ok, some strange things are happening to me..

[MaXimaSE]

ok, well I recently bought a 98 Nissan Maxima SE AUTO w/ 124k on it.. and Im having a few problems with it, so maybe I can get some help with them here..

Ok well here goes

*Inspected 8/30/07 - Put on OBDII and threw CODES P0440 and/or P1448 at the Mechanic

*My radiator drain plug is destroyed, I crawled under the car today to do a coolant flush, and well It didn't go down because of this (I can thank the previous owner for this).. I will need to replace the whole radiator now right?

*Im trying to install a new PCV Valve and Fuel Filter.. I know where the fuel filter is so I should be alright on all that, but when I was trying to install the PCV Valve last night, I was in a weird spot and couldn't get much on it.. but when I took the one bolt off to get some slack on it and I tugged on the hose, The valve was left inside the manifold instead of coming out with the hose like It shows in the Haynes Manual. What should I do??

*My exhaust looks like Its the stock build, and Its really rusted out.. The cat back to the muffler looks really poor, but I didn't see any holes in it. How much would this cost to get repaired ballpark figure ?

*The past week that Ive had this car, Ive gotten a very hard time trying to start it in the morning to go to work. I would turn the key, motor would start cranking but I would get nothing.. It would just die out, the only way I can get it started is by pushing in on the gas and racing it. Im hoping I can figure this out, I got a multimeter today but Ive gotta learn how to use the damn thing first Im using a Haynes manual as reference and the first thing it says to do is check the battery with a multimeter. Im also going to try a fuel filter, throttle body cleaning, and try cleaning up the MAF a little.

*Ok, when Im driving down the road, and I hit certain roads just the right way that have them bumps or dips in them and I can hear a "knock/rattling" coming from the front but I can feel it sometimes when I rest my hand on the shifter, and on my feet when resting on the floor. It also doesn't happen on every bump, only some.

Sorry for all the questions, but I figure Id better ask them all.
Modified by MaXimaSE at 8:35 PM 8/18/2007

[jltibbs]

welcome to nico!

P0440 ans P1448 are almost two in the same, probably very closely related to each other.



you should be able to replace just the drain c***



on the PCV Valve, you can you a pair of pliers to remove the valve the rest of the way.

replace the stock exhaust with aftermarket

Stock

Aftermarket

Atop the IAC (idle air control valve) there should be a phillips head screw there (plastic more than likely). with car at idle, adjust that till you hear the RPMs go up a little (should be between 800 - 1000) then, see if it gives you any more trouble after that.



the bumping you're feeling might be from driver side inner tie rod end. take it to a shop and have your steering/suspension checked out.



If you have anymore questions, feel free to search, and/or ask. good luck with it!

[MaXimaSE]

Thank you for the warm welcome, and the great information. I cleared the codes on my ECU on Thursday night, and they haven't came back yet..

I don't know how I would get the draincock out for the radiator, It is mangled literally.. no phillips threads, its like chewed into a square shape

Im going to pull it into the garage and do the fuel filter, and when the hose don't bring the PCV Valve just use pliers to yank the valve out of the manifold?

My idle speed is like 500-600 RPM when Its sitting at stops/red lights/etc. I'll turn it up to right under 1000RPM and see how It goes

oh, and how do I turn off the Up/Down function from the antenna, stupid thing won't go up or down but I can hear the motor whining from the rear of the car.

again Thanks Alot.. I really love my Maxima now If I could work out the kinks.

EDIT

I just got the new PCV valve installed, checked out all the hoses in the general area and they dont look cracked/torn. The PCV valve on the other hand looked horrible. I still got the hard start when I went out to let it idle and to check the oil levels, Im right in the middle of the hashmarks, which in the Haynes manual is "acceptable"

I noticed when I got the hard start, since I didn't race the pedal right away this time, the first light to kick on when the car died out was the BATTERY light, and then the rest came on.. I always thought this meant the battery was on It's way out..? I have a multimeter, I just don't know what to set the damn thing to test the batterys power.

now onto the fuel filter.. this should be fun
Modified by MaXimaSE at 9:12 AM 8/19/2007

[jltibbs]

ok. not sure exactly what you can do to remove the busted drain c***, but i can tell you that if you flush the whole system, you shoulf not have to worry about that. next up, power antenna stuff.

remove this panel to access the power antenna.



after you remove the panel, you will see the jack, you need to remove this as well. once those are out of the way, you should see the back side of the motor. unplug the motor and get xm radio. then you're done with that.



on the starting.

if your rpms are too low, the motor will shut off. the reason why you see the battery light first is be cause your alternator is not sending enough voltage to the battery, thus your car runs off of battery power for the 2 seconds before your car shuts off. the next chance you get, take it to an advance auto parts, or whatever parts house you have near you, and get a charging system test. BTW, some fourth gens had recalls on starters and alternators, so give the local dealership a call first thing in the morning with your vin # to see if yours had a recall.

if you want to check the voltage on your battery, turn the multimeter to 20v. battery should have no less than 12.6v and while car is running, check it again and you should have around 13.5 or more. still get a charging system test to be sure though. let us know whats up when you get that stuff done.

[MaXimaSE]

Yeah, Im not exactly sure about the radiator draincock either, considering Its not coming out of the radiator, guess Im in the market for a new radiator.

I got the new fuel filter, and PCV valve now installed on the car, checked for leaks after letting it idle to driving temperature. All is good here, no problems..

I'll have to mess with that antenna motor this coming weekend..

I cleaned the throttle body throughly with the butterfly closed, and then I cleaned it with the butterfly open.. turned a brand new rag black.. shot the MAF with a little cleaner, but It didnt look bad at all.. Didn't notice a hesitant start, and the RPMs were at a 600-700.. I still have to fix this

I just put the battery to my multimeter with the car running and also not running this is what I got

*Not Started - 12.67 Volts*Started and Idling - 13.90 Volts


Modified by MaXimaSE at 1:42 PM 8/19/2007

[jltibbs]

awesome. you are almost in the clear. hopefully all of this will save you some big bucks in the end. the only thing i would be weary of is the antenna motor. make sure it's not running constantly or it will kill your battery. that's why i unhooked mine. no more dead batteries for me! well, i'm glad we got you straightened out. enjoy the new max and once again, just let us know if we can help.

[MaXimaSE]

yes Thank you, I really appreciate it.

Im going to have to grab my Haynes manual and do the test on my battery to see If something is constantly drawing off of it.

The only way to unplug the antenna is the way you provided me with? I can definitley hear the motor wanting to push the antenna up/down, **** maybe Its just jammed up. is there a fuse for just the motor, or will I lose all antenna function all together.

about my 600-700RPM Idle, just tuning the screw to 800-1000 is that enough??.. I was reading some stuff about unplugging the ICV and starting the car.. and tweaking it etc. etc. I want to replace the plugs soon as I can get to the Autozone and grab some.. I heard a "blum blum blum" sound coming from there general location when It was idling but Its very faint, hopefully that job aint to hard on me.

Im going to try and figure out the front knocking issue when Im hitting them bumps, anything specific I should look for.. I looked at my CV boots and none looked cracked or to be leaking fluids. Jacked it up and went aroudn to every wheel and shook it, no wobbles or weird noises.

well thanks again for being so helpful.. I don't feel like such an idiot now

Oh and is it normal that the car feels like Its driving different after all this, I was reading in my Haynes manual that after unplugging the battery, It resets the ECU causing rough driving till the ECU catches itself up again?

[jltibbs]

Pull fuse number 40. 7.5 amp fuse. see if that will shut the motor up without disturbing the radio otherwise.



now that you mention that noise, i wonder if maybe it's just your plugs needing replaced and not the IACV. possibility. replace the plugs with PFR5G-11 (2647) ngk OE laser platinums.



and yes, you should see a difference in the performance of the engine. the ECM has a 6% learning curve. when you reset the ECM, it's like erasing it's memory and starting over fresh. sort of like the flashy things from men in black.

[BBMJG17]

My car has the SAME feeling in the floor and when i hit bumps and even just turning sometimes (especially when its wet out) and everyone thought I was nuts. I took it to the shop and they told me my CV boots were cracked. 644$ later, nothing changed, it's been a year now, still doing it. I don't know what it is. I heard it can be the axle and if that's messed up, the CV boots will probably crack again.

You said it was not your boots, cuz they didnt wabble or look cracked. it's nice to know i was not the only one with this issue though.

[jltibbs]

i had the same problem, that's why i recommended getting the inner tie rod ends checked out. i had the left one replaced and have had no problems since.

[BBMJG17]

sweet, will do

-thanks

[jltibbs]

just make sure it's checked out by a shop you trust before you dump the money. it should be beneficial though. let me kknow what you find out.

[MaXimaSE]

yeah I have a Haynes manual, and It shows me all about the spark plug change, and yeah I was going to get the NGK Platinums since thats the OEM replacement.. Yeah, but I hear a "blum blum blum" coming from around the valve colver, that almost sounds like a quiet misfire or something and then a faint "tick tick tick" that sounds very rapid but faint..

Great news though, I didn't have a hard start at all this morning.. I turned the key and It fired right up.. idling in the range of 800-1200, after It warmed up and I stopped at a light It was around 600-700 again, but I still haven't touched the idle screw..

Ok, well yeah Its weird this sound is a distinct "knocking/rattling" coming from the front area.. I feel it in my feet, and when I have my hand resting on the shifter when I hit some bumps/dips in some roads.. Not all bumps affect it, but It sounds like somethings rattling/knocking against something in the front part of the suspension..

couldn't I jack the max up and look at the tie rod ends.. anything distinctive of one that is malfunctioning?? I don't feel like taking it 45 minutes away for my Uncle to look at it..

[jltibbs]

the bumping you're feeling might be from driver side inner tie rod end. take it to a shop and have your steering/suspension checked out.

jack it up and check out this part

[MaXimaSE]

ok thanks again man..

I messed with the idle screw today, but it was strange.. I disconnected the one connector from the TPS, started the car and revved it up to 2k-3k a few times.. then let it idle, It idled at like 500-600 and very choppy, so I turned the idle screw but the tach didn't move all that much when I checked it.. so I turned off the car, reconnected everything, and started the car. I took it for a 10 mile drive, I would get it up to about 35-40 and It would hang out right above 1 or right below one, when I would get below 30 It would sink into the 700-800 range.. when I parked it and turned everything off and let it idle It was at 700-900 range, so I think I got it now.

and now when starting the car after my cleaning/replacing of some little things, the car fires right up no hard starts at all, and It goes above 1K a little bit at the start instead of staying under 1k, and then settles back down when I put it into DRIVE

Fuse #40 killed everything from the door chime, security, etc. The motor did stop whirring though, but Ill deal with the whirring to keep my security feature Thanks though

Modified by MaXimaSE at 4:49 PM 8/21/2007

Modified by MaXimaSE at 4:49 PM 8/21/2007
Modified by MaXimaSE at 4:50 PM 8/21/2007

[jltibbs]

no problem man. remember, you can always unplug it!!!

[MaXimaSE]

yeah, I did change the plugs in it last night.. got the real good ones but I need to get another because I dropped one and It shattered that really pissed me off, but anyways stopped by the Garage today and scheduled a appointment for them to look at the noises coming from my front end..

The loud rattling when I hit certain **** that I can feel while driving.. and now today I started to get a rapid clicking sound from the right front wheel

hopefully should be taken care of monday, sorry about your car.. I seen the sig

[jltibbs]

its cool man. if you click on the sig you can see more carnage of the car. good luck with getting your ride straight. i know it can be frustrating, just be glad you still have a car.

[mochee_garage]

haynes manual FTW!!

[jltibbs]

ok, not so much a haynes manual. more like an FSM. a haynes manual might get you in the general area, and then again maybe not.