# 1993 Nissan Sentra with more than 200,000 miles, without any overhaul !!



## Pablo14 (Jan 18, 2003)

Hello from Pablo 14,

It has been a long time since my last post, but my family still has the 1993 Nissan Sentra automatic with the 1.6 lts engine. We have it since it was new, and now today, it passed the 200,000 miles mark on its odometer.

This Sentra is not perfect, but its transmission and engine are still the original ones without any rebuilt or overhaul. I replaced its original radiator with a replacement, because the original was not available at the dealer, and we know it will not last more than 150,000 miles like the original Nissan radiator.

The transmission requires the replacement of a cable related to the selector shift, and it might be showing sings of age already, but the only maintenance required up to this point is ATF Dexron fluid replacement every 30,000 miles or more with synthetic as I did a couple of times.

The only problem, or flaw with this car, basically was and is its tendency to engine knock, even with premium fuel all the time, that it has. I know Nissan has a technical bulletin for this since many years ago, so they recognize the problem. I spent money on Techron Fuel System Cleaner at every oil filter change, but that is not bad. What I consider a defect is the fact that this Sentra required Premium fuel always, in order to reduce its tendency to make engine or spark knock. My Sentra was built in Mexico, while other Sentras were still made and imported from Japan in 1993. I know someone who owns a four doors model, mine is a two doors model, and he says he never buys premium fuel for it and doesn't know what is engine knock.......maybe he doesn't know REALLY what it is....or maybe his Sentra is one of those imported from Japan, where there is better quality control and production and he has a better vehicle.

Anyway, I was hoping to be able to post a digital photo of the ododmeter reading here, but I think something else has to be done before I can do that.

I was the one who posted a thread about the erratic idle of my Sentra and here at this forum many people helped me until a few of you suggested exactly the problem my car had: three scary oil leaks that none of the mechanics who saw the vehicle, including mechanic teachers and inspectors, where able to find, because they were relying to much on the scanner and that scanner showed no problems or codes. In fact, not even after more than 200,000 miles, I have not seen any code or blinking of the check engine light yet.....

True....call me a traitor if you want, but I am already using another new vehicle from another company with a close to 1.8 lts engine, DOHC VVT-i and a four speed automatic. It sounds very similar to the Sentra, but is a Toyota Corolla, 2005. We still have the Sentra here in my house, so I can still post about it. Anyway, the Sentra is a good vehicle, but honestly I think Nissan has to improve its production quality and economic models soon or it will fall behind by too much.

My sister's 2001 Nissan Sentra 1.8 lts is working well, after the scary moments she lived with it due to sudden engine shut downs at highway speeds...Now, her husband uses the vehicle not her...I posted a thread about it, and Nissan made repairs according to a couple of recall campaings for the vehicle, but the models sold in Puerto Rico were not part of the campaings yet, so she had to put pressure on Nissan through the equivalent of the Better Business Bureau here in Puerto Rico and then the problem was addressed and solved up to this point.

Thanks for reading


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## blackmaxima88 (Mar 20, 2005)

I have a 94 sentra limited edition that currently has 219,500 miles on it. I purchased it off the ORIGINAL owner back in february, at 208,000 miles, for $600. the original owner, a regular customer of mine at Auto Zone, got tired of our garbage alternators going bad on him, and he just didn't need the car anymore, so I think I made off with it pretty nicely. it's a nice car, he had a nice set of American Racing rims on it, and it has a nice little OEM spoiler and the SE taillights. the interior is really nice and in excellent condition, and the seats are more comfortable than the ones in my base-model Sentra XE from the same year. I have all the service records for it, including the original pink slip from the dealer, where he paid $11,132.00 US dollars. find a new car for that price today. 

since I got the car, I haven't had any problems with it except for a fuel injector going bad. I ended up replacing the injector, intake plenum gasket, and valve cover gasket. I haven't had a knock in either of my 94 Sentras. I had one with a sputter every now and then, but a spark plug upgrade from Autolites to NGKs, and a good run-through of Lucas fuel injector cleaner solved that with no problems. the service records indicate a "severe oil leak" and that the front seal was already replaced. 

and yes, I'll drive this car until it dies. even if it stays running past 300,000, which wouldn't surprise me at all. I used to be a die-hard GM fan until I owned a '91 cavalier with a 2.2L motor and only 119,000 miles on it. it had a compression leak from a bad head gasket (VERY common) and in the 4 months I owned the car, I went through 2 alternators (again, VERY common in GMs for a few years.) until the car was smashed by a tractor-trailer while I was in the left lane of the highway and he moved into my lane without looking. I'm surprised the frame on that car held up while I was teeter-tottering on the concrete barrier between two directions of traffic, whereas the nature of that accident SHOULD have killed me. I can't bear the thought of either of my Sentras getting into an accident. it's pretty pathetic when someone's attached to their car. the only serious problem I've had in any nissan is in an 88 maxima I used to have, when the clutch went out.

anyway, I just got home from work and I'm rambling. off I go.


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## Pablo14 (Jan 18, 2003)

blackmaxima88 said:


> I have a 94 sentra limited edition that currently has 219,500 miles on it. I purchased it off the ORIGINAL owner back in february, at 208,000 miles, for $600. the original owner, a regular customer of mine at Auto Zone, got tired of our garbage alternators going bad on him, and he just didn't need the car anymore, so I think I made off with it pretty nicely. it's a nice car, he had a nice set of American Racing rims on it, and it has a nice little OEM spoiler and the SE taillights. the interior is really nice and in excellent condition, and the seats are more comfortable than the ones in my base-model Sentra XE from the same year. I have all the service records for it, including the original pink slip from the dealer, where he paid $11,132.00 US dollars. find a new car for that price today.
> 
> since I got the car, I haven't had any problems with it except for a fuel injector going bad. I ended up replacing the injector, intake plenum gasket, and valve cover gasket. I haven't had a knock in either of my 94 Sentras. I had one with a sputter every now and then, but a spark plug upgrade from Autolites to NGKs, and a good run-through of Lucas fuel injector cleaner solved that with no problems. the service records indicate a "severe oil leak" and that the front seal was already replaced.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your answer,

One of the oil leaks was from the front seal, the other oil leak was from the oil seals of the ignition-distributor, to the point of having the distributor cap with oil, and the other oil leak of my Sentra was from the Valve Timing Control Solenoid Valve, something that was solved simply by replacing the valve with a new one. I found that valve at half of the price of the main local dealer in Puerto Rico, in Mossy Nissan of Ocenaside California, as someone suugested here at this Nissan forums.

Before all those leaks were fixed, I also replaced the A.C.C. Valve too.

As I said, I always but premium fuel for this vehicle.

Thanks for reading this message


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