So whats more important to maintain when you buy a used car?

I bought my 97 GXE Canadian model when it had 203.000 Km on it, it now has 208.500 Km and runs beautifully. The Car: Automatic, ABS Breaks, Sunroof, Heated Seats, Power And Heated Mirrors, etc...the car came with 0902 code for rear 02 sensor HEATER (does anyone know if i replace the sensor will this solve this? or i just need to replace the heater itself?)

Also, keep in mind i dont want to break my small wallet and this will take time maybe by the end of this coming summer. My car's poblems are just the 0902 code and the front struts.

Things I already did to the car:
- Engine oil and filter change (Castrol GTX 5w-30)
- Transmission oil flush and fill (Dexron III)
- Air filter replaced (paper)
- Parking break cable replaced
- PCV valve replaced
- Windshield replaced
- Muffler replaced (OEM)
- Trunk Latch replaced
- STP Fuel injector used every 5000 Km
- Installed Sylvania Ultra headlight bulbs
- Installed yellow corner lights
- Installed AutoPage Alarm with engine immobilizer
- installed JVC Arsenal MP3 Decl

yes i realize not all these points are maintenance, but i listed everything i did to the car

Maintenance I want to perform by the end of the summer (or 2007) in order of importance:

1) Power Steering fluid - This is first because its the cheapest, and my fluid looks kinda dark for an ATF fluid - (Dexron III ATF) turkey baser flush and fill (How many times does this need to be done? and within how much time can I repeat the flush?)
2) Get rid of the 0902 Code by replacing the rear 02 sensor
3) Replace front break pads (mine have 1/4 left, which should last me past the next oil change for another 6000 Km)
4) Replace the Fuel Filter (Dont know if it has ever been replaced)
5) Replace Front Struts (mine still work great, but the outer shell is broken on both sides
6) Clean the TB via the motorvade method
7) Clean the IAC Valve (read a post saying its not good to touch this unless u have idle issues, which I do NOT, is this true?)
8) Spark Plugs (Put in NGK Platinums, I do not know what she is running on now)
9) Coolant system flush (The reservoir seems dirty inside, but the coolant is still green, not the brightest green though)
10) Break system fluid flush (I have no idea if mine is still good or not, what do i look for ?)

So whats most important and did i miss anything ?

 

What is the point of this?

A.) you already have a list of what you want to do
B,) you have already wasted money on useless items

Just replace the o2 sensor or run a simulator, front struts you can find on here.

 

The point of this is to understand what needs to be done first and whats more important

A) i have the list but is it in the best order possible ?
B) What were the useless items that i wasted money on ?

The air filter was old and dirty, The OEM deck did not light up and did not play CD's . the windshield was cracked, so they could not sell me the car like that because it would not pass safety so the dealer replaced it, parking break cable is part of safety, they had to do that before selling so they replacded that, my stock alarm was going off on its own, after putting in the after market alarm i realized that the trunk latch had a broken wire thus the car thought the trunk was open and signaled the alarm. the muffler was replaced by the dealer again, because the old one had holes in it and was rusted.

 

These items.


Whatever order you decide but they wont have anything called "breaks".

 

Literally, whatever you can get to first. The o2 sensor will help your fuel consumption so if possible I would attend to that.

 

I see, You dont come across as a person who tried to prevent problems before they occur. You believe if it is not broken then dont fix it?

You make it sound like its best to wait until something goes wrong and then deal with it, while saving my hard earned money.

LOL@BREAKS sorry

 

One more thing, since i got your attention for a moment, no one seems to answer this as precisely as i need it to be:

the 0902 code is for the rear 02 sensor HEATER, do i need to replace just this HEATER or the whole 02 sensor (as if this heater is part of the sensor internally). I dont want to replace the sensor if its not broken.

 

Stop using the STP fuel injector cleaner every 5000 km. That is far too often.

I would rather use Chevron Techron before every 2nd oil change. Alternatively use Gumout Regane or BG44K.

I would do the radiator flush if it needs it sooner rather than later.

The fuel filter should be replaced every 48,000 kilometres.

Flush the brake fluid all the way around when the front pads are replaced.

I would do the turkey baster method twice to the power steering reservoir, say a month or so apart. Suck out as much as you can and replace with the required volume. Don't overfill.

When you change the oil, make sure you use a decent oil filter. I always use OEM, but WIX or Napa Gold are available at NAPA Auto Parts and are supposed to be a good alternative, as is Purolater PureOne.

 

#1 is o2 sensor. the fault you have is saying probaly saying your heating element for your 02 is bad. heated 02 sensors is what you have. They are 1 unit. you cant not get heating elements without getting a 02. Its just built in type stuff. get the right 02 or you can run a 02 similator but for you right now i would recommend you get a replacement 02 and call it a day.

those fluids and crap you want to replace, i would suggest that but NON of those are EXTREME things to change out. i would do brakes and brake flush next as stoping power is rather nice. after that its up to you.

 

The heater is integral to the sensor. When you replace the sensor it's taken care of.

I guess you could do this. IMHO, if you're gonna do this one, it makes more sense to detach the line running to the rack and drain most of the system all at once. The downside to my method is you'll need to lift the front end to do a bleed. Unless the fluid looks dirty, this is not a high priority.

Agree. I suggest wiring in a universal.

At 200000km, I would expect to need new shims too.Definitely do this one.

Outer shell? Do you mean the rubber boots? I would not dig into the strut assembly just to change the boot.

I don't see why it would be risky to clean it. It's just a solenoid valve. It's cleaning the MAF that can be done improperly.

Ok, that should take care of that for another 60k.

I would not flush, rather use a drain the radiator and replace 2x. If you can access the engine block drains, just drain/replace once. (I can't reach those things). Use distilled water mixed with silicate-free green type coolant. I do feel this is important. Do not hook up a hose and fill your cooling system with tap water.

Nothing to look for, since absorbed water is invisible until damage appears. I suggest you bleed out with DOT 3 / 4 fluid (no DOT 5) following the 2-person procedure at: http://www.zeckhausen.com/technical.htm

Get the alignment checked.

Dave

 

Quite the opposite, however my post was for YOU on YOUR budget.

 

Privet!
I would suggest you replacing sensor first

 

brake fluid will darken with age/contamination. shine a light though the reservoir and you should be able to tell how dark it is. it should be almost clear. if in doubt, flush the system.

fuel filter -- technically this is not a maintenance item. nissan says to change it only if it is clogged - which you'd know by low fuel pressure/hesitation/hard starts/etc. I guess chaining it every 30k miles doesn't hurt anything though.

P/S fluid - do the turkey baster multiple times (with 50 miles of driving in between) until fluid is fresh/clean translucent red ATF. again, shine a light through it to judge its cleanliness.

coolant - I disagree with Dave on this one -- you should flush with at least 4 gallons of distilled water, and then fill the radiator with full strength Nissan OEM coolant (don't use anything else). take the reservoir out and thoroughly clean it. IMPORTANT - make sure you properly purge air from the system as you flush it, and after you fill the radiator with new coolant. there's several threads out there that describe this procedure. it is VERY important to get the air out.

 

0902 is downstream, does not affect mileage, only CEL

 

turkey baster method sucks. so does motorvates method for cleaning the TB. take the TB and IAC Valve completely off and clean it properly. make sure you use new gaskets. for the PS, get a friend to help you. take off the return line and put it into a large-mouthed bottle. fill the resevoir with new ATF and have your friend start the car and turn the wheels all of the way back and forth. while he is doing this, pour atf into the resevoir (as it will be draining prety fast into the bottle. after about 1.5 quarts you shouldhave completely flushed the entire PS fluid. from turn on to turn off shouldnt be more than 45 seconds. put the return line back and fill the resevoir. total cost = about 3 quarts of you choice of ATF fluid. (2 qts should be more than enough though) I have the rear O2 sensor for sale if you need it.

 

naahhh, the turkey baster works just fine. most people here are novice DIYers that would screw up your method if they tried it (spill ATF all over the belts, allow air into the system, wrestle with the hose clips for 45 minutes trying to get the hose off, etc). not worth the hassle. the turkey baster method is fool proof, quick, cheap, effective, and doesn't require a helper or a carefully placed drain jug. only drawback is you have to do it 10 times to get a flush. but since PSF is not a critical maintenance item anyway, you can just do a 20 second turkey baster drain/fill at every oil change and be good to go. an exception is that guy with the leaky steering rack that should get it all done in one shot - yes he should go see you. (although now he may not want to pay you $20 for 45 seconds of work).

 

When you say "flush with distilled water" do you mean refill the system with distilled and run it? Because I don't know any other reasonable way to put in distilled and call it a flush. If that's what you mean then we're not in disagreement, just that your method is more thorough (and time-consuming).

My position against flushing is when people get that garden hose adapter and do the DIY flush. Putting tap water into the system is just loading it with more minerals and elements that will deposit in the system.

Dave

 

yes - that is exactly what I mean. fill with dist H20, run it, drain it, repeat 4 times. yes, very time consuming! major PITA.

yes, agreed!

 

Well I replaced the rear 02 sensor today and reset the ECU, so far so good the code is gone I drove around and the car feels the same. Never thought how much joy I would receive from seeing a little yellow light disappear! The rear 02 sensor is just for emissions correct ? it has no effect on mileage/fuel consumption or power or does it ?