http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...rs=&cardist=14

im going to take this car into my school (automotive school) and take a look at it and have my teacher, an ex nissan mechanic look at on weds. i have already seen and driven the car. its in great shape, no rust, really clean interior and exterior. bose display works intermittantly, but other than that, no problems. runs and drives great. motor runs strong and tranny feels fine. any other things to look for?

 

If you have a Nissan mechanic, he should know all the weaknesses, but some are the radiator support (underneath it), the coal packs, the knock sensor, the speedometer, that I know of offhand.

 

knock sensor = any 4th gen. coil packs = '99.


Other than it being an 11 year old car, there shouldn't be too much wrong with it providing its been taken care of well. 95/96 did not fair as well as 97-99 in crash tests.

 

Make sure there is ZERO play where the axles meet the tranny.

Dave

 

do i just grab on the axles and shake?

 

Yes. You're looking to move the differential inside the tranny to detect if the differential carrier bearings are worn. When it gets bad the TIR causes the oil seals to leak oil.

Although if you're going to be in a shop setting, just drain a little tranny oil and look for bearing material. If you find any flecks of silvery metal bigger than a pinhead, expect to rebuild it very soon.

Dave