Possible car purchase... Blows smoke...

[BeatJunky]

1992 240SX Hatchback SE 5-Speed 146 miles $2,500 they're asking...

I went to see it and hatch door has rust near spoiler area. Has rust on A pillars on bottom where it meets fenders/hoods. Has 3 small dent (two on driver front fender one on driver rear quarter panel). Otherwise, body & interior very nice, No complaints there. However... on the test drive I noticed that the car was rather sluggish and less responsive to the pedal. Somewhat faster at lower RPMS.... Hmm... It seemes to accelerate a LOT less rapidly on WOT. I checked the engine bay. Looked pretty ok nothing really noticeably wrong except for little bits of rust by suspension housings (not that it has anything to do with the performace but that is all I noticed wrong in the bay. But the exhaust was blowing some white smoke thru exhaust... Not heavy but it was there and smelled of gasoline heavily.

Im thinking Head Gasket... can anyone sort of help me diagnose this problem?

Also... clutch might be gone. Third gear grinded consistently (god i hate that sound and feel) and 4th was very very very minimally grinding. Third also had a clunk & grind to it at high rpms...

Otherwise the car was very sound.

Please help diagnose. Im sure he will drop the price maybe to $2,000...

-Omar

PS: Yes I Know... :cry: Still no 240 of my own but getting closer...:D

[PARAD0X]

based on what you said, i wouldn't get it. its way over priced, and you can actually find decent running ones for 3ish. i would keep looking around

[mrmephistopheles]

i'd offer $1500 at the MOST.

[BeatJunky]

Yep... $1,500 is what I would like to pay for it being as how it needs repairs.

So am I right about the clutch and headgasket?

I'll throw up some pics of it I snapped with my lil cheapo digicam. Looks nicer in person... this camera sucks!

[BeatJunky]

Driver Front Fender

[BeatJunky]

Driver Rear Quarter Panel

[BeatJunky]

Ugly Hatch Rust

[BeatJunky]

A Pillar Rust (Same on both sides)

[BeatJunky]

Umm... some of the engine bay!:doh:

[BeatJunky]

The suspension housing rust... Somewhat same on both sides...:hammer:

[BeatJunky]

Finally... Passenger side shot...:boink:

No more pics...

[Bill Roberts]

I hate it when that happens, I typed a long reply (detailed) and hit submit reply and got a blank screen and all that typing is wasted....Phuck..


Rusting shock towers. Could be an issue. Dents, no problem, tranny? look at clutch mas cylinder or slave and remove 500 for the price for rust, 500 for the tranny. As far as smoke, don't let that bother you too much.

our cars are going to get rare and valuable, offer 1500 and see what happens. The dealer probably has 1100 in it.

[DuffMan]

Honestly, even $1500 sounds like a lot. The rust looks like surface rust, and mostly cosmetic, though you would need to repaint those a-pillars. The engine sounds pretty much gone, and the dealer will have a tough time selling a car with such obvious problems. If they dont agree to your price, write your name and number down on a piece of paper and tell them to call you when they feel like joining the real world.

[BeatJunky]

Originally posted by DuffMan
write your name and number down on a piece of paper and tell them to call you when they feel like joining the real world.

:werd: True... So true... :rofl:

I guess I'll do that...

There are maybe 3 other cars that I have pending deals on (theres one thing holding me back) which are much much better (two of which belong to Zilvia members who shall remain nameless for the time being)... These are of course in the $3,000 to $5,000 range. Shall these fall thru then the any cheapo 240 will do (such as the one this thread is about).

I appreciate the comments given above but I feel like the answer to my question is still to be found.

1) Is the smoke due to bad headgasket?
2) Is the gear grinding due to bad clutch?

[Jim96SC2]

Rust is cancer. Don't Buy It!

[mjjstang]

Yah for $710 I just got a 91 auto with bad tranny and rust behind wheel but that can be fixed. And I havent been searching for more than a month. There will be others. I would just wait.

[M.Piedlourde]

Originally posted by BeatJunky
But the exhaust was blowing some white smoke thru exhaust... Not heavy but it was there and smelled of gasoline heavily.

Im thinking Head Gasket... can anyone sort of help me diagnose this problem?

Also... clutch might be gone. Third gear grinded consistently (god i hate that sound and feel) and 4th was very very very minimally grinding. Third also had a clunk & grind to it at high rpms...

Otherwise the car was very sound.

Did the white smoke just appear for the first few minutes after starting the car, or was it persistent?

If it went away after a few minutes, it's probably nothing to worry about. If it was persistent, it could be a gasket problem, with coolant leaking into the engine. The worst-case scenario is that the engine block has a crack in it.


The big thing I would worry about, though, like everyone else is pointing out, is the rust. You can fix a head-gasket problem. You can fix a clutch problem, but rust can be a total bitch to deal with.

I know you're probably getting frustrated with being told to pass up every car you ask about in this forum, but honestly, this one sounds like it's not worth your time.

[mrmephistopheles]

I'd offer to pay them 300 to 500 more than they paid for it and 'take it off their hands'. That car needs to see a bodyshop for all the rust it has in it and it needs a new motor, or at least some motor work. Along with the motor, it'll either need a clutch or some new cylinders, which can be costly either way.

[West]

Man, all Chicago cars look alike. Rust all over. I wouldnt pay more then $800. The cost of fixing that car up isnt worth it.

New Hatch: $300
Body Work: $300
New Clutch: $500
Rust: Priceless...

Keep shopping around, Chicago has TONS of 240s FS all the time. Wait and get one is good condition for $2k-$3.5k.

[Dousan_PG]

PASS!

i thought i told you. NO DEALERS! private sellers ONLY.

[BeatJunky]

Originally posted by dousan36
PASS!

i thought i told you. NO DEALERS! private sellers ONLY.

*sigh*:cry:

I cant find anything worthwhile unless its out of state...

- Took 7 hours of my life the other to go to Wisconsin and back looking at some 240's...
- Dealing with a guy in Missouri for another car...

Just trying to see what I can work out on those possible deals...

At the same time... just still looking locally for a great deal and cant find one...


I pray to the 240 gods to place one in my parkway...:bowdown:

[Dousan_PG]

ya butwhen you get that PERFECT 240sx you'll be HELL YA! and never regret
get a good one. then you'll never be posting "how do i fix this rust hole" or "my ka just blew"!

make sure you get the color YOU want...meaning dont get burgundy or maroon! haha..d'oh. listen to expirience (me). i hate that color! i wish i looked longer/harder. probably end up w/ a white coupe..oh well :(

[BeatJunky]

I will only consider dark grey or black...

;)

:boink:

[Dousan_PG]

no white? white is super sexy!

[BeatJunky]

Im not a fan of white cars...

Maybe blue or real red (not burgundy or marroon)...

But I prefer silvers/greys or black...

Originally posted by M.Piedlourde
Did the white smoke just appear for the first few minutes after starting the car, or was it persistent?

Im kicking myself in the *** for it now but I did not notice if it was only at start up... I think it was as I didnt notice it while driving or when I parked it.

[M.Piedlourde]

Originally posted by BeatJunky
*sigh*:cry:

I cant find anything worthwhile unless its out of state...

- Took 7 hours of my life the other to go to Wisconsin and back looking at some 240's...
- Dealing with a guy in Missouri for another car...

I'd be more than happy to help you in your search, if you're having trouble finding a car locally. Hey, I'm not yet ready to purchase my own 240 (want to get rid of the credit card debt first), so I'd love to go shopping for someone else's. I see S13s (that's what you want, right?) for sale fairly often around here, and since this is the South, rust isn't as big of a problem down here. If you'd like me to keep any eye out for cars in this area, PM me your "want list" (coupe? hatchback? year? colors? options?) and I'll see what I can find.

I'm sure other members would be happy to keep an eye out for you too.

[BeatJunky]

I appreciate the gesture but Im steering away from buying out of state. If my search becomes ultimately impossible locally I will remember you and PM you that list!;)

Thank You!:bow:

[hotrodman]

May I mention that I bought mine for $200 with a clear title with no rust, decent body, blown motor ;), and this one has no crappy foam spoiler. Don't know were to mod first. I think I will start by replacing the worn out clutch with a exedy and rebuild it my way;). I have two, and even three of everthing for the engine (no bs, got a big pile in my garage). I have ported out the head, upper and lower intake plenums, in the process of welding up my own turbo header (deciding to turbo or not to turbo). When I am done I will set up a place for you to see her from start to finish. Sorry for rambling about my sh!t.

[BeatJunky]

Nicely done...