BklynsmoeVE

iTrader: (1)

Wuts up guys hows it going. Was just wondering if I can get a fellow 3g enthusiast's opinion. Recently for the past couple of weeks ive been hearing a high pitch whine in the engine bay. I've researched it could be a waterpump or possibly alternator or ac tension...I put in a new nissan alt bout 3 yrs ago rly dont think its that..when I check it out further if its the ac belt yay for me for now. That being said my real focus is this.

Cars 20 yrs old, I'm closing in on 206k..and im 99% positive that I have an original wp...I dont really have $350-400 or the mechanical inclination/space/time to do such a job and then god forbid in a couple of months something else expensive comes up.Cars maintained really well. Should I be concerned about it failing soon? I like to have peace of mind about my cooling system and overall car reliability.

I dont plan on giving up on her either, wau too much love. My thoughts were that if I was going to spend that much on a wp+labor I could purchase a fresh..ve from jdmmotors...and just drop that in..... At the same time I know my paticular motor possesses more power then your average ve so I wanted to know if rebuilt motors are a better idea then purchasing a lower mileage ve. Assuming a reknown rebuild shop did the work?( for future reference )

Thanks guys appreciate the serious responses.

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

Why not just do the water pump yourself? It's not hard, just a little tedious. The water pump was one of my first repair jobs as a teenager when I got my first VE. Do people really charge $400 to replace the water pumps in these things?

Either way though, if you get a JDM VE you might want to replace all that kind of stuff while the engine is out before putting it in (water pump, crank seal, rear main seal, etc) anyway. Thats what I did for ultimate piece of mind

YearOfTheGus

iTrader: (2)

Do you hear it near the glove compartment when you're in the car?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pa51hgAyq0

Still haven't figured out what it is. Only happens when it's cooler than 85F out. :P

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

yeah a water pump should be $100 not even, its not terrible to do yourself. just dump the coolant, remove the belt, remove the old water pump/gasket, clean the surface, new gasket/water pump, put a new belt and new coolant in, and boom

just do'er yourself, after that you'll be comfortable with doing a water pump on pretty much any vehicle

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

I agree with James. Just as you said thats if the shop did the work. In the end for piece of mine do it yourself. That way you know it was done in its entirety.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Hah. Not a 3.5. You gotta go through the lil access door to get to the water pump (chain driven).

BklynsmoeVE

iTrader: (1)

1) Dont have the time, at least for the next 2 months or so...
2) Dont have a garage I can just leave my car in it'l be on the side of the street becuase the very little time i'll have to actally work on my car that kind of job wld take me 1 week+...which mean I wont be able to move it for street cleaning.
3) Also use my car for work 1 day a week in which I use the car for delivery is I have to..( lol @ dropped delivery 4dsc )
4) "Tedious" meaning like theres plenty of stuff to remove then put back? I was under the assumption its a pretty technical job I mean I may post here a lot but like I said my mechanical skills..are limited .

If I was going to get a JDM motor I would do exactly what you said. I thought I would rent a garage for a month or so and do the exact thing you mentioned but myself..not only do I get to learn and wrench on my own car but I'll know how reliable the engine is too.(speaking for future reference of course again) Im aware i'd be spending more money but If this is going to be my paticular procedure its worth it. I really wouldnt want to spend the money now to get my WP fixed then later in a couple of months my engine fails or just something else expensive..not that I expect that but I'm just saying hypothetically speaking.

I can't just keep spending big bucks like that im trying to plan ahead ya get me?

My other option..is purchasing a mint 3g Ve..5Spd..with new motor(jdm) and everything u can dream of (fresh body) + many many mods..that a good friend of mine is working on for idk a year now and should be complete in a few months for idk around $3500-4g BUT its fresh...guys..an enthusiast is building it thats all you have to know! lol




honestly man I dont really hear anything of that sort..or to that degree thats wierd I never heard such a noise but you do have a VG I have a 92 se(ve)

wut you think im looking at 2-3 hrs of labor? are you talking about the drive belts I have to remove?

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

yeah if you pay parts+labor im guessing its gonna be $250-$450ish. easiest to just buy your own water pump for $100 and do it yourself

yep you have to remove the drive belt for the water pump, best to get a new one while the old ones already off

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

The 3rd gen is too easy to work on. Changing the water pump is child's play, it's one of those things you could do in the park (ask me how I know). If your VE has more power than most (as you claim) then why even think about blowing $3k on another. Personally if I were to spend that much on a car it certainly would NOT be a 3rd gen. With a little planning you can restore your car while you still use it on daily basis. Try using a friend's backyard every once in a while.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

To make the swap of the water pump easier remove the crank pulley and water pump pulley. A swivel socket with an extension will help in removing the water pump bolts. Of course before all of this drain the coolant. Since you removed the pulleys you will have to finagle the pump out through the bottom. Clean the old rtv of and apply the new. Perform the installation in reverse of unistallation.

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

I have no idea how many miles is on my VE, all I know it came out of a 94 and I'm not worried about it. I have another VE that came out of a 94 in better condition waiting to go in should this one fail. And in terms of how good it's running...I stepped away from a 2010 Maxima with the old turd gen.

VEvolution

I dont think I wanna be friends with you anymore after you asked such a question

I completely disagree with this thread, sorry.

BklynsmoeVE

iTrader: (1)

Easy is a relative word augustus lol I hate to sound like im turning child's play into quantum mechanics but I really d o, n o t, k n o w, s h * t when it comes to working on my car. Idk I may come off like I know a thing or two but im not handy honestly, i'll break a thing or two in the process of learning(doing the water pump assuming ) and simply put I can't afford to put myself in a deeper hole then when I originally started. Another thing is winters here in nyc...freaken brutal out there..its not practical for a beginner like me to do a water pump in freezing as$ weather, with minimal time to work and minimal space.Dont get me wrong I dont mean to come off any paticular way bro your a cool guy. I'm just saying I didnt even know what drilling out a bolt was let alone using a drill for the first time until that whole ordeal with the shifter bushing. And even then James was kind enough to walk me through it step by step lol..smh..

The whole my VE have more power then most argument really derives from the idea I believe my motors a FF. I mean not to sound immature but I have friends with cars who have way more hp and yet our performance are nearly identical, and I dont even have any crazy mods.Im saying this because anybody else i've ever known who owned a VE didnt believe the kind of cars I could keep up with.Now I dont know if these people didnt push their cars like I did or what but it grabbed my attention. Of course all tests have been done on a closed course . But yeah more then anythin Im more curious to open up my original motor and just keeping it goin, IF that's a good idea..which was why I was asking people's opinions.

Personally man I dont know why someone would not want a 3g (ve) that is..I mean its an incredibly kickass car for its time. It pwns cars today in interior room,reliability,performance,handling(when customized) rarity, looks,heritage...I mean like who the hell is still driving a VE...very few..now who drives VE's who are actually enthusiasts..even fewer! I mean yeah its an old car you can only get so much comfort and technology out of it but I guess what I hold most vaulable is that I own and drive a Unique car. Im not driving another civic,or accord or saturn or camaro or 4,5,6th gen maxima or altima or corny tiny interior 3's,C's,A's,IS's. I'm driving a one of a car with a motor that came out for only3 yrs and yet performance wise it's like those cars made no advancement lol. listen I love all those cars I just named(for their own respective traits) and definitly not hateing im just saying It feels good to own and be enthused about a car with a rare motor. I would loveeee to continue to restore my car as i use it as a DD but im just trying to make a long term financially educated decision. If it's smarter to keep the motor/car I will.

thanks a lot maximo you always pop in with the handy tricks to get these jobs done. Im still deciding whether I want to attack this job this winter or not. I might not have a choice who knows.

hah oh wow that def makes me feel better about my WP going thanks for the heads up on. Your saing you stepped away from a 10' maxima for an old 3rd gen rite? heh wow

VEvolution

Hey man.. Your lucky you will never see what my midnight blue car could have done to you in manual with some aggressive Shmucks Cams and some lower ratio diffs

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

The FSM is your friend.

BklynsmoeVE

iTrader: (1)

lol come on I wouldnt want to shame the bmw community. Nah idk what a modded 3 would be like, but would be an interesting match...ONLY if your modded .

yessir, only if I had a spare VE to work on and break as many things as i'd like.

VEvolution

ha ha ha.. yeah ok

wait till i get my 100hp hachu roku, and ill get you on top end.. sideways

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

take my Supra

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

VEvolution

lol too much powah..

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

Confidence is the first tool in the DIYer's tool box...in terms of space, I live in an apartment building and I have a VG motor on an engine stand in my kitchen. What I did was break it down, clean it up and paint what needed it, then brought it to the crib for reassembly. No oil stink .

BklynsmoeVE

iTrader: (1)

wow man thats impressive...I can't imagine how you managed to bring it up any stairs if you had to..

Yeah your definitly right tho I know it took a lot of confidence to do most of the things on my car.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Hell I rebuilt my VE in my apt on the 2nd floor. Also hauled my 5spd trans up there twice and I have a spare 5spd in my living room. Anything is possible.

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

I'm on the 4th floor. I pulled the heads and with the help of my kid brother and the elevator we brought it up. Now I can get right out of bed and work on the thing in my boxers . The problem is going to be getting it out.

VEvolution

Slowly lower it from your window

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Elevator? puss.

I had a VG with the heads pulled (and nothing else), and carried it up my steep-*** driveway and put it in the garage. the thing was in the trunk and weighed it down so much I couldn't get the car up the drive without scraping... so I pulled it apart at the curb and carried it all up the drive. took me like 2 hrs, but I did it myself.



In that photo.. the heads, manifolds, pulleys, etc are all in the boxes.
add 60lb of tools, an 80lb air compressor, 100lb jack, forget what all else is in there, but I figured it was close to 975lbs in the back of the car... including the amps and subs.. ouch!!

VEvolution

Thats probably the closest it's ever been to a 50/50 weight distribution

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

Took me like 10 mins, didn't want to be spotted hauling a motor up to my apartment either.