*NOOBIES* - The "I AM NEW HERE BUT HAVE A QUESTION" thread

[PandaXpress]

Originally Posted by CoolMax

I do...........

lol..are they crap?

[gooroo]

Originally Posted by fldash

Hi everyone. I just bought a 2002 Maxima SE with 118k miles on it for $7700. It's a one owner and she has kept up the maintenance pretty well from what I can tell from talking with her and the available receipts.

I'm curious as to what I should have done immediately as preventative maintenance on a car with this many miles and what to expect from it. I'd like to drive it into the ground since I paid cash for it and won't have a car payment.

I'm hoping I didn't overpay, but that's yet to be determined based on how much I have to put into it I'm guessing.

I've been searching/browsing through the forums for 2002 SE posts but it's a bit hard to filter them at times. It seems some people think its solid and it's nickel and diming others to death....

I also noticed my car has a seal broken on passenger side real tail light. I'm guessing I need the whole assembly?? Where can I find a tail light for it for a reasonable price?

Thanks for any information.

Price seems ok to me.

I would go to Advanced autoparts and get some nkg iridiums and put off in there, change the belts if needed, air filter, oil change&filter, check brake pads and replace if needed, maybe even change out the tranny fluid too.

I think I covered most of it.

[CoolMax]

Originally Posted by PandaXpress

lol..are they crap?

oh wait i just realized this was the thread & you have another thread going on with brakes, etc.

[PandaXpress]

Originally Posted by CoolMax

oh wait i just realized this was the thread & you have another thread going on with brakes, etc.

Lol... dont be hating

[DoonBusy]

Originally Posted by irish44j

that's odd. when i bought them, they were about $2 each....

they ordered 8 bulbs for $5 ea. unfortunately the were the wrong ones. I went back to the dealer and told them and got a refund. When I told them it was the wrong bulbs they looked at me funny esp. when i gave them the right part #. They printed out a diagram of the setup and asked me if I was sure it was that bulb. Mayb I should jus work for them. lol The proper bulbs are $6 ea. but i only need 3 of them. Where did you get your bulbs from? mayb I can use it for future reference

[fldash]

Are the spark plugs hard to change on this car or are they fairly easy to get to? I had planned on doing those other things...

What about the timing chain, should that be done?

Originally Posted by gooroo

Price seems ok to me.

I would go to Advanced autoparts and get some nkg iridiums and put off in there, change the belts if needed, air filter, oil change&filter, check brake pads and replace if needed, maybe even change out the tranny fluid too.

I think I covered most of it.

[SoonerFan]

Originally Posted by fldash

Are the spark plugs hard to change on this car or are they fairly easy to get to? I had planned on doing those other things...

What about the timing chain, should that be done?

what year car do you have?
the 3.0 00-01 is pretty easy
the 3.5 02-03 is a little more difficult (due to having to remove intake manifold)

you dont need to change the timing chain. nissan uses a chain so it doesnt need to be replaced like a belt.

[fldash]

I'm picking it up to night, it's an 02 SE. Any idea where I can find some stuff on how to replace the plugs? I worked on my cars as a kid, but they were 80's models and easy... These new cars are a bit daunting and I always just take the wifes in for maintenance...

[SoonerFan]

Originally Posted by fldash

I'm picking it up to night, it's an 02 SE. Any idea where I can find some stuff on how to replace the plugs? I worked on my cars as a kid, but they were 80's models and easy... These new cars are a bit daunting and I always just take the wifes in for maintenance...

here you go
http://www.greghome.com/Greg%27s%20G...eplacement.htm

if you were doing this next summer, i could help you
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=517080

[fldash]

Thanks, looks like fun.

[az2kamui]

Ok, i recived 3 of my O2 sensors from sparkplugs.com and 2 of then (p/n 24573, 24634) had connectors that were to small, . Are these the right ones?(by NTK) the 3rd fit just fine. 4th one is in the mail. i have a 2k1 ae se cali spec..

[MyBlue02]

i spent about 15-20 min looking for pics using hte free search, i've seen 20mm and they look like they stick out to far for me (they sit flush, i'm looking for slightly tucked), and when i need new stuts i'm going eibach/ilums so i don't want to rub.

so i'm looking for pics of stock suspension, stock wheels and tire size for a 5.5gen (SE prefurable)

thanks

would 5mm front spacers help to look with the rear 15's?

[ajamil]

Ok, here is the situation. I recently purchased an '00 maxima for a very good deal, has 200,000 KM no check engine light, clean inside and out, beautiful Glacier Pearl paint job...

Symptoms of the unknown problem are:
1) 8 KM / L (roughly 19 MPG)
2) 0-60MPH in 9 Secs. (Way below the average 7.5 secs. that I see others get)
3) Between 2500 and 3500 RPM I feel a drag when flooring it. (Like something is holding the car back)

I recently got a highmileage oil change. Did a 4 step emissions cleaning (which includes seafoaming), did not help at all.

Is this a MAF issue?? I've been reading that airflow and dirty sensors are the culprit of most gas mileage and acceleration problems, but others with the same problem did not notice a change. I took a look at my MAF and it looked clean to me.

What else could I do to diagnose the problem?
I would really appreciate any suggestions or advice.

Thanks!!!!!!!

[MaxBoost925]

Seems like you solved your own problem. It is a MAF issue if you're losing power like that in a 3.0L.

[MaxBoost925]

Originally Posted by az2kamui

Ok, i recived 3 of my O2 sensors from sparkplugs.com and 2 of then (p/n 24573, 24634) had connectors that were to small, . Are these the right ones?(by NTK) the 3rd fit just fine. 4th one is in the mail. i have a 2k1 ae se cali spec..

NTK o2 sensors should be correct. That's what I have as one of my primaries.

NTK = NGK in a different box so it's all good.

[alicious]

Originally Posted by MyBlue02

i spent about 15-20 min looking for pics using hte free search, i've seen 20mm and they look like they stick out to far for me (they sit flush, i'm looking for slightly tucked), and when i need new stuts i'm going eibach/ilums so i don't want to rub.

so i'm looking for pics of stock suspension, stock wheels and tire size for a 5.5gen (SE prefurable)

thanks

would 5mm front spacers help to look with the rear 15's?

pics:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/695690/8
thread:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=15mm+spacers

[ajamil]

Anyone else with some reasons as to why I'm experiencing this? How could I make sure that it is a MAF problem? Will changing the MAF solve my gas mileage prob as well?

Originally Posted by ajamil

Ok, here is the situation. I recently purchased an '00 maxima for a very good deal, has 200,000 KM no check engine light, clean inside and out, beautiful Glacier Pearl paint job...

Symptoms of the unknown problem are:
1) 8 KM / L (roughly 19 MPG)
2) 0-60MPH in 9 Secs. (Way below the average 7.5 secs. that I see others get)
3) Between 2500 and 3500 RPM I feel a drag when flooring it. (Like something is holding the car back)

I recently got a highmileage oil change. Did a 4 step emissions cleaning (which includes seafoaming), did not help at all.

Is this a MAF issue?? I've been reading that airflow and dirty sensors are the culprit of most gas mileage and acceleration problems, but others with the same problem did not notice a change. I took a look at my MAF and it looked clean to me.

What else could I do to diagnose the problem?
I would really appreciate any suggestions or advice.

Thanks!!!!!!!

[fldash]

More questions from a newbie Maxima owner...

Just got my '02 SE last night... One of the rear tail lights (passenger side) has a broken seal with moisture in it. Do I simply replace the whole light? Also, the brake lights on my spoiler do not work? Is that an easy fix or ? ? ?

It seems to run well, no check engine light and no other issue except that I'm not used to driving a car and I'm feeling afraid of it...

How do I know if I need new brakes or rotors? I THINK I'm having some vibrations when I step on the brake, but I'm not sure as I'm really paranoid since I just bought it. My uncle once told me to replace the brakes when I heard them squeal/squeak; none of that coming from this car....

It has 116k miles on it...

Oh, one more question, how does this trip mileage work, or does it? I haven't yet looked in the manual but I reset both Trips odometers when I got it and checked them when getting to work this morning. Showed 25.3 mpg with about 80% highway, 20% city, does that seem right; or is that mileage very generous?

Edit: I'm not a new driver... I'm 28, but have driven only trucks and SUVs until now...

[machinehead131]

Originally Posted by fldash

More questions from a newbie Maxima owner...

Just got my '02 SE last night... One of the rear tail lights (passenger side) has a broken seal with moisture in it. Do I simply replace the whole light? Also, the brake lights on my spoiler do not work? Is that an easy fix or ? ? ?

It seems to run well, no check engine light and no other issue except that I'm not used to driving a car and I'm feeling afraid of it...

How do I know if I need new brakes or rotors? I THINK I'm having some vibrations when I step on the brake, but I'm not sure as I'm really paranoid since I just bought it. My uncle once told me to replace the brakes when I heard them squeal/squeak; none of that coming from this car....

It has 116k miles on it...

Oh, one more question, how does this trip mileage work, or does it? I haven't yet looked in the manual but I reset both Trips odometers when I got it and checked them when getting to work this morning. Showed 25.3 mpg with about 80% highway, 20% city, does that seem right; or is that mileage very generous?

Edit: I'm not a new driver... I'm 28, but have driven only trucks and SUVs until now...

Congrats on the new car and that is pretty good mileage...just calculate a tanks worth and see how much you get to back up the computer.

[MyBlue02]

Originally Posted by alicious

pics:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/695690/8
thread:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=15mm+spacers

i see...so you have 20mm and they still look tucked...hmmm...i saw 20mm on another car and they look like thet are sticking out a little.

different angles i guess

[02Maximan]

I figured I would put this in this thread instead of starting a new one. I am wondering about the Hawk HPS pads I installed today. Mainly what I am wondering is the bedding procedure a one time deal or if i didn't get it hot enough the first time can I go again and it work properly? I basically followed the instructions on the box about bedding, but now at low speed such as backing out the garage, it makes a grinding noise. Do I need to heat them up again? I just installed these on the front and I re-surfaced the OE rotors before putting them on.

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by 02Maximan

I figured I would put this in this thread instead of starting a new one. I am wondering about the Hawk HPS pads I installed today. Mainly what I am wondering is the bedding procedure a one time deal or if i didn't get it hot enough the first time can I go again and it work properly? I basically followed the instructions on the box about bedding, but now at low speed such as backing out the garage, it makes a grinding noise. Do I need to heat them up again? I just installed these on the front and I re-surfaced the OE rotors before putting them on.

the grinding noise is most likely the metal dust shield behind the front rotors scraping against the backside of the rotor. Almost everyone who does brake work accidentally bends it a little. Just bend it away from the rotor a bit and you should be good.

[02Maximan]

Ok I'll check it out but if that was the case wouldn't it grind all the time? The noise im hearing is only when slight pressure is being applied to the brake. Its not a constant noise, just when braking.

[Torgus]

how do i clear my 3rd brake light?