How-to's and FAQ

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All credit goes to the original authors and posters of the posted material. TY...

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5spd Conversion
Cefiro Headlights in Swap
Change Front Brakes
Change Fuel Filter
Change Coolant
EGR troubleshooting and diagrams by Dave Sz
Fuel Pump Install
How To Change Oil
Knock Sensor Replacement
Led Window Switch
OverDrive Explained
Red Tail Light Conversion
Throttle Body Cleaning
Factory Service Manual Download

[b00b]

http://web.archive.org/web/200202040.../how2menu.html

[Ovaltine Jenkins]

Wow, that brings back memories. I remember back in the day when Cheston(used to be Chebosto on the org )was still there before he got his Z.

[Cousin Ryan]

Here's a list of simple FAQ's that may help down the line. Feel free to add to this list if youd like. I think ive laid out the basics for now.

What kind of bulbs does my car use stock?

Headlights: Generally theyd be 9004 bulbs, but with a simple rewire with a new plug that you can get a most autoparts stores you can use 9004 or 9007.

Foglights: H3

Corners and Rear Brake Light: 1157

Front and Rear Turn Signals: 1156

Front and Rear Side Markers: 194

What color is my car?

Under the hood on your VIN plate, there will be a 3 digit code consisting of 2 letters and than a number. Go to this site and it has listed all of the paint colors and codes. Dont mind the years next to the paint colors, some of them are not entirely correct.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/paint/maxima.html

Credit: DaveSz

Tire Inflation

Front Tire Recommended Inflation = 32
Rear Tire Recommended Inflation = 29

Also includes:
Vehicle Capacity Weight = 900 LBS.
Tire Size Dimensions = P215/55 R16 91H
Spare Tire Dimensions = T125/70 D16

How does the knock sensor affect the driving of the car?

This is something ive run into at the moment, as have a lot of the people on here. Theres a good explanation on the org.

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...3&postcount=41

What is the Chilton Manual? Where can i get it?

This manual has just about everything in it you would need to know for do it yourself repairs plus more.

http://www.chiltonsonline.com/

97-98 Altenator Recall

Some of the 97-98 maxima models produced have had problems with the altenator. By now, im sure most of the cars that were affected by this would have run into the problems. But it cannot hurt to check it out. Heres some more info.

from Nissannews.com

1997 and 1998 Nissan Maxima and Infiniti I30/Q45 Alternator Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign [Jul. 3, 02]

Background
Nissan/Infiniti will be conducting a voluntary safety recall campaign on approximately 161,000 1997 and 1998 Nissan Maxima and Infiniti I30/Q45 vehicles. The recall will apply to Nissan Maxima vehicles manufactured from February 13, 1997 to February 27, 1998; Infiniti I30 vehicles manufactured from February 13, 1997 to February 28, 1997 and from August 1, 1997 to February 27, 1998; and Infiniti Q45 vehicles manufactured from February 13, 1997 to April 6, 1997 and August 1, 1997 to February 27, 1998. On some of these vehicles manufactured during these time periods, there is a possibility that the alternator may contain a damaged diode. This could result in an electrical short, which may cause a fire in the alternator that could spread to the engine compartment. No other Nissan/Infiniti vehicles are affected by this campaign; and to date, no injuries have been reported.

At no cost to the customer, Nissan/Infiniti dealers will first inspect, and if necessary, replace the alternator to correct this condition.

NHTSA has been notified and Nissan/Infiniti will begin sending notification letters to consumers in August 2002.

Statement

“On some 1997 and 1998 Nissan Maxima and Infiniti I30/Q45 vehicles, there is a possibility that the alternator may contain a damaged diode. This could result in an electrical short, which could lead to a fire in the alternator that could spread to the engine compartment. No other Nissan/Infiniti vehicles are affected by this campaign; and to date, no injuries have been reported. To correct this potential condition, to prevent an alternator failure, and to ensure customer satisfaction, Nissan/Infiniti will initiate a voluntary safety recall campaign to first inspect, and if necessary, replace the original alternator with a new one. Nissan/Infiniti is committed to a high level of customer service and will be working with its dealers to promptly address this condition.”

You should also check the manufacture date on the driver door jamb

How to tell if your car is VLSD

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...15&postcount=1

Can my auto maxima be converted to a 5spd?

Yes... But it is very timely and costly. Heres a pretty good breakdown of what needs to be done. Definately a project that would profit from having a few people helping out. Especially ones who know what they are doing.

http://www.vqpower.com/v2/modules.ph...howpage&pid=30

Is it possible to get the rear windows to roll all the way down?

No. The doors are not deep enough to be able to have the windows all the way down. Just not enough room.

Can i convert my 95-96 front and rear ends to look like the 97-99's?

Yes you can. And there are a few people on here who have done so. Heres a good breakdown from the Org.

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...46&postcount=7

Does my car have a limiter?

Depends on the year and style of your car. If its a SE or GLE your car does not have a limiter. Theres been a good amount of discussion on this. If your car has a limiter you will know it when you reach the top speed. Your car shuts off the fuel to the engine, you will definately feel it.

Can i make it so that i do not have to hold down the sunroof button to make it retract?

Yes. I think this is a really cool mod, im surprised i havent done it yet. Check out this site to get the products.

http://www.autoloc.com/

[Cousin Ryan]

Heres a list of some simple mods you can do to your car.

Rewire Foglights to come on with corners and side markers

For some reason, the maxima was not wired to have the foglights on without the headlights being on. Well its a really quick and simple mod. Take about 5 or 10 minutes tops. Heres a really good breakdown with really good pics.

http://www.vqpower.com/v2/modules.ph...showpage&pid=6

Heres also a couple of pics i took myself.

Before


After


Wimpy horn

If you dont like the sound of the maxima horn, this can be a fun mod, and can be very cheap. What a bunch of us have done, is go to a junk yard, find a domestic car (weve used horns from Chevy's, Buick's, Oldsmobile's) take the stock horns off of those. Depending on the type of horn you get, it will fit in two places. The maximas have horns right behind the grill in front of the radiator, and one near the left fuse box and altenator. If you can find a couple of horns like the ones near the radiator i would go that route. But you can also put them where the other one is as well. And make sure you get both the low and high tone horns. Otherwise it will only sound worse.

You can also go this route, and but new ones. Heres a couple of good options.

http://www.autobarn.net/twinsuphorki.html
http://www.autobarn.net/noname6.html

Horn that goes off when you lock the car

This only works on the cars that have keyless remote entry. If youve had an aftermarket alarm put on your car, you probably do not need this. But it can be a fun mod for people with the stock remote entry.

Just like the car horns, you can either try and find one of these at a junk yard, or you can go out and buy one new.

http://www.autobarn.net/wol336.html

Depending on the size of the horn, will depend on where you can put it. The smaller the size the better, as you will have more options of where to put the horn. Me and Dave put ours in the trunk. This is also a quick wiring job. Youll need two wires, approximately 2-3 feet in length, some electrical tape and some wire splices like these:


Just beneath the trunk latch, underneath the paneling, there is a small brown relay. If you have a smaller horn you can mount it to the left or right of the latch. I have a larger one like the one in the pic on that site, so i ended up resting mine next to the tire jack and running the wires to the relay.

The horn should have two wires coming out of it, most likely one black and one red. Unplug the relay. There are two different colored wires. One is Orange, and one is Green with an Orange stripe. You want to splice into the Orange one and connect the Black wire (ground) from the horn into that one. Once connected tape it. Than splice into the Green and Orange one and connect to the Red wire (power source) from the horn. Make sure they are all connected securely and taped up. Than reconnect the relay, and the horn should beep twice along with the lights.

Make the side markers blink when using the turn signal

This mod takes about 7 minutes to do total. Ill try to explain this as best as possible.

Take a flat head screwdriver and pop the side marker lense out. Once its out, youll need to take a phillips head screwdriver and unscrew the turn signal lense. once they are both out and hanging, you want to cut the ground wire (black) thats going into the side marker. Tape off the end thats going into the car, you wont need that. Than youll want to connect a wire (roughly 18g) from the the black wire thats attached to the side marker, and run it around and splice it into the power source wire that goes into the turn signal lense (the wire is green and red). Make sure all the connections are good, no loose wires, and tape them off. Than repeat the same steps for the other side.

Now, when you have the lights off, the side marker will come on with the turn signal. If you have your corners and fogs on or headlights on, the side marker will blink opposite from the turn signal.

Heres a couple of video clips

With lights off


With lights on

[darklegend06]

Code 1003 or also known as P0705 is a Park Neutral switch code that appears when the signal of the park/neutral position switch is not changed in the process of engine starting and driving.

For those of you that did the 5spd swap and put in a 5spd ECU will usually get this code.
How to fix it:

It is simple as running a wire from Pin 22 (pin 27 for 99s) on the 5spd ECU to the G/W cable or pin 2 on the position switch sensor, and then grounding the black cable or pin 4 on the position switch sensor.

credit goes to KRRZ350 from the org