FE10's Expo LRV - TINY VAN

[Anathema]

Picked the car up from the shop, finally. And.. there was an interesting friend there.

(Photobombing father for the win.)
In nearly three months of ownership, I've driven... next to no miles. 400 or so.

Inadequate. Now that's it's properly road legal (the registration sticker finally came in) I'll be using it for it's intended purpose.

 

[Anathema]

Finally got my license yesterday; other things (namely, college and work) had got in the way and so I wasn't able to take my license test when I had wanted to. (I've been driving for about 3 years now with a permit, didn't feel ready to take the test until about a month ago.)

However - since I just got it, I thought I'd commemorate by taking Mako, the good camera, and myself up to the Overlook at the Gap - it's the Pennsylvania side of the eastern border with New Jersey, which is bisected by the Delaware River. I live less than 5 minutes from the spot, so I felt it would be as good a start as any.

I did have the car washed before I took this, and also got the underbody sprayed - haven't done that since I got the car, and although it isn't winter, it seemed like a good idea.

Excuse my inadequacy with this camera (a Nikon D5100 SLR) - I've not used it as much as I'd like to have done, but I think I did a reasonable job with it this time.

What's across from me, on the Jersey side, is the "Indian Head" mountain, subject of a Railroad Earth song (Grandfather Mountain) and also a place with a good view - if you can last the climb to the top.
(no, I don't drive with the headlights up, I only do that for pictures)

You can see where the clearcoat is peeling off of the bumper here. I also was at an odd angle here, proportions got messed up because I insisted on sitting down for this one rather than kneeling on the grass.

Still have not found a solution to the problem of the sticker residue on the bumper. Only thing I dislike about Mako.

Going to have a second go at the Overlook, this time from other spots, and also the Jersey side (didn't remember to get a dollar for the toll, and forgot I had $5 in my wallet.

 

[GDII]

Try something like CRC Brakleen to remove the sticker residue. Then wipe it with a cotton cloth or similar until it comes off. Brakleen evaporates fast so will need to be done in small sections.

 

[SVX]

So refreshing to see a clean and unmodified 240SX looked after so well. 👍

 

[Anathema]

Yesterday seemed like as good a day as any to fix one of the remaining issues on Mako - the headlights.

Not that they weren't any good, but the angle and positioning were so far out of whack that it was actually affecting nighttime driving, which is something I do very little of anyway... But, to avoid continuously blinding other drivers, it had to be fixed.

Right side headlamp actually went as planned - there's a screw in the bottom center of the headlight housing on 240SXs that changes the up/down positioning of the light itself, and there's a similar screw for left/right angle on the left side of the headlamp.

Left side... No. The left/right screw worked fine, but the up/down one? Didn't do a thing. So, we had to pop the plastic headlight trim (the black stuff like in the photo a few posts above) and actually change the headlight motor limiter.

Motor limiter is the (probably incorrect) term I'm using for the headlight motor that controls the actual "flipping up" of the headlights. That can be adjusted, and it isn't too hard...

Unless the car starts trying to eat tools, which is what Mako decided was a good idea at the time. A screw for the headlight trim, an extension piece to a wrench, and a 9mm wrench all found themselves sitting inside the front bumper.

Did get everything out, the only hard one was the extension piece, which fit through what I think is a drainhole for the body - unclogged it as well while doing that!

Plus, found a random bit of plastic that I've been unable to remove because of it's location, but I think it's part of the broken right headlight trim...

 

[Anathema]

Well... It only took 7 months.


Today my dad and I went to Harry's U-Pull-It out in Hazelton, PA to try to find a new A/C blower fan motor for the family van. Found that alright, since there are a million Dodge Caravans/ Chrysler T&C's on the road.

After we found it and got the part off of the car, we decided to go look in the foreign section, to try to find another 240SX that had the passenger side sun visor.

On the far side of the place, way in the back... there was a silver 240 hatchback. According to the little sticker the people at Harry's put on each car they place, it was a '89. Blue interior.

The sun visor was there, not broken or ruined. Got that, but as I was leaving... I rolled a tire next to the 240 over on a whim, and there was an alloy wheel.

A 240SX alloy wheel, mind you. I looked around, and found the other three underneath the car.

Considering I'd been trying to find a set for 7 months... No crimping or curb rash on any of them, just a large amount of dirt (and bad tires.)

Long story short, I bought all 4... and now have to clean them off and get rid of the tires they're wearing. Found out my center caps off of my steel (stock) wheels will fit those, so it's not like they're going to look unfinished.

Thing is, winter is coming, so I'm going to wait until at least spring to get some proper tires on these, since I still have the snow tires on the car currently.

Just glad I found a set - I was quoted $120 apiece online and by a place that had a set... Which is the price I paid for all four.

I could have also taken the taillights off of the silver 240, but I didn't have the tools or time I needed - and they were in good shape, too.

 

[Fastcarguy]

Absolutely beautiful car. And in one of my favorite colors 👍

 

[Anathema]

In short form; car isn't driveable right now. Apologies for the thread title, been listening to Peter Gabriel recently.

In long form; driver's side shock is toast. Dad drove the car to work today, got home, checked the suspension since, according to his words, "...the left side in the front wasn't friggin' moving at all."

I knew I'd be replacing bits and pieces, and it wasn't wholly unexpected, although I figured it would have been the A/C that went first, since it wasn't working right until I 'fixed' it.

Ended up ordering both front shocks since I'd figured it'd be good to replace both, especially before the winter season hits - nothing's hit us here whatsoever so far.

Now for the parts waiting-game...

 

[Anathema]

Might as well post an update. Was able to do the shocks almost a month ago, found a set for about $50 that had been sitting out in a warehouse somewhere in Texas for a while, since I'm uncertain Monroe still makes stuff for 240s.

Went well, actually got things done relatively quickly. Don't have any pictures of the other side since it was getting really dark by the time we finished the right side, but now the car feels like it's supposed to be.

And, yeah, I know I need to deal with the rust. Gonna take a bit, maybe a few years, but it'll be done... Probably when I'm out of college.

New (blue) shock

And some of the old pieces. Missing is the picture of the broken one.

 

[Anathema]

Froze my 🤬 off last night at work, it was down to 13 degrees but the wind chill was a nightmare... It was cold enough that the washer fluid was freezing on the windshield even though I don't add water to mine (like some people I know do to save money.)

Headlight motors also got froze in the 'up' position; they're fine this morning and none of the wires/motors look damaged, I think that some ice just got in through the panel gap and prevented them from closing.

Did hit 183,000 miles last night (and I was stopped when I took the picture.) And the clock's crystal display is wearing out, it was 9 PM here rather than 5 PM...

 

[eiriksmil]

You should sand blast, paint and oil those front frame rails.. They look pretty bad. Since your rears were gone you know.

 

[Anathema]

You should sand blast, paint and oil those front frame rails.. They look pretty bad. Since your rears were gone you know.

Money constraints are the only reason I've not done anything to fix the rust issue (outside of having the fronts done where the jacks are in the above picture) otherwise it'd be done within a month. I do plan to fix it/have it fixed, but it's just that I don't have the money.

 

[eiriksmil]

A can of Fluidfilm or similar kinda oil doesn't cost much.. When you daily a 15+ year old car you need to know a dude with a compressor. If you don't, make friends. Then it's a days work. Just soaking all the crusty pieces of frame rail, rocker pinch welds etc saves you a whole amount of money and time over the years.

Believe me, I know all about hotrodding on a budget. It's a $2k car. You already spent $700 on rear frame rails, and you're not gonna spend $3-4k on getting someone to weld new arches, rockers, pieces of front frame rail, pieces of the front floor etc. If you oil it up and prevent the rust from getting worse you never have to.

I mean we're not talking huge sums of money here. We're talking pocket change to make your car survive.

 

[Anathema]

We (as in my dad) actually own a compressor, so I might have a look at getting something as per your suggestion (I've never heard of Fluidfilm, but I'll be researching it later today.) Doesn't help when you're dealing with a sinus infection and barely can work properly - I'd call oit, but we're short staff because of this storm that's supposed to be coming...

 

[Anathema]

As per @eiriksmil and his suggestion, tried out a can of Fluidfilm on a rust area.
I wanted to start with a small area to minimize screwup risk, and I have to say, it looks like it's working fantastically. However, before I was going to finish treating the car with this stuff, I've hit a few snags;

-Muffler is now hanging. They installed speed bumps at work on the road we use, and Mako sits low enough (with me and a coworker in the car) that the exhaust scraped the speedbump, put a hole where the pipe joins into the muffler, and left the muffler pointing down at an angle, a prime candidate to fall off.

Solution; New exhaust is ordered and on its way (a stock OEM one this time.) For now, I'm using zipties to hold it up as I still need the car to drive to work (otherwise I'd leave it parked, but we're down to only 2 cars now) and once it gets here, I'll install it.

-Right headlamp bulb burned out. Picking that up today, getting that done right after.

Still need to go in and have the underbody washed out again (4th time so far this winter I will have had it done.)

 

[Anathema]

Looking at finding a second vehicle for next winter. Won't be buying anything soon, at the earliest it'd be around autumn.
Mainly looking at something with more space, so either wagons, light-duty pickup trucks, or vans so I can finally have something good to haul my kayak around in, instead of having to take the family van all the time. Main things I've thought of (but not limited to) are Subaru Impreza/Legacy wagons, Volvo 240s, Chevy S10s, late 90's Grand Cherokees, and things like that. I'd love an Isuzu VehiCross, but those are way out of budget, plus parts would be a chore to find - even more so than what finding OEM/OEM equivalent parts for Mako are.

 

[eiriksmil]

Volvo 240 or 740. Can't go wrong with that.

 

[Anathema]

Went to the bank before work today, car ran fine. When I attempted to leave, car wouldn't start. Turns over, lights and everything work fine, but it runs for like a half-second, then dies.

Not sure what the issue is. Any of the resident experienced GTPlanet members have an idea? My dad thinks it's the fuel pump. Inclined to believe that, as it's very similar to what happened with the old Honda when the fuel pump in that went.

 

[JrDarknes]

Check plugs, see if they're good first. If not then yea I think it's a fuel problem then.

 

[TB]

If it is a lack of fuel, the filter might have something blocking it and if it's old, it wouldn't hurt to replace it, anyway.

 

[Anathema]

Got up at 9 AM to actually do something productive for a change on Sunday.. Here's what I've found out;

-More than likely, the issue is the fuel pump. When the key is placed in the 'RUN' position, there's supposed to be a ticking noise from the fuel pump area. Nothing. Service records do show that this was done around 75,000 miles... in 1998. (for reference, it's at 187xxx at the moment.)
-Pulled the fuel filter (after disconnecting battery, fuses, and opening the gas cap) to find that... it's old, but nothing was clogging/blocking it, although I did order a new one to get that out of the way when I change the fuel pump.
-Checked the fuel pump relay and the ECCS (the engine management for 240s) relay; both checked out fine. Also found out the reason the cruise control doesn't work is a broken fuse (FINALLY)
-Plugs were fine; I'd forgotten I'd actually replaced those the week I got it (I stuck the receipt in the records folder) so those don't need to be changed.

Parts should be here within a few days.

 

[Anathema]

7 days later... I got the parts on Friday, but I was working both Friday and Saturday, and was only able to start on the repairs today. As you can tell by the thread title, it's working again.

Long post follows.

---

Finally had the chance to replace the fuel pump; while I was at it, I decided to fix all the other things I could while I was at it. On 240SX's, at least the S13 chassis, the fuel pump is in the tank itself, but instead of being a major pain in the 🤬 to do yourself, Nissan made it easy to access - all you need to do is lift the carpeting off on the right side of the trunk, unscrew the small cover on the right of the main, then the main one itself. In there are more bolts to undo, and it just comes out once you've done that.

I set it aside, letting it dry, instead starting with the fuel filter, also replacing the fuel line connected to that, as it was cracked and a fire hazard. Wasn't part of the original plans, but once I saw it, I knew I'd better replace it or end up in a fireball on a highway somewhere. Very sobering.
Filter is held with two clamps, one on either end (top/bottom); simple enough with a set of pliers long enough to reach. Took the old one apart just to be more thorough than before; still nothing in it. Just old.

Pump and pump assembly were easy, took it apart once it dried and went from there. Had to run and grab a filter bag (you'll see it in the pictures) since my kit didn't come with one, which is either my fault for not looking, or FedEx's fault since the package was all torn to 🤬 when I got it. Extremely pissed with their services as of late.

Got everything in, reconnected the battery and put the fuses back in, ran it for a bit to check everything, and then went for a quick drive as sort of a shakedown.

Old filter and new filter

Old pump and new pump (on the end is that stupid filter)

 

[SVX]

Good to see your fuel pump replacement didn't end up with a fiery inferno like the SVX's!

 

[Anathema]

That's kinda why when I saw the fuel line leading from the filter I changed it, I'd prefer not to turn into a ball of flame at 60 mph down a interstate.

I have an off day tomorrow, might head out to a new spot for some pictures.

 

[Anathema]

A long week of bull and noise led up to today.

A while back, the car would make a weird noise every so often. It was really infrequent, and I could never figure it out despite how hard I tried. That weird noise got worse this week.

Today, though, the apparent problem manifested itself in the worst way possible. Heading to work at 7 AM, I noticed that the parking brake wasn't working as effectively as it should. No big problem, it had happened before in my dad's old Jetta I drove before I bought Mako (the winter beater that ate a deer, I don't think I've ever posted pictures of it) and that always seemed to fix itself.

Leaving work 8 hours later, I noticed the brake pedal was a lot softer. I kinda guessed it was something to do with the brakes, and after I got home I would call my mechanic to have it taken in for a diagnosis. I made the mistake of stopping at the local K-Mart to browse for some new winter blankets.

BAM! No pressure. If I would repeatedly press the pedal, I would get some pressure buildup (and a horrific scraping noise from the right rear area) but other than that, nothing. Now... my insurance covers towing calls from five miles out and greater distance (up until something like 75 miles, not quite sure on the upper limit) and where I was at was three miles away.

So I drove the thing home essentially without brakes. Not an experience I'd ever care to repeat.

Will post more once I pull the wheel and check my lines. Expert opinion is welcome.

 

[lbpomg95]

See I bought a new car a year ago - Volvo 240. 1992. 190,000 miles.

Eerily, I had a problem with the in-tank fuel pump as well - kept burning out fuses, causing the car to cut out.

Also have had a problem with the brakes - mind you, that's the front right brake binding. Will need a new caliper, joy of joys.

This restoration is becoming expensive for me. Good luck with your Nissan.

 

[JrDarknes]

Sounds like your rear caliper is seized. Had those same problems when mine was seized.

 

[Anathema]

Sounds like your rear caliper is seized. Had those same problems when mine was seized.

Very helpful tip, and this is what I believe to be the cause of the issue. When I checked it this morning, almost all the brake fluid was gone, and after putting some in and pumping the brakes to check for a leak, the puddle was under the right rear. Pulled the wheel again. Caliper is covered in fluid. Line wasn't leaking around it.

Also will do the rotors and pads while I'm at it, it's about time for new pads anyway.

 

[Anathema]

Wow. Been a while since I've updated, seems like I update only when a problem arises, like it has once again.

Brake project went fine, no pics as it was freezing when I was doing them and I can't use my phone when I have gloves. Also the first time I essentially did everything myself, with only minor assistance from my dad. Progress at last.

Ran fine until yesterday. Got up for work, went out around 6:30 AM to head out... wouldn't stay running. Very weak start, lights got froze in the up position.
Today I tried to figure it out, since it was a lot warmer (Tuesday was only the second cold day of the winter, first one was the day I did the brakes.) and Mako is temperamental on cold days.

Started a lot nicer, was running fine for about half a mile... then most of my electrics died. Lights died, radio shut off, dashboard stuff was barely working (aside from the non-digital dials.)

Somehow managed to coax Mako into running long enough to get into the driveway, where she promptly shut off.

Either it's the alternator, battery (unlikely, it's only 3 months old) or some other electrical problem. Hoping it is the alternator, going to do a more thorough check tomorrow...

 

[eiriksmil]

Alternator or grounds. Check with a volt meter on the battery when the car is running and also on the alternator. Should be around 14.3V.