So I've been slowly working on trying to get things squared away on my 'new-to-me' '87 wagon. The stereo is working again...it was indeed the fuse on the of back the radio half that was blown (clue that it was a fuse...no night time illumination on either the radio or equalizer) so now that works but upon turning on the Nissan Dynamic Sound System, the antenna wouldn't go up. Made noise when it was supposed to go up or down so the motor is good...ordered a new mast.

My local dealership quoted me $1300 to replace the timing belt, tensioner, water pump and cam and crank seals. Seems a bit high but then again, the last time I paid for a timing belt and water pump on my '91 GXE was over a decade ago and it ran about $700+/-. I was hoping to hear $1K-1100. Been researching the DIY route for this but since this is such a major part of the car, I'm reluctant. But I REALLY don't want to spend that and I do want Nissan parts. Going to call another dealer that's a slight drive but it may be worth the call.

They also quoted me $800 to install struts that I would bring in myself. Don't think so. This seems almost like a "we don't want to do it" price to me. Which brings me to my question... I'm going to replace the mounts (Sachs had their own front mounts to go with their struts so I have all that front end stuff) and my question is regarding the rears. Are rear mounts from other brands generally compatible with different strut cartridges? EI, would a Nissan or Moog or KYB mount be compatible with some other brand (Sachs) cartridge? The cheapest place I could find Nissan mounts was about $60 or so shipped per side and KYB and Moog are quite a bit cheaper, Sachs apparently does not sell rear mounts. Thoughts or experiences with this? I'm almost certainly going to have to do this myself and I would like to be somewhat prepared...including having some surprise bushing replacement.