is this normal or is my car broke... ?

[aznpoopy]

my car has quite a few quirks that i'm not entirely sure are normal... i was wondering if u fellow s14 owners could clear this up with some feedback. it's a 1995 240sx base manufactured '94 in japan.

#1 abnormally (maybe) loud gear whine. while i'm driving around if there's a wall next to me i can hear the clak clak clak of gear teeth. it's always been like this. tranny drives fine (for 10k now), no bad synchros, slightly notchy shifting but i think thats normal.

#2 weird sound during clutch meet. when i upshift thru gears and engage a gear, theres a clak sound as i engage and step on the gas. this is good, clean shifting mind you... no clutch slip and no jerking the car. i do have a bad t/o bearing that i've been meaning to get to...

#3 climate controls don't light up. at first i thought a bulb was out back there... when i pulled the console apart i looked at the buttons and realized they weren't clear. the symbols were painted on... weird.

#4 jerking when the car starts. when i start the car theres a really big torque when the engine finally kicks. it started when i installed nismo mounts so i wonder if its just the extra 'feedback.' anyway its better then my motor flopping like a dead fish on the old mounts...

#5 useless dial left of the steering wheel... there's a dial with a lightbulb symbol on it on on the leftmost side of the dash, past the steering wheel. i've played with it alot and it never seems to do anything.

#6 winking high beams... when i turn on the highbeams the car will wink... turning one on at a time. weird... but my gf says its cute. oh well.

#7 rear 240sx emblem. every s14 i've seen in person(which is not many) has 240sx mounted on the oppositte side of the trunk. is my emblem on the wrong side... ? O_o

#8 no springs on ash tray, center tray, etc... most cars have springs that snap these things shut... mine has none. as a result the ash tray will flap back and forth as i drive.

[papershot]

That dial next to the steering wheel dims the interior lights when you have the lights on. You'll be able to notice it during the night.

[AKADriver]

The misplaced emblem would make me suspicious that the car was in an accident.

The gearbox and clutch sounds... A lot of it, especially when doing things like getting on and off the throttle, clutching in and out, comes from the drivetrain torquing against its mounts and the frame. You say you've got Nismo engine mounts, what about the diff mounts and the subframe bushings? I know the S14 diff itself is mounted on bushings, those could be bad. I'd also check the condition of all the joints in the drivetrain, in the driveshaft and halfshafts, and check the center support bearing.

Solid mounts or mounts that are worn through will also transmit more vibration such that the whole car will amplify the normal gear sounds. The gear whine could also be the t/o bearing. My previous S13 had a constant gear whine that followed the speed of the tranny input shaft, even after I replaced the t/o bearing, though.

Winking high beams means there's a sticky relay somewhere.

[s13Dr1ft]

yea you should really check the door seals and everything else to see if it was in a wreck...Or it coulda been debadged then rebadged..i dunno...

I dont really know what to tell you about the grinding...Ive never ran into that problem, But if everything is working as it should then i dont think its a big problem? Try calling a local tranny shop that has a good reputation or somthin and talk to them about it.

[i-love-my-s14]

i can help you with a couple things, but seeing as my car is automatic i cant really help you with the first two. my climate control lights work some of the time, they just randomly come on while im driving. The dial to the left of the steering wheel dims the gauge panel ,turn your lights on and it will adjust the brightness of your gauges (unless its broken). my high beams also blink, but that is only when i pull the stick back part of the way. i dont know which side your emblem is on but mine is on the drivers side, and your ashtray must be broken because mine stays shut untill i pull it down.
hope i helped some

[aznpoopy]

thanks for the replies... my worst fears are confirmed. my car really is broke as all hell... lol. oh well, just more work to be done. the dial never does anything so i guess its broke. i know my car's been hit (and bondo'd) in the driver side rear quarter, despite its clean history. as for the cluch sounds, i did put in nismo motor mounts but i've yet to do the tranny mount... i'll see if maybe that helps. otherwise im thinking im leaking tranny oil so the fluid is low and not muffling the sounds as much. thanks for all ur input.