In article
<b21ed5cc-2e8f-47c7-acdb-210e54ed90c5@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
"J. Johnson" <DownWitDa@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> A few days ago, I found some small oil and coolant puddles under
> my front passenger side and took the car in to get checked out.
What kind of oil: motor oil, transmission, power steering, brake/clutch
fluid? Crawl under the car, swipe, sniff and compare to known oils. This
is the first thing.
> - Replace both left and right valve cover gaskets, 2.8 hours, $232
If you can do plugs, you can do this. But check for yourself if this is
where your leaks come from. Valve covers usually leak during *running*
and create a lot of smoke where the oil hits the exhaust manifold. Not
so much leaking when sitting.
> - Replace oil pressure sender unit, 0.5 hours, $53
Why does the mechanic believe it is confirmed bad? Oil light not coming
on? Tested with ohmmeter?
> - Replace upper radiator hose, 0.7 hours, $67
It doesn't get easier than this! If it is old, hard or cracked, the
lower hose also probably needs to be done. And then do the one below the
water control valve. These kind of jobs are a real confidence builder.
You *can* reuse the old clamps. Really.
> - Replace power steering suction and pressure hoses, 1.3 hours, $328
Power steering hoses can be a *****. However, by checking the PS
reservoir fluid level and examining the oil on the ground (PS fluid is
not the same as motor oil) this can be confirmed or eliminated as a
source of your trouble. If this isn't your issue then save yourself the
money.
> - Replace front passenger lower control arm, 2.3 hours, $357
Does he mean the *transverse link*? Is it cracked? By the way, when this
part goes bad it doesn't leave puddles on the ground! If you replace it
ask for your old one back.
> After tax, shop charges, etc... it comes out to about $1,100.
Get a list of the parts your mechanic wants to replace, take it to
Nissan parts counter and get pricing information. The Nissan guys will
even print out an exploded diagram of the assembly for you. $1,100 is
accurate for all that work, but ask yourself how much is really
necessary.
> Does anyone have any advice as far as pricing or maybe any of these
> repairs that would be fairly simple to do myself? The most complicated
> thing I've done to my car has been to replace the knock sensor or
> change the drive belts, so I'm definitely more of an amateur mechanic.
I found drive belts to be a pain on this car. If you can handle hand
tools, hit these repairs one at a time, focusing on the oil/coolant
leaks first.
Oh yeah, get a Haynes manual or better yet a shop manual. I found a
download online for nothing a few years ago.
--
Oil is always 15 years from running out, the oceans are always 10 years
away
from rising 10 feet, and the internet always has only 3 years left before
it
runs out of capacity. Color me skeptical.
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