• Registered: 2009-05-02
  • Posts: 62

Topic: 1987 Nissan 200SX questions

All right, not for Lemons racing, buuut I figure you guys have an expertise in what I'm looking for.

Looking to pick up my Aunt's old '87 Nissan 200SX as a daily driver, so I can park my '69 CST10 and continue building it while not relying on it for a DD. Wikipedia tells me this is a V6, RWD coupe, shit yeah! Much better than the Geo storm I'll be looking at.

Problem is, I don't know nothin' about Nissans. Especially ones that have sat nearly ten years. Only reason it's sat was because my aunt picked up a VW rabbit at the time.

Car has 100k miles, and was in good running shape when parked. (LOLranwhenparked). But, after ten years it will need a good going over.

What are some typical problem spots to look for in these cars? If the other Nissans are an indication to go by, they have electrical problems it seems?

2 Reply by EriktheAwful (edited by EriktheAwful 2010-03-29 04:36 AM)

  • From: Choctaw, Oklahoma
  • Registered: 2009-11-12
  • Posts: 2,145

Re: 1987 Nissan 200SX questions

Very few of the 200SXs were V6s, but if yours is, lucky you!

1) Check to see if the late '90s injection recall was performed on it. The VG30 motors were burning to the ground because nobody did the 'recommended' fuel hose replacement. Look for injector harnesses with a yellow stripe. It was an optional part of the recall, so it may not have been done. The only true way to know is to check the condition of the hoses.

2) The timing belt is critical! The engine is an interference design, so if the belt goes, so do your valves. If you can hear the timing belt, replace it. You probably want to pull off the top cover and check it anyways. While you're in there, check the welch plugs in the ends of the heads, the water pump weep hole, cam seals, and listen to the belt tensioner to make sure the bearing's good.

3) Exhaust manifold leaks. The exhaust manifolds tend to crack. If they've been replaced with countermeasure manifolds, the studs tend to crack. When I was a technician we were replacing the studs with hardened studs. Personally I think mild steel is a lot easier to drill out of a head.

4) It's IRS, so if your rear shocks are shot the rear of the car will 'jump' during shifts.

5) IIRC there's a bleed screw on top of the intake manifold for bleeding the air out of your coolant. You might also have to raise the front end of the car.

I don't know a whole lot of 200SX specific stuff because I only ever got to work on one. They're nice cars though. If it is a V6 and you're looking to get rid of it, I'll try and talk my wife into letting me have a 10th car in the driveway.

  • From: Romeoville, IL
  • Registered: 2009-12-12
  • Posts: 1,117

Re: 1987 Nissan 200SX questions

Once you get it running, you'll probly spend a good amount of time at the front of the motor. Knock this all out at once, and the VG will give plenty of trouble free use.
-Timing belt and tensioner, just change them.
-Water pump and thermostat
-Head temp sensor next to the thermostat, also make sure the connector isn't corroded too and that someone hasn't tampered with the wiring.
-Small 3/4" L-shaped hose on the thermo housing likes to blow.

Pretty easy engine to work on once you remove all the crap in front of the engine and put in a garbage can. Make sure to blow the intake valleys out with compressed air BEFORE you remove spark plugs. There is probly some mouse debris in there that will fall right in if you don't. For broken exh mani studs, I use the stainless hardware kit for the LS1 from ARP.

The Charnal House Geo MetSHO: Turning less laps than a regular Metro, the hard way!

1969 Subaru 360

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