I'm New Here And I have A Simple Question Thread, (No Flaming Allowed)

[ddeleon4]

Hey guys, I'm new here and had a few questions.
1)I'm a college student and i need a reliable car which i can use to drive around school and the ocational drive back home which is like 450 miles away, in my search i feel in love with the 240 (s13, but only cuz s14's are out of my price range) and i was wondering how reliable the car was. i read somewhere erliear that the SR20DET was a more reliable engine then the KA24DE, just wanted to double check whether i should plan to do a sr swap or just rebuild the ka?
2)about how much would the complete sr swap with everything included cost me?
3)how much would rebuilding the ka be?
4)i need some help convincing my parents to go along with me buying the car, they are concerned that the car is too old and that i will have to be fixing something on the car on a weekly baises, are they wrong? is there something that breaks often or is the car just as reliable as an '04 or '0 (which is what they want me to get)
5)i will be studing in tallahasee which is a pretty hilly city (hills are like half as steep as San Fransisco) should i be planning to be swapping out the clutch very often?

thanks in advance

[speedeast]

Hey guys, I'm new here and had a few questions.
1)I'm a college student and i need a reliable car which i can use to drive around school and the ocational drive back home which is like 450 miles away, in my search i feel in love with the 240 (s13, but only cuz s14's are out of my price range) and i was wondering how reliable the car was. i read somewhere erliear that the SR20DET was a more reliable engine then the KA24DE, just wanted to double check whether i should plan to do a sr swap or just rebuild the ka?
2)about how much would the complete sr swap with everything included cost me?
3)how much would rebuilding the ka be?
4)i need some help convincing my parents to go along with me buying the car, they are concerned that the car is too old and that i will have to be fixing something on the car on a weekly baises, are they wrong? is there something that breaks often or is the car just as reliable as an '04 or '0 (which is what they want me to get)
5)i will be studing in tallahasee which is a pretty hilly city (hills are like half as steep as San Fransisco) should i be planning to be swapping out the clutch very often?

thanks in advance

for a good reliable s13, you can avoid all of the above and find a 91-94 model with reasonable mileage. from 1991 to 1994 the s13's had a dohc ka that was much more reliable than the previous single cam version available in 1989 and 1990. if you're parents are complaining about old, then I would go with a 1994 as it's the newest s13. if they want you driving an 04+, then why is the s14 out of your price range? just curious. #5 = these cars are available with an auto transmission if you'd like. but on the other hand, if you know how to drive stick the right way, you shouldn't be concerned with the clutch.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

FYI, 94 240sx's were only available as convertibles, and therefore only available as automatics.

SR20's are arguably less reliable than KA's, mostly due to the fact that you would be at the mercy of whoever installs it for you. Some are good, but some result in horror stories and nightmares.

[billabong093]

Ok guys, i just picked up a new 240, its a '90 single slammer. Im having some very strange problems with the car (i knew it had problems, i bought it because it was rust free ). First of all, the idle bounces from 500-900 rpms constantly, up down up down up down. Also, when im driving and i throw it into neutral it wants to stall sometimes. and the last thing, the car runs OK when i have less than half a tank of fuel, the problems above aren't very noticeable then, but when i fill up the car sputters and bogs down and bucks like crazy, it can't even really be driven. So far i've replaced the spark plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, fuel pump, TPS, Maf, and O2 sensor. Im pretty stumped, any help would be great.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

^Sounds like a vacuum leak.

[billabong093]

Yeah thats what i keep hearing but im stumped, im just getting into working on engines, im learning as i go (im 17) and the vaccum diagram in the FSM gives me a headache, maybe im just being stupid though. I know that a lot of emissions stuff has been deleted on the car (before i got it) so maybe something wasn't plugged up. Anywhere in specific i should look?

[Taylor008]

Check the EGR gasket. I know this sounds random but my idle would bounce around like crazy, found out I had forgot to put the gasket under the egr block off plate. Woops. Found the gasket in my glove box haha.

[hatedinthemind]

I saw on AZhitman's vert that he had bolt on flares and I was wondering if you could bolt on origin rear overfenders with the same method. I know alot of people rivet them on but i want the option to remove them if they were ever damaged.

[speedeast]

I saw on AZhitman's vert that he had bolt on flares and I was wondering if you could bolt on origin rear overfenders with the same method. I know alot of people rivet them on but i want the option to remove them if they were ever damaged.

You can make it work any way you want... Stainless self-tapping screws, vel-cro, etc. Obviously some options shouldn't be considered but you get the idea.

Ok guys, i just picked up a new 240, its a '90 single slammer. Im having some very strange problems with the car (i knew it had problems, i bought it because it was rust free ). First of all, the idle bounces from 500-900 rpms constantly, up down up down up down. Also, when im driving and i throw it into neutral it wants to stall sometimes. and the last thing, the car runs OK when i have less than half a tank of fuel, the problems above aren't very noticeable then, but when i fill up the car sputters and bogs down and bucks like crazy, it can't even really be driven. So far i've replaced the spark plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, fuel pump, TPS, Maf, and O2 sensor. Im pretty stumped, any help would be great.

I would guess vacuum issue as well. How does it run under load? Does it have rpm issues when you're driving?

[Yasko]

Which would be the better route? Buying PBM tie rod spacers(6mm) or getting Tein inner + outer Tie Rods w/ Spacer? I heard Teins are very very similar to OEM, but not sure on how true. I'm just wondering if the Tein tie rods will make a noticeable difference, not only in steering angle but in reliability also.

http://www.gtfactory.jp/cms/page.php?15 (Go the whole way to bottom then scroll up and you will find them. They are $10
or
http://www.frsport.com/Tein-Inner---Out ... _8172.html

[djesteem]

anyone have a boot cover for a vert that they are willing to sell and ship to ohio. i searched for them on the site and found some but all the threads were over a few months old. let me know. thanks. corey.

[dickie]

anyone have a boot cover for a vert that they are willing to sell and ship to ohio. i searched for them on the site and found some but all the threads were over a few months old. let me know. thanks. corey.

nissan-infiniti-wanted-wtb.html

[PyR0NiAk]

anyone have a boot cover for a vert that they are willing to sell and ship to ohio. i searched for them on the site and found some but all the threads were over a few months old. let me know. thanks. corey.

nissan-infiniti-wanted-wtb.html

Or even better, go to the advertiser's marketplace. There's a sponsor there that sells some AMAZING ITALIAN LEATHER ONES!.

genuine-italian-leather-shift-and-ebrak ... 13982.html <- CLICK IT

[Dire91]

A mechanic is looking at it over the weekend but just out of curiosity I want to know what you guys think. My car broke down on the highway the other day. I could shift and everything but when i pressed the gas the rpm's would shoot up and the car would barely move forward. 2 hours before my car was perfectly fine, something has to be wrong with the clutch, right? Any ideas?

[dickie]

Sounds like a part of the drivetrain disconnected somehow. Clutch going from fine to no grip at all is not "normal" wear-related. I'ts like your clutch pedal no longer engages/disengages the clutch but its being held disengaged, yes?

[adrianfromthecastle]

Dire91 - how old is your clutch? sounds like a symptom of clutch slippage...

[KYZAAC]

after getting some parts together for the sr swap, i noticed the sr p/s pump was non hicas, i found a sr hicas bracket online so i could use the ka p/s pump, but i never thought i would be using anything from the ka motor when i removed it a few months ago, and i just left it in the corner of the garage collecting dust, i never bothered to plug the holes, i do alot of welding/grinding out there and there could be a chance of metal shavings and s*** inside. is there anyway to "flush" it out as a precaution without taking it apart?

[Dire91]

Sounds like a part of the drivetrain disconnected somehow. Clutch going from fine to no grip at all is not "normal" wear-related. I'ts like your clutch pedal no longer engages/disengages the clutch but its being held disengaged, yes?

I think d!ck has to be right, it was fine 2 hours before and then just stopped. Could something have happened to the pedal so it stops engaging/ drivetrain?

[WhiteZenki23]

i just bougt a air/fuel rati gauge and it only works for narrow band o2 sensors.
my q's is: will my 240sx o2 sensor work with the a/f gauge ?
PS wat others o2 sensor can i use to make it work with my gauge.
givve examples please!

[Telusethegoose]

I'm going to be replacing the clutch in my car because my flywheel keeps slipping and its a bit harsh on the down shift if Im not below ~1500rpms. Im running a completely stock KA dohc, and most likely plan on keeping it that way for a long while but I was wondering if I could hear some opinions on the clutch kits there are out there vs the OEM clutch kits etc. for example an exedy or act over the nissan ones.
thankz in return

[tmwnn]

I'm hoping someone can help me.

Today I was driving to work, and car was running perfectly fine. All of a sudden, it started to feel as if it was bogging down a bit, and then it started shaking like a tank at a red light, very noticeable. It also felt like the exhaust was "burping" a bit? Don't really know how to describe it, just felt and sounded like the exhaust wasn't flowing smoothly.

I pulled over and did a quick check on the vacuum hoses on my intake pipe, checked the coil cables to see if they were loose, but I didn't know what else to look for. I turned the car on and I could see the engine shaking BADLY, its like it was trying to jump out of the engine bay.

Any thoughts? I'll try to check the spark plugs asap and see if I can find any vacuum leaks....but what else could it be?
Also, my engine has always had a bit of a shake...should I replace the engine mounts or install a torque dampener? would the dampener even make a difference?

thanks

[speedeast]

^did you check the integrity of your current mounts? Do you hear any rattling in the block? Did you recently fuel up before this incident? To keep things moving, throw a bottle of isoheet in your tank and try to let it idle a bit in case moisture is your culprit.

[tmwnn]

^did you check the integrity of your current mounts? Do you hear any rattling in the block? Did you recently fuel up before this incident? To keep things moving, throw a bottle of isoheet in your tank and try to let it idle a bit in case moisture is your culprit.

-Well I've been planning to replace my mounts, simply because it would give me peace of mind. But this shaking is beyond what a worn mount would do.

-I have gone through little less than half a tank of fuel since I last filled up, so I don't know if bad gas would take that long to show symptoms.

-There's always been a rattling in the engine...stupid timing chain guides which I' planning to remove this summer.

-I checked all vacuum lines this morning and they seem fine.


I asked in a local online forum and some people said that a bad injector could be the culprit. So I turned the car on this morning and could see the engine shaking. I unplugged the 1st injector (closest to front of engine) and the car immediately smoothed out and stopped shaking. I thought I had found the culprit, but to be sure I did the same with the other injectors one at a time and then with the first one again. Second time I unplugged the 1st one, instead of smoothing out it became twice as worse and shook like a mofo

ideas?

[PyR0NiAk]

Unplugging a faulty injector wouldn't make it smooth out. If it was your culprit, it would stay the same. When you start unplugging fuel or spark, you're looking for the idle to NOT be affected. The one that doesn't have an effect is your problem source.

[speedeast]

guides might have worn enough to allow the chain to jump... not enough to damage anything, but enough to damage how it runs. that COULD cause the problems... and for the record it doesn't get worse than a bad mount. I've been there, done that! when a mount goes, all hell breaks looks!

[TroubleBound]

My Busted SR: http://s367.photobucket.com/albums/oo11 ... oopySR.flv

I've had a couple opinions online, i started this engine in JANUARY and haven't done anything to it since then, because i f*cking suck at diagnosing problems. People online (here and other 240 forums) have suggested that it sounds like a) low oil pressure, b) exhaust leak, or c) air in my hydraulic lash adjusters(dont know wth these are). I am wondering what i can do to determine if these are correct?

a)They said to check for low oil pressure you can pop the oil filler cap off while it is running and see if i see the oil squirters...squirting oil. Is this correct?
b)How do i check for an exhaust leak? The exhaust is only hooked up as far as the downpipe, the cat/catback arent on yet. But this is the one the most people suggested.
c)Is there a way to check if my hla's need bled? If so, is there a write up on how to do that?

My car has been sitting in the garage unmoved since May 1st, 2009.

[speedeast]

What brand turbo? Do you have an oil pressure gauge?

[TroubleBound]

Stock turbo for redtop sr, and i have an oil pressure gauge but i am having trouble hooking it up, i don't know if the sending unit is working/in a functional position.

[PyR0NiAk]

You could always put some seafoam in your gas. (Follow the directions for amount.. I'm pretty sure it's one bottle and a full tank of gas) This will help you find an exhaust leak.

[speedeast]

Are you having any issues other than the noise? Sometimes there is a similar noise when a turbo get oil starved and the bearings go bad...