Pre-purchase inspection of a '90 hatch...
Pre-purchase inspection of a '90 hatch...
Alright, here's what's up. I'm going to check out a 1990 hatchback here shortly, and I was curious if there's anything specific on the 240's i should keep an eye out for. I have a pretty good understanding of cars, I've owned (or still own, and worked a good bit on each one, espically the stupid mazda) a ford, a mazda, 2 hondas, a vw, and a chevy, but never a Nissan. Any advice? Thanks!
Re: Pre-purchase inspection of a '90 hatch... (Paragon)
A few things . . .
1. Listen for any unusual engine sounds, especially on startup. The timing chain assemblies on the 89 and 90 240's has had quite a few problems; if it rattles on startup, just for a second or two, it's livable, but you might be looking into replacing the tensioner/guides in a bit, which isn't cheap. If it's rattling while driving, be concerned, and if the engine is making any sort of "spun bearing" noise (I'd assume you have a rough idea of what that sounds like), then obviously be very concerned. The timing chain guides on these cars are notorious for failing, and allowing the chain to wear a hole in the front cover, where coolant is circulating; it goes down into the block, and starts eating away the bearings. It's obviously not a good thing, heh, and certainly something to watch out for.
2. The hatch. The butyl rubber seals that are used around the taillights have a tendancy to fail after maybe 10 years or so, and a 1990 is well past that; look around the spare tire area for any signs of water pooling (i.e rust, or water itself); if there is some there, there is a good chance that the taillights are allowing water into the hatch. It's not hard to fix; you heat the taillight, to allow the butyl rubber to ease up a bit, remove the assembly, put some new butyl on them, and heat it up, and pop it back in, but it is messy, and time consuming.
3. Rust. It can be a problem, and usually a fairly obvious one. Look for it around the hatch, wheel wells, et cetra; if it's purely cosmetic in nature, it's your call (it lowers the car's value, obviously), but if it's impacting any structural area of the car, pass, unless you like pain, heh.
4. Other than those things, these cars are pretty well built; just look over the car as a whole, like you would any other car (with the exception of what I noted above), and you should be fine. Good luck!
1. Listen for any unusual engine sounds, especially on startup. The timing chain assemblies on the 89 and 90 240's has had quite a few problems; if it rattles on startup, just for a second or two, it's livable, but you might be looking into replacing the tensioner/guides in a bit, which isn't cheap. If it's rattling while driving, be concerned, and if the engine is making any sort of "spun bearing" noise (I'd assume you have a rough idea of what that sounds like), then obviously be very concerned. The timing chain guides on these cars are notorious for failing, and allowing the chain to wear a hole in the front cover, where coolant is circulating; it goes down into the block, and starts eating away the bearings. It's obviously not a good thing, heh, and certainly something to watch out for.
2. The hatch. The butyl rubber seals that are used around the taillights have a tendancy to fail after maybe 10 years or so, and a 1990 is well past that; look around the spare tire area for any signs of water pooling (i.e rust, or water itself); if there is some there, there is a good chance that the taillights are allowing water into the hatch. It's not hard to fix; you heat the taillight, to allow the butyl rubber to ease up a bit, remove the assembly, put some new butyl on them, and heat it up, and pop it back in, but it is messy, and time consuming.
3. Rust. It can be a problem, and usually a fairly obvious one. Look for it around the hatch, wheel wells, et cetra; if it's purely cosmetic in nature, it's your call (it lowers the car's value, obviously), but if it's impacting any structural area of the car, pass, unless you like pain, heh.
4. Other than those things, these cars are pretty well built; just look over the car as a whole, like you would any other car (with the exception of what I noted above), and you should be fine. Good luck!
^ very good info! Only other thing I can think of is the bumper rot common amung the 89-90 cars in particular. The paint on the bumper has a tendency to oxidize and turn a nasty shade of yellow on the bumpers, usually the rear but I have seen it on the front. A lot of cars from that era do it, I think it has somthing to do with the plastics the car makers were messing around with back then. If the car doesn't have it, great! If it does, maybe you could talk the buyer down a little bit...
-
BuudWeizErr
- Posts: 4745
- Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2002 11:35 am
Thanks for the info guys. I'm heading down tonight to check it out. ChunkiDori, thanks for the remarks, but I'm not your typical bandwagon-hopping ricer; I know more about these cars than you'd think, even though I don't own one. Once I make a stupid "what are the best coilovers for drifting" type post, then you can try to make fun of me.
-
BuudWeizErr
- Posts: 4745
- Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2002 11:35 am
Re: (Paragon)
no deal.Paragon wrote:Thanks for the info guys. I'm heading down tonight to check it out. ChunkiDori, thanks for the remarks, but I'm not your typical bandwagon-hopping ricer; I know more about these cars than you'd think, even though I don't own one. Once I make a stupid "what are the best coilovers for drifting" type post, then you can try to make fun of me.
make fun now, prove worthy later
Re: (ChunkiDori)
sorry for being a d!ck, just havin some fun man...i hope to one day prove myself worthy of your grace, oh honorable one i understand the typical incoming hazing, not really bothered by it.
btw, the car is dorifto ready, all it needs is an sr20 and some uber-jdm parts. then i can be the king of all the mountian passes.
btw, the car is dorifto ready, all it needs is an sr20 and some uber-jdm parts. then i can be the king of all the mountian passes.
