Need Details about 1996 2.4L Pickup..Newbie Here..:)

AndromedaSS · Apr 20th, 2003, 02:02 PM

Hello, I just registered on this forum.. I just got a 1996 Nissan Pickup, hes white, 2.4 L 5 speed, standard cab.. (2WD obviously)

Long story on how we got it, it was a fleet truck that was always serviced at my family's business..(Jiffy Lube) and there was a problem with it after a routine service, and instead of paying the insurance deductible my father bought it from the fleet owner for $1250... he knew I needed a daily driver, so, after some work done to it..(turns out there was no problem with it, the guy who went to start it didnt put the clutch in all the way and it didnt start..)

We're replacing the tires, checking the brakes, changed the fuel filter, air filter, serviced the tranny and rear differential.. the back glass had to be replaced because it was cracked..

Anyways, this truck has 180,000 miles on it, but its always been serviced at our stores, so we have a full maintenance record on it. Im going to start running 20w50 oil in it, because its a higher mileage engine.. the paint is chalky because of the lack of care to the exterior in the past 7 years..

Can anyone tell me a bit about these trucks?? I will be picking it up next week (after finals are over) and it will be my daily driver, to go to school and back and, well, everywhere else.. my other car is a 2000 Camaro SS, and she's already got 55,000 miles on it from all the driving I do...

Do you think a plug and wire change will be necessary? If so, I can do it myself, no problem.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks in advance..

-Alicia

aaronford · Apr 20th, 2003, 10:10 PM

Hey Alicia, sounds like you got a fairly good deal. Meguairs Cleaner Wax should remove the chalky look. The paint may start flaking off the wheels due to age (and poor paint). I remedied this with aftermarket wheels. Plugs and Wires (Cap and Rotor) are never a bad idea. When getting the cap and rotor, you should find out whether you have the Mitsubishi or Hitachi distributor. This is marked on the body of the distrib below the dust cover (if its still there). Bosch Platinum plugs make 'em run smoother IMO... I'm still running my stock Cap/rotor/wires at 90K and am interested in anyones experience with aftermarket brands. You shouldn't run too heavy an oil through it as the oil passages are fairly small in these engines. 20W-50 is usually reserved for the failing oil pump or the quiet it down before you sell it bandage. I preach synthetics but I'm sure regular petroleum oil should be fine. I use Mobil1 in mine, but I'm a little anal. 10W30 is considered a high mileage oil in these trucks, as they came with 5W-30. Good Luck Aaron

AndromedaSS · Apr 20th, 2003, 10:52 PM

Hey Aaron..! thanks for the reply.. yeah I was considering synthetic.. only run Mobil 1 10w30 in my SS, wanna treat this pickup just as well, ya know??
I bought some plugs today, will change them when we pick up the truck next week.. dont know the condition of the paint personally, just from what my dad has told me.. and well, that could mean anything..

Take care..!

jadcock · Apr 22nd, 2003, 07:49 AM

Hey, welcome, that's a great price on what should be a reliable truck for you. I have a '95 with almost 175k miles and it still runs like new.

Yeah, throw some new plugs at it. When I bought mine, I changed the plugs and the old ones were worn so bad the gap was about .080" on them! I don't know how it ran so smooth. I put in a set of NGK plugs. I've never tried Bosch, but I've heard good things about them. I've yet to put a new cap and rotor on it, but I'd like to soon. I'm fixing to put new front brakes on it soon.

On the oil, I'd recommend a regular conventional oil. The Nissan engine apparently leaks down pretty quick overnight (meaning oil drains back into the pan quickly). In the morning, you might hear the valves clattering for a little bit. Synthetic oil will only accentuate this I think. Synthetic doesn't have the holding power the conventional oils will, meaning it'll vacate metal surfaces much quicker than a conv. oil will. This translates into increased noise at startup.

The reason the factory put synthetic into your LS1 is twofold. First, an oil cooler was not viable with the Camaro and Corvette due to space restrictions, so they didn't want to run the slight possibility that someone would actually overheat their oil by running it at redline for a while. This really isn't a possibility with the Nissan engines -- they're smaller and much less powerful and I don't think oil overheating is a concern. The other reason for synthetic in your Camaro is marketing. Synthetic has a high curb appeal, and it looks cool and sounds impressive to say the car has synthetic as "factory fill". It really offers no functional advantages over conventional except for easier starting in sub-zero temperatures, and it's less prone to overheating at temperatures above about 300*F.

Having said that, there are many people who like to run synthetic, and it won't actually HARM your engine (save for the possible increased valve noise in the morning), but I think it's an uneccessary cost, in my opinion...especially if you're going to change it on any regular interval anyway.

Welcome to the board and good luck with your truck!

AndromedaSS · Apr 22nd, 2003, 02:31 PM

Jason, thanks for your reply!! Right now Im not going to be running synthetic in it, and depending on how it runs I will go from there.. I had a LeBaron for my first car, and after awhile (couple years), it began to burn conventional oil, which is when we switched to synthetic and then it was fine.. so yeah, it all depends..

Oh, and about my LS1...FBodies (camaros, firebirds) come (well, came) stock from the factory with 5w30.. not Mobil 1 synthetic 5w30, but conventional 5/30.. Vettes are the only LS1s that come with Mobil 1 from factory.. I ran mine a bit before switching over to synthetic..I plan on keeping the SS for awhile, (already 3 years) and Id rather run synthetic than not in her..nod..

Thanks again..! Some other stuff thats being changed on the truck are the belts and the battery.. just thought Id add that.. Im set on changing the plugs, the correct gapping (that I found) was said to be at .040... so I'll stick with that unless anyone says differently.. Glad to hear your truck is still running strong..

After reading the board, Im reassured more and more about my little pickup..

jadcock · Apr 22nd, 2003, 03:42 PM

Yeah, the little pickup will run strong for a long time!

I didn't know yours didn't come with Mobil 1. I have a buddy with an '02 Camaro SS and it came with Mobil 1 from the factory. Maybe they started doing it on the last year? I dunno.

AndromedaSS · Apr 22nd, 2003, 04:13 PM

Yeah it couldve been an '01,'02 thing..although I dont remember for sure.. but just to be cool I had to go out and get a Mobil 1 oil cap.. oh yeah.. aftermarket oil cap..!