Whats going on ...I recently came across a deal i couldnt pass up on a 01 5spd max with 240k. Car is silver with frost leather interior ...fully loaded..needs some TLC of course but i was glad to add her to the family.

I was hoping to have your input on a few things that are wrong with the car...maybe someone could point me in the right direction.

1)THis is the most important thing to me at this point is the shifting... Clutch grabs perfectly fine...grabs immediately right off the floor however the shifting is very notchy...no grinds...but it is hard to engage gears...i checked clutch fluid and its at the right level...should I change MT Fluid? I have had a handful of 5spd maximas and they certainly do not shift smooth as a hondas tranny does but it shouldnt be this notchy, it feels like it is low on clutch fluid..any ideas?

2) Speedometer wont go past 25mph....least of my worries at this point but thought id throw that out there

3) I haven't given her a thorough inspection as yet but already know certain items need to be replaced.

I figured id start with the basics...seafoam, oil change, spark plugs, filters, coolant flush, MT fluid. Struts and mounts are def bad and luckily i have extra from my other 5th gen.
Also have a power steering leak from one of the hoses but figured I lll have to do some poking around under the car for that.


My question is...at this mileage is there anything in particular i should inspect or replace? Also is there anything I should leave alone? I have no maintenance records so I have no clue when clutch was done or any fluid changes.

I wanna take care of the mechanical stuff asap so i can throw some goodies on

And yes of course...PICS are on the way!


Thanks guys!

Ray

 

I'm looking at a similar car tomorrow but with half the miles. Where are you and what did you pay for her?

 

with your clutch problem i had a similar feeling on another car, i drove like that for 4 years and one day i had something fixed and the guy removed the shifter cables and when he put them back in he adjusted them and this fixed that problem. mine was actually to the point where it grinded and adjusting the cable solved it, i thought the tranny syncros were out. just throwing this out there

 

With that mileage shifter cables sounds like a good place to at least check.
That's a lot of miles though...

 

Those are some sweet pics!

 

I thought 5th gens had linkage not cables?

 

00-01 5 speeds do have linkage.

 

Check the lower radiator support for rust damage. The crossmember that attaches to the front of it will break loose.

 

240k miles is close to TEN times around the earth. Just thought i'd also point out that it's close to 400,000 KM's for us Canadians. That's more than alot. that's insane.

 

So? I am coming up to 250k and I got my Maxima Sept-2004 with 39,000 miles.

Check the FSM of course and it won't hurt to look over the Owners Manual for those maintenance schedules.

 

Would definitely replace the MT fluid for you never know when it was last touched, especially with that many miles.

Look at Redline MT-85 for the fluid. It's designed for our cars.

 

I second the MT-85. But it is not designed specifically for our cars.

 

I think they are saying its a lot when you purchase a car at that mileage and don't know its maintenance history. In your case you have had the car for basically its entire life and know its maintenance history up to its current mileage. Two separate things...

 

Thanks for all the replies fellas


Update on the car..
I've been busy with work/school and my other cars and haven't messed with this max too much as yet but so far i've done the following

The leaking power steering hose turned out to be the high pressure line- Replaced that now power steering is good.

ABS sensor wires were ripped, I spliced them together and now the speedo works fine.

Knock on wood but the shifting has not felt notchy since the day i drove the car home, not sure what this means but when I take it for a spin around the block it shifts perfectly fine.

Front end definitely needs some work as it did feel loose when bringing it home..what would you guys recommend I check/replace?
I will be doing struts/brakes this week. Axles look to be in good condition im assuming at this mileage they were already replaced.

The lower rad support of course has rust I think all my maximas have rusted out here...does that need to be welded in?

I cleaned the engine which was beyond filthy and of course the idiot I am i forgot to cover alternator and got dirt/grease in it so now the brake and battery light is coming on the dash telling me alternator is bad...tried cleaning it but no luck..I'm gonna pull it out and clean again hopefully im not stuck buying a junkyard one...any ideas on how to clean it? It was working perfectly fine prior to me getting dirt in it so i'm hoping i can salvage it

Oh and here is a pic of the car when I got it next to my other 5th gen ...updated pics to come car has been detailed & tinted out since then

 

Yes it has to be cut out and welded in. I highly recommend getting it done asap. It rusts from the inside-out, and the steel isn't that thick. Once I started noticing mine rusting it didn't take long for it to corrode and the crossmember break loose from it, which is what your motor mounts are attached to.

I just recently had mine fixed. Here's a link to some pics so you can see what you're dealing with.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...6243918&type=1

 

Sounds like fun ^^^ haha thanks

 

pics

 

i wanted to see the pics, doesnt work
This content is currently unavailable

 

Strange... I'll just do a couple copy and pastes then.

 

One more thing, make sure your lower rad support is Nissan OEM. Aftermarket ones aren't good quality and the metal is thin and can actually fail.

 

Pics are up for those that didn't see.