Seal leaks and other problems on 96 Max

[maximalou]

This is my first time posting and I would first like to say hello to everyone.

I live in Rockland County, NY (right above New York City) and am the owner of a 96 Max (base model) with 156K miles on it. I purchased it in 1996 with only 3K miles on it and it has mostly been problem free over the last 10 years. I normally change the oil everyone 3K and keep it maintained well. I've had no major repairs to it because I haven't had any really big issues with it (outside of the usual like struts, breaks, strut mounts, e.t.c). The car is driven everyday by my wife to work (about 30 mi per day). I recently went to a Nissan care care clinic where they check over your car for problems free of charge and was informed that the valve cover and crank seal were leaking. I was also told that the oil pressure switch, drive belts and idler pulley need replacing (the mechanic did mention something about a "pump" but his english was not too good). The total cost to repairs these items was about $1300. Wanting to get a second option I went to another clinic at another dealership and was told that it was leaking coolant out of the water pump, the rear main seal was leaking and that the drive belts needed replacing (not the idler pulley thou). But to replace these items also came up to allot of money also.

My questions are (a) is there a simple way to check all of these items myself to see if they really need to be replaced (with the exception of the belts which I know need to be replaced), (b) are the crank seal and the rear main seal the same thing and (c) with the exception of the drive belts, if none of the above mentioned items gets replaced and I always check the fluid level will the car be O.K?

Any help with the matter is certainly appreciated.

Maximalou

[mrbizness1]

My daughter drives the same car with 147k miles and just replaced the idler and the belts. One day it just became noisy. The shop used a Nissan Idler and charged her $59.00 for the part. She had a dealer replace the oil switch a few months back and it was leaking again. I had him use an aftermarket switch this time. I have read a few complaints about Nissan oil pressure switches. I would check the fluid levels every few days to find out how much they are actually leaking. A little seepage from some seals is normal especially for a 10 year old vehicle and most of the costs of replacement is labor which is why some shops reccommend that type of repair.