mrgem

I just purchased a somewhat-rough 95 SE with 110k miles. I have some questions about some of the repairs it will need.
1- Windshield is cracked - anyone know how much to replace?
2- Pass. side foglamp is missing. Are these easy to locate in salvage yards?
3- Clutch pedal must be depressed all the way to the floor to smoothly put the car in gear. It also engages right off the floor. The seller said he just replaced the slave cylinder. Could it need a master cylinder, as well, or possibly just an adjustment?
4- The tach needle sticks. Has anyone seen this before? What was the cure?
5- The car has not been wrecked as far as I can tell but seems to 'dart' a bit on the highway. Other cars I've owned do this when the caster on the front end wasn't set properly. Could this be the problem with my car?

Thanks for your help. I'd appreciate any information you can provide on this car. It seems like a very nice car and I'm looking forward to putting another 110k on it.

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

Only thing I can help you with is the clutch question. . . I know with mine in 1st gear, and under heavey acceleration, you have to put the clutch all the way to the floor. . . Sometimes when the car is cold it very difficult to get the car into first, and from what I understand is very common on these cars in genreal. But these cars never have the clutch engage right off the floor. . . I know I hear complaints all the time about how high the release is and they can't be adjusted because it is a hydrolic clutch. . . So that seems really weird.

plrod Black 95 SE

1. In certain states, if you have full coverage, the front windshield is covered w/o deductible, that's the case in FLA; look in yellow pages otherwise, there will be lots of listings under auto glass repair.

philpoe

iTrader: (4)

I had a problem with my tach when I bough it (96 SE w/104Kmi) , it would stick, then dart all over the place and stick again. The only reserach I could manage (via deja news and here) implied that I might have a bad ground connection. Nobody wanted to crack the dash and try to test the theory.
I ended up buying a new tach from courtesy nissan. I do still have my old tach. If you're up for it, buy a new one and take my old one. Hopefully you'll find a shop or dealer that will test them without reassembling the dash. If my old one works, send the new one back and suffer the restocking fee. We can agree on a low price for mine if it works.

As far as teh car darting, I had the same symptom. The owner said that it hadn't been in an accident, but I found evidence of crash repairs. Carfax said clean history. After FSTB, eibachs and tokicos, the only time the handling suffers is when the tire pressure goes down. putting it back up has a dramatic effect on handling.

good luck!

mrgem

Phil: Your description of the tach needle's behavior sounds exactly like what I saw in my car. Any idea as to what the replacement tach cost? A friend has told me that tachs create their own magnetic fields and are subject to erratic behavior when they attract ferrous airborn debris. The solution, he says, is disassembly, cleaning and reassembly. I will keep your offer of a purchase of your old unit in mind. Did you replace the head yourself? How difficult was the job?

You didn't comment on the foglamp replacement. Any suggestions on where a used one might be picked up?

Re. the 'darting'. I will be replacing all four of the fairly worn Michelins with new rubber. I was planning on getting the car aligned at that time.I may also replace the struts/shocks at the same time. Any recomendations on strut brands? Those bearings at the top mounts for the front struts sound like they may be critical to handling also, so they may be changed, too.

I bought the car as an 'airport car' for my wife and I to leave at the airport while we travel on business. Paid $6500 for it and would like to keep the total investment under $8k -- so cost is a consideration.

Thanks for all of your help. I'll keep your tach offer in mind.

Glenn Morgan

dch95

Good luck in finding a fog lamp as most cars in junkyards were hit in the front. If the slave cylinder was replaced then you probably just need to have it bled because there is air in the line causing you to hold pedal all the way down to the floor for operation. Check to see if you have all of your "VIN" stickers on your front end/rear end parts and even door jams will have these. If they are missing from certain parts, chances are it,s not OEM.

philpoe

iTrader: (4)

Everything I could find out (which wasn't much) about tachs with symptoms like these indicated a grounding problem. _possibly_ a disconnect, cleaning, reconnection. Since I wasn't comfortable taking the dash apart myself (and have no garage), I went to the dealer. They wouldn't fool around with my old tach, so I had to order the new tach (around $350 IIRC. What a ripoff) to avoid 2X labor charges to crack my dash if the old one still didn't work.

I kept the old one with plans to test it on a workbench (no access anymore). If you can find a shop willing to at least try mine while your dash is open (or you do it yourself) feel free to try it. Email me your address and Paypal me the shipping costs and I'll send it to you. We can agree on a "if it works" price as well.

I don't know what to tell you about fogs. I'd think that a salvage yard could have them, but I'm sure GXE/GLE owners would ****** them up. Try copartfinder.com, car-part.com, maybe recycler.com and possibly even ebay or searching maxima.org's forsale area.

Things that will improve the ride/firm up the car:
FSTB, springs, struts, tires (pressure on the high side), RSB

My car was bought in a similar situation as yours. I went with Eibach+Tokico + FSTB + RSB and Dunlop SP Sport 5000 on 16" wheels. The car is light years ahead in terms of handling ability. The "before" car can't even be compared to it.

The eibachs are firm for some, but H&Rs are softer (IMHO lowering the car is a must if you're going to replace the springs). combo should run about $500.
As many people are in on the Sprint Spring deal, there should be stock SE setups available.
The FSTB is a _MUST HAVE_ item. There was a new vendor out there (streetbeats?) that has them for $35.

Depending on where you live (ie do you ever see snow), you might want to look at the following tires
Dunlop SP Sport 5000 (ok in _light_ snow only)
Bridgestone Potenza RE730 (no snow)
For "high-end" tires and
BFG Comp T/A VR4 (ok in snow, but not great)
Nitto NT 450 (don't even think of snow)
for higher treadwearing performance tires.
There are other "normal" tires with supposedly higher treadwear, etc, but for the small difference in cost (if any) I'd rather have the tire designed to work better (ie performance tires)

good luck!
Phil

mrgem

[QUOTE]Originally posted by philpoe
[I]Everything I could find out (which wasn't much) about tachs with symptoms like these indicated a grounding problem. _possibly_ a disconnect, cleaning, reconnection. Since I wasn't comfortable taking the dash apart myself (and have no garage), I went to the dealer. They wouldn't fool around with my old tach, so I had to order the new tach (around $350 IIRC. What a ripoff) to avoid 2X labor charges to crack my dash if the old one still didn't work.

I kept the old one with plans to test it on a workbench (no access anymore). If you can find a shop willing to at least try mine while your dash is open (or you do it yourself) feel free to try it. Email me your address and Paypal me the shipping costs and I'll send it to you. We can agree on a "if it works" price as well.

I don't know what to tell you about fogs. I'd think that a salvage yard could have them, but I'm sure GXE/GLE owners would ****** them up. Try copartfinder.com, car-part.com, maybe recycler.com and possibly even ebay or searching maxima.org's forsale area.

Things that will improve the ride/firm up the car:
FSTB, springs, struts, tires (pressure on the high side), RSB

My car was bought in a similar situation as yours. I went with Eibach+Tokico + FSTB + RSB and Dunlop SP Sport 5000 on 16" wheels. The car is light years ahead in terms of handling ability. The "before" car can't even be compared to it.

The eibachs are firm for some, but H&Rs are softer (IMHO lowering the car is a must if you're going to replace the springs). combo should run about $500.
As many people are in on the Sprint Spring deal, there should be stock SE setups available.
The FSTB is a _MUST HAVE_ item. There was a new vendor out there (streetbeats?) that has them for $35.

Depending on where you live (ie do you ever see snow), you might want to look at the following tires
Dunlop SP Sport 5000 (ok in _light_ snow only)
Bridgestone Potenza RE730 (no snow)
For "high-end" tires and
BFG Comp T/A VR4 (ok in snow, but not great)
Nitto NT 450 (don't even think of snow)
for higher treadwearing performance tires.
There are other "normal" tires with supposedly higher treadwear, etc, but for the small difference in cost (if any) I'd rather have the tire designed to work better (ie performance tires)

good luck!
Phil

Phil:
Again, thanks for all the advice. I will play around with the instrument grounding before throwing in the towel on the tach. If I can't get results, your offer is my next step. The dealer who sold me the car has now offered to get me a new lamp assembly for $70 installed. I think I'll take him up on it.

Concerning handling mods, all of that stuff is probably not in the cards with the exception of struts/shox because of a comittment to the wife that the T.I. would not exceed $8k. Summitt Racing can get me a set of the firm KYBs for $220, delivered. The extra bits (accordians, bearings, etc.) will probably run another $100.

I own a couple of 60s muscle cars that are incredible money pits, so I have to work with her on this. If you're married, I'm sure you understand.

Tires are another 'must do'. I live at 8200 feet in Colorado, so all-weather performance is important. If I could, I'd like to go to a +1 setup with 225-16s possibly, but I'm not so sure there are many tires in that size that can handle year-round weather here.

I've also discovered the gas struts that support the hood are shot - so I'll be looking for a source for new replacements. Sounds like this Courtesy Nissan is the best bet on OEM stuff.

Thanks again. You've been a great help.
Glenn Morgan

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

I think a lot of the hood struts are shot around here. . . Mine are on their way out also, they only don't work in cold weather. I know a couple people have looked into replacing them, and have found that parts and labor are not worth the cost as is is mainly a dealer only thing. . . If you do get these replaced, could you let the board know the cost and where you got them done? Thanks.