I bought my 1992 GXE (big surprise from my name, huh?) just 2 months ago and am ready to do some modifications. It came with 108K on it and between me and my parents, we have another 2K added to that now. To the best of my knowledge, I don't believe anything major has been changed on the car, aside from the occasional oil filter and perhaps spark plugs. We are the 3rd owners of the car. The previous owner was a family friend who took very good car of the car, so I'm sure it hasn't seen the kind of abuse some used cars would have.

Now, my question is, what to do? I'm on a tight budget, but my basic breakdown is a new oil filter on the next change (in about 2 weeks or so) with either a new Nissan OEM or Toyota OEM filter (any opinions?). Also, I got my clears ready to be installed and the window regulators seem to work fine. Only other minor problem could be the antenna, where a 1/4 of it might still remain after I shutdown the HU. Then again, this is an on-off type of thing and I got a replacement antenna waiting in the wings to take care of that. And before I forget, I'm definitely gonna get a tranny cooler since the transmission has seen over 100K worth of mileage.

Oh, and on a side note, how much mileage do you guys usually get on a full tank? I ran all the way to E (but no light) and found I only went 160 miles. Now, assuming a full tank is 18 gallons, I'm looking at ~9mpg, majority of which is city miles. Isn't this a bit low?

 

The only major thing you should really change is the timing belt. Try and find out if this has been changed by anyone else since (I think) it's a big deal to change. It might not have since it was at 100k when you got it.

Yes, 160 miles to a tank is low... almost half of what you should be getting if I recall right. Time for a tuneup!

 

Dang, I think my mothers' V8 pickup gets better then that!
I know I usually average ~20-22MPG, I fill up after about 300 miles or so (since my gas light doesn't work all that well :>)
On the highway, when I take roadtrips, I get between 380-420 miles/tank... But I've also noticed that VGs get the best gas mileage at ~85MPH

 

i can second that on an se...on my long trips i was gettin 27 mpg on premium goin 85 for about 800 miles to georgia and south carolina...i also usually get 20-21...19 in winter lettin the car warm up ...to original guy...i dont think u ran your tank as low as u thought...i have run another 60 miles AFTER the stupid light came on and been fine so if yours hadnt even come on yet just think of the possibilities...measure your mileage when u fill up for gas again

 

Thats not the correct way to measure mileage. Like Maximajism94se said measure when you fill up.
Fill up the tank and note your mileage and when you fill up again note how many gallons you put in and subtract the original mileage from the mileage you had the last time you filled up and then devide that by the gallons to get your mpg.

first fill up=125000 second fill up=125300 galons put in 10
so 125300-125000=300 miles since you last filled up.
300\10=30mpg

end math class.

 

So what you're saying is to go by the odometer and not the fuel meter or whatever that certain piece is called? My figure of 160 came from the fuel meter, so if that gave me an incorrect figure, then I may have more problems than I thought.

The way I track gas usage, at least recently, is by marking down the mileage on the fuel meter on the receipt after a gas fill-up. I then reset the meter. My initial reaction to the low figure of 9mpg stunned me, not only because of outrageous gas prices here in NYC, but how this shouldn't be, even though the car is 10 years old. So is a tuneup the best thing to do right now, like what a previous post recommended?

About the timing belt, if it hasn't been changed yet (I'm fairly sure it hasn't), is it really a huge deal? I am looking into it, but my dad insists it is unnecessary. I'm trying my best to convince him since I don't want to be stuck in the middle of the road when the belt finally goes.

 

its not that your guage is off but if you go by the formula I put up you will get an exact reading of what gas you use. see just like someone else said they drove another 60 miles with the light on and you didn't even make it to the light so when you filled back up you probably only put in 12-15 gal instead of the full tank(I wasn't there so don't know just guessing ) Yes by reseting the trip odometer you don't have to do all the adding and subtracting so maybe you did it right. If going by the trip odometer you just divide the trip meter reading (if it was reset when you last filled up) by the gallons of gas you put in at your next fill up and that will give you the same reading as if you were to do it the other way.

anyway I kinda doubt its only getting 9mpg unless it is really running like crap or you hot rod it and drive only around town.

As far as a tune up goes that is something I generally do when I get a used care anyway that way you can keep up with when it was done and you can do it at regular intervals.

THE TIMING BELT IS A VITAL PART OF THE ENGINE. If it breaks you break a lot of stuff = a lot of $ because the vg is an interference motor. I have seen belts last a long time if the car wasn't driven hard but with that many miles on it and it hasn't been replaced I wouldn't chance it...call the nissan dealership near you and ask them when it should be changed I think the rule of thumb is 60k miles.

I hope this helps and is not confusing (I didn't get much sleep last night)

 

160 miles on one tank is pretty bad. My Dad's Fullsize Dodge 2500 Ram WITH a heavy steel utility body FULL of tools and other plumbing supplies gets about 10-12 mpg. In my 89 SE 5 spd, I can squeeze out 340 miles of highway driving on one tank without running out of gas. Probably could get more, but I would have to prepare for that and carry an extra few gallons! Thats at about 75 mph. Imagine if I drove 55, but that is near impossible for me to tolerate on highway. My engine is also not peak performance. I have injector issues too. I suggest you change the fuel and air filters,pcv valve,tuneup with plugs, wires if needed, don't forget to set the ignition timing at the distributor. This will effect fuel economy greatly. Also run some injector cleaner through the fuel system, or better yet treat your maxima to a Run-Rite or equivalent cleaning process. I did this to my max and noticed a significant difference in idle quality and throttle response. Cleans all the carbon and junk out of initake, combustion chambers and piston tops. Clean Throttle body gently, clean EGR valve, and clean Idle Air Control valve. GET THE T-BELT. Save yourself the agony of bending valves and punching holes in pistons. Do this and your max will run great for the next 100K!

 

Not confusing whatsoever, I appreciate the detailed response. I actually never considered to divide the number of gallons I filled up to with the trip odometer's reading. However, I recall I filed up 15 gallons, so if the math is correct, I'm looking at slightly above 10mpg, which to me is still very low, even with the occasional stop-and-go traffic. I will definitely replace the timing belt now since I also never considered the future damage that could occur if it were to break on me.