Had my relatively-new-to-me 240 checked out recently, want thoughts and opinions
04-15-2007, 06:33 PM
#1
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 254
Had my relatively-new-to-me 240 checked out recently, want thoughts and opinions
So, I bought my 1995 240SX (it has an SE badge, but it's not actually an SE: no sway bar, spoiler or 16" 5-lugs) last August with 171,000 KMs for $5,500 CAD, and it has served me pretty well and reliably. Now before you tell me I got ripped off: I know. The Canadian automotive market, new or used, is one big rip-off. That's just the way it is.
Last November, I had it in for a winter tune-up and inspection at a Nissan dealer that I trust; they treat their customers really well and they're honest folks. I was a bit surprised to hear them tell me about a few things they found out about my car, mainly this first thing.
The rear subframe bushings are worn out
I had asked them about a thud I was hearing when shifting in cold weather, and this is what they told me was the cause. I know that bushings themselves are pretty cheap, sans labour. However, they also told me that fixing the problem isn't necessarily as simple as replacing the bushings: they suggest replacing the entire rear subframe to avoid the risk of ruining the frame work by applying too much force to remove the bushings. They quoted me $1,400 CAD for parts and labour (split about equally).
Now, as good as this dealer usually is to me, I'm not going to be completely naive here: are they giving me bullocks or what?
Fortunately, it's nothing urgent as, right now, the only thing it causes is a mild thud under shifting hard or in cold weather; no problems with a loose back-end, uneven tire wear, odd chassis bouncing or anything like that. I still slide the tires a bit around some slick corners every once in a while and there are no problems. I should note that I'm not a frequent driver; I work from home, so I don't need to drive to-and-from work every day. I put on no more than 8,000 KMs (5000 miles) per year, so I can afford to put some things off for a while.
Lower ball joints need replacing
The reason this surprised me is because this was only two months and 2,000 kms after a full safety; which they said this car wouldn't pass at this time because of this issue. However, the safety was done at Canadian Tire (not by my choice), which probably says a lot. I realize that these are regular maintenance items, but I'm disappointed that it wasn't done properly during the safety. I understand that this is probably a bit of a more important item, but I've been able to put it off by carefully avoiding things that could make it worse (gravel roads, potholes, perpendicular ruts in the road, etc), living in small hic-town of 3,500 that generally doesn't have a lot of traffic or road problems and keeping with my typical driving habits, that is to say not putting the number of KMs on it that most other people put on their cars.
Front brake rotors are rusting
Nothing urgent, the brakes still work great -- no pulling, squealing or anything. Just more regular maintenance stuff to look at in the next while. The rear rotors were replaced just before I bought the car, so they're fine.
Now there are some other things to spend money on for this car that I already knew of when I bought it in the first place, chief among which is a new clutch. The existing clutch still holds tight and is not slipping yet, but I can tell that it's on its last leg. I expect/hope for it to last another year or so, considering my driving habits. The Nissan dealer quoted me $600 CAD for parts and labour to replace the clutch (yes, I know most of it's labour), plus an extra $50 if the flywheel needs machining.
Getting the rust repaired and/or replacing the trunk lid (where the most of the rust is) is another item. Eventually, after required repairs and maintenance are finally done, a rear sway bar, harder suspension, a 5-lug conversion, 16" rims and tires and a paint job would be nice, but that dream is a long ways away unless I come across a pot of gold
I guess what I want to ask is...
Is it worth throwing this kind of money into the car?
I'll probably end up spending probably close to what I paid for the car on just the repairs (forget the upgrades). I think I got a generally a good car with one or two major issues, but that it's not going to strand me. But, I do want to be sure.
I should say that this car survived a south-central Canadian winter like a trooper -- a true test of any car. The only thing I had to do was replace the water pump after a coolant leak, which wasn't caused by the cold so much as aggravated by it simply because it was a 171,000-kilometer-old water pump. Other than that, it pulled strong all winter long with no new mechanical problems.
Is it reasonable for me to expect to be able to do some of these things myself?
At the offset, I'll concede that though I can check fluids, change oil, rotate tires and so forth, I'm no mechanic. So, I can't claim to know all the ins and outs of a car, but I'm willing to trade time and clean hands for money.
I look forward to everyone's input. I just gave it a spring cleaning, so I'll post pictures in a bit
Last November, I had it in for a winter tune-up and inspection at a Nissan dealer that I trust; they treat their customers really well and they're honest folks. I was a bit surprised to hear them tell me about a few things they found out about my car, mainly this first thing.
The rear subframe bushings are worn out
I had asked them about a thud I was hearing when shifting in cold weather, and this is what they told me was the cause. I know that bushings themselves are pretty cheap, sans labour. However, they also told me that fixing the problem isn't necessarily as simple as replacing the bushings: they suggest replacing the entire rear subframe to avoid the risk of ruining the frame work by applying too much force to remove the bushings. They quoted me $1,400 CAD for parts and labour (split about equally).
Now, as good as this dealer usually is to me, I'm not going to be completely naive here: are they giving me bullocks or what?
Fortunately, it's nothing urgent as, right now, the only thing it causes is a mild thud under shifting hard or in cold weather; no problems with a loose back-end, uneven tire wear, odd chassis bouncing or anything like that. I still slide the tires a bit around some slick corners every once in a while and there are no problems. I should note that I'm not a frequent driver; I work from home, so I don't need to drive to-and-from work every day. I put on no more than 8,000 KMs (5000 miles) per year, so I can afford to put some things off for a while.
Lower ball joints need replacing
The reason this surprised me is because this was only two months and 2,000 kms after a full safety; which they said this car wouldn't pass at this time because of this issue. However, the safety was done at Canadian Tire (not by my choice), which probably says a lot. I realize that these are regular maintenance items, but I'm disappointed that it wasn't done properly during the safety. I understand that this is probably a bit of a more important item, but I've been able to put it off by carefully avoiding things that could make it worse (gravel roads, potholes, perpendicular ruts in the road, etc), living in small hic-town of 3,500 that generally doesn't have a lot of traffic or road problems and keeping with my typical driving habits, that is to say not putting the number of KMs on it that most other people put on their cars.
Front brake rotors are rusting
Nothing urgent, the brakes still work great -- no pulling, squealing or anything. Just more regular maintenance stuff to look at in the next while. The rear rotors were replaced just before I bought the car, so they're fine.
Now there are some other things to spend money on for this car that I already knew of when I bought it in the first place, chief among which is a new clutch. The existing clutch still holds tight and is not slipping yet, but I can tell that it's on its last leg. I expect/hope for it to last another year or so, considering my driving habits. The Nissan dealer quoted me $600 CAD for parts and labour to replace the clutch (yes, I know most of it's labour), plus an extra $50 if the flywheel needs machining.
Getting the rust repaired and/or replacing the trunk lid (where the most of the rust is) is another item. Eventually, after required repairs and maintenance are finally done, a rear sway bar, harder suspension, a 5-lug conversion, 16" rims and tires and a paint job would be nice, but that dream is a long ways away unless I come across a pot of gold
I guess what I want to ask is...
Is it worth throwing this kind of money into the car?
I'll probably end up spending probably close to what I paid for the car on just the repairs (forget the upgrades). I think I got a generally a good car with one or two major issues, but that it's not going to strand me. But, I do want to be sure.
I should say that this car survived a south-central Canadian winter like a trooper -- a true test of any car. The only thing I had to do was replace the water pump after a coolant leak, which wasn't caused by the cold so much as aggravated by it simply because it was a 171,000-kilometer-old water pump. Other than that, it pulled strong all winter long with no new mechanical problems.
Is it reasonable for me to expect to be able to do some of these things myself?
At the offset, I'll concede that though I can check fluids, change oil, rotate tires and so forth, I'm no mechanic. So, I can't claim to know all the ins and outs of a car, but I'm willing to trade time and clean hands for money.
I look forward to everyone's input. I just gave it a spring cleaning, so I'll post pictures in a bit
04-15-2007, 07:49 PM
#2
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: east los (angeles)
Posts: 1,358
i wouldnt worry about the sub frame bushings or the rotors. ball joints shouldnt be too bad if you have the right tools. hows the chassis rust itself? thatll be the major deciding factor IMO
04-15-2007, 09:09 PM
#3
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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i wouldnt worry about the sub frame bushings or the rotors.
ball joints shouldnt be too bad if you have the right tools.
hows the chassis rust itself? thatll be the major deciding factor IMO
And, as far as I can tell, the rust that the car does have is pretty isolated and all on the body. Basically, there are two baseball-sized chunks on the trunk lid, a bit along the driver's side door sill, rocker and wheel-well and a few little bits and pieces on the driver's side rear quarter panel. I've been quoted anywhere from $1,300 - $2,000 CAD to repair it properly.
Anyway, I'll get a flashlight and take look underneath and in the engine bay tomorrow.
Thanks!
04-16-2007, 05:57 AM
#4
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 254
As promised...
(yes, I know it says 'SE' on the back -- it's lying)
A freshly-armour-alled interior
BTW, here is the body rust I'm talking about. All of it is on the driver's side and the trunk.
Door Sill
Rocker
Trunk Lid
A little bit underneath the weather stripping, just behind the door (the stripping is a bit loose there)
Wheel well (looking backwards)
Wheel well (looking fowards)
Oddly, there's no rust anywhere to found elsewhere on the car; it's all formed in the rear-left area.
I looked underneath and the chassis is very clean, there's only a hint of surface rust on a few modular parts of the chassis on the driver's side and bit on the cat and cat-back, but nothing on the frame. I keep it good and clean all year round.
(yes, I know it says 'SE' on the back -- it's lying
)A freshly-armour-alled interior
BTW, here is the body rust I'm talking about. All of it is on the driver's side and the trunk.
Door Sill
Rocker
Trunk Lid
A little bit underneath the weather stripping, just behind the door (the stripping is a bit loose there)
Wheel well (looking backwards)
Wheel well (looking fowards)
Oddly, there's no rust anywhere to found elsewhere on the car; it's all formed in the rear-left area.
I looked underneath and the chassis is very clean, there's only a hint of surface rust on a few modular parts of the chassis on the driver's side and bit on the cat and cat-back, but nothing on the frame. I keep it good and clean all year round.
Last edited by epp_b; 04-16-2007 at 06:02 AM.
04-16-2007, 06:29 AM
#5
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: east los (angeles)
Posts: 1,358
an air hammer and fork (ball joint seperator) works best but ive seen ppl use mallots to pound ball joints off. not sure if nissan riveted them but im pretty sure its bolted on. aside from that a torque wrench and press is a must. youll also need some basic sockets/rachet (14-19 mm), wrenches, maybe a breaker bar.
04-16-2007, 06:47 AM
#6
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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an air hammer and fork (ball joint seperator) works best but ive seen ppl use mallots to pound ball joints off. not sure if nissan riveted them but im pretty sure its bolted on. aside from that a torque wrench and press is a must. youll also need some basic sockets/rachet (14-19 mm), wrenches, maybe a breaker bar.
04-16-2007, 07:22 PM
#11
all of that stuff looks pretty minor, and you could easily fix all of those things by yourself with enough research for A LOT less money since youll only be buying parts, a lot of which would cost less money since OEM stuff can cost an arm and a leg.
04-16-2007, 08:24 PM
#13
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Canada
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all of that stuff looks pretty minor, and you could easily fix all of those things by yourself with enough research for A LOT less money since youll only be buying parts, a lot of which would cost less money since OEM stuff can cost an arm and a leg.