Servicing my N16 1.5 e

A

apples12

Hi all

I'm in the process of attempting to get my 2000 (W) N16 Almera 1.5e running in as good shape as i possibly can.

I've had the brake pads and tyres all changed, all fluids have been topped up, bodyworks been sorted out, now the only thing i need some more guidance with (as my knowledge about cars doesnt extend much past the basic stuff!) is doing the engine service.

I will be paying a mechanic to do the work for me, a reputable guy, but i'd like to know for future reference what needs doing etc

the car has done a total of 130,000 miles so far, and it was last services at 117,500 - a FULL service by a nissan dealership was done at this point.

1) I've been reading around and i'm hearing something about a 'PCV' filter? how essential is it that this is changed?

2) the air and oil filters are going to be changed tomorrow by a mate who is a mechanic, and the oil aswell of course. just to confirm, 10w/40 oil?

3) what im wondering is, should i flush the engine before adding the new oil or just drain the old oil out and pour in the new oil? (also, should the oil be synthetic/semi-synthetic?)

and on a side note, i dont feel the car is as powerful as it should be, it takes aaaages to get up to even 30mph, hardly pulls in 2nd gear, revving a lot but not really going anywhere. Is this something to be concerned about?



Many thanks for any guidance offered.
 
Hey,

Don't worry about the lack of power, it's a 1.5 in a car that ain't exactly skinny :lol:
My 1.5 (BEAST) is the same although throttle response has been sorted a wee bit by adding a decent panel filter and back box (any excuse to justify a nice mod :D)

Kingy
 
welcome!

Yep 10w40 oil is correct, and you can flush it, but depending on if the old oil is still fairly clean id just drop the old, and in with the new.

And as kingy said, the lack of power if probably due to it only being 1.5, but if its as bad you say in second gear it could possibly be slipping clutch, but i wouldnt thought so.
 
Hi,

the replies are very much appreciated :)

how would i be able to tell if the clutch is slipping?

one issue i have noticed, which doesnt bother me much however, is the fact that the gear stick will shake/wobble quite uncontrollably particularly when travelling over 40mph (i will be doing some 50miles of motorway every day from september)

@elkingyboy, when you say throttle response what is this?! is this literally the response you get from pressing the accelerator?

the car itself isn't all that bad, although, I am contemplating selling it and buying a newer (>2003) DIESEL almera. the lack of air con in it is starting to bother me!
 
for the clutch, put it in 4th at 30mph and put the accelerator flat out, and see if the clutch slips then. Failing that ask your mechanic mate to check it out!

How much wobble on the gear stick? Does the car shake/judder aswell? And does it lose power at all?

And yes that what he means by throttle response. Basically how quickly the engine picks up after putting the throttle dwn.
 
I'm pretty sure the clutch isn't 'slipping' as i've never really noticed any issues with the clutch.

the car itself doesn't shudder/shake more than I would expect it to really, comparing it to my cousins almera n16 1.5s pretty much the same.

the throttle response in that car is absolutely abysmal to be fairly honest. It's most dangerous when your on the motorway and have a truck up your chuff and/or need to overtake a car, flooring it does nothing, (or takes AAGES >20s) nor does down-shifting it apart from burning more fuel and making a lot of noise!

Was told by someone that I ought to stay away from the synthetic oil, is this good advice or bad advice?
 
ok bud, im getting this in mine ocasionally, but ive put ut down the engine/gearbox mounts. Need to get out and check if theyre knackerd really!

For the throttle response, seems to be normal ish on the 1.5 as the phase ones are only 75bhp, but the phase 2 are 100bhp iirc. As kingy said, youre best off going for some breathing mods, a k&n replacement panel filter instead of a normal one.

remove the resonator tank which is down in the passenger wheel arch, pull back the arch liner at the bumper side and youll see it. Then put a cold air feed from front bumper upto the air box.

And then you could go onto an exhaust, maybe remove the silencers from the centre pipe (cheaper thn a stainless steel replacement) and then a new back box.

O yeh and for oil, theres a thread about which oil is best, do a search for n16 recommended oil
 
Hi,

Again, a very helpful post from yourself there liamtuck100 :)

well, seeing as I'm in the process of servicing it, I think I may just end up getting one of these K&N panel filters once I can find a local supplier, I'm assuming when you say 'Panel Filter' its the same thing as the 'Air Filter' ?

also, the economy on my car is actually pretty decent,

This last week I've put in 30quids of BP unleaded, managed a stint to Milton Keynes and back (some 220 miles) plus another 30 odd local driving and its showing 260ish miles with still half of a quarter tank left before the reserves, this seems quite good to me,

I've been hearing news that after servicing fuel economy can rise? is this true?

going to go and investigate these K&N air filter thingies now i reckon!

(apologies for the n00bish questions, I'm new to cars/servicing etc but ask me anything on computers/wm smartphones and im your man!)


cheers
 
thank you, i do try :D


Yea its just a replacment for the standard one, look on ebay, will probly be cheapeston there.


The economy will go up, but dont expect leaps and bounds ofimprovements. As for 260 miles on 7/8ths of a tank.....i managed 420miles on a full tank in my 1.8. Altho it was a trip to the new forest, ragging it round up they for a bit, then journey home, and the last 20 where my 5mile a day commute!

Dont worry about asking questions, everybody has to start somewhere, and this is a pretty good place, were all friendly here at aoc! :)

Sorry just noticed you put £30 not s full tank....but im guessing that was 3/4s of a tank, so still not amazing for a 1.5 :s
 
thank you, i do try :D


Yea its just a replacment for the standard one, look on ebay, will probly be cheapeston there.


The economy will go up, but dont expect leaps and bounds ofimprovements. As for 260 miles on 7/8ths of a tank.....i managed 420miles on a full tank in my 1.8. Altho it was a trip to the new forest, ragging it round up they for a bit, then journey home, and the last 20 where my 5mile a day commute!

Dont worry about asking questions, everybody has to start somewhere, and this is a pretty good place, were all friendly here at aoc! :)
 
liamtucker100 said:
thank you, i do try :D


Yea its just a replacment for the standard one, look on ebay, will probly be cheapeston there.


The economy will go up, but dont expect leaps and bounds ofimprovements. As for 260 miles on 7/8ths of a tank.....i managed 420miles on a full tank in my 1.8. Altho it was a trip to the new forest, ragging it round up they for a bit, then journey home, and the last 20 where my 5mile a day commute!

Dont worry about asking questions, everybody has to start somewhere, and this is a pretty good place, were all friendly here at aoc! :)

Sorry just noticed you put £30 not s full tank....but im guessing that was 3/4s of a tank, so still not amazing for a 1.5 :s
Click to expand...

Cheers dude!

umm, that is intriguing now.

I had a read around on these 'K&N' air filters, and it seems that their 'performance' increase actually drops after they've filtered x amount of dust, this isn't exactly ideal for me as I will only ever open the bonnet when I absolutely need to!

im guessing the crappish economy I'm getting is probably due to my crap driving method, never feels comfortable, either over-revving or in the wrong gear. need a helluva lot more practice!

to be fair though, when my brother had the car before me, on the full tank he'd be getting around that, 410/420 miles out of a full tank local driving

I think I've whittled it down to buying 5 litres of 10w/40 whatever the chappy in the shop recommends (local guy, know him quite well) and getting the oil and filters changed out tomorrow.

I reckon for this 'service' i'll stick to the stock £5 air filter I've already bought, and the next time round in 10,000 miles I might spring for a K&N one

however, i'm intrigued by this cold air feed, time to read up on this now!



http://www.autoblog.com/2005/09/07/how-well-do-k-n-air-filters-work/

that was the article I read about the K&N filters from
 
apples12 said:
1) I've been reading around and i'm hearing something about a 'PCV' filter? how essential is it that this is changed?

2) the air and oil filters are going to be changed tomorrow by a mate who is a mechanic, and the oil aswell of course. just to confirm, 10w/40 oil?

3) what im wondering is, should i flush the engine before adding the new oil or just drain the old oil out and pour in the new oil? (also, should the oil be synthetic/semi-synthetic?)

and on a side note, i dont feel the car is as powerful as it should be, it takes aaaages to get up to even 30mph, hardly pulls in 2nd gear, revving a lot but not really going anywhere. Is this something to be concerned about?
Click to expand...
welcome to the forum
1. never hear of a PCV FIlter :confused:
2. yes 10/40 oil I woul grab all the parts from Nissan the oil filter, air filter and oil should cost no more then £40
3. drain oil, replace oil filter and add oil (2.5lts)

I think the oil is £14/15 the filter is about £10 and the oil filter is about £12

last of all if the car is revving in 2nd gear and the car is not moving then it sounds like the clutch is slipping get it changed soon it might wear into the flywheel like mine did and cost you even more.

to tell if the clutch is slipping put it into 3rd gear doing about 30 and put your foot down if the revs are going really up and the car is not moving then the clutch is slipping. In 2nd the car should do about 55mph and if your reving it up to about 7k rpm and the car is still doing 35 then you got a problem

Darren

apples12 said:
Hi,This last week I've put in 30quids of BP unleaded, managed a stint to Milton Keynes and back (some 220 miles) plus another 30 odd local driving and its showing 260ish miles with still half of a quarter tank left before the reserves, this seems quite good to me,
Click to expand...
I wish I got that in my car I get about 300/350 to 55/60 quid (full tank)
 
Darren198712 said:
welcome to the forum
1. never hear of a PCV FIlter :confused:
2. yes 10/40 oil I woul grab all the parts from Nissan the oil filter, air filter and oil should cost no more then £45
3. drain oil, replace oil filter and add oil (2.5lts)

last of all if the car is revving in 2nd gear and the car is not moving then it sounds like the clutch is slipping get it changed soon it might wear into the flywheel like mine did and cost you even more.

to tell if the clutch is slipping put it into 3rd gear doing about 30 and put your foot down if the revs are going really up and the car is not moving then the clutch is slipping. In 2nd the car should do about 55mph and if your reving it up to about 7k rpm and the car is still doing 35 then you got a problem

Darren
Click to expand...


dont think he ment literally not moving, jus not much acceleration going on :)

You sure on 2.5litres oil darren? Seems odd that 1.5 would take a whole litre less than the 1.8???
 
liamtucker100 said:
dont think he ment literally not moving, jus not much acceleration going on :)
Click to expand...
lol I knew that. when my clutch was slipping I had the rev the hell out of it till I got any where. 1st no where so foot to the floor to get to 15/20mph then 2nd and still not moving so foot to the floor again to about 6/7k and then im up to 40mph

liamtucker100 said:
You sure on 2.5litres oil darren? Seems odd that 1.5 would take a whole litre less than the 1.8???
Click to expand...

I will check up when im home but im sure its 2.5lts
 
reply to apples post,

Sounds like a plan, altho its not much effort to clean the filter every couple of month.
The cold air feed will have covered lots of times on the forum, have a search on here, im plenty will come up :)

Also you said you need a helluva lot more driving practise.. This ur first car thn...?
 
Simcard said:
No chance its 2.5 litres, 3.5 minimum.
Click to expand...

just looking in my owners manual, qg15+18 take 2.7ltrs with oil filter change....but mine took 3.4 iirc.

It also says fuel tank is 60litres....but the most ive ever got in it was 49, and that after running on the red light for nearly 40 miles ????

Very confused now
 
liamtucker100 said:
just looking in my owners manual, qg15+18 take 2.7ltrs with oil filter change....but mine took 3.4 iirc.

It also says fuel tank is 60litres....but the most ive ever got in it was 49, and that after running on the red light for nearly 40 miles ????

Very confused now
Click to expand...

im sure its 55lt tank if not 60lt tank.

I have always put under 3lt of oil in my engine I normally put 2.5ish and then add accordingly reminds me I think I need to do a oil change soon.
 
so am i the only one with a greedy engine then?

Jus read in manual

Avoid full throttle driving and abrupt acceleration......ooooops, i wonder how many of the 103000 miles have been at full throttle :D
 
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