Problems with newly bought 240sx

[Deadrodent]

hey everyone, my name is Ryan and I recently bought a 1992 240sx with the dohc ka24de engine and 5spd transmission. Overall the car seems to be in decent shape - however there are a few things wrong with the engine and whatnot. 1. The engine runs strong but there seems to be a problem with the engine's timing. The car idles at about 500rpm versus the normal 700-800rpm of my friends 240's.

2. The guy I bought the car from says the head gasket is "leaking" - there are small deposits around the head that look as if they have come from the headgasket but I have not compression tested the engine as of yet so I don't know the truth behind this guy's statements. The car still has more than adequate power with a smooth powerband and no flat spots but you never know.

3. There is a lot of vibration coming through the steering wheel and the car pulls strongly to the right once I let go of the wheel. Obviously part of the problem is the alignment but the vibration is extremely unsettling. I don't feel confident in the normally smooth and predictable handling of the 240. It seems that the vibrations are only at highway speeds and might be related to the front end alignment problem.

4. I hear a high pitched whine coming from the rear end. Could the gears of the rear end be stripped maybe? Is this normal in a 240?

5. There seems to be some kind of rpm problem probably linked to the timing of the engine. When driving down the highway at let's say 5th gear @ 70mph (atleast that's what the speedo and tach tell me) I am at 3000 rpm. I have been around a few 240's and it seems that normally they do 5th gear @ 70 mph at around 2000rpm. That's a 1000rpm of difference - that means i'm probably topping out even before the 110mph limit of the ka24de.

6. The flip up lights are stuck open. It's probably an easy fix but I'm just starting to learn the technical details about 240's (lol please bear with me)

7. I'll probably be around this forum awhile now as I plan on working and modifying this 240 over the course of the summer and most likely the next few years as I am going to study at UTI in arizona during the fall. So basically I'm looking to make a few friends that can help me fix/fix up my car. I'm looking forward to all your responses! Thanks in advance!

[Deadrodent]

bump.....i need some help here people! i don't want to damage my ride so i'm not even driving it around....

[All_Motor_KA]

Have you dont the normal new car tune ups? Changed oil, filter, plugs, cap, rotor, wires? The vibration may be comeming from an unbalanced tire. As for the lights, check your fuses and relays and such. Have a test light? See if you get power to the motors. If both are stuck you prolly just blew a relay or something. I have the same problem. If I ever fix it I'll let you know :-P. Good luck.

[DriftNasty240]

well, 3000 at 70mph, is roughly normal. that is what my 91 does... the wheel vibration is prolly just an out of balance tire, and that probably has a little to do with it pulling sharply to the right.As for your rear end, I dunno, but some good rear end lube like red line oil might help that. but that also depends on how many miles you have on the car and such. Umm, so yeah that's my .02 .... keep posting on your progress....

[Deadrodent]

thanks for the help guys. i haven't done all the maintenance i should be doing right now but i'm finishing school and don't have that much time to even drive the car much less tinker with it yet. i'm probably going to take it in for an alignment this weekend...that should help things out a bit. I'm also kinda concerned with a vibration i'm feeling at around 2500 rpm in 2nd gear. It seems kinda centered in the middle of the car - which could mean very bad things...i.e. the driveshaft could have come loose and is destroying itself...oh and the car is roughly low mileage for a 240 - 115k on the odometer so the engine should be pretty strong but the deposits around the head/headgasket are starting to worry me...i don't want to blow the gasket and then warp the head....

[FliMSiCaL]

i agree with the vibration/tire and alignment thing, which can happen at various speeds. 240's are not known for breaking driveshafts at all. Check to make sure that you arent leaking anything from the cam cover up there, seems more likely a leak there since there isn't any other evidence of headgasket prollems. for the rpm vs. speed thing, 3000 rpms = about 68 mph, so ur normal. Btw, you will hit the 115 limit way before redline, somewhere around 4600-4800 rpms. Do the new car maintenance and change ur tires/get an alignment and see how it goes.

[xung]

If the sound from the rear end is when you make turns, try changing the differential fluid.

[Deadrodent]

it seems that i'm figuring out most of my problems. i think the car is mostly solid. the chick that drove it before just cruised and occasionally hit things in parking lots and such. i believe that the tc rods/bushings are probably busted and maybe a few other front suspension parts. i know for a fact most of the vibrations are from the front suspension/wheels/tires so it shouldn't be that difficult to fix. a different problem that might be related is the car stalls out occasionally - i'm not sure the culprit but it seems it does this when i make really really sharp u-turns. it doesn't happen often at all but it's just another thing to sort out....i hope i can fix all these little things soon so i can start spending money on some goodies...mmm 15x7 wheels with a 0 offset and some fat rubber...mmmmm.....

[Veriest1]

Heh, I was going to recomend checking the TC rod bushings. Anyway, the jell filled oem stuff is easy to see with just a wheel off. The oem jell filled ball joints may be bad as well.

15x7 in mesh are hot. Another option I thought of just yesterday is the mesh wheels from the more luxurious Crown Victorias. I think they may 16's... maybe 17's not sure but they have a nice lip. At any rate Mustang wheels fit and they're probably the same bolt pattern.

[Deadrodent]

how would i go about putting a 5 lug wheel on a 4 lug hub? i'm kinda wary of getting a 4 to 5 lug adapter/spacer...and i don't think i'd want to do all that work replacing the hubs with z32 or the s14 hubs just for some 5 lug wheels. or is it not that difficult at all? i'm a poor college student right now so i can't really afford much stuff for the car....anyone have any ghetto things i could do to my car to improve performance/whatever? or maybe some cheap 4 lug wheels that would fit that i could spray paint black or something?

[Deadrodent]

alright i keep finding/creating more problems for my car. i took the car out for a little spin with one of my friends and redlined it a couple times just to show him what 240's are capable of. well during this the speedo decided that it had enough and died out and now my car's engine is chugging and making tapping noises...a few times when i came to a stop the engine would kinda bog and seem like it wanted to die and now when i make the sharp u-turn in my court to get to my driveway in 2nd gear the car shudders. what the hell is going on...i want my baby to be healthy again...

---- i just fixed the speedo - there's a little sensor with a gear on it that i guess transmits the info to the speedo from the driveshaft....it popped off when i was smashing around town so i just popped it back in....the clunks and shimmying of the front suspension seems to be getting worse - so this weekend i'm going to order a whole crapload of parts and fix the suspension. One other thing that is aggravating me is now the engine makes a loud tapping sound (kinda sounds like valve clatter- maybe it needs a valve job?) and a strange shaking noise coming from inside the head. It's as if some part is loose and shaking/vibrating....too many problems...gaaaaah....
Modified by Deadrodent at 1:13 AM 5/28/2005

[DriftNasty240]

ouch dude, tapping noises and chugging aren't good- your motor might be shot- sounds like you coulda spun a bearing on the crankshaft in the lower end. keep careful watch on your oil, drive it easy. And if it seems to be losing power, and or the tapping gets louder, start looking for a swap, pronto...

[Deadrodent]

i doubt i spun a bearing. all the noise seems to be coming from the head/timing chain...so i'm gonna open it up and check that out...