I just bought a 1996 240SX SE Ltd. Ed. in June of this year. This is my first car and I absolutely love it! However, at the time of purchase ($3500) I knew that I would have to take it in for a few repairs. The interior is somewhat perfect, but the gloss and paint were chipping and the muffler had rust too. And there was an oil leak.

So then the check engine light responded and we found out it was both the 02 and the knock sensor. The neighborhood auto shop told us that the timing chain needed to be replaced and that the oil gaskets were gone. But when I visited the Nissan dealership they told us that the main problem from the knocking and the oil leak was caused by the head gaskets. Either they were worn out and needed to be replaced, or they were warped and the I needed to get a new engine.

I'm low on funds and I was just wondering what anyone else would do. The car is reaching 150k miles, but it drives like a dream. I'm hoping that its main problems (including the fact that its shifting a bit harder than usual) are in fact occuring because the gaskets just need to be replaced (which would cost around $700 or $800 including labor & parts) rather than losing $700 to the dealership just because I had the engine opened and couldn't afford a new one. The mechanic said that there's no way to tell until they go in, but he noted that the car is definitely not worth a new engine.

 

not worth it to him but is it worth it to you? if worst comes to worst, there are still some good used engines around on the forums for fairly cheap when people swap in japanese motors. just gotta be patient.