Video Credit: Marcos Chávez
6thgen Maxima Mods:
- Straight Pipe with N1 Mufflers
- Intake with high flow air filter
- Race clutch disk
Member Credit: Fuzzyknub / EddyMaxx
If you eliminate your EGR valve, you’ll likely get a P0400 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Malfunction trouble code. But no worries, here’s what you need to do to get rid of the code.
EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Re-circulation. It takes the exhaust and recirculates it back into the engine so it will burn any unburnt fuel left to create a better emission. It only does a small portion, not all of it the cats take care of most of it. The EGR is a federally mandated system designed to control tailpipe exhaust emissions.
The EGR system reduces emissions by returning small amounts of metered exhaust gases back to the engine intake. The theory is that by using exhaust gas as part of the intake air/fuel mixture, there is less oxygen to burn, which lowers the temperature of combustion. Cooler cylinder head temps lead to less formation of pollutants, specifically nitrogen oxide (NOx) compounds.
The reason most people delete the system is it really doesn’t work after 20+ years of built up gunk and crap in the system. If you take yours off, I will bet you have carbon build up in the tubes and nothing i getting through that. All its doing now is directing all of it into the exhaust system. Another reason is it ends up being a major source to a vacuum leak. All the EGR valve is, is a rubber diaphragm. They usually fail after 10-15 yrs or after 100k miles. They don’t make parts for it anymore or if they do it is insanely expensive.
What are the benefits and why do this?
- The majority of Nissan owners do this modification when they install headers and eliminate the EGR valve. When eliminating the EGR, it throws a code. This mod makes it easy to keep the headers and avoid CEL codes.
- It’s a very simple mod to do and won’t effect your engine performance.
- There have been no major known issues when doing this modification. The EGR is designed to be mainly operational when the engine is cruising and already warmed up. Removing the EGR should not put the engine under increased risk. The EGR is only working when the engine is under minimal stress.
EGR (What you will be eliminating/deleting)
1. EGR Block-off Plate
Buy the EGR blockoff plate from NWP (you can also make your own). This will go on the intake manifold when you disconnect the piping from the EGR system. If you are doing an HR swap or have a 07-08 Maxima, then you don’t need to do this. They cost $35 bucks from NWP.
2. EGR Exhaust Plug
For the exhaust side plumbing you’ll either need a plug for the exhaust bung or have headers that don’t have an EGR bung. The EGR exhaust bung plug is a M24 plug. You can actually buy it directly from Nissan using this: Plug Taper – Nissan (14052-21R00)
3. EGR Temp Sensor
This is the smallest of the 2 sensors on the EGR piping under the hood. You can either leave it in the engine bay reading ambient air temp or you can trick the ECM by sticking a 10k ohm resistor in the female connector (as my picture illustrates above). I don’t believe you will go into limp mode if you totally remove this sensor and don’t do the resistor trick but you will throw a P0406 (EGR flow sensor A circuit high input) code.
RadioShack Part #: 2711335 10K-Ohm 1/4-Watt Carbon Film Resistor (5-Pack)
Important Note: Make sure resistor is 10K-Ohm not 10-Ohm.
4. EGR Valve Sensor
I removed this sensor (4 screws secure it to the piping) from the piping, left it plugged in to the factory harness and zip tied it to some other wiring under the hood. This one is a big deal as you WILL go into limp mode and can’t rev over approx 3k rpms if you take this sensor out from under the hood! Ask me how I know
5. Coolant Lines
If I remember correctly my coolant lines went to the EGR valve, out to the throttle body and back out to the return plumbing. I basically just took the EGR out of the lineup. So the coolant line runs straight to the Throttle body and back out to the return plumbing. I’ll delete the coolant lines to the throttle body at a later date and time as I was doing a LOT of mods at once and didn’t feel like fooling with it at that time & point.
That should do it!
Update from EddyMaxx (June 24th, 2018)
I performed this on my 2004 Nissan Maxima and drove 3K+ miles. No issues or CEL from the EGR delete. The emissions readiness monitors also pick up EGR as PASS!
Photo of my car (Taken Sept 2nd, 2018):
Member Credit: Anthony Tang
This is a 2005 Nissan Maxima with a custom-molded Camry Hybrid Bumper.
Owner: Jordan Silversmith
Year: 2004
Model: Maxima
Color: White
Transmission: 5-Speed Automatic
Trim: SE
Notes:
- My parents purchased the car brand new off the lot in 2004. They swapped the stock stuff for Eibach springs, stainless brake lines, Injen intake, and wheels, then drove it for about 14 years with about 260k miles.
- I got the car from them and did quite a bit more to it. I really loved (and hated) the car and was sad to see it go, but, moving to Japan, I didn’t need it anymore and a JDM car was more alluring.
- Cheers to all those building this underappreciated car!
Mod List:
- “HR” Swapped with a 2014 Altima VQ35DE
- Redlion Rear Motor Mount
- Nisformance Tuned ECU
- Ported Maxima Intake
- Grounding Kit
- Optima Battery
- Mishimoto Radiator
- Injen Cold Air Intake
- Automatic Transmission built by LEVEL10 (Stronger Internals)
- 2500 Stall Speed
- 1st Gear Lockout Removed
- Aftermarket Trans Cooler
- “Dress up” Bolt Kit for Fenders
- Trenz Grille
- Eibach Springs
- Motul Brake Fluid
- Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines
- Racingline Front Strut Bar
- 18×9 +30 Mustang Steeda Wheels Painted Blue Pearl over White
- LED Everything
- Turn signals are “switchbacks” white when running, amber when flashing
- “Ruby reds” Tail Lights
- Roof Spoiler
- Stillen Body Kit
- 35% Expel XR plus Window Tint
Videos:
Community Member Credit: Justin Gorton
This is what was making all that noise. Secondary tensioners are toast and water pump leaking. Chain stretched and all gears worn. Was not a difficult job as some say. Just tedious.
Thanks to Kirill, we just ordered a set of “Street” Selector Springs for our 2002 6-Speed Supercharged 5thgen Maxima. Will post a review afterward. The owner Peter will get back to you quickly. This is only for the manual FWD RS6 6-Speed and RS5 5-Speed Transmissions. Also, if you are having issues with reverse just make sure the spring cup on the larger spring is not upside down.
Overview & Purpose from Vision1Racing
From the factory, Nissan utilizes two springs within the transmission to “center” the shifter in the 3/4 gate. These OEM springs are very weak and often cause 3rd gear lockout issues when attempting to quickly shift. This is simply due to the driver overpowering the spring’s ability to line up the shift mechanism in the 3rd gear fork. VisionOneRacing offers two kits to fit the driver’s needs.
Our Street Kit is 200% stiffer than the factory and provides a nice, crisp feel. This is truly how it should have come from the factory. Our Race Kit utilizes a higher grade spring steel and is over 300% stiffer than the factory. This will provide the necessary “kick” to the shifter when slamming them gears down the track.
Both kits have received excellent feedback and have propelled the V1R Sentra into the 9’s, being the first QR to do so. They have also helped send the all-motor Maxima into the 10’s with many other success stories along the way!
It’s also worth noting that I highly recommend aftermarket shifter bushings when using our Race Kit. These can be had from 2J Racing among others.
Price Options: Street Kit $45.00 / Race Kit $60.00
Order Link: https://www.visiononeracing.com/product-page/shift-selector-springs-race
Installation Instructions: V1R Shift Selector Springs – Nissan 5/6spd F51
Installation Video:
Scanned Installation Instructions:
Overview & Purpose from Vision1Racing
Brand new to the market is our HD Detent Kit for the Nissan RS6F51 transmission! Add confidence and enjoyment to your driving experience with these affordable and easy to install springs. Over 70% stiffer than OEM, the V1R HD Detent Kit provides the driver with the positive feedback desired with every gear change.
We have custom tailored each spring to not only increase the performance of your transmission, but also to combat the sloppy reverse feel that is far too common. This kit is suitable for any vehicle – from the daily driver to weekend warrior. Be sure to couple these with Vision One Racing Shift Selector Springs for the ultimate transmission experience!
Price: $39.99
Order Link: https://www.visiononeracing.com/product-page/hd-detent-kit
Overview & Purpose from Vision1Racing
The Diamond Claw® Crank Lock utilizes precisely sized CBN particles with a hardness of 10,000 Vickers that effectively LOCK your flywheel and harmonic damper in place. With a thickness of only .008″ – Driveline alignment remains unaffected.
Previously only available for the most common platforms – including the Nissan GTR, Vision One Racing remains focused on bringing these solutions to the entire Nissan family. Protect your most expensive and crucial components with this small yet powerful addition! At an affordable cost, the Diamond Claw will be reusable for virtually the entire life of your engine.
When modifying engines and pushing them beyond their designed capabilities, harmonic vibrations are your worst enemy. Long strokes, balance shaft removal, increased RPM, single mass flywheels, turbocharged applications, and even higher compression all are capable of contributing to increased harmonics. These micro-vibrations often times cause surface welding (also known as “fretting”) on the crankshaft, flywheel and other expensive components.
The V1R Diamond Lock® helps to prevent flywheel bolts from backing out with increased RPM and power output. In the event that the flywheel does become loose and begin to vibrate against the crank, the Diamond Claw® can help protect the crankshaft and prevent further damage.
We’ve seen firsthand the detrimental effects that fretting can pose – sometimes even destroying a crankshaft beyond use. While mitigation techniques have been around for ages, nothing has proven to fully prevent this anomaly… UNTIL NOW!
Price: $129.99 (Flywheel/Damper)
Order Link: https://www.visiononeracing.com/product-page/diamond-claw-crank-lock
Installation Instructions: V1R Diamond Claw® Crank Lock
