Doing some repairs / maintenance on my '96 Maxima that I'd hoped to do at 300k, but it's getting done a bit early-- Valve cover gaskets were leaking enough to really annoy me and I had a phantom coolant leak that I could smell after a long drive, but could never locate any drips. Had to top off the reservoir every couple weeks. After putting the cooling system under 14 PSI pressure, I spotted the leak way back at the firewall where two heater hoses come together at a simple plastic coupling. The plastic was brittle as a peanut shell and broke into pieces just getting the hose clamp off. Decided to replace all the 25 year old heater hoses. Nissan in their infinite wisdom, used plastic at the heater core fittings (where it goes through the firewall) too, I was afraid they'd break also, but I was able to carefully cut the hose off; I think they'll live another day. Taking the dash off to get at the heater core is not my idea of a good time.
Some other things on the list (many were done just because I was in there): axle seals, passenger CV axle, PCV valve, coolant temp sensors, 02 sensors, all motor mounts, thermostat and fuel filter. The PCV valve made the job extra fun, the plastic PCV valve broke in two while removing it, leaving the bottom half stuck inside the valve cover. I debated just leaving it down there in the oil baffle which is too narrow/small for the piece to come out and fall in the engine, but I was worried it would rattle in there and decided to pull the grommet out. Naturally the old grommet broke into two pieces. Hoping I can find a replacement or I'll be doing a custom RTV fix (hack if you will, but I prefer "custom") with what's left of the grommet.
Did a compression test just for kicks and it returned: 185-185-173 (back cylinders) and 164-170-178 (front). Other than not being very service friendly (which can be said for a lot of transverse V6), this has been a great engine.
Some pics under the valve covers:
FRONT:
BACK:
Some other things on the list (many were done just because I was in there): axle seals, passenger CV axle, PCV valve, coolant temp sensors, 02 sensors, all motor mounts, thermostat and fuel filter. The PCV valve made the job extra fun, the plastic PCV valve broke in two while removing it, leaving the bottom half stuck inside the valve cover. I debated just leaving it down there in the oil baffle which is too narrow/small for the piece to come out and fall in the engine, but I was worried it would rattle in there and decided to pull the grommet out. Naturally the old grommet broke into two pieces. Hoping I can find a replacement or I'll be doing a custom RTV fix (hack if you will, but I prefer "custom") with what's left of the grommet.
Did a compression test just for kicks and it returned: 185-185-173 (back cylinders) and 164-170-178 (front). Other than not being very service friendly (which can be said for a lot of transverse V6), this has been a great engine.
Some pics under the valve covers:
FRONT:
BACK: