New to forum, 91 Hatch SE

[scarycanary]

Hello all,

Just last week I picked myself up a 91 240sx SE Hatch 5spd (pictures to follow in later posts). She is rusty, smelly and loud, but a charmer.

Major issues to be addressed thus far...

Muffler rusted from exhaust, held together by clamp.
Front frame rails rusting through
Gasoline smell from running to rich? Same issue as exhaust?
Left turn signal not showing in pannel, blinks fast in front, not at all in the rear.
Strange rear end shift when taking a turn at higher speeds (already read a post on it; seems like ball joint and control arm issue.)

Otherwise she is in excellent mechanical condition. This is my first 240, and or nissan for that matter. My plan is to create a fun daily.

And in the midst of posting this as I pull out the driveway to move my car, antifreeze puddle.

[SX APPEAL]

Welcome to NICO, hope you didn't pay too much for that charmer, seeing as how it has every major problem that should turn you off buying a used car.

[scarycanary]

I'd rather not say the price

My other car pooped out on me and I needed something asap. The fact that it was a hatch, 5spd with 127,000 pretty much made the deal for me (me = idiot). (Hatch to throw drums and custodial supplies in was a must).
I'm having a diagnostic test done thursday morning at a local specialty shop.

There were a few minor upgrades installed by her previous owner...
Header
Exhaust
AEM Cold Air Intake

DanShaz assisted me with the transaction, so technically he's the uncle to this unfortunate daily.

Not that anyone cares, but will update with more info after testing for my own sake atleast.

[SX APPEAL]

Hey I can't talk, I recently paid $1300 for a 95 Maxima with a blown headgasket. (didn't exhibit symptoms on the test drive)

Where in Chicago are you at, I lived in Carol Stream for a while when I was going to UTI up there.

[scarycanary]

I'm over in Arlington Heights.

Back from shop, heres the down-low on things to get done...
New water pump - taking care of tonight
Valve gasket cover - not sure how difficult?
Needs new bushings all around, tie rods and ball barrings in the front.
Vacuum lines are older, should replace sooner than later
Need/want new exhaust for better fuel econ, less backfire and burning gas smell

I was quoted at 45 per ball joint and 75 for labor per wheel.
How much should I tag on for bushings and tie rods?

Also, found the right exhaust. http://www.enjukuracing.com/products/%2 ... 52d94.html

Going to wait however till I take care of necessary issues first.

Man she is filthy.

*Got turn signal fixed!* Loose bolt in the dash!

[SX APPEAL]

Tie rods would be next to nothing over the cost of the parts but bushings are going to be a TON on labor. I don't know off the top of my head but I'd guess they'd charge you anywhere between 10-15 shop hours. They're a major PITA.

The water pump and VC gasket you can probably do yourself, they're easy.

Isis exhaust I'm not a fan of, bought one for my S14 and it doesn't even come close to fitting correctly. If you're looking to save money I'd highly suggest just taking it to a muffler shop and having them weld something up for you. Fancy brand name exhausts (not that Isis is one, its a knock-off) are overrated.

[scarycanary]

Just you said, we took care of the water pump and valve cover gasket ourselves. Cost me around $50 compared to the $500 I imagine it woud've run me. As far as the muffler, I put on some of that terrible quick fix autozone muffler tape with a clamp. To my surprise it worked out quite nicely. "Good" tone.

For now I suppose I will hold off on the bushings. Is the strange body shift on turns higher than 35mph a tie rod issue? It's as if i pulled the e-brake on the rear end bad.

[SX APPEAL]

Most likely its your rear subframe bushings. There are four of them that cushion the connections between the rear subframe (which supports the entire rear suspension) and the unibody. These tend to break down over time and allow the subframe to move around a bit. If they're really bad the subframe can move by as much as an inch or more, this could definitely cause the sensation you've experienced. If you search for rear subframe bushings on here you'll find all the info you need about them.

[mechanicalmoron]

Just you said, we took care of the water pump and valve cover gasket ourselves. Cost me around $50 compared to the $500 I imagine it woud've run me. As far as the muffler, I put on some of that terrible quick fix autozone muffler tape with a clamp. To my surprise it worked out quite nicely. "Good" tone.

For now I suppose I will hold off on the bushings. Is the strange body shift on turns higher than 35mph a tie rod issue? It's as if i pulled the e-brake on the rear end bad.

tie rods are in the front of the car.... (though i just realized i mistakenly called them control arms in the simple question thread....)

You could also just have bad stock shocks (or, have bad shocks as well). At high speed, especially if you also have some bad bushings, they can make the rear end of the car do terrifying rocking/bucking things. To check, push down on the back, and if it goes down easily, and when you let it up, sort of "bounches" a little, or just generally comes quickly, then you probably have bad shocks. They make every otheng suspension problem much worse.

My (probably bad) suggestion is that you go buy a socket set, torque wrench, jack and stands, and do whatever you need to yourself if you have the time. More fun and a lot cheaper, as far as generic things go. One of the stickies in this forum has a link to the factory service manual for your car, tells you procedures, torques, specs, as nissan intended them.

[SX APPEAL]

Plus they're translated literally from the Japanese so they're fun to read hehe

[scarycanary]

It actually came with the original owners manual.

I wish I had a place to do a job like that. The water pump and valve cover gasket we did in a condo parking lot

The shocks are definitely old. Along with the springs. Car bounces up and down like a suffocating tuna.

I think I'm just going to run by the shop that originally checked it out and get a quote on my day off. Holiday pay should help a bit.

Pictures to come next post...

[OutToWinPAHC]

yeah... bushings suck. How bad is this frame rust?

[mechanicalmoron]

It actually came with the original owners manual.

I wish I had a place to do a job like that. The water pump and valve cover gasket we did in a condo parking lot

The shocks are definitely old. Along with the springs. Car bounces up and down like a suffocating tuna.

I think I'm just going to run by the shop that originally checked it out and get a quote on my day off. Holiday pay should help a bit.

Pictures to come next post...

Just by the way, the owners manual is not the factory service manual I speak of. The owners manual does give procedures and specs for basic things, like oil changes, but the factory service manual tells you how to dissasemble, repair, and reassemble just about every single part of the car. It's a great resource. There are aslo other manuals you might be able to get cheap, I got a chilton manual for like 7 bucks on amazon, it's like the FSM, but in better english and with photos instead of generic cartooney drawings, and also includes some background for people not used to working with cars, it's more "in order", and you don't have to dig for things and much. It also has a somewhat more intuitive table of contents - but it does not cover as many things as the fsm, or cover them in as much depth.

Anyways, the owners manual will tell you things like generic suggested shifts, what to do in case of overheating, blah blah blah.