My "new" ride and first Nissan.

Juan! · Jun 24th, 2009, 04:13 PM

Hi everyone. I picked up this 93 Sentra for my Fiance and I'm in the process of fixing it up. It was only $1400 and at the moment I don't have much money to put towards it, so its little things here and there but there are more things planned. This is the best picture I can find of the little thing, I'm not home right now to take a better one:

I'm not used to working on little cars (that is my truck next to it!) so a lot of this is new to me. For example, on the list of things to do are struts, I've NEVER had to deal with struts on my truck, its shocks only.

So anyway, so far I have done the following:
- Seafoamed the engine
- New motor mounts
- Recharged the AC
- New alternator
- New battery
- Replaced spark plugs
- Oil change
- Replaced all the filters
- New head unit, stock one was missing knobs haha
- New speakers, old ones had literally fallen apart and sounded horrible
- Subwoofers in the trunk, nothing big. Going for a little bump, nothing neighbors will hear

I think thats it so far. For now the only things we still want to do are:

- Shocks/Struts, the current ones are GONE, roughest ride ever
- New belts just to be safe
- New wires/rotor/cap to complete the plugs I replaced
- Replace headliner, its sagging in a few spots
- Retint the windows, the current tint is purple and scratched
- Paint it black, current paintjob is HORRIBLE and obviously cheap/peeling
- New wheels or powdercoat current ones
- Recarpet the trunk, previous owner removed it all for some reason...

Okay, so thats about it. I'd love any input. Is there anything that these cars are notorious for? Should I replace anything else that isn't listed above? Oh and when we have the AC on full blast, the little guy has HORRIBLE accelleration. Seafoaming and replacing the plugs seems to have made it a touch better but its still pretty weak. Could this be a belt issue or something?

Thanks a lot!

sr20_B13 · Jun 25th, 2009, 03:38 AM

wow 1400 is alot for that i have four of them and each of them did not cost me more than 500 a piece and if you need new shocks and struts and can sell you some i have four brand new ones for that model it already comes together so all you have to do is unbolt the three bolts on top and two size 17 bolts by the wheel and the clips that holds the brake line and thats it it should take you no mre that an hour to do so if you want them let me know you could make me an offer and ill ship them to you

Juan! · Jun 25th, 2009, 10:04 AM

Well the interior is perfect and it runs great and besides the ugly paint, the body is in great condition, so its worth the 1400 to me. I probably could have found a cheaper one though... Anyway, I'm glad that the shocks/struts are that easy, I got quoted 300-400 just for labor if I had the shop do it!

sr20_B13 · Jun 25th, 2009, 11:38 AM

wow that is alot for labor... I'm telling you, it is so easy you could do it right there where the car is park'd, i did mine on the street of New York, and i did a motor swap to a sr20 in a tiny garage without a lift and a peice of crap scissor jack that comes in the trunk of the cars... whats the quote on the shocks, if you dont mine me asking?

Juan! · Jun 25th, 2009, 12:29 PM

He told me how much labor was and said if I could wait a little while he'd find out how much parts would cost and I told him that's a little too much for now, I'll come back. Of course I didn't plan on going back for that much haha. I have every tool I could need also (dad is a truck driver with a garage full) so if its as easy as you say, I should be able to take care of it. Do you have to compress the springs or anything? I know how to get to the top bolts in the front, how do you get to the rears?

2dr_Sentra · Jun 25th, 2009, 12:30 PM

Good start. Got anymore pictures?

Juan! · Jun 25th, 2009, 12:32 PM

That's all I have for now, if you're interested then I can take some more later. Didn't think anyone would want any of this little guy lol. The wheels are hit and miss also. My girl really likes them and they aren't half bad but they look to have been cheaply painted in the past so a good sandblast/powdercoat would do them good. I'd rather put some mesh type wheels on it, not sure how that would look tho.

fofgrel · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:14 PM

Yes, you'll need to compress the springs. Also, the previous owner probably took out the truck interior because it was water damaged. Sometimes these cars leak water trough the taillights. If yours is leaking, a little silicone will do nicely.

sr20_B13 · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:17 PM

well to take it out of the car you dont need to compress the spring but if you are seperating the springs from the shocks you need to compress it...and im telling you its easier than it looks... Ill sell you a full set of front and rear suspension already attached so you dont have to compress anything for 175 O.B.O and i only used them for 320 miles to be exact... and i took them out of my car cause i switched them to KYB G2's and megan racing springs... and i like the paint color it looks nice from the pics...

Juan! · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:18 PM

I noticed silicone around the lights and it doesn't look "perfect" enough to be factory so thats probably what happened. Do you know if they make a kit for it or should I just buy some scraps from a carpet place and cut it myself?

sr20_B13 · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:39 PM

Are you talking about the rear taillights if so it should have silicone it comes like that mine has it also I thought the same but i found out its like that

Dan9 · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:41 PM

the factory sealant is neverdry crap that will make a horrible mess of anything it gets on BUT to fix the leak, you pull the taillight our carefully and with a gloved hand, redistribute the goopy stuff around to re-seal the edges. I did that and no prob's afterwards

such a fun car I still cant get rid of mine :/

Juan! · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:42 PM

Well so far I haven't noticed any leaks and we've driven it through some hard rain. Maybe they just spilled some grocerys back there haha. I'll keep an eye on it, especially now that there is an amp/subs back there!

Do you want 175 shipped for them? What brand are they?

Juan! · Jun 25th, 2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan9

the factory sealant is neverdry crap that will make a horrible mess of anything it gets on BUT to fix the leak, you pull the taillight our carefully and with a gloved hand, redistribute the goopy stuff around to re-seal the edges. I did that and no prob's afterwards

such a fun car I still cant get rid of mine :/

Yeah so far I am really liking it. It's main purpose is to be my fiance's car though so I can't do anything she doesn't like to it haha, that is what my truck is for (she's not a huge fan of the lift). Like I mentioned some mesh-type wheels and she looked iffy so not sure about that and any kind of lowering is out of the question.

But either way, I agree that it is fun to drive around and work on.

sr20_B13 · Jun 25th, 2009, 02:09 PM

I bought them from the dealer they are stock... Is 175 plus shipping cuase they cost me way more than that... and about the silicone it is factory just when it gets hot outside the silicone gets soft so somebody must of messed with it before because my right taillight loocks clean but my left looks messed up cause it was hot out and i was messing with it