1997 Nissan Sentra Hello Sir

MYLORELIJOSERICA

MEMBER
1997 NISSAN SENTRA
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
150,000 MILES

I have this nissan sentra 1400cc EFI (fuel injected) 16valve twin cam engine with 150000 plus kilometers runs. Im wondering why my engine is not in a good timing when it runs, my mechanic suggest to change head gasket, valve seal, valve sit(hoping I spelled it right) and refacing the valves because the first cylinder has no contact with the engine. The sparkplug was not making grounds with the engine. IS MY MECHANIC TELLING ME THE TRUTH? What should I do? Im afraid that the water in my radiator was mixed with the engine oil causing to overhaul the engine? But im always checking the radiator's water (it is always full) but ive seen an oil leaking near the first sparkplug or cylinder. Please response!

3 Replies

ZACKMAN

MECHANIC
4,202 POSTS

He is fairly accurate in the diagnosis. Once your coolant mixes with oil, you have bad head gasket. To properly fix the problem, the block and cylinder head should be re-surfaced to create a flat, even mounting surface. While the cylinder head is out of the vehicle, it is recommended that you adjust the valve clearance and valve seat. The valve seal is a part of your head gasket set that he has to order to complete the job.

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Thursday, December 18th, 2008 AT 6:59 PM

MYLORELIJOSERICA

MEMBER
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SIR! Last question, please be patient, Im driving my sentra and when a rough road comes then I hear some sounds under MY car(its like the whole body losing its grip on my tires. I dont know if my balljoint, tierod or my suspension must be replaced because I had so many cars as this model but they dont sounds like that when to rough roads, it feels like the body will take off. AS far as I know tierod is for wiggling body right? Maybe its balljoints or suspensions? I just want to be sure that my mechanic will not dumped me if I will let him fix my car. Please response. Thanks sir. Hoping you got my feedback.

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Friday, December 19th, 2008 AT 10:08 AM

ZACKMAN

MECHANIC
4,202 POSTS

What have you done, suspension-wise, in the last two years? 150K miles is a lot for the car.

Simple tests to check for suspension parts.
Raise the front of the vehicle. It is kind of hard for me to explain the details, so I will use analogy where I can. Imagine the tire is a giant compass. You will have top (North), bottom (South), right (East) and left (West).

Ball joint:
Check the rubber boot on the ball joint, if it is torn, replace the boot.
With your hands, grab top and bottom of the tire, rock it back and forth, towards the top and bottom. You should not be able to move it more than 1/4 of an inch. If you can move more than 1/4 inch, replace ball joint.

Tie rod end:
With your hands, grab left and right of the tire, rock it back and forth, towards the left and right. You should not be able to move it more than 1/4 of an inch. If you can move more than 1/4 inch, replace outer tie rod end. If it doesn't move past 1/4 inch, but there is so much play, replace inner tie rod end. If you have both movement, replace both tie rod ends.

Struts:
Most technicians push the edge of the vehicle. If the vehicle bounces more than once, replace the strut on that corner. I do that, but I also have another test for you to do. Have someone follow you driving at 55 - 65 mph on a straight highway. The he observes that your car moves up and down more than once, then you need to replace your struts.

Based on your description "like the whole body losing its grip on my tires", I believe that you need struts replaced. But it doesn't hurt to check all the other suspension parts, as well.

Let us know.

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Saturday, December 20th, 2008 AT 12:30 AM