 |
| Goodbye, old friend! |
Mileage: 163,575 miles
Repairs during lifetime: water pump, alternator, CV joints, entire exhaust system.
October 1998 - April 2015
 |
| Not so bad looking from 10 foot away |
So what did it in? RUST!
The body started getting a few rust spots a couple years ago - mainly the doors and runner boards. These were mostly cosmetic issues and we expected to replace the door soon. Underneath was the real problem.
 |
| Door rust |
 |
| Runner board looking pretty shabby |
After sixteen Ohio winters, the rear subframe morphed into iron oxide. This was the catastrophic event that would end this vehicle's service life.
 |
| Suspension shows some surface rust |
 |
| In front of the rear wheel, this suspension piece completely separated |
 |
| Another view of the suspension rust |
After seeing the issue in the suspension, it was time to retire the car. Its difficult to retire a vehicle that still ran smoothly, never stalled, and the exhaust system was as quiet as new.
Were there other issues? Yes.
We had a slow oil leak that we decided to not repair about a year ago. The oil pan was dented by a garage servicing the vehicle. It appears that they tried to use it as a lift point. Unfortunately it was the same week I took it to three different shops for tires and a repair estimate. Also, the engine was starting to get a slight oil coat on it.
In general, maintenance and repair work is fairly easy on this vehicle.
Since the car was not safe to drive, I figure now was the time to try debadging. I was able to remove the Nissan logo using dental floss and a hair dryer. I'm surprised at how good it turned out. The paint under the logo is pretty close to the same as the rest of the trunk lid. That paint had not seen daylight since the Clinton administration!
 |
| Souvenir badge |
 |
| Can't see the line, can you Russ? |
No comments:
Post a Comment