[Rephlex]

Yesterday I sold my 93 del Sol and bought a 92 240sx SE Hatch. I've never owned a Nissan before, but I've driven my dad's 03 350z enough to realize that they are GOOD.
I can't wait to get under the hood, the previous owner wasn't too big on tuneups, and it hasn't had an allignment in 7(!!!) years. I picked it up for under 1.5k and it seems to be fairly solid except for the usual crap (missing window switches, crap tires, busted fuel door, really really bad tint, 1 working speaker,etc).
Anything I should know? I plan on picking up a Haynes manual this week, but I am curious about the mechanical aspects.
I've found so far that it's a 2.4l 4-cyl with 155hp/160lb. It has ABS with HICAS 4 wheel steering, 5 speed manual (of course), and... er, that's about what I know at this point. Any advice or tips are appreciated.

 

[Dustin]

first thing is get it in running order, if hicas is bothering you, get a hicas eliminator, it sucks bad.

 

[Rephlex]

first thing is get it in running order, if hicas is bothering you, get a hicas eliminator, it sucks bad.

Hasn't bothered me yet. So far I like the way it drives. Getting the A/C in perfect working order is my TOP priority. I just went through last summer with my del Sol (no A/C installed) and I don't plan on doing it this year. The air starts nice and cold, but as you drive it gradually gets warmer. Previous owner says it doesn't work well enough on "really hot days" (3/4 of the year in Houston).

 

[Dustin]

Hasn't bothered me yet. So far I like the way it drives. Getting the A/C in perfect working order is my TOP priority. I just went through last summer with my del Sol (no A/C installed) and I don't plan on doing it this year. The air starts nice and cold, but as you drive it gradually gets warmer. Previous owner says it doesn't work well enough on "really hot days" (3/4 of the year in Houston).

hmm, well try to flush it out, and put some of the coolant stuff in it, also check all the lines for a leak. after that, it might be a good idea to rip out your dash, and clear everything out, i have all kinds of stuff rattling around in mine.

 

[SonsofWisdom]

could be clogged condesner fins (thing infront of radiator). If there is a lot of debri there then it'll start cold but as the refridge heats up, there is no air to cool it...so it will lose cooling capability.

I'de check the condenser first...

What else can cuase insufficient cooling you ask?

MANY...maaaaany things. If you have a set of gauges then you can diagnos this problem. If not then your SOL...this is cause there are so many things that could be wrong.
here's a few...kinda extreme to less extreme order

1 restriction in low side (need to repair line/part)
2 moisture in system (need to pull vaccum and replace refridg.)
3 air in sys (same as 2)
4 overcharge of refridg (same as 2)
5 overcharge of oil (same as 2)
6 clogged condenser fins
7 overheating engine?

if you need a flush then you shouldn't have to worry about over/under charge cause...you'll be replacing it. If you're doing it then you'll wanna make sure you pull a GOOD vaccum for 30 min...make sure it holds for 5-7min. If it don't hold you gotta leak...but since it actually cools at first...not too likely. Make sure you have enough oil and yet...not too much oil...this is of course for the compressor.

course if a tech is doing this for you then you shouldn't have to worry about that.

HICAS...piiiiiimp.

THat's all I've got

 

[DaCheat]

Yesterday I sold my 93 del Sol and bought a 92 240sx SE Hatch. I've never owned a Nissan before, but I've driven my dad's 03 350z enough to realize that they are GOOD.
I can't wait to get under the hood, the previous owner wasn't too big on tuneups, and it hasn't had an allignment in 7(!!!) years. I picked it up for under 1.5k and it seems to be fairly solid except for the usual crap (missing window switches, crap tires, busted fuel door, really really bad tint, 1 working speaker,etc).
Anything I should know? I plan on picking up a Haynes manual this week, but I am curious about the mechanical aspects.
I've found so far that it's a 2.4l 4-cyl with 155hp/160lb. It has ABS with HICAS 4 wheel steering, 5 speed manual (of course), and... er, that's about what I know at this point. Any advice or tips are appreciated.

Hmmm...ABS with HICAS? That is interesting, My car doesn't have HICAS, then again I own a 1991 Canadian Model 240SX!
Keep the HICAS if it doesn't bother you, most people don't like cause they think it affects their drifting, but unless you plan on Drifting, the HICAS makes your car handle much tighter!
Good Idea with the Haynes Manual, I hear the Chilton's is good too.
My only suggestion is ask questions and search around here and every other forum you can!
Also, ask questions before you dish out big $ to fix anything, mechanics can be major crooks!

 

[Chris90FB240sx]

Ive heard the HICAS 4 wheel steering can go bad though and steer at wrong times. Just something I heard. So dont pay it to much attention but maybe something to look into. HICAS has the LSD to doesnt it??

 

[K-1]

I plan on picking up a Haynes manual this week, but I am curious about the mechanical aspects.

Good luck with that

I don't think there is a Haynes manual, I know Chiltons has a Stanza/240 book though, but it's for 4 differents models of cars.

I recommend trying to find the .pdf factory service manual that is floating around online.

 

[Rephlex]

I have somewhat diagnosed my a/c problem. I seem to have a defective thermostat. The engine will get 3/4 up the temp guage, and the cool air gets warmer. Once the thermostat finally pops open, the air gets cool again. So hopefully it's an easy fix. I am guessing it also needs a fresh charge as it's an old car and the previous owner wasn't too big on maintanance. Unfortunately I don't have a day off until Friday this week so I'm really anxious to get working on these stupid problems.

Anybody recommend Maaco? I need a paint job and some minor bodywork. Houston area bodyshop recommendations would also be helpful. I have $700 set aside from the sale of my Sol and once the A/C is done, it's time for the fun stuff.

 

[Rephlex]

Holy crap I'm lucky... I think...

So I took the car to a Firestone shop, but the guy wasn't there to look at the thermostat. So one of the guys says "Follow me around the corner, we can get it done right now." So we go to another shop and nobody's there to work on it either. I tell him (and by now I'm thinking this definitely falls under sketchy at best) I'll come back on friday. He says, "Wait, there's one more shop, it's right down here." So we go to one more place. The guy pops the hood and is listening to the engine. There's a loud rattle we'd heard when checking out the car, we figured it was a bearing or somehting, mechanic says "There's something loose inside the engine, rattling around." So he explains he's gotta open up the valve cover, get whatever it is outa there, and then bolt it back up. So we agree on $50 for the thermostat and $50 to get the random piece of metal out.

About half an hour later I'm starting to kick into full panic mode, waiting to see my car fly by on its way to the chopshop and the mechanic come after me with a wrench and cut out my organs to sell on the black market. So I walk out to see how he's doing, and he goes "You very lucky!" points over to the VERY LARGE piece of metal bracket that had broken off and was sitting on the timing chain. So I grab it and go back inside, 20 minutes later the thermostat is done, I pay him $100 (plus a $3 tip for getting it done so fast) and now my A/C works fine and my motor won't explode (because of that chunk of metal) in a week!! I plan on taking it to another shop to get his work looked at, make sure there aren't any screw ups.

Holy crap this could have turned out bad. All this happened in 3rd ward, Houston Tx. Thank God for decent people.

 

[bridrive55]

So I took the car to a Firestone shop, but the guy wasn't there to look at the thermostat. So one of the guys says "Follow me around the corner, we can get it done right now." So we go to another shop and nobody's there to work on it either. I tell him (and by now I'm thinking this definitely falls under sketchy at best) I'll come back on friday. He says, "Wait, there's one more shop, it's right down here." So we go to one more place. The guy pops the hood and is listening to the engine. There's a loud rattle we'd heard when checking out the car, we figured it was a bearing or somehting, mechanic says "There's something loose inside the engine, rattling around." So he explains he's gotta open up the valve cover, get whatever it is outa there, and then bolt it back up. So we agree on $50 for the thermostat and $50 to get the random piece of metal out.

About half an hour later I'm starting to kick into full panic mode, waiting to see my car fly by on its way to the chopshop and the mechanic come after me with a wrench and cut out my organs to sell on the black market. So I walk out to see how he's doing, and he goes "You very lucky!" points over to the VERY LARGE piece of metal bracket that had broken off and was sitting on the timing chain. So I grab it and go back inside, 20 minutes later the thermostat is done, I pay him $100 (plus a $3 tip for getting it done so fast) and now my A/C works fine and my motor won't explode (because of that chunk of metal) in a week!! I plan on taking it to another shop to get his work looked at, make sure there aren't any screw ups.

Holy crap this could have turned out bad. All this happened in 3rd ward, Houston Tx. Thank God for decent people.

The piece of metal removed was one of two (yes, one of TWO) timing chain guides. These timing chain guides commonly break off.
Good news: Congratulations, you've averted tragedy for the retardedly low price of $50 (holy crap that's cheap).
Bad news: That is only one of two timing chain guides.
I've gone over this so many times it hurts, and I'm not in the mood to type right now, because I've been at the University for 10 hours reviewing pathogenesis papers, and my brain is causing me physical pain. However, I have posted about this sever times before, so I don't need to do it again. I posted links to a walk-through to remove both timing chain guides, as well a more thorough description of the problem. Search in the S13 threads for "timing chain guide" and you'll hit my posts.
Good luck removing the other timing chain guide and completely averting a tragedy that my first KA sadly experienced.

 

[bridrive55]

I have somewhat diagnosed my a/c problem. I seem to have a defective thermostat. ...I have $700 set aside from the sale of my Sol and once the A/C is done, it's time for the fun stuff.

Lol, A/C was the first thing I removed on my RS13 to save weight.
If you need any of the A/C support stuff, like hoses or fan, R134A, etc., drop me a PM.

 

[sunnydet90]

Lol, A/C was the first thing I removed on my RS13 to save weight.
If you need any of the A/C support stuff, like hoses or fan, R134A, etc., drop me a PM.

me 2 just got done taking my engine out and course no need for AC i've got WINDOWS course the big 2-100 lol keep ya real cool. and my sunroof. hell i'll just take hatch and all off. j/k. pm me if ya need AC stuff i'll give it to you just pay s/h.

Don

 

[Rephlex]

Thanks for the offers, looks like the a/c problem went with the thermostat problem. (knock on wood). I'll know once it hits 105 in a month.

So how do I know if I need to remove the second timing chain guide? And is there a possibility this guy cut the bastard off? I kept the piece and it almost looks like it was plasma'ed off, the edge looks super clean and somewhat melted. I wonder...

My next step is a stereo and new tint. Anybody got some good speaker recommendations? Not doing an amp/sub, just good speakers all around. I've budgeted myself about $300 for a receiver and maybe $150-$200 for speakers.

 

[Rephlex]

I recommend trying to find the .pdf factory service manual that is floating around online.

D/Ling the pdf right now, thanks for the tip. Saves me $17.

 

[bridrive55]

Thanks for the offers, looks like the a/c problem went with the thermostat problem. (knock on wood). I'll know once it hits 105 in a month.

So how do I know if I need to remove the second timing chain guide? And is there a possibility this guy cut the bastard off? I kept the piece and it almost looks like it was plasma'ed off, the edge looks super clean and somewhat melted. I wonder...

My next step is a stereo and new tint. Anybody got some good speaker recommendations? Not doing an amp/sub, just good speakers all around. I've budgeted myself about $300 for a receiver and maybe $150-$200 for speakers.

Both the timing chain guides are held on by bolts. I'm assuming that the one that you had removed was the upper timing chain guide. If it was plasma cut off, the shop guy is an idiot. It's held on by two bolts. The lower timing chain guide, which I would recommmend removing as soon as possible, is sorta near the timing chain tensioner, and involves removing the distributor to access. I can post a complete walkthrough later, if you're really serious about removing the bugger.

 

[Rephlex]

Well ok, then I guess it did in fact break off. It looked like it was either cut or broken off. Exactly how important is it to remove the second guide? I guess what I'm wondering is what are the chances it's going to actually break off and blow up my motor.

 

[DaCheat]

Well ok, then I guess it did in fact break off. It looked like it was either cut or broken off. Exactly how important is it to remove the second guide? I guess what I'm wondering is what are the chances it's going to actually break off and blow up my motor.

Yeah...Get in there and remove the remainder of the Upper Chain Guide if it hasn't been removed already, I would suggest removing the lower on if it is causing problems...Then again I wouldn't know if it is causing problems...

 

[DaCheat]

Both the timing chain guides are held on by bolts. I'm assuming that the one that you had removed was the upper timing chain guide. If it was plasma cut off, the shop guy is an idiot. It's held on by two bolts. The lower timing chain guide, which I would recommmend removing as soon as possible, is sorta near the timing chain tensioner, and involves removing the distributor to access. I can post a complete walkthrough later, if you're really serious about removing the bugger.

Brian....
If you remove the upper an lower Chain Guides, do they have to be replaced?
Do they affect the chain movement at all if they are gone? I think this might be the clicking noise inside my engine, might be a valve tick too though...

 

[DaCheat]

Thanks for the offers, looks like the a/c problem went with the thermostat problem. (knock on wood). I'll know once it hits 105 in a month.

So how do I know if I need to remove the second timing chain guide? And is there a possibility this guy cut the bastard off? I kept the piece and it almost looks like it was plasma'ed off, the edge looks super clean and somewhat melted. I wonder...

My next step is a stereo and new tint. Anybody got some good speaker recommendations? Not doing an amp/sub, just good speakers all around. I've budgeted myself about $300 for a receiver and maybe $150-$200 for speakers.

I recommend Fusion Speakers...If you have a Coupe, 6.5 3-way's in the rear 4x6 Plates up front in the kick panels, they sound amazing especially when they have a Fusion Amp Behind them! My whole system is Fusion so far and I'm loving it!