Community Member Credit: CS_AR/ KP11520 / The Wizard / EddyMaxx

The 4thgen Nissan Maxima use two ports for diagnostics. There is a somewhat limited OBD2 port and a fully functional consult port. The consult port is behind the door where the fuses are located on the dash. The OBD2 port is below the dash.

White OB2 Port

• Located underneath the steering wheel.
• It gives some basic readings and lets you clear CEL codes.
• The only reason this port is there is for State Inspection diagnostics (required by law in the US) and although
• does offer some functionality, was never meant to be the port to diagnose and manage 4th Gen Maximas.
• There are no advanced diagnostics or functionality using this method.

Grey CONSULT Port

• The CONSULT port is where all the functionality resides.
• The Consult port and communicate with the engine, transmission, ABS, and SRS modules, but not the BCM unfortunately.
• Nissan DataScan I software works with the CONSULT port not the OBD2 port.
• Port Reference:
• 

Additional Info

• If you want your “meat and potatoes” and to be able to communicate with the ABS and SRS, the Autel 619 plus the consult connector and cable may be your best bet.
• With the new cable and connector, you can connect through the Consult port and communicate with the engine, transmission, ABS, and SRS modules, but not the BCM unfortunately.
• So, for anyone reading this and planning on using the MD802 only on a 95-99 Maxima, an option to save some money is to go for the Autel 619 instead. It can communicate with the engine; and the ABS and SRS (no transmission) assuming you spend the extra $39 for the consult adapter connector and the male-to-male cable. The Autel AL619 is quite a bit cheaper than the MD802.
• Make sure your terminals are the same as the 802 that I have. Meaning, they’ll both be 15 pins and the same shape, but your 619 could have a male fitting where 802 had a female.

Additional Reference Photos

Video Reference using ECUTalk

 

Community Member Credit: gtrrider / VQPower

Brief Details: What can the device be used for:
In the VTEC AFC II, the VTEC changeover point of a vehicle with a VTEC engine (in our case 00VI/MEVI) can be adjusted at an optional engine RPM. This fuel adjustment controller can increase and decrease fuel in a wide range of +50% to -50% by 1-point increments for the specified engine rpm. RPM points can be set in 100 rpm increments and make fuel correction according to the throttle position.

The second-generation SAFC is a fuel computer that adjusts fuel/air ratio by modifying the air-flow meter/MAP sensor signal. The SAFC features a user-definable, eight-point, adjustable fuel curve that can be set in 500 RPM increments. The range of fuel adjustment is +/- 50% at each of the user-defined setting points. On hot-wire vehicles, the Deceleration Air Flow Correction function is capable of curing the erratic idle and stall problems associated with open-atmosphere blow-off valves on hot-wire air-flow meter systems. The SAFC is capable of monitoring and replaying the following data channels in Numerical, Analog Meter and Graph displays: Intake Manifold Vacuum/Boost Pressure, Air Flow Capacity, Intake Manifold Pressure, Karmann Frequency, Engine RPM, Throttle Position, and Air Flow Correction %.

Tools Required: Necessary components used to install the VAFC to an A32:

• Wire cutter
• Wire Crimper
• 10(or 12mm) socket and ratchet
• Soldering iron with 16-22ag solder
• Electrical tape
• Snap connectors

Warning: I am not responsible if you fry your electrical system or damage your engine. Use caution when working with electricity and please disconnect the battery before proceeding!

Installation: Installing into your 1995-99 Maxima

You will need to access the passenger side of the ECU so from the passenger side of the car remove the kick plate to reveal the sealed harness to the ECU. Undo the 10mm socket from the center of the harness plug and separate the harness from the ECU. Pull off the clear plastic shielding which encases the wiring and we will begin the taping of wires for your new S/V-AFC II.

From here you will need to match up accordingly the wiring from the V-AFC II Harness to the wire location (NOT COLORS) on the ECU harness. Please note that you will not be using the Light Blue, Purple, or Orange wires from the V-AFC harness, tuck them away. Take note of subscript on ECU harness image for the location of Blue(O2 sensor hookup wire). Solder all wires securely and cover with electrical tape. Below are an V-AFC wiring diagram, an S-AFCII wiring diagram, and also the pin-outs on an A32 ECU harness, please use them properly to match up the wires. Failure to do so will result in damaged electronics or engine.

 

Initial V-AFC II Setup: Before you can start the engine you will need to setup the V-AFC.

Now that you have securely solder all the necessary wires to the ECU you may now begin the setup to make sure you do not damage the engine on startup. Turn ignition to the ON position but DO NOT start the engine and your newly installed V-AFC will come alive. Navigate through the menu’s, be sure to take it slow as not to incorrectly configure a vital setting. Move to the ETC menu; hit right on your joystick, scroll down and continue into Initialize, and toggle over to Yes. Accept the choice, after doing so wait 5 seconds and turn the ignition to the OFF position. Doing so will clear any unwanted information stored in the device if you happened to purchase the device used.

Return the ignition back to the ON position but DO NOT start the engine. Your V-AFC will activate again for more information to be stored. Navigate into the ETC menu again, and proceed to enter the following:

Sensor NO: 4 IN, 4 OUT (Assuming you are running a A32 MAF) –Otherwise^*1*
Car Select: 6 Cyl, Arrow UP and RIGHT, V/T 1
Sensor CHK: Ensure sensors are giving readings

Further tuning settings will need to be fine tuned while on a dynamometer. Once all settings have been checked over, turn the ignition to OFF wait 5 seconds and return the ignition to ON one last time. While your V-AFC is booting let the throttle rest at 0% for 10 seconds, and depress the throttle to 100% for 10 seconds and release. You have now completed the learning sequence for throttle positions and you can proceed to start the car.

Community Member Credit: DennisMik

I was cleaning out my garage and I came across an old radiator cooling fan motor that I had replaced on my neighbor’s 2000 Maxima. Since I had nothing better to do (which is why I was cleaning the garage), I decided to take the motor apart and document it with photos.

The motor was replaced because it was very noisy. If you grabbed the fan blade, there was lots of wobble, meaning the bearing was gone.

Photo # 1 – Front view (fan blade side).

Photo # 2 – Rear view

Photo # 3 – Motor split open.

Photo # 4 – Rear cover showing brush holders. Note that there are 4 brushes. That’s because this is a 2 speed motor that uses a dual wound armature to create 2 motors in one.

Photo # 5 – 2 of the 4 brushes. Note that the one on the left is only half the length of the other. I don’t know how long a new brush is, but I bet it would be at least 3 times the length of the brush on the right.

Photo # 6 – Front half of motor with armature in the case.

Photo # 7 – Front motor case with armature removed. There are 4 permanent magnets around the inside of the housing. It was actually fairly hard to pull the armature out of the housing. When I split the motor apart, it was full of a fine soot-like powder that was very similar to the powder you encounter when you work on brakes. Interesting difference with this power is that it was attracted to the magnets. I regret not taking a picture of the powder clinging to the magnets.

Photo # 8 – The commutator of the armature. The severe wear that the brushes caused is probably due to the fact that the rear bearing went bad and allowed the armature to wobble. You can’t tell from this picture, but the armature shaft is also worn to a smaller diameter.

This motor is not constructed to allow repairs. The case pieces are crimped together and when I did split the case open, I ripped 3 of the brushes off of their wires. There doesn’t seem to be any provision to hold the brushes retracted and fit the end plate onto the armature.

Member Credit: 95naSTA

Original Source Credit: https://maxima.org/forums/all-motor/648406-q45-maf.html

I’m successfully running the Q45 MAF with my hybrid 3.5 swapped 98 4thgen Maxima.  You will need a 90-96 Q45 MAF which you can easily find on eBay.

A32

• Red – +12v
• White – Signal
• Black – Ground

Q45

• Black w/ White stripe – +12v (could also be black with red stripe)
• White – Signal
• Black – Ground

Lightning MAF adapter will work if you re-drill it. It’s a little larger than the MAF opening but a 3.5″ coupler will still stretch over it.

The process was:

• Chopped up a Q45 MAF with a band saw (you could use another MAF).
• Grinded the outer edges of the MAF base to open up the radius
• Drilled a hole big enough for the MAF in a 1′ long 4″ Dia aluminum pipe
• Scored outline of MAF body onto the pipe
• Sanded the inside radius of the MAF base and aluminum pipe within the scoring with 180 grit sandpaper
• Taped off scored/sanded area on the pipe
• Mixed up JB Weld KwikWeld, applied to to the MAF and mated it to the pipe
• Cleaned up the edges of excess epoxy
• Removed tape

Reference Photos:

Member Credit: 95naSTA

Original Source Credit: https://maxima.org/forums/all-motor/660718-2007-altima-engine-4th-gen-3-0-timing.html

The point of this thread is to give people a heads up on what they’ll have to do to use the 07 Altima motor with the 3.0 timing. If you have the time/skill/money a full 3.5 swap will always out perform a hybrid setup. This is just for people that are lacking any of those and want something better than a typical hybrid swap.

I will not be telling you how to do a hybrid swap. That info is already out there.

Findings:

• The upper/lower oil pans, oil pick up tube, and dip stick need to be swapped to a VQ30 or manual trans VQ35 5th/6th gen since the exhaust tunnel isn’t as high and will interfere with the front bank’s exhaust.
• Cylinders 5/6 need the exhaust manifold studs swapped diagonally to work with the older gen VQ35’s.
• The older crank pulley needs to be swapped on.
• There are two knock sensors, one for each bank. I’ll be bolting up a 4th gen sensor to the rear bank.
• The grinding for the p/s pulley and flipping of the belt tensioner bolt aren’t necessary since the newer 3.5 covers created those issues and they’re not being used.
• The line for the oil cooler has been moved from the thermostat housing to the font coolant tubes and the cooler has gotten larger. The larger cooler will work on both older 3.5 upper oil pans and 3.0s.

You still need to run spacers and drill the intake cams. If you’re wanting to run adapters, typical 3.5 swap adapters will not work. The spacers are for 3.5L swaps with 3.0 timing equipment. They can only be used with drilled intake cams or drilled primary and intake cam gears. These are not adapters.

Here’s where it gets a little interesting.

Researching this swap, the question came up of how the 3.0 timing equipment might alter the timing of the 3.5 cams. I found the exhaust lobe centers of cyls #1&2 on my old 1st gen 3.5 (03 max motor) with 3.0 timing and they were 122* BTDC for the rear bank and 119* for the front. This is about 10 crank degrees retarded from the stock VQ35’s cam numbers (112 BTDC exhaust lobe center line). I used a degree wheel on the crank pulley, the 3.0 outer timing cover arrow as a reference, and a dial indicator riding the lifter bucket to find max lift. IMO, this method is good +/-3 crank degrees but either way the exhaust cams are retarded.

Now for the intakes. The dowel pins actually point up when cyl #1 is TDC’d like they do on a VQ30. But, that dowel pin would make the intake timing 28 crank degrees retarded from where a stock 3.0 would be.

07 Alti intake cam in a jig made from a 3.0 intake cam

Using a dial indicator with snake extension as a pointer to measure how many degrees the cam timing would be off if I used the 07 Alti VQ35 factory dowel pin.

Set as VQ30 timing

Clocked to the factory dowel pin hole

So, 14 cam degrees or 28 crank degrees off.

What I’m doing is drilling through the VQ30 primary/secondary timing gears and cam for the new (longer like other hybrid swaps) dowel pin 180* opposite of the factory gear timing slots so that I’m not just egging out the 07 Alti dowel pin hole. The stock 07 Alti intake cam bolts need to be reused for the intakes too. The VQ30s are too long.

The above cam timing would net:

• Intake__Duration: 240º
  Exhaust_Duration: 240º
• Intake_Opens: 7º BTDC
  Intake_Closes: 53º ABDC
• Exhaust_Opens: 47º BBDC
  Exhaust_Closes: 3º ATDC
• Overlap: 10º

Strange the exhaust timing matches up pretty close with a 3.5 Pathfinder. Either way it should be good overall.

I’m going to be using an 09 Maxima upper intake and (converted) throttle body with this swap since both are larger. The p/ns for the lower intake on both cars are the same number. The 07 Alti’s could obviously used if the TB is converted too. Before the engine went back I made sure the 09 Max upper intake bolted up without issue. No problems.

Altima Manifold

Maxima Manifold

Stripped down:

The 07 Alti comes with dual knock sensors like the 09 Max.I unbolted both and put the VQ30DE knock sensor on rear bank.

The Altima has a quick connect fuel fitting like the 09 max. My car already has AN lines from the filter. So, I need to get that quick connect to -6AN. I ordered 3/8″ and 5/16″ quick connect adapters by Earl’s since I wasn’t sure what size the rail was. The 3/8″ came but the 5/16″ is on back order. 5/16″ is the correct size and the p/n is 799-644120.

I got the 5/16″ to AN fitting on but because of the collar before the quick connect on the rail, the part that screws into the fitting to secure it needed to be grinded down. I have to get the car running asap. So, I did the following with what I had:

The cyl 5/6 exhaust manifold studs swapped:

Drilled cams installed, Alti LIM and fuel rail installed with 380cc injectors, front of block prepped, and 07 Alti secondary tensioners primed. (Yes, the 07 Alti tensioners are used)

Shots of how the HR head went back to the VQ30 cam cap bolt pattern. So, no drilling of the inner timing cover is needed.

In my first post I mentioned how the stock 07 Alti intake cam dowel pin hole is close but not ideal timing. Instead of drilling near that hole and egging it out, I opted to drill roughly 180 from that hole through the primary and secondary cam gears and through the cam. This puts the dowel slots on the gears pointing in the right direction as if it were drilled like a typical 3.5 swap.

 

Removing the 3.0 windage tray since the 3.5 already one bolted to the caps/girdle.

Bolting the rest of the 4th gen crap back on

Close ups of the Alti oil cooler hose routing. The rear line needs to be bent slightly, the cooler sandwich is clocked counter clockwise from it’s stock orientation, the hardline that came with the engine has been bent slightly, 2 tabs removed, one re-drilled to bolt to the front of the upper oil pan with the a/c bracket, and a longer hose used from the sandwich to the hardline. A long rubber hose could replace the front hardline setup too. And the p/s belt clears no problem.

It’s ALIVE. This is as clean as this will ever be.. (notice the different rear main seal too)

Dirty but all together.

A couple other misc things with the swap:

• The TB gasket mesh needs to be cut out if you’re pulling the TB cable from the top rear.
• The bottom rad hose needs to be trimmed since the thermostat housing is a 90*.

I’ve yet to really push it but it idles good, runs smooth, and pulls good mid throttle. Somewhere in the near future I’m going to gut the upper and remove the VIAS valves. So, now we know how this is possible, not just that it is.

Additional Reference

On those auto or CVT second-gen 3.5s with the CPS in a different spot you have to swap the upper oil pan anyway.

So, if you were going to drill the cams and use a second-gen 3.5 that came with an auto or CVT trans, it’s basically the same thing.

Nice work, any plans to dyno it? How much did that engine run you?

Yep, Once I gut the 09 upper and get the EMU in + tuned, I plan on getting on the dyno. I picked up the engine with 47k for $1400 including the $200 core charge.

Quick question about the cam timing on this swap. Would it be possible to use regular 05 max cams in the 07 Altima VQ so that I could use the adapters? I did some slight FSM research and they both have the same bearing/bore diameters. Only difference I can find is the lobe height witch is about .6 mm less on the max cams.

I am assuming the cam length and lobe placement would be the same but I would just like another opinion before I make the decision to try it. This way would just be 10x easier for me since I have multiple sets of 05 cams laying around, plus I don’t really have the resources to drill the Alti cams.

Yep, no reason you can’t run any non-HR head VQ cams with adapters. But, as with any cam swap, you’ll want to check the valve lash.

07+ Alti 3.5 Hybrid Swap, 98 i30 – Dyno Numbers

I got the new setup to the track tonight.

Track prep:

• Removed throw rugs, spare, and jack
• MT DRs Aired down 21 psi
• No air filter

Year of Engine: 2008 Altima
Engine Modifications: 3.0l timing, upper and lower oil pans, drilled intake cams/sprockets, 09′ Maxima upper intake and (75mm) TB, 3.5″ Intake, Q45 MAF, BPI flow stack, Aeromotive AFPR, Cattman headers, 3″ SS exhaust Y-back.
Tuned: Rough tune with EMU
Transmission: AE 5MT VLSD

PBs

• 60 – 2.195
• 1/4 – 13.66
• mph – 104.96

Slips: (7447)

My 60 still needs work, as does my tune, the VIAS isn’t hooked up, and I was only shifting at 6600ish. But, all in all, I’m happy with the improvement over my last time at the track with the old 3.5 DE, 2.5″ exhaust, and stock 3.5 TB.

Community Member Credit: Amave

So since i bought the car back in 2010 it had the constant DTC p1336 crank position sensor POS. , it never really was a problem in the past, since the engine ran good, it had a hard start but always started up every time, and other than the DTC i never had a problem. Well i decided to reseal the oil pan since i was passing it on to my son who is going away to college i figured if i do more work on it, the less he has to do to it when it comes time to fix it.

I resealed the oil pan and when i removed the pan low and behold i see my problem is the signal plate that is attached to the flywheel.

The kid i bought it from had the transmission and clutch replaced so when i got it the clutch was new so i had no reason to replace it , and if i had it long enough i am sure i would have had to replace it eventually. .

You can see the signal plate is damaged on the FW , i just wanted to share what i found just in case anyone has the same type of DTC and everything else checks out

And my beloved 2000 Maxima