Abused sentra gxe

[Bulli]

my uncle has a 02 sentra gxe 1.8l and it has a A/T.
It has about 30k miles on it. He drives very short trips to work and back.
The car really is in bad condition hehe

i change his oil every 3k-3.5k miles. I use whatever i can. Usually the car had Castrol gtx 5-30 and fram filters.
But then i also used Supertech 10-30 hm synthetic with supertech oil filter and now its on valvoline maxlife syn blend 5-30 w. supertech oil filter.

The sump only holds 3qts and when i changed his oil after the supertech 10-30 hm it looked like sludge but it was still very liquidy.

Also as i looked down the filler cap i saw that the cam had some kind of wear on it. Weird. But i know that no more supertech oil for this car.

another thing, i change his oil not every 3 months but by mileage.

So typically this is around 5-7 months.

His A.T fluid has never been changed.
His trans sucks!
it changes gears at slow rpm's just fine but when your speeding it either jerks into 2nd gear or it almost seems like slipping a clutch so i assume torque converter is not great.


I believe i will have to drop the pan. I have done this before in a 96 cavalier with great success so im confident in doing this,

Should i use OEM nissan fluid?
i can get it at a local store.

Hopefully this will solve the transmission problem.


ANd i was thinking about using Auto rx but seeing that my uncle doesnt care about his car... I mean his interior is FILTHY!!
He never checks under the hood. Last time i was changing his oil i had to fix his flat because he was driving with a flat with a BABY on board!! He comes to me saying his brakes are making a noise and he had no more brake pad life left and killed his rotors. So i changed it all for him. Talk about a moron.

i keep on insisting for him to get another car and sell this one before he kills it because with the way thinks are going , either his engine will die on him or the transmission will and he will have to dish out alot of money.

sorry for the long post but i just had to get it all out of me.

 

[VK56VD]

Sludge should not form at the intervals you describe. Perhaps with a 3 qt. sump and the oil not being able to reach operating temperature due to the short trips, it's very possible. I'd use a robust oil in the engine seeing that it holds so little oil. I'd use Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and a quality filter and change at 1 yr. or 6 month intervals. Auto-RX it to clean the engine out before switching to synthetic.

Use Amsoil ATF for the transmission via the cooler line flush or multiple drain and refills. Check his air filter as well and change if needed.

 

[Mr Nice]

If he doesn't care about his car, then why should you care about its maintenance.

Doesn't this year Sentra have head gasket problems ?

 

[Bulli]

well i want to keep the car on dino oil.
Probably gona use YB starting next oil change.
the oil looked like sludge but under the oil cap its nice and clean....

never did the cooler lines but i have done a pan drop and filter change. is 1 drain and refill enough?

Air filter is still good i changed it not to long ago.
his tires have ok thread but the side walls are cracking and like i said again he probably will come to me when his tires explode.


lt4 vette- i care about his maintenance because its fun! i love working on cars and learning new things. I don't mind at all it just would be nice for him to care for the car just a little.

He Never ever has probably poped the hood to check fluid levels.
The car burns no oil on dino but i noticed it does burn on 5-30 synthetic. about 1/2 a quart in 3k miles. so i would like to stay away from synthetic since i do not check his oil level and neither does he.

i love my uncle but all he does it go to work where he is working for 5-6 years that pays him [censored]! and he got a full degree from a great collage. Then he goes home eats some fast food and watches tv. What a life ehhh?

i wonder what he would do if i wasn't there to help him, seriously.

Before when i was still young and he changed oil at a local mechanic he use to go 5k miles on dino oil and that really looked terrible. Nissan should have put in a bigger sump in these cars..

as for the head gasket problem.. i don't have no idea... coolant seems to be at the same position and i never had to add any since he bought the car.

 

[StevieC]

ARX it... Take before and after pics looking inside the oiler filler cap and post them here...

 

[MONKEYMAN]

If the 1.8 is similar to the 1.6 on my 93 Sentra they use a screen for a transmission filter. I dropped my pan and the filter was clean and could not get it off all the way. One bolt has a nut that holds the valve body down. I cleaned my pan to never do that again. Considering the abuse and lack of maintenance if it has a drain plug I would just drain fill it with the cheap ATF. I used Dex III. Then after some time I would drain and refill. Then most of the fluid would be new.

Regarding oil my sump was 3.4 quarts. It got Castrol 10w30 for 75,000 miles every 3,000 miles. I had two oil pan gaskets that were cooked and leaking, front main seal replaced twice, and valve cover gasket replaced once. My take is the engine is very hard on oil. I did a lot of short trips, so I am sure that did not help. The main problem I had with the engine was seals and gaskets leaking. Otherwise, I was great. Maybe the newer ones are better?

 

[Bulli]

my mom had a 96 sentra gxe. Taht was a big problem.
We bought itn new but rebuilt.
We needed a new engine.. i dont know why, i think the sleaves in the block cracked... Then we got a junk yard engine and that died after 30 days but it was warranted so we got another one for free. The transmission started dieing on us at 80k and shifted rought to 2nd gear and it was drinking coolant but head gasket was good. and no white smoke.. Weird.
Ended up selling. Talk about bad luck. i hope all sentras are not that [censored].

 

[Propflux01]

And there is nothing wrong with the Supertech. It wasnt the cause of your cam wear issue.

 

[JTK]

Like Monkeyman says, don't bother dropping the pan on that Jatco 4spd auto. Like said, the screen will be fine. They have a drain plug, so just do some successive drains/fills with any ATF that is Nissan Matic-J compatible (If I remember correctly??) The manual should also spec universal Merc/Dex ATF can be used. I dunno.. I've found the 1.6, 1.8L and 4spd auto to be a great powertrain. I agree though that our 2001 Sentra shifted weird compared to our 1993. Too fast, erratic at times and would get confused with the CC set.

Joel

 

[Cutehumor]

the sentra from this vintage with the 1.8L are POS junk. the sludge is most likely from a coolant leak. My dad's 03 sentra is on it's 2nd replacement head gasket and it is showing signs of leaking again. it's paid for since August. So he's going to trade it in a few months.

 

[Zaedock]

Originally Posted By: Tim H.
And there is nothing wrong with the Supertech. It wasnt the cause of your cam wear issue.


X2.

I've used ST in everything with great results. The only current reason not to use it is cost. It just isn't the economical alternative it used to be.

 

[Donald]

If your uncle got a new vehicle, 20-30K latter he might be in same situation.

Maybe he needs to buy:

1) Camry which can better take abuse, (just not one of the sludge monster engines)

2) Vehicle with free oil changes for life, some dealers offer it. Would he even go?

If he wants to keep current vehicle,

1) Auto-Rx the engine and then go on the main. diet.

2) Auto-Rx the transmission, then go to synthetic ATF and install a Magnefine filter.

You basically want to equip the engine/transmission to deal with abuse.

You and your uncle need to agree on some minimum maint. along with the costs. If he won't agree, then walk away, or you will be blamed. Basically last person to touch something is always blamed.

 

[Bulli]

thanks donald. you have a good point. i dont want to be blamed for a failure.
I will talk to him after winter when i change his a.t fluid. I will decide if the car is still ok to drive for a couple more years or if he would be better to trade it in for something newer.

and i believe he has no coolant leak because the coolant level in the reservoir is always good.