generally ranting... or where the hell the last five days went...

niky · Aug 20th, 2003, 03:36 PM

damn... after spending a week on the road shuttling back and forth between mechanics... for airconditioner compressors, brake pads, spark plug wires, and whatnot... the car is off the road AGAIN.

i'm driving to a mechanic down in the city to discuss my aircon prob when all of the sudden, my car acquires a cool harley-davidsonish tone... i keep driving, figuring an exhaust leak is no BIGGIE compared to the demons i've wrestled down... but this little problem was more deadly than i thought...

ten miles down and the CAR dies... completely... takes me five damn minutes to get the engine to turn over... all the while looking in my rear view mirror for the highway patrol... hoping to god i don't get towed... (couldn't afford it)... i get it to start, finally... and get it within two or three miles of the mechanic before it stalls AGAIN....

at this point, i am on a side street... so i call my mechanic and wait for him to come... (free tow, thank god...) ...i do some spelunking, and i finally find the leak... a thin gasket TWO INCHES BEFORE MY O2 sensor... OH SHIT.

i figure, fuck the small problems... i leave my car with the mechanics... tell them to replace my aircon (stealing the still-good-as-new stock compressor off my 1.6...), put some headers on, fix my O2 sensor, and have that noisy CV joint while they're at it...

while that's going on... i will be on a nice pleasant weekend cruise in the islands down south... chaperoning some college students... AND getting paid...

...i should be pissed about putting the car in the shop, but strangely, i'm kinda happy.

car is getting fixed.
my family won't be getting it while i'm gone.
AND i get a paid vacation...
yeah...

Exalta · Aug 21st, 2003, 01:27 AM

Now you just changed my mind on getting an SR20...
Harley Davidson tone?are you sure you put in an SR20 and not a big block Chevy?Juz kiddin bro.

Quote:

replace my aircon (stealing the still-good-as-new stock compressor off my 1.6...), put some headers on, fix my O2 sensor, and have that joint while they're at it...

So thats why you're happy...

Enjoy that vacation bro and dont forget to take the hidden chick pics with your celphone!

xt_out · Aug 21st, 2003, 01:42 AM

dude, im still waiting on that cheap phillipino sr20 hookup. when are you going to ship it?

sigh, if it was possible i'd be dead serious. what kind of prices do the sr20's sell for niky?

niky · Aug 21st, 2003, 03:35 AM

as for the reliability of the engine, i've had NO problems whatsoever... the big problems were caused by the FF:

the AIRCON: digital controller (stock on the Exalta)... totally fucks with the old compressors... best to use the compressor from the 1.6, at least the wiring is right there...

the hesitation, idling, etc...: caused by BAD high tension wires, which i got OFF my stock engine (my bad...) and a faulty O2 sensor, caused by cheap Nodalo's welds... (DON'T go THERE... EVER!!!)

miscellaneous repairs: bad brakes... the old stock ones are worn out... bad radiator.... the stock radiator was stuck up, and the stock radiator fan was dead... and fuel problems... the stock fuel filter was clogged!

the only problems i've had with the motor swap itself are due to the CV joints, but that's only because i wanted the conversion to stock sentra CV Joints... because they're CHEAP brand new... and new CV Joints will always last longer than surplus... no matter what the brand.

xt_out you'd be losing money on a philippine SR20... shipping might be 100 to 200$... will try to find out... but the engines themselves with wiring harness go from 22,000 ($400) to 35,000 ($635) pesos... unfortunately, the accessories aren't very reliable if they've been stocked too long... the engines are just fine, though... if you're really serious, PM me (might be saturday when i answer, though...) and i'll find out shipping rates to the US... don't know if it will be worth it, though... used engines are always a crapshoot... but if it's A/T, it's reasonably safe.

yah, Exalta... i'm spending mad money, but that's mainly because of the crappy condition of my car rather than the engine... i'm still happy with the motor!!! now if i could only get that ECU upgrade...

BTW... that's have that joint FIXED... i ain't no pothead!

xt_out · Aug 21st, 2003, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by niky
...BTW... that's have that joint FIXED... i ain't no pothead!

lol . i didn't catch that the first time around

so niky, i may be wrong, i haven't really looked but...
that would be a good price though if they were of the low mile quality that jdms are. actually im just starting/ browsing more like it, my options. all i know is complete swaps with everything you need are like 2000-$3000. bleah. why can't it just bolt on?

im not looking forward to the part hunting when i do actually get the money for it.

niky · Sep 4th, 2003, 12:38 PM

UPDATE!!!!

the part where it hesitates, idles bad, etc... is GONE...

the part where it suddenly dies is BACK.

now i'm really pissed...... spent all day looking for ignition coils and transistors, but they didn't fix my problem... i'm thinking of having my entire wiring harness checked for gremlins... sucks when you don't know where your enemies are...

sad thing is, this car drives and runs like a dream... idle is creamy smooth and the power is good... my aircon finally works, too!

but when your car suddenly dies on you in the middle of nowhere and won't spark for a half hour afterwards (after which, it runs COMPLETELY FINE)... you start thinking nasty thoughts about alien conspiracies...

...or maybe it's God talking, telling me to get off the road and back to work...

P.S.: the engines are getting hard to find again... i can get for 400$ or under just the engine (ECU and block, no tranny), but i CANNOT VOUCH for the condition of the accessories!!!... because of the weather here, they always SUCK!!!... but really, the blocks are ALL GOOD.