thinking of buying 1993 nissan d21 4wd

[martin16]

hey all,

I'm looking at buying a 1993 nissan d21 king cab truck, its the v6 5spd manual with 4wd. has 130,000 original miles on it, its been used as a work truck so it has a few quirks but nothing too bad. Main issue as of right now is the timing belt needs to be replaced, i had a mechanic look at it and quote me about $700 to replace the belt as well as do a few other basic things and look it over for me. The mechanic looked at it and test drove it for free, he said that it feels a bit slow on acceleration which could mean the catalytic converter is on the way out and that it was making bit more noise than just the timing belt and that he thought it could be the u joint making some of the noise. The owner was originally asking $3000 and I've got it down to $2300. Do you think it would be a good deal with that amount of maintenance needing to be done?

Basically I'm wondering if anyone has lots of experience with these trucks and could tell me specific things to watch out for.
Im also curious how difficult it is to replace a timing belt on your own, i am a bicycle mechanic by trade but have limited experience with autos.

minor defects of the truck include: top of windshield seal seems to be nearly gone, minor dents on body, fenders slightly loose, pretty minor undercarriage rust, door to camper shell is slightly off the hinges, also a nice dent in rear bumper and tailgate, hood is a little dented in where the plastic vents are and one of the vents is totally broken.
All in all its not the prettiest but it runs and drives well no bad colors on the exhaust pipe and it starts every time, power steering and brakes seem to function well also. haven't tried out the 4x4 yet or had it at highway speeds yet, but it seems to be a good truck for a little over $2000.

Any responses greatly appreciated,
thankyou!

[whomadewho]

1993 Nissan D21 4wd. What model - Base - XE - SE ?? Make sure the frame is good. Check the radiator support ( usually rusted out). The windshield seal could indicate the frame is rusted out. Finding parts can be difficult to find. - $2300 plus tax - title transfer fees - repairs -$700 plus equals an expense truck. With the price of labor, if you're not a mechanic Mr.GoodWrench better be one of you're best friends.

[martin16]

i believe it is the SE model because it has the sunroof. rust doesn't look to bad on the truck but I've heard about the windshield leaks and checking under the drivers side floor mat for rust spots, I've read that can be a common issue.

[Desert Rat]

The place to look for rust is inside the frame rails on the back half of the frame. They're boxed and don't drain well so corrosion gets a good foothold there.

The mechanic says it's slow....that's because it's a VG30 and it's a heavy truck. 154hp doesn't move around 3800lbs that well.

Otherwise it should be a dead reliable truck with some maintenance. Check the CV boots and steering linkage. At stock height, the steering holds up pretty good, but it goes to hell quick with a suspension lift. Axles and Tcase are relatively bulletproof in the truck and are stronger than what's in the current D40 trucks with another 100hp over that one.

Definitely do the T-belt, water pump, pulleys, and other belts. You'll be good til nearly 200k once you do, and if the truck has been reasonably taken care of, it should last. One trick with that transmission is to jack up the left side or pull the shifter and put an extra quart of GL4 in it because the fill plug is too low and if you climb long grades, bearings can be starved for oil. Otherwise, go for it. Sounds like a decent truck.

[martin16]

thanks for the info, i really appreciate it.
Any other advice, or reccomendations would be really helpful.
thank y'all so much!