# 89 Maxima GXE or SE?



## othercarisaHonda (Dec 4, 2006)

I have a baby blue Maxima I just purchased yesterday and I know its a 3.0 Litre 6 cyl but I literally know nothing about Nissan's, I am a honda-tech guy. The owners manual doesnt say whether its a gxe or se either. It has an auto tranny, dark blue cloth interior, power windows and locks, and cast wheels. Ive heard injectors are a problem on nissans but the motor and tranny only have 79k miles on them and seem strong as hell. 

I will have pics up after work. Could you guys help me out with some basic problems FYI's etc. That would be great. Look forward to contributing to this forum as much as I do Honda-tech.

Jake


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## JoeyMurder (Dec 4, 2006)

*yeah.*

i don't know what model it is, but i have an 89 Max too. it's got all the power stuff as well, i believe they are the GXE models. anyways, one thing to watch out for is the oil system. keep up on your oil changes and all that, and you should be smooth sailing. I love my Max and I can't wait to get it on the road again.


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## sweet3rdgen (Jun 9, 2006)

there are some differences between gxe and se. An Se will have white face guages and a wing, gxe will not. Almost everything else is option-able. Se has a "sport" suspension package also.

Some of the problems you may face are MAF, coolant temperature sensor, injectors, and an auto trans that goes to crap every three to four years. The timing belt needs to be changed every 60k miles WITHOUT FAIL. Beyond that these cars are pretty indestructable. Welcome to the Maxima family.


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## alexnds (Oct 1, 2005)

*Nissan GXE vs SE*



othercarisaHonda said:


> I have a baby blue Maxima I just purchased yesterday and I know its a 3.0 Litre 6 cyl but I literally know nothing about Nissan's, I am a honda-tech guy. The owners manual doesnt say whether its a gxe or se either. It has an auto tranny, dark blue cloth interior, power windows and locks, and cast wheels. Ive heard injectors are a problem on nissans but the motor and tranny only have 79k miles on them and seem strong as hell.
> 
> I will have pics up after work. Could you guys help me out with some basic problems FYI's etc. That would be great. Look forward to contributing to this forum as much as I do Honda-tech.
> 
> Jake


The GXE and SE in 1989 was pretty much the same car, with the difference being rear wing and white instrument gauges. The suspension was a little stiffer for the SE. The SE was available with a 5 speed but the GXE was the "luxury" version and not. Later on in time, this was more than a difference in trim level, but with two completely different motors. The SE got a Dual Overhead motor with 195 HP, but the GXE still had the 165 Horsepower Single Overhead motor. The change in Engine between SE and GXE came around 1993 as I recall. From 1989-1993 the engine is same between SE and GXE


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## sweet3rdgen (Jun 9, 2006)

To correct your knowledge Alex, the VE30DE engine was introduced in the 92 model year in th SE, the GXE still used the VG30E. Other differences also included rear disc brakes on the SE.


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## alexnds (Oct 1, 2005)

*SE vs GXE*



sweet3rdgen said:


> To correct your knowledge Alex, the VE30DE engine was introduced in the 92 model year in th SE, the GXE still used the VG30E. Other differences also included rear disc brakes on the SE.


Thank you! You are correct


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

Easy way to tell the difference:
do you doors have numeric keypads on the outside?
if yes you have a GXE, if no you have an SE
People add spoilers to GXEs , and white face gauges. but I've yet to see anyone add the keypad to an SE


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