I POSTED THIS IN THE REGIONAL FORUM, BUT JUST INCASE SOME OF YOU GUYS ARENT ON THERE TOO MUCH... hey guys, since my max is so beat up and im having trouble with the title im looking at a max that supposedly has a blown head gasket because it overheats after like 15-20 mins of being on. hopefully its just something like the thermostat or water pump or radiator because i checked the oil stick and looked in the oil cap and it looks extremely clean with no traces of coolant. BUT if i do need to swap the engine from my car to the new one, would locals orgs be willing to help me? idk alot but ill do whatever asked to help and ill supply McDs as im kinda broke for anything else. I would need help with tools and an engine hoist... plz say yeah guys!! lol

P.S. IF THIS DOES GO THROUGH I MIGHT HAVE A SHELL and 5Mt SWAP TOO PART OUT! "FOR THE VULTURES" LOL

 

It's beer that gets you help around here mate! LOL

I've never heard of a blown head gasket on a VQ, I'm sure it has happened and will again, but I'd look at other things first. How many miles on the car, water pump ever been done? coolant ever been flushed? thermostat done? Why are you buying a "borken" car (and if you didn't .... you might be able to afford the beer then too! FTW!!! ) What has been done to try and fix this other car? It seems silly to buy another car that needs work if your car needs work too .... why not just fix your car up with the money?

 

are you burning coolant???? If the coolant level doesn't go down look at the water pump and thermostat.

 

my engine and tranny are awesome, i just did a whole bunch of maintenance. My car is beat up body wise and everywhere. Also im still having trouble with the stupid title to the car. the "borken" car is a 96 is a white pearl with black leather interior ad perfect all over except its overheating. it has a clean tx title and its only for $500!! no im nt saying where! u vultures!!! lol but yea i think its worth to buy it and if the head gasket is gone, ill just swap mine over thats perfect.

P.S. fine ill get beer! lol

 

Hmm...check if there is coolant in the oil by taking the dipstick out, see if the oil is bubbly or milky or anything, and also too touch the dipstick to a hot exhaust manifold, if it burns off, its oil....if it burns ans SIZZLES you got coolant in it. Also check to see if your coolant is brown or murky.


It may just be a thermostat or something. Either way, might be an excuse for a VQ35 swap.

 

^^^^ i was looking at the car only for like 10 mins because it was 106 F again. i checked the oil and it was clean clean! hopefuly its just the thermostat or water pump.

 

Yea, hopefully. I was about to say, I haven't really heard of VQ's with headgasket issues unless the motor was just completely abused and not maintained properly and overheated.

 

idk. the guy says his wife was driving it and called him that it got hot and that he added coolant and drove it home and in like 20 mins it was hot again. Im thinking it might even be a rad hose or a clogged radiator!!

edit: heres 2 pics he sent me:

 

Not bad, from those pics, the leather seats look in a helluva lot better condition than my black leather in my 1997, and I thought mine was taken care of well when I got it!

Just curious is that a GLE or SE? 5sp or Auto? Mileage on it?

 

auto, and i didnt even pay attention to the gauges but i coulda sworn they were white, so maybe a SE but no fogs or tail so i dont know... didnt look at the mileage... going to give it a good checkout tommorow and will post more info, but i might bring this baby home.

 

Nice! If they aren't asking much for it, it could be a good deal. Then again, if they are saying it is a headgasket, you never know they could know something you don't, as in maybe they completely overheated it at one point thus they think it is the headgasket. In other words, I wouldn't be set on the fact that it is a cheap fix and have it end up not being so. But generally headgasket issues I would say are pretty dang rare in these cars.

But if everything else looks good and it is really cheap, it might be a steal.

 

^^^^yea i mean itd be awesome if its a cheap fix but im willing to swap my engine over into it if that is the case. Either way ill end up with a whole lotta parts that i can sell and make +++more what ima spend.

 

If that is the case, how much time do you have for the swap? I figure just about anyone with some sort of knowledge about their cars can do a anything, it is just a matter of time, tools, and equipment.

For example, I didn't know diddley squat about taking my transmission out of the car, much less rebuilding it and swapping input shafts in my garage, but with a lot of time and a lot of help from the .org I got it done. Then again, I was without a car for 2 weeks.

 

^^^^ Man ... you got help on here, from who? LOL

It really is a lot of reading, searching, and posting for what you can't find. I will tell you though ... if you post a question about a swap, you might get banned for not searching first. It's been done by gobs of people (including the 3.5 L) so if you post silly questions, you need to make sure you flame suit can handle the heat.

I think too many people are too anxious to just swap out parts. You can take a head off and have it milled for a hell of a lot less work than it would take to pull and place an entire engine / tranny. Why don't you look into the problem more and actually diagnose it - find the real problem - if you are that interested in it. You could honestly part out the non running Max and take that money to fix your car.

 

Id like to get it done in like 3-4 days, since im not gonna fix anything if its a swap. Just pull and put in. i do need some tools. i have a real good Husky Pro Set, but i need to look at a breaker bar and torque wrench, and borrow an engine lift/hoist from some1. and a couple of hands to help out with stuff. overall i think i can do it. ive done engine swaps b4 on my past cars(honda) but im still learning about our maxs

 

The problem with my car is that its all beat up horrible, i think every panel on my car is either crashed or scraped... not me by the way, i bought it like this. and the major problem im having is that i cant get my title becaus the stupid bank has a lean on it that i have the paper work that was paid off, but since theyve sold the supposed debt so many times i cant find the damn bank that has it. and when you blow the headgasket, you replace the headgasket but usually the valves are bent right? so i could go with rebuilding the head? how much does that run?

 

Haha, like I said, a LOT of help from the .org, more specifically, a LOT of help from JtzMax.


Jtz, you're the man dude.

Ok, my bad, back on topic lol

 

Honda ???? you sinner!

There is a lot involved in doing that ... just so you know. It's not as easy as it sounds. Guess you'll find out on your own. G'luck finding people to help you. I'd rather look into the cause of the problem and fix that .... easier, cheaper, less labor intensive, and above all, you might learn something.

edit: everyone was posting at the same time! lol

Ok as for pulling the head, it's a lot less complicated than doing a full swap. If you don't even understand how an engine really works (but have switched them out before) you should start by understanding. Read ... it's your friend. You bend valves when you break a timing belt - our cars don't have belts. VQ30 = Timing Chain, thus the little extra noise when you lift the hood. Head gasket holds pressure (for compression) between the block (engine base) and the head. The head holds the valves and cams. Driven off the crank by the chain. So really ... head gasket giong bad on a VQ ... Don't think so, but like I said, anything is possible. God help you if you need to change out the water pump.

Modena! Glad I could help. I'm still learning too ... but I have a great understanding - something the OP needs.

 

Nope, usually a headgasket has nothing to do with the valves. Some cars are noted for headgasket problems, for example, Subaru EJ25 2.5 liter flat fours from the 90's and early 2000's. Cars like this, typically just need new headgaskets and go on their merry way.

For a VQ30 like in our Maxima's however which are NOT noted for headgasket problems, means that if a headgasket does go, then something nasty happened to make it go, for example, grossly overheating the engine or years of wide open throttle on a cold engine. The problem with this is sometimes the head can get warped a little thus needing it to be machined flat again.

EDIT: I definitely agree with Jtz though, make sure you check it out very thoroughly before doing a swap. If you can get away with a new radiator or a new thermostat or something that would be a helluva lot better than an engine swap. I was just saying though, be prepared incase it IS a headgasket though, quite possibly it could be unlikely.

Who knows...I've seen people convinced something is catastrophically wrong with their vehicle due to overheating and it being something as simple as a blown fuse on their radiator fans.....

 

definitely, ill try to see if i can repair first. and if thats the case i can just part all of my 95 out. it looks real nice but ill have more info tommorow when i go see it and hopefully not burn to death since again its supposed to hit 105.

 

It's worth $500 in scrap metal and catalytic converters, you would be absolutely silly to pass it up.

 

I'll save you all this trouble and just sell you mine. Mine is a 99 black SE in almost mint condition. And I'm in Dallas

 

yup im waiting for the guy to get home from work to go check it out and probably take it.

 

will you sell it for $500 too? lol

 

wow so i went to see it and now the guy says he wants $1200! He said his wife told him hes asking to little... i told him to go F*** himself cause i had brought him the $500!! Somebody probably went to look at the car and opened their mouth about it being fixable...

 

EJ's suck to work on. Especially in the car...but I don't know how long it took me to tear one down, most of the time was finding all the hidden damn bolts that hold the two halves of the block together.

I've been doing this for years, and the VQ30 just keeps on coming back for more...bulletproof little motor I think, even better than the VQ35

on both counts.

Head gasket on a VQ30? Possible, sure, but the amount of abuse I've seen them suffer with no problems...

And WP is definitely a fun job for a newbie, to say the least.

That sucks, a 4th gen (especially with leather interior) would be a great deal for $500, even if the motor was blown. VQ30s are so cheap, because no one ever seems to really need them

 

Well he called me back tonight and told me he would take $900 and i was like nooo. if thats what u wanted in the first place maybe, but you old me $500 and i told u id be there the next day cash in hand to do a final inspection so if you want ill give you $600 but nothing more!!! and he was like uhm, oh , but, cough, and then he said he will call me tommorow so i hope he does because the interior is 9.5/10 and the body id say a 8/10 and yes its a SE

 

Based on those 2 pictures it's not an SE. $500 is a great deal if it's drive able and $1200 would still be a good deal.

 

never got it but i did get a 95 se 5spd that doesnt turn over supposedly. for only $450!!! ill post pics tommorow.

 

heres a pic as promised!! it even has 17s with brand new tires! y-pipe, intake, lowered!

 

You got a great deal. Is it auto or manual? Engine is most likely seized if it doesn't turn over. Stick a socket or wrench on the crank pulley bolt and see if you can turn the crank pulley. If you can't the engine is seized.

 

5 spd manual, se. its got ugly altezzas in the back but who cares...

 

If the crank pulley turns try to push start the car.

 

i will. im waiting for it to be cooler. its over 100 right now here in dallas

 

Nice find mate! $450 is cheeeeeepppp for a Maxima and you were planning on swapping anyway, so if it is siezed, swap away! lol Let us know if it turns over by hand (using a socket and all).

Cheers!

 

it did turn over. but my neighbor just offered a grand and its gone. i just made $550 in like 3 hours! lol oh well back to the drawing board again but now that i have $1200 i might just fix mine. god i have to make up my mind!

 

Sweet!

 

This is the list of stuff i need ( in order i want):

1. bonded title (this week)
2. a/c (this week)
3. y pipe, hi flo cat, catback
4. CAI
5. Tints
6. 19" G35 Rims
7. fenders and Cf hood
8. Repaint super black.

*i didnt put suspension since it just got brand new stock shocks.

**interior is good, just needs a good detail and and shift/ebrake boot.

 

Nice man, where are you finding these deals? If I could find a max for $500 I would buy it just for spare parts to keep mine running forever.

 

stuff i see on the street. sometimes craigslist, and sometimes i drive the neighborhoods looking for cars ppl have parked w/ for sale signs on them.