Help me out if you can, please

[Wan]

Alright so I'm new here and The 240 im looking at has a few problems I would really appreciate any help you all could give.....Firstly, I dont own this 240 yet, but it in the future I hope......The problem with is it that when you atrt the engine it runs fine...but when you give it gas it doesnt respond it'll shake.....eventually shut off...it doesn't take any throttle responses I'm pretty sure...this is what the owner told me....then he told me a couple of partas that he thinks he needs to fix it and they are: Air Flow Meter and Throttle Body Sensor. Now honestly, I dont understand any of this all to well.... If anyone could help me out with this....Maybe he was wrong or maybe those parts are right. Where could I get those parts anyways? What should I do? Im very lost with all this so any help would be greatly appreciated... BTW the car has a twin cam engine so im sure its a ka24de.......Do you guys think its worth buyin and how much? its got the DE its a coupe with 160k on it manual, im not sure if its a 91 like the old registration says of if its not...it has the DE so how can it be a 91? minimal rust in the license plate area and under a side and its got the problem I've stated..but he will sell it once its fixed only....... thanks to all replies plz help and sorry for long post

[AZhitman]

Welcome to NICO, Wan!

A few things here.... My first impression is, the car had better be VERY cheap for you to even be considering it (with all the issues listed). By cheap, I mean under a grand.

First: 91-94 had the DOHC (KA24DE motor). 89-90 were single-cammers.

The engine issue doesn't concern me as much as the rust (the parts you HAVEN'T seen). If it has rust in the door sills, then the inner strut towers are (I guarantee) rotting. This is structural damage that you can't repair, so the car is worthless. Seriously.

The issues with throttle input could be MAF and TPS, but what if they aren't? Could be injectors, could be signs of internal problems... Are you prepared to rebuild the motor? 160K is pretty high for a KA, and although thay CAN last up into the 200K range, few really do.

I'd recommend walking away from it and looking for a rust-free 240 (we have plenty out this way), pay a little more for a good solid running platform - You'll be WAY happier, and safer.

We'll help you with the rest, that's what we're here for.

[Wan]

Ty for your response........I would look around for another but honestly there arent too many 240s around here where I live and I dont want to spend more than like 2.5k max on one... as far as the rust goes...i saw it towards the back of the side skirt and at the side (same side as rusty skirt) of the rear bumper and in the license plate area however i did not check the whole car but iI did check under the spare tire and it was spotless......where should I look for rust to see whether it makes the car worthless..any pics or descriptions? Also can you be more specific as to how I should go about fixing or trying to fix the problem it has..I really have no idea how..this guy is pretty smart he has a shop so maybe he is rigth about the Air Flow Meter and Throttle Body Sensor stuff...where could I find those parts???? Does it sound rigth to you? I dont think its injectors and before it had this problem the car was fine..lol I drove it like 3 months ago it was fine....the transmission is also good.....it isnt bad at all..no radio though it got stolen.... o well but thanx and please continue to help...your the man

[Wan]

BTW I was looking around would these be the 2 parts he need to fix the car????http://www.autopartswarehouse.....htmlhttp://www.autopartswarehouse.....html

[r3v_v3ng3]

wow that maf sensor is very expensive. you can probably find a use one for 10x less than that.

[twistedsymphony]

you said your location is in RI and you can't find a 240?

I'm in NH and I can ramble off at least a half-dozen CLEAN and perfectly running S13s and even some S14s for under $3K... heck I even know of a dirt cheap and really clean S12 for sale if that floats your boat.

you might have to drive to CT or MA to pick one up but it's really not that hard and honestly the market has been flooded with them recently.

Cars like the one your describing fetch around $600-$800 TOPS in this area. Even then it's worth spending over $2K for a clean one... that extra $$ up front will save you BIG TIME in the long run.

I searched for a clean S14 for nearly 2 years, and when I finally found one I paid over $5K for a stock automatic SE. quite a bit more than most people would pay for the car but you know what... it has ZERO problems.... I was at a Nico meet in Boston a few weeks ago and nearly every person there that I talked to, told me they thought I had the nicest 240 there. Every time I take a picture of something in my engine bay for help with something, I get flooded with PMs/emails from people calling dibs on my clean KA if I ever decide to do a swap.

You buy a $600 chassis and you'll be be spending thousands just FIXING things never mind upgrading (the things that break are rarely the "cool" things you'd want to upgrade).. buying a clean, low mileage chassis from the start and you can upgrade at your own pace, and the stuff you take off the car can easily be resold for extra $$ rather than just throw away.

In short: an extra grand up front can easily save you 5 grand over the life of the vehicle... And you'll enjoy the car from day one, as opposed to "someday, once I fix....."

checkout craigslist (and search outside of RI) and checkout the BST at 240sxone.com you'll find plenty of solid S13s in your price range... IMO you'd be best to save an extra grand... set aside $500 for minor repairs/registration and then spend $3000 on the cleanest, lowest mileage, unmodified S13 you can find.
Modified by twistedsymphony at 5:14 PM 8/14/2008

[engineperson]

That's so dam much for a MassAF! when i was reading what was wrong w/ it, thats exactly what it thought it was. I would try to replace the massAf before anything else. and if there's rust under the license plate... well that just doesn't make since... both front and back bumpers are PLASTIC! if you can get the car for under one grand then I say go for it. I Actually have two Mass airflow sensors laying around, they work perfectly fine. I'm willing to sell you one if you need it. I'll save you a like 500$. thats ridiculous to pay that much

BTW, i have 270,000 miles on my original Ka24de... so it's very possible. dont doubt The Ka's

[Wan]

No lie about the rust in licenseplate area..if I can get a pic I will...but hnoestly I think that if i get it for like 600 maybe 500 bux its worth it dont you guys???? and im going to tell the guy the MAF sensor is what he needs to change...are there any other places where I can get one cheaper??? I'm not sure if he'll want to buy from a person but idk ill ask for you..saving 500 dollars seems like a deal lol.....btw I dont under stand how to use craiglist...i type in craigslist.com and I get this wierd sitehttp://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html is that right??? thanx again....sorry if this is noobish and all....excuse my noobishness

[onosqv]

There's a couple things here:

1) If the guy is so smart & has a shop, he should (or you should request) he fix the car before selling it & you would pay a higher price.

2) The car @ 500-600 is worth it to SOME OF US - this some of us knows how to fix our cars & don't need anything reliable - i.e. this will be a 2nd car just for fun project of sorts.

3) You don't seem to be very knowledgeable about cars. Taking on a car w/ issues like this from the get-go is going to suck, to say the least.

I'd only recommend you get this car if 1) you have someone much more knowledgeable to help you get it running & fix things while you learn, and 2) this will not be your primary mode of transportation for the next year or so while you learn how to fix and work on this car.

And you can't even use craigslist... For someone like you, I'd recommend getting a car in good shape & working on that if you want, rather than working on a car that is already broken.

[Wan]

lol I know I'm a noob, sometimes... but I did say in the first post that he will only sell it once its fixed......and I'm an idiot I figured out craigslist that was completely noobish lol....I just need a reccomendation for a better site to buy that MAF sensor from because the one I had found was expensive..and I want this thing fixed ASAP... lol thanx again everyone

[engineperson]

ebay man, ebay ebay ebay. just get a used one for like 20$

Here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

[Wan]

ty man.....I'm trying to figure what would cause failure of the sensor? Is it common? What if the sensor doesn't fix it..any other ideas of what it could be? thanx The guy did mention a throttle body or positoin sensor....