So i went and got an oil change on Friday from a usual spot i go to for the last yr and a half with no issues. Drove the car home slept for a lil then head out to Long Island that night. When i was 2 exits way from my destination the oil light came on... I'm like wow this is unusual because i never had a warning light on my car go on. 2 minutes later my car stop and died out on the highway. I looked underneath my car theirs oil leaking. . I never ever had this issue. Had a tow truck tow it to pep boys and pep boys said my engine seized its done..They said there was no drain plug.. So the idiot who worked on the car never tightened my drain plug which probably fell loose while I was driving. smh... I was driving without no oil but i never knew until the light came on basically 30 minutes into me driving... So after all the drama the oil shop said they will replace my engine and reimburse towing fees all on them. They will search junk yards for engines with a little less miles or about the same as I already had which was at 118,000. 2003 max. I live in the Brooklyn New York Area so the shop will be looking for junkyards there.

Since this is my first catastrophe of my max since I had for 4 yrs My question is with another 3.5 engine from a junk yard would they be able to get a decent 3.5 engine???.. I know I ' am not getting no 75000 mile engine but to me in my opinion engines from junkyards may actually be junk. . IDK because i never went to a junk yard for any parts of engines or trannys etc since I keep my max well maintained... any advice?

 

I wouldn't get mechanical parts from a junk yard, only cosmetic stuff. But that's just me

 

You can get some great parts from junkyards. Majority of time cars are there for cosmetic and structural damage.......not mechanical. If you find a car with no body damage, it's a good sign there is engine or transmission issues. If its smacked hard somewhere, the car was clearly running at the time (in all likelihood).

Likely it will still be an oil burner, but all that is manageable.

Really, the only question here is are you going to let this shop replace the engine? You know, cause obviously they can't change oil.

 

Another reason, I do my own oil change. Half the time some teenager working at those chain "quick" oil change places. A friend had his oil overfilled at one of those oil change place, caused his engine to overheat.

 

Yes the shop will be replacing my engine.. They are searching local junkyards.. Just kind of wary about these junkyards and engines

 

Do NOT go to the Junkyards by CitiField. I'm in Long Island but used to live in Queens, about 10 minutes from those junkyards.

Those cars are crap.

I would actually trust the Bronx junkyards more than the ones in Queens. I just checked Craigslist and couldn't find anybody selling the engine itself. Check the classifieds on here bro.

 

Mose used part dealers and junkyards will sell some sort of warranty. See if you have that option to pay $100-$200 to warranty the engine for a few years. It won't cover labor but might be worth it since a used engine with unknown maintenance and abuse is going in.

 

I'd suggest you get involved in the search rather than let the garage do so, as they will probably restrict the search to an 02-03 VQ as that's what "the books" will tell them fits.Do a search on car-part.com, where you can do a search by area. You should be able to find a decent engine at a reasonable price with a waranty. Yes, you can find engines with no issues from reputable recycling yards. Hopefully your car is an automatic, which gives you a wide range of front engine VQ35s to choose from. You can fit VQs from an 02 to 08 Maxima, Quest, Murano or 02-07 Altima with little to no issue if your car is automatic. If yours is a manual then any 02-03 Maxima (possibly Altima, not positive) whether manual or auto, and any manual VQ 04-08 Maxima/04-07 Altima will do. The 04+ autos for Max/Altima?Quest/Murano require you to swap the motor's upper oil pan to the manual spec upper oil pan if your tranny is manual. All this info is available in the multiple swap threads on the site.Last thing- if as it sounds your engine was running well and had no oil burning or other issues, make sure the engine they install has a warranty and has as low mileage as possible, even if you end up supplementing the purchase with a little $$ to make up the difference between an older higher mileage motor and a more recent lower mileage one. Check the VIN of the donor car too to confirm mileage .
Good luck

 

Screw that, id want a new engine! they screwed up they will pay insurance will cover it! your gettin someone else's problem or gettin rid of a well maintained 3.5 for a neglected 3.5 why! screw that make them rebuild your or u want a new engine from dealer!

take advantage of their fck up!vi work at NTB n know what they do if we mess up.

 

[B]I also hope that you learned that if your oil light comes on, SHUT IT DOWN as quick as you can. If you had shut it down immediately instead of driving it until it locked up, you may not have hurt the engine. No doubt they screwed up, but so did you.[/B]

 

It's still usually too late. The trip for low pressure is way too low on our cars. You will hear the chain rattling long before that light goes off. Which means you're driving on low pressure and eating up the internals for a long while before the light comes on.

He may have lost it all once, so it's possible he could have saved it with no damage, but his real fault was letting someone change his oil.

I have never let anyone change my oil. It's bad enough letting the monkeys change tires.

 

Junk yards have good engines, but if I were you, I would find one myself and ask the shop to pick it up for me. Find one with lower miles too and check it out in detail.

 

These are just 3 of the many engines I found on car-part.com around the NYC area:


2002 Engine Nissan Maxima 3.5,AT,91K,MRG 91,766 miles A 132814 $1400 Saw Mill Auto Wreckers - PRP-NE USA-NY(Yonkers) Request_Quote Toll Free: 1-800-227-1111 Local: 914-968-5300 Request_Insurance_Quote 6


2002
Engine
Infiniti I35 80K,3.5L,AT,RUNS EXC 80,868 miles A 131671 $1575 Leesville Auto Wreckers, Inc. - PRP-NE USA-NJ(Rahway) Request_Quote 1-888-879-5573 Request_Insurance_Quote
26

2003
Engine
Nissan Maxima 3.5L,AT,ENGINE,60K,6 MONTH WARRANTY 60,620 miles A LI0708 $1700 Alliance Auto Recycling LLC USA-NY(Lindenhurst) Request_Quote 631-884-8444 / 800-323-4500 Request_Insurance_Quote
28


There are many more. They're out there. You just have to look.

Sent from my iPad using MaximaOrg

 

It is hard to justify getting a new or rebuilt engine. Their responsibility is to get you back where you were before the engine failure. Not to give you a brand spanking new engine. I'd say a lower mileage engine with some sort of warranty would be fair. A rental car should not be out of the question either.

 

wowww im always in bk let me know which place is this so i wont go there

 

Plus one for car-part.com and I'd also mention to get the engine overhauled while it's still out of the car. I mean at least get someone else to look at the salvaged engine to make sure there are no hidden problems.

 

Saw Mill in Yonkers is a good spot. Ive driven up and bought over a half a dozen engines there.

 

I would have a mechanic look it over prior or yourself if you know what to look for, preferably one with lower mileage. Make sure they pay for a rental car including now until yours is back on the road!

 

About 7 yrs ago my wife trashed her Max engine by driving through a large puddle (more like a river) on the road after a bad storm. At the time the car had about 61,000 on the odometer. Nissan dealership in conjunction with insurance found a salvage engine with apprx 5,500 miles. Nissan disassembled engine and inspected it and it was totally clean. Installed it and it's been perfect every since. Car currently has 120,000 and runs like new. It's a third car now and sits most of the time in the garage but it still gets used about once a week.
So I would find out if they are going to a salvage yard or a junk yard. I would assume insurance companies maintain some kind of arrangement with salvage yards for these types of situations. I would imagine when a new car is hit in the rear and totaled the insurance company will sell the car to a salvage yard which in turn will part the car back to the insurance companies for future repairs.

 

I. Defiantly agree , get the shop who screwed up to buy you a brand new engine from Nissan! That’s what I’d shoot for also! Good luck buddy , my fingers are crossed for you .,
I know I’d be devestated. If someone f’d up my car like that, absolutely devestated., .. I love my car , a lot.

 

You just wished a guy luck from a 2013 thread..... Look at the dates please.