Ok, so, I discovered that I need a new alternator and a new battery (Thus the people at PEPBOYS told me this when inspecting the car, which I paid $52 dollars for). So, with that said, I've begun to do some research on Alternators and Batteries online, myself, since the price that PEPBOYS wanted to do this was WAY TOO HIGH! There is an online video for how to replace the Car Alternator in a Nissan Maxima 1997 located here: http://youtu.be/NabxJMx1cW8 and this explains everything needed to be done STEP by STEP! Not sure I need to do all of what he does in that video, but if so, so be it! And I'm comfortable doing the work myself, since I already replaced the Front and Rear Valve Cover Gaskets on this car via watching a YouTube Video for this exact make and model.

The problem I'm facing with this is that I'm not entirely sure which Alternator to buy... 110 AMP or 125 AMP? Which is better? And why is the 125 AMP Alternator Cheaper on every single search I do online? Also, in the video that I linked above for the YouTube Alternator replacement, the man says different amp alternators have different housing units, so I don't want to buy an alternator that won't fit. But also, the man in that video states that his car passed the laws regulated in the State of California, due to the sticker under the hood stating this. And so, this is why he must use a 110 AMP Alternator. But my sticker underneath the hood of my Nissan Maxima 1997 doesn't state this at all, so I'm assuming that it does not pass the state of California regulated laws. In any case, no matter what the case is, I just need to know which Alternator that I should buy. My money is extremely TIGHT! And I can't afford to throw money away on the wrong Alternator that won't fit into the car. Which alternator is recommended and, can I go cheaper and get the 125 AMP Alternator? If I do get the 125 AMP Alternator, will it work just as reliable as the 110 AMP Alternator?

I am planning on using an INTERSTATE Battery within the car as well. Will this be a problem with either the 110 AMP or 125 AMP Alternator? Which one should perform better? But most importantly... WILL the 125 AMP Alternator fit into my car?

Also, if you take a look at this guys engine in the video, it says Nissan Motor OL800, but mine says: OL700 (in the sticker under the hood). I've included a picture of the sticker that I am referring to for my Nissan Maxima 1997 as it is.

Furthermore, there's a guy that commented on that YouTube video that states to just take the alternator out from the top. Is it really that easy? Cause that is what the guy does in the video, but he removes a ton of stuff (but than again, it's a California Type Emissions and mine's not). Ofcourse, you still need to remove the belt, so, in order to get to that, you have to remove the tire on the passengers side as in the video. But do I need to remove the AC Compressor bolts and Fan (as in the youtube video) really??? Can I just remove the Alternator without removing those bolts from the AC Compressor??

 

Nissan offered a 100 amp and a 110 amp alternator in the 1997 model. But I have never seen a 100 amp alternator, only the 110 amp units. As for the 125 amp unit, unless you have added heavy duty electrical equipment and actually need that extra power, there is no functional benefit to getting the 125 amp alternator. If the 125 amp alternator is cheaper (which really makes me wonder) then get it.

Your car is a federal emissions car and the one on YouTube is a California emissions car. This means nothing as far as the alternator goes. The process for changing the alternator is the same. There are a few people that say they can change the alternator from under the hood but I don't know how they do that. Doing it from underneath the car and unbolting the a/c compressor to get a little more working room is the official way. You will probably have to jack up the car to work underneath it, most people aren't that skinny. Taking off the wheel is optional, but the extra working room is worth the 2 extra minutes.

One important piece of info: when you are loosening the alternator belt tensioner assembly, the 1st thing you do is loosen the nut in the center of the pulley, then you turn the adjusting bolt 2nd.

Don't sweat it. You are trying to overthink this.

 

So, here's a link to a Brand New Alternator for Nissan Maxima 1997 where the 125 AMP is the same exact price as the 110 AMP Alternator. Should I just get the 125 AMP than? Will both of these fit in my 97 Nissan Maxima? Says it's for a 97 Nissan Maxima... but they have tons of different 97 Nissan Maximas on that page... and some of them look very different than the others... which one to get??

Link here: http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...lternator.html

 

If the price is the same get the 125. It should fit. Nissan does not make too many alternators. I put vq35 alternator on my vq30de-k and bolted up just fine. Has been working great for 1 year now.

 

Walmart everstart maxx battery is great and made by the same company as interstate. I had an interstate and bought the everstart maxx after I did my research. It's almost a thousand cranking amps and I paid about $77 for it but now they are more perhaps $88. There's a $9 (i think) core charge so bring your old battery. Also they have a 3 year warranty free replacement and I just replaced mine under the warranty because I wanted a new battery and they gave it to me, can't beat that.

 

The one I am looking at is located here: http://www.firestonecompleteautocare...method=vehicle at 800 Cold Cranking AMPS and is $109.99 (really wish I knew someone with a Costco Membership, cause their Car Batteries are around $60 dollars and I hear they are the BEST Car Batteries (The Kirkland Signature Brand). But I don't have a membership, and don't even have a Costco store anywhere near me.

BTW, how many Cold Cranking AMPS (CCA's) does that battery from Walmart (that you bought) have?

 

Ok, thanks so much Quickywd01, I went ahead and bought an Everstart Maxx Battery at Walmart (800 Cold Cranking Amps, 3 Year Replacement Warranty), and yeah, says it's made by Johnson Controls (same as Interstate and DieHard). It costed me around $107 dollars, after they took off the $9 dollars core charge for returning my old, dead battery (which was a DieHard 570 CCA's)! So, put it into my car and it started up perfectly fine! Honestly, I'm not even sure I need a new alternator, but that is what the folks at PEPBOYS told me. How do I know if I need a new alternator? I mean, is there a way to test this without a meter reading of the volts?? Cause a couple of people told me that it was weird that I needed, both the alternator and the battery. They told me it's usually 1 or the other, but NOT BOTH! In any case, I already purchased the alternator online, just waiting for it to arrive, since I was planning on replacing it to begin with. But, honestly, I'm not entirely sure I need an alternator now...

Wondering if there is a quick way to test this without a meter reading of the volts??? Cause I don't really have that type of equipment available to me.

Thanks, you guys here ROCK!

 

When you were at Walmart, you should have bought a multimeter. That's where I got mine, and it wasn't expensive.

You can "test" how much charge you are getting by operating things, such as your power windows and your wipers. Do your windows go up and down a bit slower than they used to, and do your wipers work slower? That's a good sign the alternator isn't charging. That's how I could tell something was going on and I bought a multimeter to verify.

Also, I just bought ANOTHER alternator for my car today. The one I had installed a little over a year ago was acting up, and of course it is out of warranty. I bought my latest alternator from O'Reilly Auto Parts for $159, and it comes with a LIFETIME warranty. It is reman, however everything inside the casing is replaced. The only part of the alternator that is reused is the casing itself.

 

But if I just put in a new battery, will the multimeter still show that their isn't enough volts? Because starting up my car was just fine, the lights and everything came on just perfectly fine! Very Bright lights... Radio worked fine, everything seemed fine... But that might be because the battery is brand new right? So the battery doesn't need charging at the moment and is probably putting out enough volts for the car, but will the multimeter still show that I need a new alternator when I put in a brand new battery??

 

did you write this book just to ask 110 or 125a? im not reading all that crap.

 

Yes... A battery is 12 volts, but it might show 12.5 or so. If your alternator isn't charging, you won't see an increase in voltage. A properly charging alternator will show 13.5 to 14.5 or so volts when you place the leads of the multimeter at the battery terminals.

If you have never used a multimeter, have someone show you what setting to put it on to read your battery. It's really easy once you figure it out.

 

Battery - Duralast yellow top
Alternator - Autozone rebuild one with lifetime warranty.

Done!

 

Ok, thanks a million guys, and thanks T_Behr904 for explaining the voltage difference for a properly working alternator.

Cheers

 

Well, I tried to do the work today... Removed the bolts for the AC Compressor, placing it on a jack stand as suggested in the video. Than, when it came time to remove the bolt for the actual Alternator, I stripped the hell out of it like a MORON! Now I'm unable to remove the bolt for the Alternator with any wrench (closed-end or not). ARGGG!!! What can I do to remove the alternator bolt? I have all of the parts for my car, but unable to get the alternator bolt out (especially now since it is stripped) of the old alternator... arggg. I spent about 5 hours trying to get that damn bolt out! Now that it is stripped completely, what are my options? Is there anything that can be done here? On the other end of the Alternator (near the pully's where the belt was, that I removed), there's this Completely square-looking bolt that holds the screw in place... but that won't budge 1 bit, and it's near impossible to even get a wrench around it cause it's so close to another part that a closed-end wrench can't fit over it.

Now I'm sooo screwed!!!!

 

If you can try and saw off the other end of the bolt that square end then that bolt should slide right out. That bolt is screwed into that square end. Also check harbor freight or local hardware store for wrench that removes stripped bolt and nut. That bolt is not on that tight, remember when trying to loosen you need to pull towards the front of the car just in case you forgot.

 

To remove the bolt:
- Spray down the back end where it goes in the nut with PB Blaster.
- Get the biggest pair of vise grips that will fit and clamp them hard on the rounded off bolt head; see if that will turn it.
- If vise grips won't work, invest in a set of bolt removal sockets. These are hardened sockets with a reverse twist set of teeth on the inside. You get the right size and hammer it down on the bolt head, then use a ratchet handle to turn it. My set came from Sears, but I suspect that any fairly good tool store should have them. Good luck.