Few simple 240 fastback questions. Advice highly apreciated. Thanks.

[jiggaboo240]

Ok the first problem with my car is on start up it the fan belt (pretty sure its the fan belt) makes noise and im not sure if i should replace the belts or get a new altenator or both?Second problem clutch squeeks when pushed in( not sure if thats normal)

Third problem blows smoke when in nuetral, reving it, [probably just needs an oil change, not sure)

Fourth problem i have a valve cover gasket leak

Fifth problem i just bought the car and i need to check the timing belt

Ok im just wondering how much it would be to fix the problems in my car and any advice from people who have expierienced the same thing

Also my car idles wierd it like revs it self alittle bit

Aright well thanks for looking and any advice is apreciate

~Zach


Modified by jiggaboo240 at 10:02 PM 7/17/2009

[positron1]

For the belt squeal you can adjust the tension on the belts...probably too tight. You can oil the clutch pedal hinge to get rid of the squeaking there. Replacing the valvecover gasket is easy, just make sure you clean the area well and put a good bead of silicon gasket around. Fixing most of these problems will cost you more time than money. Get a Chiltons manual or search the forum and jump in.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Also, 240's don't have timing belts, they have timing chains.... which are supposed to last the life of the car.

You should try seafoaming the car and then give it a full tune up (plugs, O2 sensor, oil change). Do a NICO search for "Seafoam" and you should see some people with good results.

[jiggaboo240]

thank you for the advice its very helpfulim new to cars im 16 and just purchased my first car being a 1990 240sx with 88k miles for 2400 and the interior and exterior are in good condition but im pretty sure the previous owner beat on it and are there any certain things i should look for to keep it running good and how much would the full tune up cost?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

parts for the full tune up if you do it yourself (which you should) will run in the $150 range...

Figure:Oil change- $15Plugs- $15Check wires/cap and rotor, if they are bad, replace- $50O2 sensor- $70Seafoam- $7Check belts, replace if neccessary- $30

[jiggaboo240]

good stuffi really want to do it myself but im lacking expierience and tools and i really dont want to mess anything up

any advice?

[vancouverbc]

Ok the first problem with my car is on start up it the fan belt (pretty sure its the fan belt) makes noise and im not sure if i should replace the belts or get a new altenator or both?Second problem clutch squeeks when pushed in( not sure if thats normal)

Third problem blows smoke when in nuetral, reving it, [probably just needs an oil change, not sure)

Fourth problem i have a valve cover gasket leak

Fifth problem i just bought the car and i need to check the timing belt

Ok im just wondering how much it would be to fix the problems in my car and any advice from people who have expierienced the same thing

Also my car idles wierd it like revs it self alittle bit

Aright well thanks for looking and any advice is apreciate

~Zach

Modified by jiggaboo240 at 10:02 PM 7/17/2009

squealing belt- look up belt in tutorials in my signature

timing chain- the 1990 timing chain doesnt last the life of the car. you can do some more searching on that. 1991 and on last the life of car. there is a tutorial on replacing sohc chain under timing in tutorial

[PapaSmurf2k3]

A tune up is one of the easiest things to do on the car, and is a great "first job". Does your school have an auto shop, or do you know anyone who can show you the ropes at all?

[positron1]

squealing belt- look up belt in tutorials in my signature

timing chain- the 1990 timing chain doesnt last the life of the car. you can do some more searching on that. 1991 and on last the life of car. there is a tutorial on replacing sohc chain under timing in tutorial

Those tutorials you have are awesome sir!

[yoesh1]

Yeah man, I was kind of in the same boat as you a while back. Read over all of the write ups that look interesting to you... A lot of stuff will probably go over your head at first, but don't get discouraged. Like he said, start with basic tune-up work like changing your own oil, air filter, stuff like that. Start small, get familiar with your car, download a FSM (way better than chilton's in almost every way), and try something that looks easy and needs to be done.

The only real tools I have I bought was a mechanic's tooklit for 20 bucks at walmart (actually I just bought a 17mm socket today for a brake job I need to do). Also got a cheap jack and some affordable stands on sale there. I've only done pretty basic stuff, like replacing fuel injectors, oil change, inner/outer tie rod end replacement, swaybar endlink/bushing replacement, that kinda thing. The more you work on the individual "systems," the more you'll learn about the car overall, the "big picture" so to speak. It's very exciting.

Some more advice: If you're like me, you might be hesitant to work on your car because you have all of these little unanswered questions, like "How am I going to plug that brake line?" DO ask questions for critical things, and leave no step out, but don't build it up in your mind too much. Also, don't be afraid to muscle up on a stuck bolt, just make sure you're turning it the right way. Oh, and PB Blaster is your friend...

After doing my brakes, the next biggest thing needed is to remove the upper timing chain guides that are causing a rattle in my ka's head. Gotta work that tensioner! A big step for me, I'm almost afraid to take the valve cover off :P

Hope my advice helps, from one newbie to another. Have fun and enjoy learning!

[vancouverbc]

Those tutorials you have are awesome sir!

Insightful observation.

[jiggaboo240]

yeah my school has an autoshop but schools not in session and i took a class and they just teach like a basic over view of everything which idnt really help much but im pretty sure my moms boyfriend will be able to help me he said he would but im not sure when he can take time to help me an evreything and i just want to figure it out all my self but it seems so confusing reading the write ups even though they are very detailed and good i read the seafoam one and i unerstand that one completely, the other ones talk about stuff and i have no idea what an where the parts are.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Like what? We'll help out as much as possible.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Spark Plug: spark plug wires: Distributor cap:

Here's a pic of the distributor cap with the wires attached... so you can see where they go and stuff (my car btw): Its all the blue wires. Yours isn't quite the same, you have a single overhead cam motor(89-90 240sx), mine is the dual overhead cam (91-98 240sx)

[PapaSmurf2k3]

There's an O2 sensor... it is in your exhaust, and sometimes they are a pain to get out (they are really in there, and usually require an O2 sensor socket).

O2 sensor socket... it is slotted so that the wire on the back of the sensor has some place to go.

[yoesh1]

Don't know what a part is? Wikipedia it! What's a MAF? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_airflow_sensor What's a lower control arm? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_arm

The learning curve is steep, but keep reading and it will start to come together. Another thing is, while reading as much as you can about a repair process through write-ups or whatever is very helpful and will keep you from making really big f***-ups, no amount of reading will make you totally understand. Get your $20 mechanic's tool set, get in there and get your hands dirty! Start with the braindead simple stuff, like I was talking about before. It's kind of hard to screw up spark plug replacement (don't overtighten!) or an oil change.

If you need help, ask specific questions AFTER you've read as much as you can. Don't feel helpless, you can do it!

PapaSmurf: I agree, a great place to start. The first thing I ever did by myself on a car was changing the wires out for new ones. Even the simple jobs will leave you feeling extremely satisfied with yourself.

Oh yeah, and lastly I recommend checking out http://www.rockauto.com for pricing tune up parts. I usually just get the cheap stuff, and everything's going fine so far. Even with shipping a lot of the stuff is significantly cheaper than it would be at the local auto parts store, especially stuff like fuel, air, and oil filters.

Final edit: Don't worry about messing the car up too much, basic tune-up stuff is really hard to screw up; just don't force anything. If a bolt isn't going in easily, you don't want to force it or you might crossthread the hole. Have some anti-seize and PB Blaster and stuff like that on hand for help in such situations.
Modified by yoesh! at 5:25 PM 7/19/2009

[jiggaboo240]

well to sart off nice turbo! but right now sense i still have to get my car on the road the first thing i want to do is change the belts and i read the write up for it over and over and the pictures are help ful but i can only see the first picture in my car ( where the first bolt is) everything else is blocked by the fan an the intake

this is the write up(zerothread?id=253102)

like i look at the picture and i cant find it in my engine at all

[PapaSmurf2k3]

that's because that writeup is for the 91-98 240... you have a 1990, with a different engine.

Anyway, with these engines, every belt has a spot where it can be tensioned (other engines have what they call serpentine belts and a tensioner... but that's a different story).

Anyway, all the basic principles in that article apply. Lock for brackets that have big slots in them... that is where you will adjust that belt. Loosen the pivot bolt, and then release the tension on the belt far enough to where you can remove it, and slide the new one on.

[jiggaboo240]

yeah my school has an autoshop but schools not in session and i took a class and they just teach like a basic over view of everything which idnt really help much but im pretty sure my moms boyfriend will be able to help me he said he would but im not sure when he can take time to help me an evreything and i just want to figure it out all my self but it seems so confusing reading the write ups even though they are very detailed and good i read the seafoam one and i unerstand that one completely, the other ones talk about stuff and i have no idea what an where the parts are.

[yoesh1]

What the hell?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

What the hell?

+1...I'm going to go ahead and assume that is a computer glitch or internet anomaly.

[jiggaboo240]

aright well today me and two of my friends and one of their dads took out my friends transmission in his 1989 240 which was a fun start i really enjoyed the feeling of being acomplished it wasnt too hard actually and were putting in his new one tommrow

its a start

[PapaSmurf2k3]

yeah, that's a big start!

Pulling a transmission is no easy task.

[jiggaboo240]

i thought it was simpler than changing the belts because all you had to do was disconnect the sensors then take out the u joint i believe then take out the bolts off the bell housing then take the bolts off the cross member and turn the transmission and kinda wiggle it out the blets just confise the hell out of me it was alot of work and took awhile but the idea was very simple
Modified by jiggaboo240 at 8:33 PM 7/23/2009