hey all. i just got my first car, a '96 maxima gle slushbox. it's a $500 beater with roughly 200,000 miles, and boy does it need work. i already read the stickies here, and while they have a lot of information a some of it doesn't pertain to me. right, onto the questions.

first off this car suffers from rust! it's everywhere! well, not so much on the underside of the car from what i can tell. i haven't had a chance to get it up in the air or off the ground yet. from what i could see i saw a potential hole in the floor of the car. but all along the bottom of the front fenders and the rockers is rusted out completely. short of cutting the rust out and doing it the proper way is there any quick way i can slow some of the damage until i can fix it the proper way?

second. the CEL is on. i haven't had a chance to read the codes yet, but the car sounds fine when it's running. the only hint it gives is it lurches at just above idle. specifically when i make a stop right before the car starts moving, or when the car first starts moving when i am leaving a light. it will also slightly lurch when driving down the road at any speed with light throttle. i also opened it up at full engine speed and driving down the road i noticed that it turned itself off! i was so pumped about that, but then it turned back on. blah. any possible ideas? yes, my gas cap is there and the fuel door is closed. my friend did that one to his audi and started freaking out.

third is about the heater/ac. ac isn't too huge a concern of mine, but heat is necessary. my car has a very weak heating system. it takes a long time for it to get warm, and it definitely doesn't feel like the 85 degrees that it says it's putting out. i also need it to work better because it takes much too long for the car to defrost. i have plenty of coolant. also, when i turn the heat on sometimes the belts make the worst squeaking noises in the world. my girlfriend's dad says a possible stuck thermostat. he's pretty smart, but what do you guys think?

fourth. when taking turns (it does this when turning both ways) i hear a chattering sound that sounds exactly like the noise a squirrel makes. ideas? there's also some clunking when i hit bumps, but i think that has to do with the shocks being 14 years old.

fifth is the brakes are done for. the rotors are rusted and have gouges in them and obviously need replacing. they still work, but not as good as they should. i have to put the pedal almost to the floor, which my guess would be the pads are also done for. any other possible issues that could be foreseen with this? also, my parking brake does not work very well. i have to pull it all the way up to get it to even somewhat hold the car. it's not that important since i live in a non-hilly area and i drive an automatic, but i would still like that to work. it could just need an adjustment, but from what i've seen with this car it's probably gonna be something else. what could it be?

sixth. the airbag light is on. it used to be solid, then i figured out the fuse was missing. i put in a new fuse and now the airbag light is blinking. what's that mean?

seventh is my car is leaking somewhere. it has a sunroof if that makes a difference. the PO let the car sit for years and it was closed during that time. i've only had it for 3 days and it hasn't rained yet. it looks more like it's leaking in the front, because the carpets in the front seats are very wet compared to the carpeting in the back seats. the weather stripping around the front doors is also more beat up than around the rear doors, so i'm sure that's why it's leaking. any other possibilities? i sure hope it's not rust related...

eighth. i have power windows. my rear passenger side window won't go down. it sounds like the motor is working and it moves down maybe 1mm, but then it gets stuck. something stuck in the window track? ideas? not a large issue, unless if i ever end up riding back there because i always need my window down at all times haha.

ninth. the heated seats do not work. it was a missing fuse issue, same as the airbag, but they still didn't turn on after i put new fuses in. dirty contact points at the switch? or a dead switch? or something else? not a huge issue, but it sure would be cool to have them haha.

tenth. the tachometer doesn't work. well, sometimes it does, but when it does it won't read anything above 1500rpm. but mostly it spins around like a clock. bad cable? also not important, but i just like having it work.

sorry for all the questions for a first post. i just got this car three days ago. my mom bought it for me as a present. i never woulda touched it with the amount of rust on it, but hey, it's my car now, it was free, and i need to get it road worthy, so i can't complain. i'm mostly concerned with getting it to pass inspection right now (i live in massachusetts, yay) so my biggest concerns are the chattering noise when i make turns, the airbag light, the CEL light, and the rust is my hugest concern. thanks to all that read this.

-karl

karl j wrote:hey all. i just got my first car, a '96 maxima gle slushbox. it's a $500 beater with roughly 200,000 miles, and boy does it need work. i already read the stickies here, and while they have a lot of information a some of it doesn't pertain to me. right, onto the questions.

first off this car suffers from rust! it's everywhere! short of cutting the rust out and doing it the proper way is there any quick way i can slow some of the damage until i can fix it the proper way?

second. the CEL is on.

third is about the heater/ac.

fourth. when taking turns (it does this when turning both ways) i hear a chattering sound

fifth is the brakes are done for.

sixth. the airbag light is on.

seventh is my car is leaking somewhere.

eighth. i have power windows. my rear passenger side window won't go down.

ninth. the heated seats do not work. i

tenth. the tachometer doesn't work.

-karl

Welcome to Nico. Lots of issues, but a few of them seem minor. i will try to answer as many as possible

1. The only way to get rid of rust is to either cut the panel's up and weld new in or get a new panel. You can buy rust proofing spray paint at most auto stores, but that just covers an underlying problem

2. CEL is on. Go to a local parts store and get them to check it

3. Possible stuck thermostat. Radiator fluid may have a bubble in it, you should probably do a coolant flush anyways and it may fix the problem. Be sure to burp the system. Since the A/C doesnt work either though that probably means there is an underlying problem. Possible faulty AC control's in the dash

4. Sounds like bad axles

5. No pressure in the pedal could be bad brakes or low fluid. When you change your brakes, be sure to bleed the system and put new fluid in

6. Common problem. The light comes at so many miles and must be reset. I will try to find some instructions for this

7. I cant really point you anywhere. Sounds like possible sunroof though

8. Motor is probably done for. Sounds like its trying to work, but just cant move the window anymore

9. Dont know....sorry

10. Don't know, and dont want to give you bad advice....Possible bad cluster though

karl j wrote:....third...my car has a very weak heating system. it takes a long time for it to get warm, and it definitely doesn't feel like the 85 degrees that it says it's putting out. i also need it to work better because it takes much too long for the car to defrost. i have plenty of coolant. also, when i turn the heat on sometimes the belts make the worst squeaking noises in the world. my girlfriend's dad says a possible stuck thermostat. he's pretty smart, but what do you guys think? -karl

Your GF's dad is right but I'll clarify by calling it a failed thermostat designed to fail in the open position so the engine doesn't overheat. Not a problem in the summer but in the winter depending where you live it could take a long, long time to warm the engine up. Putting a new thermostat in will provide immediate relief for your cold toes and a radiator flush to clean the cooling system and the heater core is probably in order judging by your list of problems. The fail open thermostat will also be the source of one of the stored ECU codes that's sent when the engine warms up too slowly.

Good luck.

well, thanks for the responses guys. i got the car into my friend's garage and it was nothing but bad news. the engine light was on because cylinder #1 was mis-firing and it had a bad knock sensor. i also got the car up in the air and the rust was so extensive it wasn't even worth it. the car was literally eaten alive by rust. i don't even know how i drove it the 200 miles i did. alas, i am carless again. haha, i had my first car for 2 days. record time? we're probably just going to scrap it now, hopefully my mom can get most of her money back. moderators, this can now be closed.