Seem slike the starter has gone bad on the 1998 maxima. Is this a hard job? Or is this something I can do myself. Rather, is it something that will not require dropping the engine/transmission etc. I can fix most anything on a car, just want to know how difficult it is before I go crawling under the car...
Thanks!
dnoyeB
P.S. I determined it was the starter because it was dragging and sluring during start and sometimes it wont even start, yet the lights do not dim.
Starter is easy - in the Max you tackle it from above. Just remove the air intake piping and it's right there in front of you. One of the starter bolts tends to be really really tight - so keep a long breaker bar handy, and as NissTech suggests, make sure you've eaten your Wheaties!
I would recommend an OEM replacement.... you can buy one for $180 and it will last you a heck of a lot longer than the local parts store remans... yes there will be a lifetime warranty with the local ones, but do you really want to do the job over and over?
Cheers, Nirav
Or, use these excellent instructions and pics from motorvate to re-grease your starter. Maybe that's all it needs;
Great, I will do this. Thanks!
dnoyeB
Thanks for that. It shows clearly where the start is, so I should be able to get to it. I doubt re-greasing it will help. Grease is used to keep it from wearing out. So if its broken because of lack of grease, then the teeth will be ground down, etc. It does not sound that way at all.
Follow Nirav's suggestions to access it.
And, if you have the skill to repair it, may I suggest to repair it. It will be good for your checkbook and for the environment.
About two months ago, I did it on my 1995 Maxima. Two of the four copper brushes were worn and the armature commutator was a bit rough. I had the two worn brushes changed and the commutator polished at an auto electric shop: 15$ Canadian instead of 439$ for a Nissan rebuilt! The choice is yours...
Jean - as an FYI - they updated the starter design in 1997 sometime to use a different reducation gear - one with more teeth to enable faster cranking of the engine. When I replaced the original starter in my 96
- I used the updated starter and without a doubt, my starts were quicker and more consistent.
Since I had to return my old starter as a core, and not being able to afford downtime of the Max, I didn't even bother dismantling the old one to see what had gone wrong - basically symptoms were occasional no cranking, slow cranking, loopy cranking - it may have been a simple as replacing the brushes - but with severe winters and a family, I just didn't want to risk being left stranded with my "whack the starter with a stick" trick failing on me!
Chers, Nirav
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