240sx Newbie

[jrpeterson]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this forum, but not new to my 240sx. I have owned my 240sx for about 5 years, but I haven't made any modifications. My 1991 240sx (147k miles) has been a faithful commuter car, and has taken the toll of college life.

I am planning to fix all of the mechanical things that I have meant to, but couldn't afford to as a student. I was hoping to get some advice on a couple of things so that I could get started.

1. What are the best places to order replacement parts?2. What kind of maintanence things should I check for? (what commonly fails on the 91 240?)3. What are the best places to order performance parts?4. What are the first performance modifications that you would recommend?

The top priorities for me are to replace the timing chain, tensioner, and anything else that could be a problem. Following these fixes, I am going to do my best to restore the engine to optimal working order. I am just looking for advice on where to go for parts, and how to learn about some of these mechanical issues.

Thanks for your help!

[1991S13]

Welcome to NICO. How did you go 5 years without any mods? I can't even go paycheck to paycheck without buying more crap, lol.

There really is no best place to get replacement parts - there are a lot of good sources. If it is an interior piece or even some engine pieces that aren't critical, go to a junkyard. You can find some good stuff there, lol. But for all performance and replacement parts, check out the NICO Marketplace. You can find anything there - and most places give NICO members nice discounts. Also, you can post a want to buy ad in the Classified forum here.

I have a '91 also, and I haven't really had anything fail (besides the automatic transmission and head gasket - which caused a blown radiator.) Just keep up on routine maintenance, and give it a good tune up. Remove the timing chain guides and tensioner, and if you need to replace things like spark plugs and wires, distributor cap/rotor, etc. The IAV (black box connected to the header and airbox) can get carboned up and cause the car to idle rough. Either take it apart and clean the reeds inside, or just completely eliminate it. Get it running great before trying to get more power. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to run a compression test and see how good the results come back. Buy a bottle of Seafoam and put some in your gas tank to clean the lines and injectors. You can also use it to clean the engine, but it may cause carbon to fall off that could have been preventing an oil leak in the past. I have also heard that KA's tend to go through main oil seals, so check those out too.

For an engine with 147k, I wouldn't try going too wild with mods. Start out with the basics - intake, full exhaust, pulleys, etc. Come up with a plan and decide what you wanna do with the car - stay NA or go turbo, swap the engine, use it for a daily driver, weekend track car, etc. Don't spend money on mods that are going to be useless in the future if you happen to change your mind.

Search the forum, and read up on what you want to know. You will find everything you can think of.

[Ni2s4s0aSnX]

Welcome to NICO. I'll answer this later because I really don't have time right now.

[gabossie]

You should start with a full tuneup including plugs, cap, rotor, wires, seafoam, timing chain guides (if rattling), etc. Then I would spend my money on suspension before the engine (at least, that was my choice).

[Alfador]

If you think you might want to upgrade something later, and it seems to need fixing now, try not to spend money fixing it unless you have to, since you'll just be getting rid of it when you buy a performance part. You'd be suprised how often somebody spends money fixing up a part/system and then upgrades it to a performance or JDM model within a month or two.

As for stuff to look for, here's what I've seen in my car (although its a '90) and heard from others. Apparently the gaskets tend to go on high mileage KAs, mine burns off a little oil now and then as a result of the aging seals with 170k miles on them. Check out your EGR valve, they can get "sticky" so to speak and may need to be freed up, if it happens repeatedly you may need a new one.

In the short term, a lot of parts can be gotten on ebay if you find a reputable dealer. If you're just looking for a basic part (I had to look for an 02 sensor and a seatbelt) then places like auto zone aren't bad, although auto zone has been known for iffy electrical parts like alternators (I wen through 3 from them on another car) Junkyard scrounging actually works well for stuff like the seatbelts, floor mats, and other random not-so-mechanical parts. Everyone looks at the engine for problems, but I agree with gabossie, the suspension is critical and should be examined in a high mileage car. Another thing everyone forgets is the transmission. If its a manual then check for wear in the clutch, I'm sure that there is a thread about it somewhere. you can always do things like changing the transmission oil ( I know for a fact that there is a thread about that). A good general performance mod would be a limited slip differential. Before you take any specific advice from anyone, including all of us, you should probably do a little research on your own just to make sure its what you personally want to do.

[dfw240_EE]

I am shocked noone mentioned where to find performance parts, our dear sponsors!!!

I would start with:http://www.splparts.comhttp://www.sportcompactonly.com

I believe those are both NICO sponsors. Here is a list of all sponsorshttp://www.nicoclub.com/addirectory.shtml

Also http://www.courtesyparts.com is good. I live only blocks from them. If there is ever a part you would feel more comfortable buying brand new from Nissan and don't want to buy an Autozone refurb, go to them. Pricey but it's all new parts with good service.

As for keeping it stock for 5 years, nothing wrong with that. Some of us need the money for other areas, like going to school. I am out now but looking to go back in (master's) so I myself still don't have alot of money for performance parts.

[jrpeterson]

Thanks for the info guys! I replaced all of the plugs, wires, fuel filter, etc. so now I am going to start on the more interesting stuff. One thing that I haven't been able to decide is what kind of suspension that I want.

I know that coilovers are are great setup, but what about a more value-minded approach? I don't need my car to be track-ready, but a comfortable daily driver. I have seen some other threads about this, but nothing really definitive.

What shock/spring combo would you guys recommend? What else would you replace (suspension related) when I attack the springs & shocks?

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

[dfw240_EE]

Hold your horses there!

Before talking coilovers, did you check timing after changing all that stuff? Is it leaking oil? Leaking oil is so common on our cars.