ok so awhile back my aunt bought a 97 maxima. recently the headgasket blew. now with over 200k miles she's thinking of scrapping the car. I told her I think she'd only get a few hundred dollars from it. I was thinking of buying the car and replacing the hg and reselling it but, how much would a high mileage 97 maxima go for ya know? if I did decide to get the car and replace the engine with a lower mileage engine what would be my best option? is there a newer engine that's a direct replacement or am I stuck finding a low mileage gen 4 engine? if I did find an engine in the 100k-150k mileage range and I can replace it all, how much would the car go for if the body and interior is in nice shape? is it even worth the time and money? I don't like seeing another car go to the scrapper but I don't wanna lose money on the deal either. I'd greatly appreciate your opinion. any input is appreciated.

 

If it's rust free and running perfect, anywhere from 1k-2k.

If you get REAL lucky you might see 3k.

Good luck and welcome to the org!

 

It is hard to tell you how much the car is worth without knowing the condition, trim, any other issues besides the engine, etc. If you can get the car for free, buy a cheap low mileage engine and then swap it in yourself, you can make some money. If you can't just try to sell the car as is to someone who can and is interested in it.

 

Because the car is a DOHC timing chained V6, it is cheaper to replace the motor than to replace the gaskets because of the labor involved. Compatibiltiy with motors depends on your technical ability. People on this forum have put 2000, 2001, 2002 and others Maxima motors into their 4th gen. If the body is in great shape and its fully loaded then I would say hell yeah it's worth keeping. The 4th gen Maxima is a great car, even by today's standards.

FYI there's a 2000 or 01 Maxima with 400K miles running great....just regular maintenance.
There's a 3rd gen guy with 700K miles on his car. Tranny was replaced but original motor.
There are alot of 4th gen maximas with 200k miles....and that's only half their life. Mine's one of them. 200K miles and I do have a vlave cover leak. No biggie. I change all my fluids somewhat regularly so I will easily make it to 400K miles no problem. Still original 5MT tranny...replaced the clutch about 10K miles ago.

Also keep in mind that it's the V6 3.0 Maximas (1995 to 2001) which have bullet proof reliabilty. From 2002 onwards when Maximas went to the 3.5 V6, those motor may not be as long term as the not-as-powerful 3.0s.

 

Welcome to Maxima.org -

Where are you located? A lot of your $$$ in/our of the car will depend on your location.

Do you have have access to an engine hoist?

Are you near a salvage yard to get donor parts?

Recently I had to replace the engine in my 99 Maxima 5 MT.

I found an engine in a wrecked Maxima with ~72,000 miles for $500 pulled. Note a good replacement engines from a wrecked Maxima with ~100,000 miles and a multi-month warranty will sell for ~$1,000.

Then I paid another $1,500 for a swap.

Miscellaneous parts (gaskets, seals, clutch, water pump, belts, oil, filter, coolant, hose, motor mount, sensors, etc.) replaced during the swap $500 from places like RockAuto and discount Nissan/Infiniti parts suppliers.

So right out of the gate, I was in for $2,500 on the swap which was almost as much as I paid for the car a year earlier.

If you know the car's suspension/transmission/wiring and would like to own/drive it for a 100,000 miles or more, it might make for a good long term investment. Otherwise, the chance of "flipping it" for a profit is going to be slim.

I've noticed nice older Nissans like the 4th gen Max selling for $3,000 in small college towns where the economy is "far from the real world" and students are looking for a car they won't put a lot of miles or money into to get them through school. A few weeks ago a guy on here from Ohio picked up a nice 4th gen 5 speed for under $2,000.

 

rly: I love the 4th gen but modern cars are much much better. The Altima for example has 182hp, IRS, does 0-60 in about the same time, is much bigger inside, AND does 35mpg.

 

Sure, it checks all the boxes in the "better than" department, but does that really make it better? You would trade in your I30 for the 4cylinder Altima? A V6, 6MT Altima would be tempting, but not really for me.

For some, the Maxima is a grocery getter. For me, it's a 4DSC (not too big, not too small) with an awesome V6, one of the best in the world, under the hood.

 

You can buy a good engine for a reasonable price. The feasibility and economics of the installation is subjective. Sounds like CS AR did it right. He bought a good engine and then spent 500 dollars for "while you are in there anyway" parts to make it reliable. Sounds like he paid 1500 to have someone install the engine for him. Now he has a reliable car with a low mileage engine. He can drive a reliable car for a long time. But he paid a lot for all this. An other person could have installed the engine himself. The economics would be more sensible. But that is also a lot of work. These cars are not worth a lot of money. You will not make much flipping he car if you pay someone to do the hard work. If this is a well-kept old lady car, AND you like the car, then do the project, and enjoy five years of good driving. Otherwise, let it go.

 

For those wondering I live in Biloxi, MS and I've got an engine hoist and all. I plan on doing the work myself but it's sounding like it'd be better to just scrap the car. A local salvage yard offered my aunt $320 for the car. I think even if she gave me the car and I were to replace the engine and sell the car and split the profit with her it'd come out to ~$300-$500 MAX.

It's alittle too risky for me I think. I know she doesn't have money to replace the engine and all and I know when dealing with cars the possibilities of problems is endless so a $500 engine could turn into a lot more $$$. I know we could scrap the old engine but that would only net $100 or so. For me I think the profit margin is just too slim. If there are any problems with the new engine, or anything at all really, I'll be in the car for more than it's worth.

A part of me still wants to put this car back on the road but right now I can't afford to lose money. I've got a 93 RX7 project that already takes most of my cash. I was really hoping to make some extra $$$ to put into it but it seems like I'll have to find another way.

 

Good call. Engine replacement at this point only makes sense only if you like the car and want to drive it for several more years. It makes more sense if you want to do your own work. And it is a LOT of work.

 

Why not? It's more how you drive than what you drive. A VQ may or may not be better than an QR at WOT. But a QR @ 5000rpm is gonna be more fun than a VQ at 2500rpm.

But that's way off topic. If OP wants to make money - he'd probably have the most financial gain from parting the car out.

 

Part of the reason the VQ is so great is the large torque curve and extremely good NVH. Starting from 1995, the VQ engine was Wards auto favorite engine for about 10+ years. No other engine has been awarded for so long.

A QR at 5000 rpms will probably sound harsh and beg you to upshift to kill the noise, but a VQ will run deep into redline (6500+) with no complaint. When I first got my car, there were times I left it in 3rd gear because the engine was running along so smoothly and quietly. Hell, at idle there are still times I wonder if the car is even on.

A VQ at 2500 rpms will handlily make more torque than the QR. So on both counts the old VQ is a better motoring option. Financially, because the 4th gen VQ old, well..... If the OP wants to maximize (excuse the pun) motoring fun, the financial investment may be worth it in terms of smiles for miles.

Sadly, I would have to agree with that.
The OP seems to be mostly concerned with the financials and in that regard parting out would be the most logical option. But, if they have a passion for driving, it may be a worthwhile investment to bring the car back to life.

 

my baby has 255k and i WOT all day long. 23mpg aint bad if i feather it i get 26-27

 

6spd swap and you'll get hybrid mpg's.

 

Don't let new fool you my friend. I was able to outperform the Altima with a bad knock sensor and tools in my trunk. So much for more horsepower huh? 4th gens are lighter.

 

yeh.. newer cars have too much features inside the car + car bulkier and heavier + heavier wheels.... the additional horsepower is just to "power" the heavy car. I like the 4th gen cause of how simple and light it is.

 

Exactly. Like Quickywd01 pointed out, drop a 6MT on a 4th gen and BOOM, better than 7th gen mpgs.

 

That altima is just like a camry, great car and all but you don't get the same feeling... QR ain't in no GTR but a VQ is... Just like the sr20 bit the dust... I'd put a new vq and 6spd into a 4th gen... We all saw the 300+whp stock dyno..

 

No kidding, but not too long ago I made 502 miles on a tank of gas mostly interstate/rural road. 65-80 mph. I could have gone just a little further. My GPS clocked it at about 499 miles.

But back to the topic, I'm just curious because I've been hearing about these nightmarish headgasket stories for years, yet I've had 3 cars with well over 200,000 that haven't had such an issue. What causes a headgasket to blow, and what can you do to prevent it?

 

Not to claim that Top Gear was ever a reputable source - they undermined their credibility when they said the 4sp transmission was good for example. But just for fun.

 

Just take care of your cooling system and you'll be OK. Make sure to use an OEM thermostat as the aftermarket ones for this VQ are really inferior.

Make sure to replace your coolant regularly as the water pump job is a bit expensive at $400 or more. Use green coolant. If you want to use the longer lasting orange coolant you have to go through a process of completely flushing out the green coolant before you switch over. When green coolant mixes with orange coolant, solid white powder forms. Extrapolate that to all those little coolant passages in your engine

If you notice the temp gauge rising try to stop the car before it gets out of control. When a head gasket blows it is actually a slow deformation process of the engine while it sits in intense heat. Get rid of the heat ASAP. There are several ways:

Stop the car and turn off the engine.

If you need to keep driving turn on the heater full blast. The heater core is a mini radiator that can help to dissipate the engine's heat.
Also, if you need to keep driving turn off AC. AC makes the cabin cool, but at the same time it makes the engine hotter.

Driving on the highway is more relaxing for the engine than driving in the city. If you're bogged down in city traffic, you may be able to get on the highway and watch the temp gauge go down as the radiator works better from the fast flowing air.

Once you have the car stopped find out what may be making it overheat. No coolant? Top it off. Leak some where? Fix it. Fans not kicking in etc.


Hope this helps

 

What's the general price range for a shop to replace the engine gasket? I've never asked, and I know the oil is gone from my car every few months and it doesn't leak out onto the ground

 

Valve covers?

 

The 4spd auto is good. At least my experience was decent enough with it. It's really strong if you know how to take care of it. Full synthetic fluid, auto trans cooler, drop resistor switch, suprastick; in that order depending on your needs. Also comes in vlsd. I had lower revs on the highway with the 4spd auto than my 5spd manual and I miss the mpg's but that's where the 6spd comes into play...