# Engine Flush & Headlights



## Trainoperator (May 17, 2005)

Hello all. I have two questions. I have an '03 maxima SE and I change my oil every three thousand miles at a particular quick lube spot. I have never had any problems with them and I have been going there for quite some time even when I had my 1993 Maxima. What has really has begun to "Chap my ass", is that everytime I get it changed, the tech says that I need an engine flush. He always shows me some of the used oil off of the filter and says that because the oil is dark, I need an engine flush. I guess he assumes that I don't know that after 3000 miles, the oil is not exactly going to be the same color. The tech has been saying this even when I only had about 21K on the car. Now, I have 47k and have not had any oil related problems. In addition, when ever I go to the dealership for it's reccomended service, there is never a mention of needing an engine flush. I had my 1993 maxima for 10 years before I sold it to my brother-in law and never had an oil related problem or had an engine flush. My question is, I have heard of so many horror stories of folks who have had their engine flushed as these places only to wind up with a destroyed engine, is this tech just trying to make some money off of me or what?? :wtf: 
Now, on to my second question, Since I have an '03 Maxima with the xenon headlioghts and have subsequently had them stolen twice, I now have halogen headlights. I love the brightness of xenon and I want to get close to that in a halogen form. What type of bulbs do you suggest I install in my car to give me that look without burning up my headlight assembly??  
Thanks.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

didnt nissan include locks with the new headights after they were replaced? you should have gotten new xenoons with an anti theft thingy in them... as for the flush... we offer that service at my work and i have heard mixed reviews from techs... some say its BS, others say it really helps... how much do they want for it, and what exactly are they doing???


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## Trainoperator (May 17, 2005)

Nissan did provide the locking device free of charge after the first theft. However, all the locking device does is create more damage to the vehicle when they took them out the second time. However, I must give credit where credit is due. The were oly able to completely take off one of the headlights. The other one was still on the car but was severly damaged. At $500 deductable each time, I had to weigh the pros and cons of keeping them xenon.
As far as the flush goes, I think they use some type of machine to do it. I'm not sure of the cost though. I will have to drive by and look at the price list to see how much they want for it.


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## brianw (Feb 25, 2004)

Halogens can't match xenons for brightness.

Period. Run the numbers yourself, they just don't match up. Your only real choice is to go back to the factory HID setup or run HIDs that will plug into the current headlights you have now; the latter is less than idea because your current headlights are not designed to handle HID and consequently will not have a proper beam pattern... the former, well, you know why. 

You could always look into odd bolts for the headlights. Philips and slotted head bolts are common, torx and security torx are somewhat less common, Robinson and a few others are far less common in the USA...


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## am3rican (Feb 26, 2005)

sounds like bullshit to me. I went to one of these places and they told me I needed new tires because i had 5/32 tread left. Being that this place happened to sell tires, I saw their motive in telling me I needed new tires. But, the idiots did not know that they had been replaced 6 months before and only had maybe 8,000 miles on them.

So, my point is not to trust these places for any type of mechanical advice. Engine flushes are a crock of shit unless you have high high miles or if you dont change your oil every 3,000 miles (btw the Nissan manual recommends 3750). 

follow your owners manual


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

*am3rican*: _"Sounds like bullshit to me. I went to one of these places and they told me I needed new tires because I had 5/32" of tread left. Being that this place happened to sell tires, I saw their motive in telling me I needed new tires. But, the idiots did not know that they had been replaced 6 months before and only had maybe 8,000 miles on them.

So, my point is not to trust these places for any type of mechanical advice. Engine flushes are a crock of shit unless you have high high miles or if you dont change your oil every 3,000 miles (btw, the Nissan manual recommends 3,750). 

Follow your owners manual."_

I couldn't have said it better myself.  Engine flushing is an extreme thing to do to a car and you're never 100% sure you won't have adverse effects ... depending on the type of flush.

Flushes or any kind if "cleaning" are only necessary on high-mileage, neglected vehicles. An '03 that's seen 3,000 mile oil & filter changes doesn't even come close. 

Oh, and stop going to these clowns for _anything_. Do your own oil changes. Be proud that you do it yourself.


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## Trainoperator (May 17, 2005)

Thanks for all of the info. I figured that they were just trying to sell me something I really didn't need because they thought I didn't know any better. As for going back to xenon, I live in New York City and don't know if I can go back to worrying about my car's headlights whenever I park it somewhere.


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## am3rican (Feb 26, 2005)

Trainoperator said:


> Thanks for all of the info. I figured that they were just trying to sell me something I really didn't need because they thought I didn't know any better. As for going back to xenon, I live in New York City and don't know if I can go back to worrying about my car's headlights whenever I park it somewhere.


Unfortunately, some people dont have the luxury of changing their own oil (I happen to live in an apartment complex that wont allow it). Living in NYC, this is coming from someone who grew up there, is a bane (a curse) if you happen to have something that can be easily stolen, like Maxima Xenon headlights. I guarantee if you switch back to Xenon they will be stolen again.


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## 02MaxUpgrade (Jul 19, 2005)

*Damn, stolen headlights*

Hey Train, time to move to Fairfield County!

Re bulbs, I highly rec Silverstars. Much brighter than stock, lots cheaper than PIAA.

Also, there is a way to convert a high beam halogen to low, I'm sure illegal but would get you brightest light possible. The instructions I'm thinking of explain how to turn a 9005 bulb into a 9006 low beam, maybe it works with 9004 too?


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## brianw (Feb 25, 2004)

Nope, you can't convert a 9004. It uses a traverse (side to side) filament, while most other bulbs are an axial (lengthwise) filament, which means the reflector patterns required are very different.

9004 just sucks.


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