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Daily Driver no more.


savageskaterkid

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This is basicly a pointless rant.

 

Today I was about to leave school in my sentra, put it in reverse, backed up and threw it in drive while standing still. *BAM* Then the car died, and it wouldn't restart-mind you I'm laughing hesterically at this point. A classmate was on the other side of the lot and heard the sound too. "Sounds like you just dropped the trans." I finnally got the car to restart but when I put it in drive, it just revved. So I had to drive like 20-25 miles of highway home, in 2nd gear. Thank god for an overdrive though. I don't really know what I'm gonna end up doing, but it seems as though I now have 2 cars, both don't run. My new tattoo is itching really bad, and I can't scratch it-everything is going wrong at this moment. Now my dad is talking about taking it to the shop to get it fixed, which I WILL NOT DO. The car was bought for me, but I have to pay back every penny of it, which my dad gave me no say in what car. He ended up paying TOO much for it. $1,800 for a 93 sentra sucks, not to mention that it had 166,xxx on the clock. Then he noticed an oil leak onto the driveway.(my dads pet peeve) Rear main seal was bad, so he paid $800 to fix that. So now I pay 100 a month for the next 2 years to pay off that piece of crap, plus whatever else breaks. The car isn't gonna make it much longer. I plan to just drive it in 2nd gear till it blows up, then junk it. I'm a little pissed. Like I said, this is a pointless rant.

 

But on a side note, tell me what you guys think about an SR20DET into the sentra.

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Don't know about Nissan JDM engine swaps, but my father-in-law and I recently completed our second JDM Honda engine/trans replacement recently. We replaced the engines in two of the family's cars which had finally died after putting about 180k on the ticker. With the Hondas, if you're not going for the higher output engines, you can get a whole new engine and trans combo shipped to your door for around $1,200. You could just swap in a lo-po replacement into your Sentra. May not be fun, but would be pretty inexpensive I'd guess.

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OK, This sounds like a post I would have read from one of my stepsons (Now 18 and 21 and both more able to take care of themselves now)... And I know you as a good kid, so I'm gonna bust your balls for a moment... :-)

 

Your dad made a bad choice in buying you a car... He bought you A car.

 

Your tattoo itches... Coulda spent the money on your car.

 

You could always buy your own car. Get to work on that and save save save.

 

I know it sucks being at the stage in your life you're at, where everyone else still makes decisions for you, and you're stuck under their roof with their rules... Trust me on this one though, it'll all change soon enough... Sit back and ride this one out... And let him fix it. I bet in the end, he'll not make you pay all of it back, just some of it, to help teach you the lesson of responsability for your expenses...

 

See, now Rant on for me...

 

Toilet paper... someone pays for that... Remember that the next time you're thumbing through that magazine while prairie doggin'...

 

Lights on... Yea and the TV, the computer, the iPOD and the stereo... Someone is paying that electric bill... bet it's DAD.

 

Hungry? Go to the fridge and grab some food... Hmmmm Wonder who stocked it with all that good stuff (Or as My youngest used to claim "You guys never buy anything I want..." "And Craig, you never contribute!")

 

Wanta get a clean pair of pants out of the dresser drawer? Gee, the pants got clean with the water someone paid the bill for (Unless on a well, and then someone paid to have it drilled!)... And the dresser you're pullin' it out of is probably another item provided for you by him/them...

 

And that roof over your head, or the pavement that the oil is KILLING every time it drips on it???

 

You get the point...

When you can afford to carry your own load fully, pay your own way fully, and provide fully for the roof over your head, I'll feel sorry when you have a bad streak of luck. Until then, thank your dad (And mom!!!) for all that stuff on the list, and tell him to add the cost of that tranny to it...

 

Cheers and Happy weekend!

 

Mike

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Thanks mike...you stole my post!! :icon56:

It does suck when you cant have it your way.

Every one has been there. I know I have.

 

Does this sound familiar?

"Today I was about to leave school in my sentra, put it in reverse, backed up and threw it in drive while standing still. *BAM* Then the car died, and it wouldn't restart-mind you I'm laughing hesterically"

 

Time to pay. You'll get it figured out pretty soon. Be cool. Soon it will be in the past and a good drinking story.

 

:cheers:

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On a more cheerful note (but the guy is right) I have a friend who did a SR swap in his NX2000, wich is the same platforme, and it was really awsome, I've seen him beat up on mildly built stangs. The only thing is you need a front clip cause allmost nothing under the hood of your car would be reused.

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Wow Mike, you directly quoted the thoughts that ran through my mind as I read SavageSkaterKid's post. Must be that fathers of young men all have the same thought patterns and experiences with their sons.

 

SavageSkaterKid,

Listen to what Mike said and think hard about it.

Your Dad bought you the car and chances are won't make you pay it all back, especially the main seal repair. So if you dislike the car so much and thought the deal your Dad made you sucked why did you drive it? Seems to me you accepted it by using the car. So now you plan to abuse the car even more until it really dies then throw it away.

This makes sense how?

BTW it won't hurt your Dad but if he makes you pay it all back, and I would if you insist on driving it until it dies, it will hurt your personal finances.

So take a little time, let the car sit, cool down and think logically about the best course of action, then talk it over with your Dad. If he sees you've put some thought into solving your problem he'll listen to what you have to say, but be willing to listen to his viewpoint and compromise with him to solve your problem.

 

Wheelman

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Your dad made a bad choice in buying you a car... He bought you A car.

 

Your tattoo itches... Coulda spent the money on your car.

 

You could always buy your own car. Get to work on that and save save save.

Mike

 

 

Money isn't really the issue with the car. I did buy my Z, and every penny that ever went into it was mine, my dad thought that since I was going to college now, he'd give me a loan for a car, that I would pay off during the time I'm in college.

There was a limit to how much money, miles, and age. I was supposed to have little say in which car it was. The price limit was around 5000, the age was to be no more then around 7 years old, and it was supposed to be around 100k miles. I looked through hundreds of used cars through craiglist, trading post, and the newspaper, and found a bunch of cars that met the requirments, I did my part. When I tried to give him all this info when he wasn't busy, he didn't care at the time because in my house the TV is the most important thing. I called my dad from work because I found another car. This was a 99' sentra GXE 5 speed with about 97K on the clock, for about 4500. He said he had already talked to someone about another sentra and was gonna test drive it after work. When I got home he came pulling up in a 93 sentra. He got a car older then 7 yrs old, with alot more miles then 100k, but saved "me" a like 3 grand. After 5 minuts of owning the car it was at the shop getting the rear main seal replaced. Another 800 down the drain, so he saved me more like 2 grand. But now I see a motor and trans in the VERY near future, so I see no savings, but much more then the budget was set to be. I am beyond mad about this car fiasco. Now that I'm old enough, I may just go buy a gently used car and get my grandparents to co-sign.

 

Or do the SR20DET sentra.

 

btw-The tattoo was a present to me, I didn't pay for it.

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SavageSkaterKid,

Listen to what Mike said and think hard about it.

Your Dad bought you the car and chances are won't make you pay it all back, especially the main seal repair.

 

If he sees you've put some thought into solving your problem he'll listen to what you have to say, but be willing to listen to his viewpoint and compromise with him to solve your problem.

 

Wheelman

 

My dad isn't the normal dad, he will make me pay back every penny. This is the same dad that decided he didn't want to take off work to goto my graduation, because he didn't think I would graduate, and it seemed pointless to take off work for nothing.(Work said they would give him the time off, but he didn't want to take it off) It wouldn't have even been the whole day off, just come in like 2 hours late.

 

He also doesn't care how much time or effort I put into anything, if its not upto his standards, its crap. He doesn't comprimise.

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I don't know your dad. It is disheartening that he did not attend your graduation and it's obvious that he should have and that it hurts that he didn't. Hell, Craig DIDn'T graduate and had to go to summer school, and we STILL went to his graduation to see him walk with his class, because we knew it was important to him...

 

Fathers can sometimes give up on their kids, as I did with Jeff & Craig both, Resigning themselves to allowing the kid to flail away "figuring" it out on their own for a bit. I don't know your personal situation, but I can relate a few instances where I, the stepdad in this relationship of mine, spent lots of time, and cubic feet in dollars, only to have it thrown back in my face and me left feeling pretty un-appreciated.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that you and your dad have obviously drifted to opposite ends of the spectrum. However, it's encouraging that he bought you a car, and it's also encouraging that you are going to college. He probably limited your choices for car purchases because he was trying to be practicle. The car he chose is economical and fuel friendly. It is neither fast, nor furious. It is also reasonably cheap to drive every day. It's a "Daily Driver" you can use while building your project car.

 

In comparison, I gave my youngest a 1990 Civic hatch to drive daily... he put springs on it, lowered it, did the lambo door kit, wired in all kinds of video and gaming stuff, and then complained when the doors didn't stay up, the video stuff started draining his charging system, and the tires were killed due to excess camber... ALL things I raised as concerns when he pretty much told me "I'll take care of it, don't worry about it..." :roll: After the car was deemed "unworthy" for him to drive anymore, he started demanding a car for his 18th Birthday... I refused, because he simply didn't take care of the first TWO cars he'd been GIVEN... I told the wife no way/ no how, Unless he graduated highschool... Low and behold his father stepped up and bought him a 1994 Turbo'ed Honda Civic Hatch with a bunch of bolt ons and add ons in the entertainment department... So to show his loyalty and gratitude, he moved out of our house on his 18th Bday and into his fathers house... Forever breaking my wife's heart.

 

That car didn't last TWO MONTHS when the motor blew, among other "failures" that were hidden by the seller, an ebay transaction gone horribly wrong... That little car cost him and his father more than $12K before all was said and done, As he tried to rebuild the initial motor, only to have it blow up on start up. He eventually sold the turbo kit to partially afford the second motor, a bone stock honda LS motor. He is now doing everything he can to unload the car, seeing that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

 

And it cost him a lot more in that our relationship has been damaged, and his mother still hurts over the fact that he let daddy buy his loyalty with the purchase of a car. And there's no chance I'll be allowing him to have a project car at my place... No chance in hell... Because he doesn't have the money (And honestly shouldn't be spending it right now) and I'd end up having to do the work. He has not shown me that he has learned from the above choices he has made. The choice of going to live with his father should have been one made without the dangle of "prizes". Love is not based in bobbles and trinkets... The lesson there hasn't truly sunk in, but time will tell... Now this young man is wanting US to buy him a car, and of course, he's telling us he'd come to live with us... :roll:

 

I relay this to you only to give you a peek into the "other" side of the fence. For there is no way you will ever truly be able to grasp at the straws of your father's thoughts until you place yourself on his side of the fence. Honest and open, trusting communication will get you both a lot further down the road. I only hope that some day Craig and I have that. :wink:

 

Good Luck!

Mike

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I can sympathise with both Mikelly and SSKid on this one. My mom and stepfather have bought me a few cars, the first being an 86 diesel golf. When that car went bad (and it did so catastrophically), they bought me a combination 18th birthday/graduation present of a brand new 98 Civic Hatchback. I did about the same thing as Craig, but I don't believe in Audio Visual in a car, or Lambo doors (which weren't available at the time anyway), so it just got the 2" drop and cold air intake. I ended up curbing it pretty badly, and trading it to a guy for two CRXs. At this point I was living on my own, but this still hurt their feelings since they didn't know why I would trade the brand new (of course by this time it was 3-4 years old with a bent frame in my eyes) honda for a beat up 10 year old pos(which was a hot rod in my eyes: grabber blue, 10:1 single cam). Well, I was still on my own, so I figured it was my life, how long am I supposed to keep this car, anyway? Well, that one threw a rod and left me carless (my other CRX was an HF model, and I wasn't ever able to get the engine to fire up after I swapped it into the SI) for several months...Luckily I had purchased myself a freestyle bicycle that I was able to ride several miles to work...After the engine swap fiasco, I decided I should just look for something else in the $1k price range, and just start over. I was thinking 1st gen RX-7, but then I came across my first 280z. Well, this thing in retrospect was UNFIT to drive, but at the time, I thought it was the COOLEST thing ever. Well, around this time, I made the decision to go back to school and get my degree (I had broken my ankle skateboarding several years earlier, and ended up taking 2 years off. I hadn't been doing well AT ALL in college, even though I graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA and got a full scholarship on the strength of my SAT scores alone...I just wasn't focused, and didn't know what I wanted to get out of school yet).

 

So when my Z finally became more trouble than it was worth, I decided to save up and buy myself a nicer car, something sporty and RWD, but not too much. This time in the $2-2.5k range. I was looking for a 2g RX-7, or a 240sx. Well, because they were so happy I was going back to school, they decided they would step in and help me get a nicer used car. So now I'm looking at S14s instead of S13s, but since used cars cost so much, we might as well start looking at new cars they said (ARGH, just go buy something and bring it home then and don't even ask me what I want, I thought). So we were looking at Sentras, and we saw the new body style Altima across the lot. One test drive, and that was the car. Of course, had to be the four cylinder, we don't want this one to be in "drag racing trim" they said. Fair enough, but it wasn't really the car I had wanted...Well, then they came and said they wanted me to write them a page explaining why I deserved the car. This was about the limit of my patience at this point...WTF?! I thought loudly...I said, "Why don't YOU explain to me why you offered me something, and now you want me to beg for it? I didn't come to you for help, I was going to buy my own car. I know you are just trying to be nice, but you don't offer something, and then tell someone to write you an essay about why the deserve it? That is just rediculous..." They saw my point, and now I'm driving the Altima.

 

Well, years have passed, I'm married now, and have a project on the side so that I no longer have to "live the dream" and drive my project car every day. I graduated from USF and am now preparing to get my Masters from UCF. Looking back at the situation, I have to say that I had a pretty myopic view of what had been going on all that time. All I could think of was why I didn't have more say in what car I was going to drive, not thanking my lucky stars that I recieved THREE free vehicles, two of them BRAND NEW off the lot. Anyway, my tune has changed a lot. I know that is not your situation, but at least they are doing something.

 

As for your question though, an SR20det in a sentra will be FAST. For a discussion of this topic, check out this thread we had going for awhile:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=113152&highlight=sentra

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Wow, some interesting stuff has been said in this thread.

 

My only comments are directed toward savageskaterkid who has some interesting choices to make. From what I understand, you have a broken daily driver and a Z car. Having been in the exact same position as you I would urge to to not give into the temptaion to do anything other than simple repairs to your Sentra. An engine swap or other performance mods will only divert time, money and interest from your Z car and then you'll have two project cars and no daily driver. Bite the bullet, fix the Sentra and continue to drive it as long as you can while you keep working on your Z and making it what you want. Don't worry about your father not making the best decision and buying you the car, you cannot change what happened so just make the best of it.

 

Just my two cents worth.

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Jimbob makes a good point, I wouldn't get too hung up on how fast you can make your Sentra. I would maybe find an SR20DE and Manual combo (or at the very least, all the stuff to make your 1.6 manual), and just swap that in. It shouldn't be too bad on gas (better than auto, that's for sure), will perform better (but not break as much), and it's pretty hard to mess up a manual transmission so long as you are any kind of a driver...

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Wow guys, this is very touchy thread for what i can see. I am pretty sure we can all relate to this one way or the other. I sure defenatlly can since i was the same knuckle head when i went to school and i had 95 240sx that i was beating on learning how to drift and etc:burnout: just like most of us here...and then of coure bad things happend in a drift, i dont think i have to write up an explanation. Because its pretty much describing as you guys explained to the savagekid.

 

If you guys wana compare some bad cars i got one for you. After my 240 was Resting in peace. I got my hands on still dont know how i let that happend, well long story short. The car that i got was a 93 Chevy Lumina Euro edition. That had 235K on clock and leaked oil, over heat in traffic had no rear suspension, rusted inside out and i drove that thing for 3 years untill there was nothing left.:-D

 

As for the Savagekid i dont wana be a Judge on youre half and i dont think anyone here that posted something in youre direction. Basicly enough said live and learn from youre own mistakes and others, since we all have been there.

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I didn't blow the entire transmission, just third gear, so I plan to just drive it in 2nd, which isn't too bad, because its an overdrive.

 

New thoughts have come up though, I took the car for a ride tonight, and it has a very bad idle vibration. I think I may have broken a mount and caused the engine and trans to move a bit, so that the linkage may have shifted and not locking into drive and causing it to not shift into 3rd.

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I have always said that primary transportation should not be "messed" with. I have several young kids that stop by my shop regularly.

They all drive cars that have stock drive train, but they never fail to attempt a neutral or reverse drop when leaving.

I guess I`m supposed to be impressed that Mommy/Daddy or Grandma could afford to buy them a such an "AWSOME" car that is capable of squealing the tires when you dump the clutch at 5G`s.

 

When their cars screw up on them, it`s always the same story."I wasn`t running it hard today" Yea, but what about every other day for the last six months.

 

My suggestion would be to buy a good used transmission, get some buddys together and swap it yourself. your dad might appreciate that you a willing to work to save some $$ on the repair shop bill.

 

Once the car is fixed, I suggest driving it like you have a cop in the car with you. it will cost you much less in the long run for repairs and maintanance, and the extra cash can be used for your Z.

 

BTW, I can`t understand the mindset of kids that expect someone to buy them a car. This isn`t directed specifically toward anyone here, just the youth of today in general.

First they want a car, then they need gas money. Once the car starts to show some wear, they want somthing different.

 

Just like your drivers licence, it`s not a right, it`s a privalidge.

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My wife and I are talking a little about what our car plans are WHEN we have kids. I say they should buy their own cars, that way they can learn what it's like to maintain them, but she wants to give them our old ones when we trade up...it's kind of a sticky debate. I think it will end up depending on what kind of kid they are.

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