My performance on my 97 Sentra GXE needs serious attention!
OK, here is the situation... I have basically totally neglected major maintenance on my car. I know... I should be shot.
Good news is, it's paid for now. So my problem is that I hit the gas and it creaps. It will rev high and sound good, but it won't go anywhere. Since it has 166K+ miles on it, I am assuming the catalytic is shot? The lack of power seems to have been getting worse over time. I took it into Nissan a while ago and they said it checks out OK (performance wise), but I can't help but feel I have lost power.
I am thinking to start with a new exhaust system. Since money IS a factor I need the most bang for the buck. What do you guys recommend? I have looked around on eBay, but I trust names I have seen on the Sentra sites, not what's there. I am thinking of picking up a Megan N1 catback as a start. Does OBX make good stuff? Their prices seem pretty reasonable.
Of course, I don't plan to buy anything until I get it into Nissan and have them do a full diagnostic on it to eliminate things like a cracked block.
Girst ff, I would work on maintenence. If you haven't done anything to the car lately, I would give it a full tune-up, change the sensors, check/change the tranny fluid (auto), and change the filter. Then go from there with mods.
A guy told me when he did an oil change that since I haven't changed the fluid in the tranny that if I do it now I will likely blow a seal. Any truth in that?
A guy told me when he did an oil change that since I haven't changed the fluid in the tranny that if I do it now I will likely blow a seal. Any truth in that?
Ahhh, no. Do it now to save whats left of your tranny. Autotragics need to have their fluid changed because of the high temperatures they work in and the constant shifting.
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A guy told me when he did an oil change that since I haven't changed the fluid in the tranny that if I do it now I will likely blow a seal. Any truth in that?
I would do it if I were you. My car is 45,000 miles old and I jus did it for the first time last weekend. I opted to do the "power flush" which will clean out all the piping. I'm glad they did b/c when they flushed it, it looked like mud was coming out. They flushed it for me twice (at no extra charge) b/c it was so bad. Ran me about $135.
Tranny fluid should be done every 30,000mi. The power flush is not always necessary if you keep up with it, but for you and me, it would definately be worth it.
Save your tranny dude, it'll shift alot smoother too.
i could be wrong. but my friend has a saturn that was doing the same thing he just replaced his clutch it was slipping like a Bi*ch. and ya u might want to get ur oil changed and all that shit!
i could be wrong. but my friend has a saturn that was doing the same thing he just replaced his clutch it was slipping like a Bi*ch. and ya u might want to get ur oil changed and all that shit!
He doesn't have a clutch on an auto. I'm sure no one is dumb enough to let the oil go, it's like forgetting to fill up your tank and running it for an extra 500 miles. but still, there are many fluids that need to be changed and plenty of sensors that need replacement.
My list of things to do:
Change oil if it's been more than 3,000mi
new plugs
new wires
check distributor and ignition system
check out the battery and alternator
get a dremel and clean off any grounding points you can find (then spray with anti-corrosive gel)
check the voltage on the MAF and TB sensors
change both O2 sensors
Change and flush coolent
Change/flush auto tranny fluid
compression test if you seem to have problems with performance or are burning oil
check braking system and fluid
power steering fluid
check accessory belts
Change the drop-in filter (go K&N brand if you can)
Clean up the engine bay with some rags and simple green.
Check CV boots/joins just incase
Clean out the Throttle body with carb cleaner and replace the gasket (Nissan part# 16175-0M602 for 1.6L)
use the carb cleaner to also spray and wipe inside the intake manifold for as far as you can reach inside.
and do anything else that will bring the car up to maintenence.
Once the car is in good working order, then start on aftermarket goodies. Don't settle for a cheap brands. You get what you pay for. Go for a Stromung exhaust system (catback) (~$500), Hotshot header and cold air intake ($450 and $200) and get a muffler shop to weld in a nice high-flow cat to make sure you don't pollute or fail any emissions testing (if you have any).
Well, I can't say I have been TOTALLY neglect. I took it to Nissan about a year ago (about 6K miles ago) and had $700 worth of work done. They did a tune-up, replaced all the belts, did some kind of throttle body cleaning, and a bunch of other stuff.
For a while, I was getting oil into my air intake and it made a lot of deposited in the throttle body and intake manifold (?). I also went through a lot of plugs during that time too.
I called over to Nissan today and will take it in next week for a brake inspection, run diagnostics, tranny servicing, and a major tune-up. For some reason, everytime I have my brakes checked the rotors are warped and the adjustments to my parking brake only last a few months then the parking brake is useless. I have a feeling the warped rotors is being caused by bad calipers. It gets old replacing rotors every year.
I thought the Stromung catbacks were like $1600? If they are only $500 I'll probably get that then. Does that include a pre-silencer?
Well, I can't say I have been TOTALLY neglect. I took it to Nissan about a year ago (about 6K miles ago) and had $700 worth of work done. They did a tune-up, replaced all the belts, did some kind of throttle body cleaning, and a bunch of other stuff.
For a while, I was getting oil into my air intake and it made a lot of deposited in the throttle body and intake manifold (?). I also went through a lot of plugs during that time too.
I called over to Nissan today and will take it in next week for a brake inspection, run diagnostics, tranny servicing, and a major tune-up. For some reason, everytime I have my brakes checked the rotors are warped and the adjustments to my parking brake only last a few months then the parking brake is useless. I have a feeling the warped rotors is being caused by bad calipers. It gets old replacing rotors every year.
I thought the Stromung catbacks were like $1600? If they are only $500 I'll probably get that then. Does that include a pre-silencer?
I have the same problem with my brakes and no one else seems to understand me. I've gone through 3 sets of rotors due to warping in only 25,000 miles. I can already feel the 3rd set needs replacing BAD, that's why I decided to upgrade to the NX2000 front brakes. I'm also upgrading the rear to SE-R type discs. You can check out my "HELP! MY ROOM IS BEING TAKEN OVER" thread in the brakes section to see pix. I'm also going to put up a writeup when I finally get to installing them.
I thought the Stromung catbacks were like $1600? If they are only $500 I'll probably get that then. Does that include a pre-silencer?
$1600!!!!! ROFL, where did you hear that??? it's about $495 base (piping and muffler), about $40 for a pre-muffler (installed by Stromung) and about $50 for an O2 bung (for the O2 sensor to plug into if you get an aftermarket Cat). Call Greg Vogel (1-866-55-MOSSY) and he'll hook you up with one. I gained 10.4hp from my install (pix and dyno sheets on my website below)
If the car has that many miles on it, and the fluid in the auto tranny has never been changed, DO NOT CHANGE IT!!!!! The ATF has heavy detergents in it and changing it will replenish those detergents. It is likely that some sludge has built up in the trans around the sealing surfaces and is helping it to seal. The new fluid will remove those deposits and cause the trans to fail or leak from every pore! Failure would be due to the clutch drums and actuator pistons for the bands no longer being able to hold the pressure and allowing the clutch packs and bands to slip. Also, DO NOT USE A HEAVY DETERGENT MOTOR OIL! If you do, it will likely cause the seals and gaskets to fail and you will have massive oil leaks. Had you used a good synthetic since it was new this would not present a problem( I have since my KA24DE powered frontier was new and have no leaks at 205,000 miles).Plus, Nissan 4 cyl engines are notorious for front seal failures and you don't want to help it along. Try the Valvoline Max Life instead. I know of a KA24DE in a S13 240sx that had a bad front seal leak that would be fixed when the oil was changed just by using this oil.
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1998 Nissan Frontier XE/2wd/5spd 1 owner, 264k miles
1985 Olds Cutlass, 350 Chevy, owned for 14 years
WANTED: 1968-1973 Datsun 510 or 1991-1994 Sentra SE-R http://www.myspace.com/junkyardengineer
Last edited by himilefrontier : Dec 6th, 2003 at 12:32 PM.
Well, I would have it checked out by a professional first. It may not be a trans problem, it could be a plugged catalytic convertor, or even low trans fluid level. Could also be a bad TPS sensor that still works enough to not throw a code.The trans in these cars is horribly expensive to have rebuilt-can be as much as $1500! What I would do is remove the trans myself and have it "Bench Built" by a local tranny shop then install it myself. This saves a lot of money as you are not paying for R&R.
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1998 Nissan Frontier XE/2wd/5spd 1 owner, 264k miles
1985 Olds Cutlass, 350 Chevy, owned for 14 years
WANTED: 1968-1973 Datsun 510 or 1991-1994 Sentra SE-R http://www.myspace.com/junkyardengineer
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