other than the t-belt and water pump is there anything else i should be aware of when checking out a 1990 se 5-spd. are there any problems with these car that is other wise not normal with the autos?

thank you all for your help!
i will post pictures should they become avalible

 

Timing belt and injectors are the main problem they get. Check out the tranny good. I have had one case actually go bad and input shaft have play. Most likely if it seems to run good you won't have much problems. I Have had 6 3rd gens. Most ever had to do was change set of injectors otherwise just routine maintence. Waiting for pics!

 

Knock sensor. It wont throw a code for that.

 

well it has a code, 34, and i have thrown it on my car before. from being stupid, of course... simply forgot to plug it back in after swapping the engine.. now as for whether it'll throw the code for a plugged-in-but-bad KS? who knows..

 

This is the email i just recieved about the max. i have not told the guy that i have worked on maximas before, should i keep that asecret and see if i can talk him down lower?

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy a car if I was told or could see that it had rust dmg.

I always lowball them a few hundred than Im willing to pay. If they take it, great, if not. Offer what you want to pay, and still no, walk away. What is he asking for? Hard for us to say if the price even needs to be talked down, if we don't know the price.

 

$750 the guy seems flaky. found a 92 SE for 1495 w/ 150k going to check that tomarrow. do the VE ECUs have the same or simalar on board diagnostic as the VG. can VTC clack be silenced by heavier weight oil?

 

most GXE's have the five mode ECU, IIRC, all VE's have the two mode. VTC clack with 150k miles should be only at cold startup and not very loud yet (hopefully; mine's not anyway), I use a mobil-1 anti-drainback filter with mostly 10w-30 Mobil 1 synthetic oil and I rarely clack. In the mornings sometimes it will, but they seem to dissipate once I put the car into drive and the rpm's drop.

Things to look for:

Window Regulators
Power Steering Leaks (Around the res, or the high flow line)
ABS module leaks (if applicable)
Front Main Seal Leaks (Under the crank)
Valve cover and CPS leaks
VTC clack
No low end = Could be a bad knock sensor
Injectors of course
jumpy idle, rich smelling exhaust, intermittent power loss (could be the Coolant Temperature Sensor)
Rust in obvious places (sunroof/power antenna drain hoses, around the back seat area, rocker panels, etc.)

VE's are fun, if it has the auto transmission... they're usually good for the life of the car if they weren't beat on too much.

 

I could buy a running ve 5spd for $1000 right now. I just don't have the time to play with cars like I use to, to fix it up the way I would want it. I have owned a ve auto for about 5 years now. The motor clacked when I got it. I put a JDM motor in. And now 4 1/2 years later I get minimal clack during very cold temps. But its fine once it warms up. Im going to switch to the mobil 1 filter others are using, and try synthetic oil. Ive been running 5w30 castrol gtx.

As far as getting rid of the VTC clack or minimizing it...there is a link on someones site somewhere how to ground out the VTC. This will disable this VTC and sometimes gets rid of the clack, however you lose that power gain from 3.5k rpm +. Some say the power isn't that noticeable, but I don't know from experience.

I tried engine flushes and lucas oil products and all the crap out there on the motor I had when I first bought the car. Nothing seemed to help the clack at all. Either the clack was just really bad by then or there is no way around the clack.

 

the VE does have a similar on board diagnostic pull as a VG.

 

uh hes a mechanic...didn't know 3rd gen maxima had a v6 diesel(injection pump)

 

electric fuel pumps are called injection pumps when used on a fuel injected vehicle.

 

Remove the carpety panels in the trunk and check if there is rust around the seatbelt anchors. Also, check the lower seatbelt anchors in the rear too. This may not be a problem if you never have people sitting in the back seat.

I personally would get a 94, simply because these 3rd gens are really long in the tooth now - you might get a little extra mileage.

 

will my custom y=pipe swap from my VG to a VE

 

with some tweaking it will

 

so i can go underneath the glove box and turn a screw like on my 91 VG and get a diagnostic from the ECU? are the codes the same and what are the modes?

 

yes...warm it up fully. shut car off. turn the screw one way then back...start watching the blinks. I cant remember the codes, there in my book around here somewhere. There is also a auto tranny diagnostic you use the power/comfort switch, there is also a write up on this site somewhere how to do that.

 

Currently looking at the VLSD 5-Spd so no tranny codes! or are there?

 

http://pages.cthome.net/bbachinsky/nissan_ecm_codes.htm