My mom's 90 SE is screwed I think. She's had a oil pan leak for about a year and that's been causing an oil leak but this thing is different.

There is now a knocking during startup and also at idle and driving speeds. There is also all kinds of fluid leaking out of what I think is the ABS controller. (Metal type box on the front left of the engine bay).

The car is driveable and it brakes alright but I found something interesting when I was under the car. The crankshaft I think holds three belts: power steering, alternator, and one more thing I think. My crankshaft (4th gen) only held 2 belts: the alternator and the power steering, but does a 90SE with ABS have a third belt? The reason I ask is that this belt is no longer there. It also appears that the pulley that is in plain view upon opening up the hood should have two belts and now only has one.

Is there a belt flapping around somewhere? I was unable to find one upon looking.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Sounds like you have some pretty serious issues. You best bet is a mechanic you trust.

 

the 3rd belt would be for the A/C pump

 

It needed a new ABS controller, like two or three oil seals plus they had to find where the leak was so they could stop it. All new belts, hoses, plugs, and there was also pretty extensive engine damage. Just wasnt worth it to fix it. The quote was $6000.

My mom is looking at the 2k3 Infiniti G35, 2k2 Altima, and 2k2 Maxima.

 

$6000 sounds pretty damn steep. An ABS controller can be salvaged at a yard for $100 to $400 (depending on the yard). the seals are a couple bucks a piece, and the hoses and plugs would run abour $60. If you can do the work yourself, I recommend fixing the car. WHat is the supposed engine damage? AS long as oil is in the car...I can't imagine any sort of engine damage.

 

dude, that engine is gone... i'll give ya 200 for the car.

 

That's an insane price quote definitely more than the car itself. A full engine and transmission rebuild wouldn't be that much, get another quote so that you can fix the car and sell it for a resonable price.

 

HA. Wait until I post pictures of what I found after the engine was disassembled today.

91mizzax you can lick my *****.

Project turbomax has officially started.

Check the for sale boards.

 

This is after much of the crusty oil was scraped off.

 

 

 

Hey..those plugs are lookin good!

 

Ouch!

So what exactly is the cause of that nightmare?

 

Man that is a dirty engine. What caused that?

 

The typical death knell of VG engines. The oil gallies that lead up into the heads slowly get clogged and eventually starve the valvetrain of oil.

 

Good god man, how many miles did it have? Have you removed the oil pan yet, it'd be interesting to see what it did to the bottom end? Is it seized up or will you be able to fix it? Nice pics!

 

Did it gets regular oil changes? How could this happen? Is this preventable or is it more or less inevitable, even if we take care of our engines?

<shuddering in fear of my own VE30DE's mortality...>

 

Im not sure. My mom had an oil pan leak last year but decided not to pay the dealer quoted 1000 to get it fixed. I've been at school for the last 4 years so I wasnt able to monitor the car as much as I did in HS. She was told it would be fine for 2 years and she was going to buy a new car anyway so she just let it go I guess.

It looked like it hadnt had an oil change EVER. I wouldnt worry too much if you take care of your engine. Ive seen inside an engine before and it gets black but nothing like what my mom's engine looked like.