"David Talmage" (davidtalmage)
03/19/2014 at 15:06 • Filed to: None
4
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"David Talmage" (davidtalmage)
03/19/2014 at 15:06 • Filed to: None | 4
| 1 |
[I originally posted this on 2013-11-14 on my private blog, mistakenly thinking that Oppositelock readers would see it, too. Now that I'm an Oppositelock writer, I'm reposting it.]
A couple of weeks ago, I ordered some rear struts, boots, and bushings and a glove box lock from a nearby Nissan dealer. Those are dealer-only parts. They come from Japan and they're expensive because they're made from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that is mined by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and forged and assembled by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Everything came in last week and this week, I had the struts installed. The ride is better. It's still soft but the car doesn't bounce as much in back.
The glove box lock came with a surpise: a pair of modern, plastic clad Nissan keys. Those are just for locking and unlocking the box. I guess it's a feature. The old lock opened and closed with the ignition key. I liked that. But now I can lock the glove box and give the ignition key to a valet or to my friend !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! spy gear I keep in the glove box will be safe! Life is good.
I'm getting new hatch struts today. While the suspension parts were on order, I took a little road trip to visit my parents. On the eve of my return, the car tried to kill me. I had propped the hatch open with an axe (head down) so I could put my luggage and some treasures into the trunk. The handle slipped and the hatch came down on my head. It hurt a lot and surprised me in a bad way. Mom came running when she heard me use nearly every !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! known to Man. There was blood and a shallow divot in my scalp. We stopped the bleeding and determined that I didn't have a concussion. When I got home, I ordered the hatch struts from a local parts company. The Nissan dealer wanted over $200 each and had to special order them from Japan. The local guy could get a pair of them in two days for about $50.
Next, I'm getting the front struts I wrote about in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I have a list somewhere of all the other front suspensiony parts I might need. I'm thankful that these parts are all available from local sources. They take about two days to arrive and that's just fine.
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I'm starting to look for a source of window trim for the hatch. The chrome is coming off the original one. Maybe I'll just remove all of the chrome and paint it flat black. I need to do the same with the windshield wipers.
mrazekan
> David Talmage
03/19/2014 at 17:07 |
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My Father's car was a 1987 Nissan Sentra 2 door. I remember all the crazy trips we made down to Baja in that little car. Only car he ever bought new. I remember being a kid when we came home from the dealer with the seats still wrapped in plastic. A radio was optional and he decided to forgo it for the AC instead.
Good luck getting it back and going. If it has the same engine as my dad's car, watch out for the gasket between the intake manifold and the carburetor. We were having some rough running problems which started with changing plugs and wires, moved on to replacing the distributor, to finally replacing the engine with a 40k one from Japan. Only then did I notice the coolant in the manifold. It was a fine gasket that was hard to cut by hand due to the fuel preheater. The dealership didn't carry it. I think we'd still be driving it otherwise.
Cheers!