New to s13

[BrianZ32]

Hey everyone

Just picked up an 89 240sx s13 hatchback. First off, i have been wanting one for the longest and this hidden gem came up and i couldn't pass up. Is is a 5 speed with 177k miles. Previous owner was the original owner and had service records going as far back as 1990! Amazing to see he kept the service records. However, he contemplated on selling it for years but never got around to it so he had it sitting in his drive way for years. The car still runs and drives fine. CEL is on but i believe its something small like the coolant sensor. I had the same issue with my 300zx, it threw a light but when running ECU, comes back with 55. Anyway, before i start having fun with the car, i want to maintain it and make sure i can rely on it. I know thats a lot to expect from an oldie, but knowing its history, i know it has potential to still be a reliable car. Prev owner replaced the engine a few years back but drove it very minimally since then. The car idles great and still pulls for what it is. Everything in the car is BONE STOCK. Even the radio is from 89. I can't express how original everything is in this car. With that being said, i want to know what are the ideal things to replace or upkeep? Im going to start off with an oil change, spark plugs and wires. Already changed the valve cover gasket. Btw its a ka24e single cam. Any recommendations on what else to begin replacing or maintaining.

[Hijacker]

J/K. welcome to NICO! Just hit up the basics: fluids, brakes, plugs, and filters. They're really easy to work on cars.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yup. Diff fluid, trans fluid, brake fluid, master cyl clutch fluid, coolant, check your air filter to make sure its still actually there.
Welcome aboard!

[BrianZ32]

J/K. welcome to NICO! Just hit up the basics: fluids, brakes, plugs, and filters. They're really easy to work on cars.

Lol, i have been using this site for quite some time and I have still yet to figure out how to post pics easily. I did it before with photobucket but just annoying to do. Yes, i can already tell its going to be easier to work on than my 300zx. Excited for the future

[BrianZ32]

Yup. Diff fluid, trans fluid, brake fluid, master cyl clutch fluid, coolant, check your air filter to make sure its still actually there.
Welcome aboard!

Awesoms! I've been dealing with problems on my daily (e46) for quite some time. Im starting to think my s13 will make a better daily damn euros!

[BrianZ32]

So im determined to get the parts today and get this done. Im going to be picking up oil, plugs, wires and filter. My local auto parts dealer sells at wholesale so parts are fairly cheap. Which parts do you guys recommend? Spark plugs are between 2-5 a piece. The plugs wire set is $16 for generic or $33 for NGK plugs. Lastly, while kind of oil? 10-40W? Im just taking a guess here. My goal here it to get it to run better. I drove it to school today (30 min trip) and it wasnt bad, however, times at idle it vibrates. At times, i felt like it was chugging as well. The CEL light comes on and off as im driving. Odd.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

NGK copper plugs (or V-power) are fine
NGK blue wires are the standard go-to
5w30 oil is what it calls for, but if you're burning or leaking, you can go up in viscosity

Even if the CEL light goes out, the code should still be stored. You should pull it and see what it says. A lot of times the wiring harnesses on these older 240s are starting to go, so there could be some bad signals coming from the MAF or other critical sensors.

[BrianZ32]

NGK copper plugs (or V-power) are fine
NGK blue wires are the standard go-to
5w30 oil is what it calls for, but if you're burning or leaking, you can go up in viscosity

Even if the CEL light goes out, the code should still be stored. You should pull it and see what it says. A lot of times the wiring harnesses on these older 240s are starting to go, so there could be some bad signals coming from the MAF or other critical sensors.

I ended up cheaping out on the wires, just got originals for half the price, however, I noticed after the car was still shaking after replacing all of the above, i noticed that the coolant temp sensor connector was giving some issues, so i bought a new sensor but it made the car run horrible. I have no idea why. I cleaned the connector and used the same old one and it ran normal...any idea why the new one made it run worse and even stall out? The car was sitting for a long time before me and the coolant is very dirty and has some rust...could that have anything to do with it?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I would guess either the ECU has re-mapped itself a bit to the old sensor, or the new sensor isn't correct or isn't working properly.
Typically when replacing a sensor that has that much authority over the fuel or timing (coolant temp, MAF, knock sensor, even O2 sensors sometimes), its a good idea to unplug the battery for a while to reset the ECU.