Another vehicle 92 Nissan Sentra

[user removed]

Last 4 days 8.8 miles on the bike and 16 on the Sentra. Made a grille block out of some scrap aluminum.

regards
mech

[user removed]

4400 miles. checked her over for a 400 mile (round trip) road trip to Dover Delaware to throw away a little cash. Wife's idea of an anniversary vacation. Personally I'd rather play golf on a ice skating rink but hey matrimonial bliss has it's sacrifices .

I noticed a couple of oil drips on the garage floor. Further investigation revealed a common problem. After 22 years the hose clamps on the transmission cooler lines sink a little bit in the hose surface and lose enough tension to allow a very slight leak.

I dropped the right side shield under the engine compartment. All 5 10 MM bolts came out without any frozen-broken issues (very rust free car). Tightened the original factory clamps about one revolution each and cleaned the plastic shield thoroughly to get 22 years of grunge and oil residue off so I could keep an eye on it for any further leaks.

Oil level still full after almost 3k miles, all other fluid levels have stayed the same for 3 months now.

Be back Wednesday evening, talk at y'all then.

regards
mech

[user removed]

I've been meaning to take a photo of the old thermostat I replaced in the Sentra. You can see where it is stuck open. I'll bet it is the original part, 22 years old.

Thermostats that fail open make your engine run too cool. Those that stick closed can destroy your engine. I highly recommend to anyone that if you replace your Japanese car thermostat, just buy original equipment from the dealership. My replacement cost me $18.

regards
mech

[MetroMPG]

Good to hear the old girl is holding up well. And also that the car is hanging in there. Ba-dum-dum! I'm here all week, folks!

Happy anniversary. Enjoy the drive!

[user removed]

Got back about 4:30 PM today. I won $121 and quit, over and above what I put in the machine. 4 leaf clover strikes, LOL!

The Sentra did not miss a beat. Round trip was 460 miles. I refilled before I hit the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. I might have been able to make it but that last thing I wanted to do was crawl through 2 hours of atrocious rush hour traffic with the gauge close to empty. It was reading 1/8th and it took 9.44 gallons for 376.4 miles, 39.87 MPG.
Tank holds over 13 gallons, so it would have made it easily, not sure about the wife looking at that gauge reading empty if I tried. Theoretically 520 miles range at 40 MPG, but pushing it is not my style.

No hypermiling, many stops, and 70 MPH bumper to bumper rush hour traffic for the last 25-30 miles. Fortunately I hit the rush hour at it's very beginning and there were no accidents to really clog things up.

The Bay Bridge tunnel has radar activated signs that show you your speed. At least for the $13 toll I got a speedo calibration. Dead on at 55 MPH. Odometer is dead on. Even the OE clock is dead on (satellite-cell phone checked) after at least a month since the last reset.

My wife's cousin and her husband were at the casino when we got there (PO lived next door to them). He could not believe we left the wifes 2012 Sorento in the garage and took the Sentra on a trip of that distance.

5k miles now and the tranny cooler line was bone dry. I need to tighten the other one, but will probably have to reposition it as it's bottomed out. I'm almost afraid to replace them with any modern hose. It would probably blow and wreck the transmission.

It's ready for the second oil change, maybe 1/4 quart in over 4 k miles. I'll put 5w30 Mobil 1 synthetic in this time. Last change was 10w30 I had left over from the Ranger or some other vehicle, can't remember, but I mixed leftovers to get it 3.2 quarts it needs for a change.

Maybe I'll drop some cash on an alignment.

regards
mech

[user removed]

Noticed a little oil dampness around the valve cover gasket. Tightened all phillips head screws almost one revolution each. That should take care of it. I would bet dollars to pennies that gasket is the original 22 year old part, since no valve adjustment is recommended. Got to love the aluminum valve cover versus plastic and liquid silicone for a gasket.

Oil is down about 25% of the range marking on the dipstick at 4k miles. It only holds 3.2 quarts so two 5 quart jugs of Mobil 1 5w-30 (recommended) will do 3 changes, probably change it tomorrow if I drive it enough to get the oil warm. Supposed to hit 70 here tomorrow, max in the mid 30s by Wednesday. I'll definitely do the filter every change for about 10k miles. The oil is dark and it's fairly certain the engine got grunged up internally with the bad thermostat making it run too cool.

Tightening the VCG screws is the only thing I did to the car in the last 4k or so miles. With that exception, which took all of 5 minutes, it has needed nothing.

When I change the oil, I'll drop the drivers side undershield and reposition-retighten the left transmission cooler line at the radiator and clean the shield. The side I already did is spotless.

regards
mech

[user removed]

About 5800 total miles so far since August. It needs rear shocks, not leaking but slam wore out originals. Tranny cooler lines are not leaking anymore. Sinatra will be 23 years old in a couple of months, amazing how many original parts are still on this car and working just fine. I still have trouble running the gas tank lower than the empty mark, but the most I ever put in the tank was 3 gallons less than the owners manual says it will hold.

Last tank was almost two weeks between fills, didn't go anywhere yesterday. With gas at $2.479 it's actually cheaper per mile than the Fiesta was with higher gas prices. Even in freezing temperatures the temp gauge is showing it to be mid gauge in just over a mile.

The monthly depreciation on the Fiesta would have already paid for the Sentra ($83.33 X 4). Even written off totally including everything except fuel it's about 20 cents a mile.
I did install a cheap warm air intake ($5.98) which seems to be helping with the typical cold weather mileage hit.

regards
mech

[Baltothewolf]

Nice! I was amazed at all the original parts still on my insight after 308k miles and 14 years. But now that they are all breaking (like my clutch master cylinder that went out on Thursday last week >:/!!!) I'm not very happy lol.

What did you do for a warm air intake?

[user removed]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post459075

post 18, the photos were lousy so I deleted them.

regards
mech

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

It needs rear shocks, not leaking but slam wore out originals.

Out of curiosity, how can you tell? Bounce test, on-road symptoms, tire wear?