Thread: So I just bought my '91 SE-R a few weeks ago. Initial impressions/thoughts.

Introduction:

So it's been a long road to finally end up with this car...

Nate's cars (in order):
1. 1989 Honda Prelude (high school)
2. 2002 Nissan SE-R Spec V (high school)
3. 1989 Ford Fiesta (college)
4. 1990 Lexus LS400 (college)
5. 1992 Civic hatchback with H22 motor swap (work full-time)
5. 2007 Subaru WRX (work full-time)
6. 1991 Sentra SE-R (college again)

I've known about the original SE-R's ever since high school, when I was in the market for a cheap, fun car. I read a lot of car magazines back then, and the B13's were universally praised.
I've been a honda guy since the beginning...I eventually owned a '92 civic with a H22 motor swap that I bought from a friend. I kinda wish I never sold that car. It was a lot faster than most people would think. Sold it because it attracted too many thieves/scum of the earth.

After that, I bought a brand new 2007 WRX TR. Have had it for two years now, but I just sold it. I simply couldn't afford it...payments were killing me...I was a slave

I'm in school again now, and I have no money. So I naturally went back to the cars I was interested in back in high school. Found a clean SE-R with 117k miles a few hours away. Borrowed some money from my dad and bought it with cash.

Initial Impressions:

1. Steering/handling

It feels sloppy. I guess that's typical of a stock car that is 18 years old. I'm hoping to eventually replace the struts and springs with something better. Also hoping to install stiffer motor mounts/steering rack bushings/other bushings to see if that will help make everything feel tighter.

2. Brakes
I've noticed that to get the brakes to feel 'most linear', I have to lightly pump the brakes once or twice to build up pressure. I don't think this is normal. Maybe the brakes need to be bled or something. But I'm not too worried since I want to upgrade to a better caliper eventually anyways.

3. Transmission
The car has 5th gear pop-out. I knew that when I bought it. I've noticed that it actually doesn't happen until I start cruising over 70 mph. Around town it usually doesn't pop-out. Still really annoying though. Dan Martin and Ben Fenner have generously offered to help me with this, so hopefully I can fix it soon.

4. Acceleration
More lively than I expected it to be. There isn't a turbo rush or VTEC rush like what I've been used to in past cars. But it's enough for a daily driver to pass people and drive aggressively. Although, I've also noticed that the motor hesitates sometimes when I'm slowly accelerating out of a gear, i.e. 2nd at less than 2500 rpm.

Stuff that needs to be fixed:
1. 5th gear pop-out
2. driver side CV boot is ripped open
3. wheels need to be balanced; car needs alignment
4. all the window seals are dry/cracked
5. both front and rear windshield seals are dry/cracked
6. window tint is peeling and needs to be re-done
7. all the speakers are dry-rotted and need to be replaced. They sound bad.
8. need to find a trunk liner to cover the floor of the trunk
9. once the windows are rolled down past a certain point (halfway or so), they are really hard to roll back up. Grease?
10. right side of gauge cluster doesn't light up
11. 'door open' light in gauge cluster comes on a lot. I think the door latches need to be adjusted somehow? If that's even possible?
12. windshield washer fluid tank is cracked open at the base of the neck. Discovered this today when I was filling it up.
13. dome light doesn't work

There are probably a few more small things I haven't discovered yet.

I have a long list in my head of things about the car I'd like to upgrade, most importantly the brakes, wheels, and suspension, but I'll have to wait until I'm out of school. Just don't have any extra money right now. Need to get out of debt first.

If you have thoughts/advice, please chime in!

Nate

congratulations. im thinking the handling will improve once you get the alignment fixed (check what works well for these wonderful little cars).
enjoy

Hey congrats Nate! And good for you for heading back to school! I've not been here on the forum long myself, and I too just got a '91 with a lot of the same issues as you about 2 months ago. So far basically I've been told a lot of this stuff comes out to be cheap fixes, but I'm discovering a bunch of 30-40 dollar fixes adds up quick. I just Sunday finished my bachelor's, I'm broke, I feel you about the debt, and I'm trying to finish my tune-up from 2 months ago and still have a lot of little things to do. I'd browse through the for sale threads and see what gems you can find.

As to the steering/handling issues, you'll be undoubtedly directed here: Suspension Thread before long if you haven't already. It is basically the suspension bible for the three generations of Sentra previous to the current one put together by the forum's very own Shawn B, who, knowing nothing of suspensions when he began, took it upon himself to find out everything there is to know and tapped info from some of the most informed people out there, compiled it all, and put it together in a very practical and knowledgeable format for all of us to refer to. It will likely answer a lot of your questions and even give you info on stuff you weren't even thinking about.

It's an 18 year old car, it's gonna need some love. I myself want a nice, tight, daily driver, and have been recommended to get OEM springs, KYB-GR2 struts (which are basically stock replacements, only a little stiffer), and a Progress rear sway bar. Depending on what you want to do and how much you want to spend, you will have different recommendations. Mine happens to be practical, easy on the spine, and easy on the wallet.

I don't know anything about brakes, but I have the same impressions as you, though I've discovered that slamming on the brakes WILL stop the car. A lot of folks recommend upgrading to the brakes of an NX2000, which are a slightly larger diameter and quite a bit thicker, I believe it's called the ADV22 upgrade, or something like that. Don't quote me on the name. It's a rather cheap and very effective upgrade, though the stock brakes are pretty good and not all that bad at all. Other upgrade options get real expensive real quick. I'm thinking of bleeding my brakes as well, actually, nice cheap upgrade for the meantime.

As to acceleration, it sounds like a good old tune-up is in order. There's a lot of cool (and cheap!) little fixes in here that my make it even peppier and get rid of that hesitation.

Other items:
Audio: your fronts are 5.25 and your rears are 6.5. I've found these online for stupid cheap in the Pioneer brand, and plan to do all four soon for under $90. Depends on your tastes.

Window cranks: Someone please advise. I have this same issue lol.

Dome light: I'd replace the bulb and see if that works. If not, I have suspicions that whoever had it before had issues with the door switch (which would cause both the dash and dome light coming on all the time) and just decided to either turn off or kill the dome light altogether. I'd take a look at your door switch and see if everything's in working order. On a side note - how's the door close? Does it hang? If so, you'll have to get new hinges as they can't be repaired like most cars. GregV (he can get you anything, pretty much at a reasonable cost) can get them to you for about $70 a side. Stealership is going to be a little higher. I keep hearing how great he is both at getting things and at customer service. He's pretty well liked around here.

Sites to visit:
Genuine Nissan Auto Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com
G Spec Performance
SCC Project Sentra SE-R - December '97

my own build thread - a lot of similar issues, most of which addressed by Ben Fenner. Might be useful if you don't mind reading through all my drivel.

I hope this helps. I don't know too much as I'm pretty new to this, I'd never had a Japanese FWD 5-speed before and come from a family that drove nothing but old fullsize GM cars, so if anybody says something different from what I've put here odds are 1. they know what they're doing and 2. you should probably go with what they have to say. Good luck with all! Keep us posted!

Thanks for the intro Lenny. I hope the SE-R treats you as well as some of your other cars.


Is there a large section of "on center" slop that doesn't turn the car at all? Or do you mean the car wallows around like it has very low spring rates? Because the wallowing is normal on stock springs. =/


Sounds like your master cylinder is failing. I'm 80% sure.

I've replaced a few windows in my day and the last one I did for some reason shifts to one side if rolled up from most of the way down. It makes it very hard to roll up. I pull "back" on the window to align it and it goes up smoothly. I'm not sure why it does this but maybe yours is doing it too? I will look into it the next time the door panel is off. Grease might help, but I'm thinking it's an alignment issue...

The electrical switch for the door could also have 1 foot in the grave.

I'll bet the sloppy steering is worn/blown struts.

I remember what a brand new b13 se-r felt like in college (way back in 92) and "sloppy" wasn't really one of the adjectives I would've used.

Get GR-2s and bushings (not necessarily poly bushings) like you said and I think you'll be on your way.

Dude, ya that's exactly where I'm at. It's so frustrating to have plans, but not the money to accomplish them. Been there many times in the last few years.



Yeah this is basically what I'm after as well. Although I don't like how soft the stock springs are, and I don't like the way the car looks either. I briefly looked at that suspension thread...holy cow...I have a lot of reading to do!




I'll check out some of those 'fixes'. Hopefully they'll freshen the motor up. I thought maybe the spark plugs needed to be replaced...since I have no idea that last time they were replaced.



Where exactly did you find them for that cheap? Ebay? I thought the fronts were 4X6"?

No, there isn't really any 'play' in the steering wheel...it just feels like the steering and handling both would benefit from being more firmly attached to the chassis. And yes, the body rolls around a lot...annoying. I guess it's just the way it is until I upgrade the struts and springs.




Wow, that can't be good. Are my brakes just gonna crap out on me one of these days?!? That could certainly be dangerous. I mean, they work...but I just have to pump it once or twice if I want the pedal to feel firm and linear. I would like to see how they feel after I bleed them.

Fronts are 5.25" round: Amazon.com: Pioneer TS-G1342R 5.25-Inch 2-Way 140-Watt Speaker: Electronics

Rears: Amazon.com: Used and New: Pioneer TS-G1642R 6.5-Inch 2-Way 180-Watt Speaker

Luckily, both sizes are pretty popular. You can find 'em even cheaper but you'd be dipping into off-brand and off-quality territory at that point. Some may argue that Pioneer's not the best but I've never had issues with them, especially the head units. The one I have (DEH-1100MP) can be had for just around $100 or less, and has plenty features for the price.

I used to always get torn high-end drivers on eBay dirt cheap. If its just a tear, glue that sucker back together...sounds as good as new.

Got some Polk Audio 6.5s for $10 that way.

Funny you mention Honda. I had an 89 Honda Accord LX-i 2DR and that car suprised the sh*t out of alot of people. Had nothing more than an intake. I miss that car so much and wish I still had it. But you know what they say, once you have had "the one car" that makes its mark in your soul you never find one quite like it. Congrats on school and getting back into a B13. My B13 sits in my garage waiting for me to come home and I can't wait. Best of luck with it.