240 owners Share some Knowledge...

[NISSAN_GUY_87]

Well, I have owned my `92 240sx for a couple weeks now. I am gonna do a full tune up, all the fluids, plugs, wires, air filter, the whole shebang... So here is my question, what kind of spark plugs do you all reccomend for just a daily driven 240? What kind and size plug wires? 7mm, 9mm, etc...? Fluids; Oil, Coolant, Automatic Trans, etc...? Synthetics? Blends? My car is fairly highmilage 170K. I just want to consult all you fellow 240 owners to see what you all run... I had a B13 Sentra 1.6 and consulted Kojima's Garage at Sentra.net, he reccomended NGK plugs, and synthetic oils and what not... I mainly stick with Lucas lubricants, just some Prestone Radiator fluid, and NGK plugs and wires... So hit me up with what ya know... Any knowledge shared is appreciated, thanks dudes... -Nick

[benemorius]

Try the search button in the upper right corner. It can give much more information than I ever could.

For plugs, go with OEM, NGK, or Autolite.

Wires I am not familiar with.

Oil? I like Mobil1 and Castrol GTX. Stay the bloody hell away from Penzoil. You can attempt the switch to synthetic. If your engine accepts it, that's great for you. However, with so many miles on your engine, the smaller mollecular structure of synthetic oil is likely to slip past clearances that dino oil did not, resulting in higher oil leakage. Try it if you want. If it leaks, go back to normal.

Sorry to yell and curse, but I feel I need to make a point here: STAY THE BLOODY FRIGGIN HELL AWAY FROM FRAM OIL FILTERS! What was once a nice filter has become pond scum. Mobil1 currently gets my oil filter business.

Make sure you used distilled water for coolant - NOT tap water. I don't even know what kind of antifreeze I use. I always pick up the green stuff in the yellow container. The stuff that is already 50/50 mixed with distilled water is pretty nifty. Yes you pay more for it, and yes you get half the antifreeze. It's a convenience I don't mind paying for. Be sure you flush well (use tap water) and use the coolant burp plug to get all the air out when you're done.

I use Redline in my trannies and that's that. DO NOT PUT GL-5 OIL IN YOUR MANUAL transmission NO MATER WHAT THE GUY AT AUTOZONE SAYS. GL-4 only please. If it says GL-5 anywhere on the bottle, stay the bloody hell away from it. GL-5 has additives that dramatically accelerate the wear of the brass used in our older synchros.

EDIT: Crap. I forgot the most important part:

Welcome to Nico!!!

Please stick around. You have discovered the #1 Nissan forum. Period.

[Arrow]

I'd say that you just got a pretty good overview of what you can do. To add, I would recommend NGK plugs (I believe that Nissan used the in the first place as the OEM. but I could be wrong...) You might want to replace your distributer cap and rotor while you're doing the plugs and wires. It's not hard to do and isn't very expensive (and can help a lot). Good luck, and WELCOME TO NICO!!

[NISSAN_GUY_87]

Well as far plugs and wires go, I can agree with you both, NGK has been the only brand I have ever bought. And I don't EVER shop at autozone, so I don't worry about them trying to sell me any strange oils or anything. I am a Napa man. I use their Napa Gold filters, from what I have seen and read, they are pretty good filters. If you have heard otherwise, by all means let me know. Redline lubricants for the trans... I haven't used those ever, I might just have to try them out. And hey, I already buy the premized coolant in the big yellow jug, so that is all good. So thanks for the welcomes, I think I like this forum better already than the ones I have previously used... So any more advice you all wanna share is totally cool... -Nick

[neagan]

I did a search when I picked up my '93 'vert last month. It is recommended that we stay away from any platinum tipped and the best plugs and wires and even where to get them cheap, are all posted in the NICO menu forums; forgot exactly where.

Anybody have a suggestion on which RedLine product to use for the rear end and Automatic transmission/plus for flushing the power steering fluid? Nitro

P.S. You might want to think about cutting open your old oil filter when you do this first oil change. You can learn alot from pulling out the paper element and seeing just what's lodged in there. Welcome to NICO!!

[ddgsxr504]

Everyone here has some good points. I do however use platinum NGK plugs only because that is what the manual calls for. I run Accel 300+ sport wires and they are 9mm which you can buy from Summit Racing for around $60 shipped. They even have a few colors to choose from to spruce up the engine bay. I cannot confirm or deny the allegations of fram oil filters because I have used them for over 4 years on my S14 and have had no problems so I guess that would come down to personal preference.

[Marshalarteest]

its just a tune up, no need to get worried about it. the kind of plugs and wires you use really won't make a difference in power. but some may last a little longer than others. Basic rule of thumb is, you get what you pay for, pay more and you get more.

[NISSAN_GUY_87]

Oh yeah, I agree with ya, it is just a tune up, and you do get what you pay for, I just wanted to see what everyone else prefers, just as a matter of opinion. But hey, sometimes a tune up can kill your car. For instance my sister put too much oil into her 87 Hachi, and ended up K.O.ing that motor for good. So hey, a tune up done wrong can be disasterous... I dunno, I probably made it look like I don't know how to even work on my car by askin about simple tune up stuff. I assure you, as an auto mechanics student in school right now, I can do regular maintenance with my eyes shut. I just wanted to see what you all thought as far as what parts and filters and what not that you all like to use, I am, afterall, a noob to the whole 240 scene... I just get curious like that. So hey, thanks for all the responses... Lata all -Nick