2005 Nissan Sentra GXE - A few concerns, would like some advice.

[Rico21745]

Hi guys, first time poster here. First of all, I'm not much of a car guy, although I try to look into some car stuff whenever the need arises, so as to not get gouged by a mechanic for not knowing any better. I have some basic know how, just enough to do small stuff like oil changes, air filters, etc, but no major experience or knowledge.

So here's whats going on:

I bought my 2005 Nissan Sentra used from a dealer. Carfax checked out fine, car has been performing fine since I got it. I had it inspected and checked by a mechanic at a nissan dealership shortly after I got it for problems/repairs, they did not spot anything. I have been getting regular oil changes every 3k miles, though I am considering switching to oil changes ever 4.5k since the car is not constantly in traffic or being driven harshly. Anyway, here are a list of a few issues I have noticed lately that concern me a little bit:

1) When the car idles, I can hear a high pitched turning noise coming from the passenger side and under the hood of the car. From what I researched, it might be the serpertine belt that needs to be replaced. I heard power steering could also be to blame, but I tried moving the steering wheel and the noise does not change or fluctuate whenever I move the steering. Anyone else know what it could be, and what the cost of getting the belt replaced is?

2) I noticed the car idles a little roughly while on Drive. If I switch it to park it idles pretty smoothly, but it seems to idle somewhat roughly on drive. In addition, whenever I drive at high speeds (over 60MPH or so) the car vibrates a lot. It's not a violent shake or anything, but it vibrates more than I think it should. I got my tires rotated and balanced yesterday hoping that would take care of it, but no such luck. Would an alignment be in order, or could it be something else?

3) Sometimes the car will have to crank for a while before it starts. This usually happens when the weather is warmer and also when I have drive it somewhere, park it, then come back and try to start it again shortly after having parked it (I guess while the car is still somewhat warm). I have not changed the sparkplugs on it, and it still has the stock battery. Would either of these be the culprit?

Other than that the car has no issues, it handles well, does not exhibit any other behavior or problems. I change the air filters and oil regularly, but I have not changed the fuel filter since I got it about a year ago now. Would this be something that could cause any of these issues? Any recommended maintenance?

Oh and I just remembered, I changed my transmission fluid about 15k miles ago, and had my radiator flushed about 3k miles ago.

Thanks for your help guys, I know it's a long post but I figured it'd be best to be as descriptive as possible.
Modified by Rico21745 at 9:30 AM 1/13/2009

[jwerty1]

1. how many miles are on your car, are the belts cracked? the belts should be replaced if there alot of cracks in them, this car has 2 belts. i've never seen a power steering pump put on one of these, so i would go with either new belts or belt adjustment, belt adjustment/replacement is easy depending on your technical skill, however parts for new belts would probably be less than 40 and installation would be around 60-100 depending where you go

2. these aren't the smoothest of motors, the idle can be "relearned" by a nissan dealer but i suspect there is nothing of concernthe shop that balanced your tires, did they mention if any wheels were bent? if they didnt, i would take it to a shop and have them balance the wheels and take notice to any wobble on the balancer as a bent wheel might be in order, an alignment will not help or hurt your vibration, only tire wear and straightline driving

3. the spark plugs in this car are good for 105k miles unless one goes bad which is pretty rare, there is a technical service bulletin out for a fuel pump rebuild which ive done on occasion at my dealership, however im not sure if it applies to your car, this is most likely your hardstart concern, if its not under warranty, i'd let it ride till your fuel pump takes a poop, unless it will absolutely not start

there is no recommended maintenance for the fuel filter as it is part of the fuel pump assembly

[Rico21745]

Thanks for the reply Jwerty. The car has 72k miles on it as of this moment. The person who balanced and rotated the tires did not mention the wheels being bent or anything being wrong with them at all. Could it be perhaps paranoia on my part?

As for the belts last time I looked I could not notice any cracks. Would the cracks appear on the outside of the belt or on the inside (the part that actually faces the pulley)? I imagined it might be the belt so I have plans to have it replaced soon. My main concern right now is the vibration at high speeds. Would you advise taking the car somewhere else to have them look at the wheels again and redo the tire balancing again?

So for the fuel filter, would it be advisable to change it now, or is it something I'd only have to change if it went bad? Just want to keep up with my maintenance is all. Is the fuel pump rebuild costly? I'm concerned with getting stranded somewhere and depending on the price I'd rather change it sooner rather than later, specially if in the long run it would be more costly to wait until it dies rather than fix a simple problem right now.

I'm glad to hear the idle is not a problem. I figured it might come down to the car just being that way, but I try to listen to my car to notice problems before they become something worse.

But thanks for your help, it's very much appreciated.
Modified by Rico21745 at 2:55 PM 1/19/2009

[jwerty1]

vibration is pretty easy to diagnose, what is causing it is not always so easyI would take it to a reputable shop to check for the vibration, it's hard for me to give good advice without driving it

the belts should be cracked on the "ribs"(if they are cracking) not the smooth side of the belt, if they are not cracked or fraying i would have a shop adjust them, unless you want them replaced, but adjusting them would probably get rid of the noise

the fuel filter is something you would only replace if the fuel pump died on youif you are really concerned about it I would just have a new fuel pump put in vs. the rebuild, i trust new ones more than rebuilding one and the price isn't too bad i dont think, i wanna say a new Nissan fp runs about 250ishi have seen these cars go a long time with the "extended crank" you speak of, never really have to put fuel pumps in them

overall that is a good car, i owned a 2000 sentra and it ran great up until i bought my versa and it had 110k on it, needed an auto for the wife to drive