# my B13 disgusts me... (long)



## knock_it_off_hudson (Apr 30, 2004)

Last year I decided to buy a B13. I love the soft boxy design and I know these cars have bulletproof engines. I was looking for a reliable beater and I found a 94 silver 2dr in relatively good shape: good engine (185000 kms but no complaints), decent body, no rust. However the interior was gross. The previous owner was a total slob and a smoker and a dog owner! And the paint wasn't so hot either with some highway rock dings on the hood (use a freakin bra on the highway!) and a few other dings here and there.

It wasn't until I started cruising the member rides forum that I got really excited about it's potential. I thought that with some upgrades and a good cleanup and a fresh coat of paint I'd be as proud of this car as I was of my cherry 91 CRX Si (back in the day). But the problems I've encountered have left me fed up. The moldy smell the car came equipped with proved quite a mystery. I initially chalked it up the previous owners B.O. so I spray cleaned the whole interior. But it just kept getting worse. I finally traced it to the swamp I found in the spare tire well (underneath the carpeting). It was so bad I gutted the trunk. I took out the back seat today and was disgusted with the amount of crud under the foam. And there was moisture! Where the hell did all the water come from in the first place? The trunk I can maybe forgive but under the back seat? I can only speculate on what this car has seen in it's previous life. I now have serious doubts about whether this car is worth the effort I planned on giving it. I think I'm gonna get it detailed and see what I can get from a dealer.

Planned: 15 inch wheels and a fresh coat of paint.

Sitting in boxes in my living room: Hyperco Gen2s, AGXs, Addco rear swaybar, ebay stb, Active Tuning rear stb, Koni bumpstops.

Obviously I'm gonna have to buy another B13. I may even opt for an NX2000. In any case, me and my car are finished.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

u have sentra trunk syndrome, very common, most likely the tail light seems leak water and it goes down to where your tire is evaporating through out the day then condensating and soaking in the back seat foam or trunk carpet, hop on in and have someone spray the car with a hose to pin point the leak then clear rtv silacone the whole area let it dry for 24 hours then retest, see if it works


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## erod993 (Feb 12, 2005)

Mine smelled like crap too. I found the left rear taillight leaking water into the trunk. The trunk mat was loaded with mildew and bacteria. It's the same smell that forms in the evaporator sometimes. It smells like B.O. because its the same bacteria. It can be cleaned up though so all is not lost.


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## knock_it_off_hudson (Apr 30, 2004)

I wasn't kidding when I said "swamp".There was leaves, and wood chips and even an old golf tee, all under the trunk carpet that was spotless at the dealers. What I did was (after I gutted the trunk), pulled the plugs, hosed out the crap and wiped it clean and dry. Then I tried letting the garden hose run over the trunk for ten minutes to see if any water made it's way in anywhere. As far as i could see, nothing from the tails or the seals. I'll try again with me inside though. And there IS moisture coming from condensation on the "ceiling" of the trunklid. There was like an ounce of water in the spare tire well despite the lack of rain since I dried it out. If that's all it is then I can live with that. My worst fear is that the car had been SUBMERGED, if even partially. I am suspicious because the metal frame on the back seat bottom is all rusty. In fact there is quite a bit of rust under there. I considered doing a VIN check but I'd have to get one from out of province too because the car is not local.


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## JDM_Fan (Feb 9, 2005)

for some reason my left rear light was leaking water too, BUT i fixed it and now i gutted the back so i only have a spare and a jack. Im thinking of loosing the spare too though since im getting new tires.


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## joeli16 (Nov 19, 2004)

Trunk leak is very common for B13.Usually the gaps between the tailight and the trunk is too big and make a big leak.When I checked my trunk last month,I found mushrooms on the carpets and the whole trunk just smell like crap.I killed the mushroom,hanged up and dry the soaked carpet for weeks(don't put it in a dryer!The carpet is gonna get ruined!)Buy a tube of silicone to seal the tailights gaps up.Completely cleaned up the trunk.Spray a lot of air fresher to kill the crappy smell.Now my trunk is nice and dry.
You could also buy a bag full of beads that sucks up the moisture from a hardware shop.Costs like 5 bucks and works very well to keep the condensation away.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Pull the taillights all the way out. Make a mental note of where the sealant is placed on the light and if you put the light back into the body you can see where the body and the light will touch. Scrape the old sealant off the lights and off the car using a plastic putty knife (so you don't scratch the paint off). Then use some mineral spirits to remove any residual sealant that's on the car or on the lights. Then use a big fat bead of silicone or you can use a roll of butyl rubber used to seal windshields. Don't use 3M window weld, because if you ever break a taillight and have to replace it, you'll literally have to destroy the taillight to get it out and the adhesive won't come off the car without a razor blade. I've had the taillights leak in both my B13's.


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## HATEnFATE (Dec 24, 2002)

ALSO. A common problem on the b13 that I've noticed is that the center pillar on the trunk spoiler is damaged. I've had both my SE-R's leak through there. Check the tightness of the bolt or check to see if it's just plain broken....

Everyone tries to open thier trunk with the spoiler instead of with the trunk lid and cracks the poor thing. (I've noticed women are esspecially bad about this) LoL


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yea mine leaks through the center so much it rotted out the metal that holds the lights that shine on above the play, idk what to do about it, the light fixtures just rattle around now gonna have to cut it up and screw sheat metal in and then screw the lights in or something to that extent o yea and just leave the plug under the spare tire off thats what i do just in case it rains real bad , cus i havent fixed the leak yet


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## Jed118 (Nov 15, 2004)

Haha mine had a musty odor about it aswell! Not so much in the winter now, but in the late summer months it was not appealing at all.

Dude, You know what I had to do to my sentra when I got it? Replace the windshield (which wouldn;t be that bad, but I also had to replace an inch of the roof where the window meets the roof) replace the water pump, the entire exhaust (over time) and now the brakes are going, also there is no hand brake and for some reason, the positive terminal gets corroded to shit every two months and causes a no start condition. 

Oh and I repainted the car. 

I put $520 into it so far, and I got it for free. After I swap out the digital cluster and put on rear disks, im selling it, and getting a 1985 Pony 1400GL! How I miss the pony... I will also miss power windows, power steering, and yes, automatic.


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## knock_it_off_hudson (Apr 30, 2004)

Jed118 said:


> Haha mine had a musty odor about it aswell! Not so much in the winter now, but in the late summer months it was not appealing at all.
> 
> Dude, You know what I had to do to my sentra when I got it? Replace the windshield (which wouldn;t be that bad, but I also had to replace an inch of the roof where the window meets the roof) replace the water pump, the entire exhaust (over time) and now the brakes are going, also there is no hand brake and for some reason, the positive terminal gets corroded to shit every two months and causes a no start condition.
> 
> ...


OMG, last summer was BRUTAL. I can't beliieve it took me so long to locate the smell. I was actually encouraging my friends to smoke in my car. LOL, and my windshield has to be replaced too. It has a crack that runs across the bottom. My starter died recently and my fuel guage lies. It also has some tolerance issues as the trunk lid doesn't look like it is sitting right and there is an inexplicable gap at the front passenger side bumper. I hope the body shop can get rid of this. I might have been a little hasty in declaring my car junker but if a better Sentra comes along I might be tempted to shell out some extra cash for it. Don't tell me you're serious about the Pony. BTW don't forget about me when you swap your cluster. I'm still interested in it. :thumbup:


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

lol my down pipe just snapped off the flange and got lost on the main road soo im runnin open header now, it does rock to some point cus its so lound its funny but it sucks at night time so i think im gonna make my own down pipe out of pos spare piping laying around, peice it together and weld the flange thats still bolted to the manifold back on


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## live4snow (Jan 5, 2005)

Mine smelled too for a while and when I tracked it down to the leaky tail-lights (with no outside help, I ripped out all of my carpet and soaked my trunk in febreeze. The febreeze will help with the smell a lot.


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