a biggie ! rust...problems.too..... ( rear wheel wells rotted so bad that water came thru the back seat (thats fixed for now...rust is rust) , quaterpanel wheel well lip (easily visible), roof line @ windsheild which cracked it due to expansion of the rust)

 

You've done lots of work to it already. Just do a 5 speed swap or get a low mileage auto that works.

Ive thought about selling my 3rd gen since I only have $500ish invested. But considering how much of that is matainence I've already done, it doesn't make sense to start out with a different one and be at least $1500 for a good maxima.

Look at how much money repairing the final few things you have left is. Then look at how many month's you'll be paying $300 for a 5.5th gen....at that rate the 3rd gen will be perfectly maintained in no time. And you wont be eating ramen noodles and have plenty of spending money...compared to eating as little as possible or working your but off for a 02-03...

~Alex

 

...sometimes the org makes it seem easy and cheap....and it probably would be if i had the right people to help me with it ....but...with no connections atm..that swap or auto rebuild ...seems to be over the $600-800 price limit of "too much is too much" into a dying baby......i guess well see....everyone who isnt a 3rd gen owner says im crazy....for tryin to keep it...around...thanks yawl...

so junk yards have ...these trans laying around a dime a dozen? ? what about the better 92-94 vgs? same thing

 

I would just sell it as a parts car....
















To ME!

I would buy it and swap a 5-speed into it (still got my old VG trans laying around) but if it has rust I aint messing with it.

 

This is why I have two spare VE engines, and a spare VE 5spd transmission. Soon to have a spare VE complete car

Like said above, you'll find if you do the math, it's worth it to keep it. Plus, you've got a great looking car there. 3rd gens are timeless! Not sure we'll be able to say that about 5th gens in 10-15 years..

 

I feel ya...but theres alot at hand with "whens too much too much"..gettin a rebuild/swap/new low mile auto is going to be atleast $1k if not more...almost more than this things worth (market wise). I can see it being worth it to an extent..but is it really...? These payments and more money for a newer car...has to come sometime?.And I could go out and do this rebuild and...1 mnth later need another $1k repair...theres $2k wasted that could of been thrown to my next project.....i pretty much decided "atm" that im gonna ride this puppy as long as possible with out doing any work....yeah...it may be bad for the tranny but..alot of things are tellin me to hold off ....unless i can find a great deal for this trans work... well jsut have to see

 

I think I know how your feelin. You get a lot of pride and satisfaction in doing something yourself and I suspect that is why your struggling with getting rid of your old max. You have put a lot of work in it and it looks good. Of course it has its problems, but you can overlook them because of what you've invested in it - YOUR TIME. You don't want that to be a waste, right? I would suggest looking for a stock 92-94 VE5 in good condition and strip all the cool stuff off your current car (since there is alot of rust on it) and put it on the VE. That way you are doing something different. You've already rebuilt the transmission a couple of times and you know how that went. With a VE you are getting an upgrade in performance yet at the same time you are still keeping the spirit of your old max alive.

 

i actually considered that.......a lil while ago in the winter....and its still an option i would consider...but on the other hand.....its quite hard to find a low mileagle 3rd gen max anywhere (even under 90k)...and on top of that...i would sorta be in the same boat with repairing the crap out of it over a few years...because right after the 120k mark theroetically your gonna end up repairing the common things that go on old engines....and i see buying a new 5.5gen(or w/e car) with less than 40k miles....maintain it from there on and i hopefully wont have that problem. And when that high mileage time comes by then i could probably part my ways and get rid of it and make out $$ before all the nickel and diming hits me.. as this one has allready for $6k.

 

Depends on your situation. There was a time when I wouldn't have considered a car payment. But that was when I was broke, single, and could skip class to fix my car. I also wasn't worried about safety features since it was just me.

Now I am married, not quite so broke, and literally don't have time to be wrenching on the car unexpectedly. Also, I don't my want wife and our future children riding around in an old car with borderline / bad crash ratings, no ABS, and old airbags. So for me, the option that made the most sense was buying a much newer (but still used) car that had those features. I got my Trailblazer from Carmax. When it breaks, Carmax fixes it under warranty and gives me a rental if they have to keep it overnight.

Good luck with your decision.

 

oh yea and that too! no air bags and no abs those too together...ouch....thanks for tha input....
its so frustraighting because guys like us at the org have pride in our cars and dont go through different cars every 3 years... we keep em more like 10..put time and money and heart into them....and...its just really hard or in betterwords important to make the right decsision you wont regret.
the more and more... i just see its time...to let her go...even if it dosent make it for the season as i had planned/hoped for ....btw as mentioned above i see..short term i would save money...but long term im throwin repair cash$$ onto a endless pit.??..well... thanks yawl....well have to see how long this thing goes for..

 

i went through the exact same thing with my car. bought it in '99. apparently from when i bought the car it seemed that the auto tranny was already replaced with another good auto tranny that lasted a good 3 years after i bought it. so that would be the 1st auto tranny swap. then in '02 its first rebuild. that lasted about a good 1 year and then it locked up. then about a week later i replaced it with an 80k auto tranny that cost me $300 which lasted 3 months and then it completely died. another week went by and i came across a 5-speed tranny. i already had all of the parts for the swap that cost me $50 and $100 for the 5-speed tranny. did the swap on a weekend which the grand total for the 5-spd swap was about $240 under a hot sun in a rainy humid summer back in '04 and has not given me any type of problems what-so-ever. then last year i bought a spare 5-speed tranny for $100 just in case. so it is pretty much up to you if you really want to fix her up or just let her go. just keep in mind that if you are willin' to keep up with the payments then go for it, if not don't even bother. im going through the same thing in getting a new car as well but guess what it takes time. i've found cheap IS300's but none of which are the ones that i want. usually they are either auto's or tiptronics but i want a 5-speed and its been hard to find one. reminds me of when i was looking for a 5-speed tranny for the max. it takes time. good luck on what ever you do buddy.

 

I see it like this, the car is paid for.You spend $1000 this year. thats your payment for the year on the MAX.Now you buy a newer car making payments say $300 a month.Thats $3600 in payments for the year.Who knows if you gotta put money into it. Save $2600 if you keep the max.I understand family and safety first. But they have alot of knucklehead drivers out there.Everyday we step into our cars or any car its a gamble.When I and family go out we use the caravan. The MAX is for my enjoyment.Cant be all work and no play.Good luck

 

I bought 2 3rd gens...

 

Its really a tough call...as said above there are alot of other factors(rust,windshield "due to rust",control arm, valve covers leakin etc)..than just the trans work that it needs (that is just the big push to call it "too much is too much")... ..i would estimate all that could be fixed now is $1600 and thats $1600 into a car with "cancer" (rust)..so it is becoming ...impratical to do much more to her...

thansk for your input..... i would swap/rebuild in a sec if i had the resources to do it as you did...but looking at how i would be able to get it done..its well over $800 for any work.....ugh well... im still riding...and hopefully i get to 200,000 miles and thru till august...as i prayed for....

 

How about this.... i saw a grandmom in my neighborhood...with a *mint* condition 92-94 gxe, should i mail her a request to sell her car to me when shes ready to give it up? This thing had no problems exterior wise...and if its those years it must have a good tranny...

 

Try this.. http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/s...s?query=maxima

 

gracias amigo

 

Yeah, if you like 3rd gens so much just buy another one in great condition, (Not that hard to find if you look long enough) And either swap the good parts you want from your white max, or start from scratch after you sell it) I just picked up a 1993 VE and it's scary how new it feels/looks... I don't forsee any problems with it in a long time. And I believe I found a doner 5-speed swapped car

yayz

 

im definately lookin

 

Find a southern non-running VE body and ship it up there