Roll Call for 4WD Sentras

[08sentra2.0sl]

wow i never knew there was an AWD sentra.. if only today it still was.lol

[natedeezy]

Didn't even know these existed, neat little car.

[blownb310]

Didn't even know these existed, neat little car.

Thanks Guys.

I was at it again last weekend and finished 4th overall out of 33 cars in the recent Vermont Winter Rally. Today I looked the car over to get it ready for the last winter rally of the season on March 6th.

I found that the left front outer axle boot just started to split so I replaced it. I have been noticing a slight vibration under sharp decell when lifting off of the throttle at high speeds for a corner. I found that the rubber packing around the rear driveshaft center bearing was peeling away from the steel rings it was originally adheared to. In other words, the shaft could walk up and down about 3/4 of an inch under accell and decell. Nissan no longer has the rubber donuts that the center bearings are mounted in available for these cars, so I took matters into my own hands. I removed the rear drive shaft [always mark it so you bolt the shafts back together exactly the same way they came apart] and cleaned all of the rubber parts and wire wheeled the steel rings they sit in. I then bought a caulk gun sized tube of 3M urethane windshield sealer and filled the voids in the rubber center bearing packing donut. This is not any different than filling your worn motor mounts with urethane. I let it cure for 24 hrs.



Now there is no more play in the center bearing packing and she's ready for more action.

One more thing, if you own a 4WD B12, be advised that there is a grease fitting in the slip yoke for the rear driveshaft [just ahead of the rear differential]. There is an access hole in the steel member that allows you to connect a grease gun. Most people don't know it is there. Give it a few shots of chassis grease when you're changing your oil.

Mike

[blownb310]

I took my 4WD wagon out last December and competed at a Central New York Region SCCA rallycross. I did really well. I was in first place overall at the mid day break by 2.5 seconds. At the end I finished 2nd overall by just 3 seconds, behind a well driven Subaru 2.5RS. Not bad for a 22 year old economy car with 1.6!






How do you guys like my new '91 Miata wheels? They are 5 lbs. lighter each than the stock wheels. Had to bore out the center hole to make them fit the Sentra.

Pics of all cars competing can be seen HERE.

Mike

[blownb310]

Getting the car ready for next weekend's all night Vermont Winter Challenge rally. First up is attending to my regular annual rust maintenance. Different corner of the car each season. As soon as I see holes, no matter how small, I get right down to business. Anything on the chassis gets repaired immediately.







I am also replacing a worn and leaky power steering rack. I was lucky to find a new old stock unit from OEM Surplus, who sells obsolete factory parts. These were $700 units back in the day. I got this one for $100 shipped.



I actually bought the rack about five years ago, because I knew this day would come. Stocking up on obsolete parts is critical to keeping these cars going. I'll bet there's not even thirty 4WD Sentras still on the road in the US these days.



What's neat about the 4WD spec B12 Sentra racks is that the ratio is a bit faster than all other models. I really like that!

Mike

[06_blkout]

This is really cool man lol. I really want one now lol.

[blownb310]

Another part that I bought years ago as a spare for the 4WD B12 wagon is a new fuel tank. It took months to come in as I think they got it from Japan. In any case, I'll bet there isn't another one in the US. It's pretty unique and here's what a it looks like:





You can see the depression in the center to clear the rear drive shaft.



The Nissan part number.

[blownb310]

Pretty cool, here is a pic I found of a 4WD B12 sedan. This is the first one I've ever seen, other than the die cast model earlier in this thread.

Mike

[blownb310]

Well what comes after ice racing, rallycross, winter road rally? It's time for something a little different, and that something is what some call "soft roading" That's mild off roading that a compact 4WD car can handle. So I headed out today on a reconnaissance run, to sample some seasonal roads and off-road trails for an upcoming 4WD compact car adventure run next month. I have a few fellow compact 4WD car guys that will join me. One has a cool '91 Civic RT 4WD wagon and another a Suzuki SX4. I found exactly the type of roads/trails I was looking for. They were challenging enough where you had to pay attention to avoid the rockadillos to stay damage free, but not beyond the capabilities of a compact 4WD car.




I had to pay attention and be careful not to bottom out in some areas.


There were a few streams that flowed across the road to make it interesting.








That huge boulder is about five times the size of the car!





Looking forward to future outings with like minded individuals with compact 4WD cars.

[Pulsar-nx-kid]

This is the first time im hearing of a 4WD sentra and i have had like 8 sentra's!and i have been into nissan's for over 12 years!lol

[blownb310]

I'd love to know how many were sold here in the states. No one seems to have that info though. I'd also like to know how many are left today. Many were run as winter beaters and scrapped.

Mike

[blownb310]

As I explored another "trail" this weekend, I got out and cleared the occasional rocks/boulders that impeded my path. However, under the leaves there was one pointed rock that stuck up just a bit too far for my undercarriage. In the front it nicked the sway bar [no damage] but in the rear it grazed one of the rear control arms. It felt like just a small scrape from inside the car but when I got home I saw this:



The Sentra 4WD wagon has some very light gauge steel rear control arms. I straightened it out with a hammer and a dolly, then prepped it for strengthening.





I cut out a template from a cereal box to transfer to some steel plate that I will weld onto the arms to "box" them in.



The finished product. There is one downside to stregthening these arms: if I hit anything susbstantial again, it could damage something larger - like the crossmember. I may add some angled deflector flanges to help the arm deflect up and over the object.

[blownb310]

I finished up the rear suspension on my wagon and did a bit more "soft roading" yesterday.





How about the rest of you guys? Am I the only one driving a 4WD Sentra in the US?

[92_senatra]

nice car! a lot of work put into it

[blownb310]

nice car! a lot of work put into it

Thanks. I am planning a compact 4wd outing in the woods with some other cool old 4wd cars in a couple of weeks. So far a '91 Civic RT4wd wagon, a '78 Subaru DL 4wd wagon, two Suzuki SX4's, and possibly a Brat.

[blownb310]

Here's another one that someone gave up on. It's being parted out in this Ebay auction. The unique rear struts and srings are available as well as about anything else. Car is in WA.

[blownb310]

The first northeast USA 4WD Compact Car Adventure went great! The two local Suzuki SX4's did not show up, so it was an all old-school turnout of compact 4WD's last weekend.







The Historic Subaru forum's Paul S. easily took the honors for the most historic entry with his '78 Subaru 4WD wagon. Paul and his son Luke drove out 2 3/4 hours from Bridgeport, CT.



Seeing one of these in the snowy salt belt of the northeast is quite a rarity these days.

After meeting up in West Sand Lake, NY we headed straight for the hill climb portion of the event. For some reason pictures don't portray depth of field very well, or in this case how steep the angle of the climb was, but hopefully this will give you an idea of the length of the hill.





Mark's '91 Civic Real Time 4wd Civic wagon powers up the hill.



Another Historic Subaru forum standout [Subafreak] Jesse N. was next up the hill in his clean '85 Brat.





Next we headed out into the woods.











Jesse's Brat clearly had the best ground clearance of all of us. Nothing on this trail bothered the Brat!





Just before the lunch break I placed my Subway meatball sub on my valve cover to warm it up. I wanted to wire it to the turbo heat shield, but forgot the aluminum foil! It still worked out pretty well though.











A good time was had by all and by the end of the day no one got stuck or had any mechanical problems.

[blownb310]

I put this together as part of a thread featuring Compact 4WD cars and this is the 4WD Sentra portion of the write up.



Fourth in the series, this week's featured vehicle is the Nissan 4WD Sentra wagon.



The first US market [B12] model Sentra available with 4WD came out in 1987. Prior to this all Sentras were FWD. These models featured an electrically activated single-range transfer case to drive the independently suspended rear wheels, making the car a selectable four-wheel-drive vehicle. The '87 and '88 models were identicle and used a push button in the shift knob for the part time 4WD system.





There is a 4WD indicator light on top of the steering colum that illuminated when the system was engaged. The sytem was then locked with a 50/50 split of power to the front and rear axles. All four tires had to match in size for the system to fuction correctly. If tires were mismatched the system had a lot of trouble switching modes. I read that Nissan got tired of the warranty complaints of people who didn't rotate their tires or simply didn't have a matched set causing problems when switching in and out of 4WD. So in it's final year in 1989 Nissan changed the design to a full time 4WD system by adding a viscous center differential coupling to the rear of the transfer case. They did this by deleting the solenoid actuation system for the transfer case shifting and simply leaving it in 4WD mode full time. There was no actual 1990 model. Nissan simply sold the leftover 89's as '90 models.



The '87 and '88 models both used the 8 valve E16i SOHC engine with throttle body fuel injection for 70 h.p. The 89's used a 12 valve GA16i engine that made 90 h.p. Both were 1.6 liters.

Specs for 1987 model:

Engine displacement: 1597cc
Fuel system: Throttle Body Injection [single point]
Power: 70 hp @ 6000 rpm.
Torque: 84 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm.
Coefficient of drag = ?
Curb weight: 2635 lbs.
Final drive ratio: 4.466
Tire size: 175/70R13
EPA city/highway: 25/29 mpg.


Japan domestic market grill.



Although only available in the US as wagons, the B12 4WD's were available in Japan as sedans as well.

[blownb310]

Well it's been a great adventure with my beloved 4WD wagon but I have moved on to other things and it is time to sell it. It's been garaged for all 12 years that I've owned it and is ready for the next enthusiast to enjoy the practicality and pure fun that this rather special 4WD Sentra can provide. I'm not sure what wheel and tire package to sell it with. I'll let the buyer decide if he/she wants the factory SE alloys or B13 SE-R wheels, unstudded Winterforces or studded Nokian Hakkapelliitta 2's.

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/4222732598.html

[blownb310]

Wow that was quick. Sold the same day! It went to a good home and to a talented car guy who knows how to take good care of the car well into the future.