# New to the scene.



## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

So a few days ago I purchased a 96 nissan sentra on a whim for $600. It has 175k miles and runs like a top. The guy selling it said that sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn't do anything. The first few times I started it, it was fine. After about the third time of starting it, it wouldn't start anymore. I installed a new starter and still the same problem. What it ended up being was the ignition switch. No big deal $20 from the part store and the car starts every time now. At this point the car starts to over heat a little. I check the water and no surprise its really low. Top off the water and we're good to go. 

So after driving this car for about 400 miles, it starts to overheat again. However, I wasn't so lucky to be able to catch it as quickly. I didn't notice until the car started to seem to miss really bad and looked and the temp gauge and it was pegged out. I pull over and immediately think I warped the heads. I wait for it to cool down, put a gallon of water in it, start it up and it runs perfect like always.

TLDR
I have a problem with loosing water, what are the more common areas for these motors to leak from (IE is it common for the radiator to leak or the water pump to leak)?
Do you think I caused permanent damage to the motor from letting it over heat and what could have caused the misfiring? Possibly vapor locked the fuel?

Thanks for any of your help.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

> I have a problem with loosing water, what are the more common areas for these motors to leak from (IE is it common for the radiator to leak or the water pump to leak)?


Take your pick. It's a crap shoot. Put some dye in the coolant, get a black light and inspect. Head gasket leak is probable now that you've overheated it well enough. Water pump weep hole might show something. With 175K miles, the water pump is probably due for a change anyways if it hasn't been changed since it was new.



> Do you think I caused permanent damage to the motor from letting it over heat


Again, take your pick. If you had good oil and weren't hot rodding it during the overheat and the overheat was short enough, you probably got lucky and didn't hurt anything too badly. I'd change the oil/filter, give it a compression check just to let you know how the pistons/rings are doing, and run it as is. The compression check will also tell you if you're losing water thru a bad head gasket. Nothing you can do for it short of throwing a bunch of parts at it anyways. It's either going to keep running or it'll die.



> and what could have caused the misfiring? Possibly vapor locked the fuel?


It's fuel injected. No vapor locking going on here.
Misfiring possibly caused by a hot distributor from the hot block, the switching transistor inside the distributor getting hot and intermittently failing.
Possible that the misfiring wasn't actually misfiring and that it was actually detonating from the hot cylinder walls...which can feel like a misfire.


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## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

Thanks a lot man. This is my first project dealing with fuel injection and electronic anything really. Everything else I've messed with has been pre 1972. I'm gunnar run down to the part store and see if I can't loan out a compression checker and get some uv dye.


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## Beto23 (Nov 3, 2015)

If you say it leaks coolant. You should pressure check your cooling system. It only takes a few minutes with the right tools. And I hope you're adding a 50/50 mix of antifreeze coolant and not just water.


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## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

So, I know its been 6 or 7 months but I've just gotten back into this project. Sorry if this part is a little scattered, but my memory is a little scattered. Last time I did go rent a compression tester and it showed that one of my cylinders had little to no compression. So after the overheating I had assumed I blew a head gasket. So I dive in and pull the head, replace the gasket, put everything back together and realize that whoever had worked on the timing before didn't set the pulleys back on right, so the notches on the pulleys and chain marks would never line up. So in that "genius" moment I set the engine to TDC (something I should have done first, right), ignore the bottom sprocket mark of the cam timing chain, set the intake and exhaust cams to where I believe they should be (I really don't remember how I came up with that), tightened it down and buttoned it up.

TLDR - no compression, replaced the head gasket, eyeballed my cam position and timing

I get the engine together, moment of truth. I start the engine, it runs, it runs good and hard. For all of about 30 seconds. It then proceeds to go back to running exactly like sh*t. Exactly how it was; Nothing had changed. I had just wasted A LOT of time and energy. I put the compression tester back on and I then realize I have no compression on any of my cylinders. That's when I realize I have a busted compression tester. I then have my actual moment of genius that I should have had way earlier and swap some spark wires around and what do you know? My miss changes cylinders. Although I had checked for spark before, I had a crack in the boot which shorted out on the tubes. So when I pulled the plug wires out and it wasn't shorting out on the tube, it appeared to be getting spark.

TLDR - I didn't need to replace the head gasket, everything caused by a bad spark plug wire.

So after I change the spark plug wires, it runs. I but lacking power and appears to be running very lean. So I'm pretty sure my timing is out. Surprise, surprise. I mean, I was only eyeballing it, in the dark, at about 4 or 5 in the morning, after having been up for about 36 hours. 

So that was the end of that adventure for then. I had intentions to come back to it, but due to my friend helping me being in college and my work schedule I hadn't had the opportunity. 


*Now to the current.
*

I've pulled the engine to redo all of the timing and the majority of the gaskets. Made it a lot bigger pain then it should have been by not reading on the forums about how to pull the motor. The motor is currently on an engine hoist, getting a stand for it today, the trans is out of the car. All in all, it's been a hell of a lot of fun.

This post wasn't really about a question, just a 6 month late update. I plan on using this car to do the 24 hours of lemons rally race this august out in California and Nevada. If you don't know what that is, look into it, seems like it's going to be a hell of lot of fun. So to end this with a question, because I feel like I have to, What upgrades would you suggest for long term driving? And also, at some point I plan on doing a low boost turbo, I know turbos get expensive, but it's something I really want to do. So what kind of upgrades would suggest to run a low psi boost? And does anyone know where I can get a TSI exhaust manifold?


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

Nofear6677 said:


> ...worked on the timing before didn't set the pulleys back on right, so the notches on the pulleys and chain marks would never line up...


They might've lined up, eventually.
As I found out, the number of links in the chain, number of teeth on the sprockets, etc.etc.etc. All those possible combinations...etc. I could (and does) take up to 72 rotations at the crank to get all the teeth in the chains, marks on the sprockets, and everything else to line up where the book says they should all be installed.
A guy might think that just because you install everything at position X, and you turn the crank one turn, that everything will come back to position X. 'taint so...
Ask me how I know! And how I wanted to punch myself in the face repeatedly after figuring it out...



> That's when I realize I have a busted compression tester.


You must've stolen mine after the last time I used it and threw it out!  'cause the same damn thing happened to me last summer.



> I had a crack in the boot which shorted out on the tubes.


Happened to the best of us with the best of intentions.



> I didn't need to replace the head gasket, everything caused by a bad spark plug wire.


At least now you know the condition of the cylinder walls, pistons, valves, cams, etc.etc.etc.



> but lacking power and appears to be running very lean.


Ya, 5 degrees off will do that...eg. make it run like a soggy diaper...if soggy diapers ran...



> "24 hours of lemons rally race"


Did I read that right?
24 hours of "LEMONS"?
Lemons?
Not Le Mans?
If it is LEMONS, sounds like a blast...literally...


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## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

Yes. Absolutely 24 hours of LEMONS. It has to be one of the best things ever. If you've ever watched motor trend's roadkill on YouTube, they've raced their track races in a Datsun 240Z powered by a turbo 4.3 Chevy. It's an absolute shit show of a race. And its absolutely wonderful. If you've never watched roadkill, I suggest you check it out.

But as for the rally its a little different than their track races. No real restrictions. Just has to be registered, street legal, and insured.

https://www.24hoursoflemons.com/rally

If you're in the area, or have the ability to come out there and possibly rally I would go for it. I'm planning on making a damn near 2000 mile trip to go to the 1500 mile rally and then 2000 miles back.
Either way, check it out.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

If I was going to run something in the "24 hours of Lemons", it sure as hell wouldn't make the 1700+ mile trip to CA.
I've got some crap here in the driveway that might make a person throw up a little bit in their mouth.


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## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

So I should be in time now.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

Looks like it is, but a bit difficult to tell because, after all, it is a picture...
Roller count looks right, positions of the marks looks right, position of the exhaust cam knock pin looks good.

Turn the crank by hand (or ratchet or whatever). It should go 'round and 'round and 'round without smacking any valves/pistons. It'll take something like either 62 or 72 turns before the gear marks and chain links match-up/line-up again.
At least your engine is hanging out in the wind. When I cranked mine around, it was still in the car. Forearms got a helluva workout. It sounds like a pain in the ass, but you'll know with 100% certainty that it's right after you're done.

The only reason I know about the whole crank turns thing is because when I got my 1st timing chain kit, I somehow ended up with an intermediate gear with 26 teeth on it instead of the required 25 teeth on the small side (or was it the large side???), and it fit perfectly.
Either way, one tooth too many is one tooth too many. Good thing I cranked it around a few times because within a couple of crank turns, Mr. Valve met up with Mr. Piston somewhere in there. That's when I compared the old and the new and figured out something was up.


Don't forget to pull that pin on the upper chain tensioner!!!


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## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

I'll do that and test my compression first thing in the morning because this whole 96 hours with only 8 hours or so of sleep is starting to kick my ass. I'll see y'all in the AM.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

No need to check compression just yet. Leave the plugs out, maybe throw a bit of trans fluid down the plug holes (after all, you are spinning it dry), and crank it around for awhile.

I don't see any lube on those cam lobes either. Are you about to commit a sin in that department? (eg. cranking it up without any prelube on the cams)


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## Nofear6677 (Oct 8, 2015)

Once again. I take forever between the times I post on here because I never get to work on this damn thing. But here we are, the motor and transmission are in the car, everything is connected, (minus one wire pigtail, but we will worry about later).

I go to start everything up and I'm pouring tranny fluid out of the driver side axle seal. So I've pulled the axle and the seal, got a new seal.

So for the question of the post, when putting the seal in does it sit flush with the housing or is it recessed into it? Thanks in advance


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