whats a 4wd sr20det bluebird sss worth?

[l1ttle_d3vil]

I know its a nissan but everyone on here seems quite knowledgeable on other cars too plus if I go to a nissan forum, ofcourse they'll have a bias opinion!
I'm looking for a daily driver car - something, newer, reliable, tidy etc but without spending thousands. I was looking at fxgts or ae92s etc but they're getting a bit old now and asking price is still in the 2.5 - 3k region for a tidy-ish one bought privately.

I've come across a 1992 4wd nissan bluebird sss attessa, sr20det model for around 3k. this is through a dealer so i assume would have warranties etc too (which you don't get privately). i havent actually seen it in person yet - am hoping to tomorrow - but does it sound worth it?
I can't really find any of these cars on TM so can't get a rough idea of price, most of the sss bluebirds on there are between 2.5 - 3.5k, but not sure if they are turbo models or not.

any input that can be given would be appreciated - reliability, problem areas etc etc?

cheers
-matt

[Leon]

Only buy if you have sufficient money to pay for the costs associated with a turbo, four wheel drive car, that are notoriously fiddly and expensive when they need work. Good car, but in no way cheap to run, or fix.

Assume there is no warranty at all from the dealer, as they won't stand behind anything they sell, from the moment you sign anything. A car that old will NOT have any sort of warranty with it.

[Dell'Orto]

The main thing to look out for on those is they're very very finicky about servicing. Poor servicing/crap oil means they block the oil feed to the cams which = rooted cams. Common with SR20's
Is it manual or auto? If its manual thats pretty damn good, they seem to be quite uncommon.

[AE86less]

My mate has a manual ca18 model , he treats that like crap but it still seems to run well. If this one doesn't work out.

[strx7]

be very careful, they are EXTREMELY good at breaking gearboxes. I know of one car, just a lightly modded road 'daily driver' which in the past 9 months has eaten 3 gearboxes

[skoty]

Poor servicing/crap oil means they block the oil feed to the cams which = rooted cams. Common with SR20's

Aggreed. Thats why I was very cautious when I owned mine, treated it like gold.

[RAZA]

as above, makes a difference whether it's manual or auto, and they do lunch gearboxes if driven hard.

sr20's are a pretty strong engine if taken care of though, for the money I reckon it sounds like a bargain, especially if manual.

[fuel]

I took a 1990 U12 SR20DET manual one for a spin a while ago, I wasn't overly impressed by it eh. Sure it stuck to the road well with the 4WD but I found it was no faster than my stock standard '93 Galant V6 which is non turbo.

[Adydas]

I've come across a 1992 4wd nissan bluebird sss attessa, sr20det model for around 3k. this is through a dealer so i assume would have warranties etc too (which you don't get privately).

Do not fall into beliving that, if a car is from a yard and is over 11 years old it has NO warrenty from a dealer, your just as well off buying privatly and saving the coin.

I learnt this the hardway and you more than welcome to check with the relavant authories to confirm.

[NA Drifter]

A mate of mine used to have one. He imported in by himself from Japan. His got SR20det and manual. They are limited model, which only 500 being made so I been told. Yes, they do have gearbox problem for the manual one.

I know of another one with CA18det with auto box which my mate wreak not long ago.. all he want just the motor. Everything else still there if anyway want anything off it...

[skoty]

I know of another one with CA18det with auto box which my mate wreak not long ago.. all he want just the motor. Everything else still there if anyway want anything off it...

Those were all FWD though wern't they? An old mate used to have one, CA18DET FWD manual.

[Dell'Orto]

I know of another one with CA18det with auto box which my mate wreak not long ago.. all he want just the motor. Everything else still there if anyway want anything off it...

Those were all FWD though wern't they? An old mate used to have one, CA18DET FWD manual.

Nope, a guy I knew's old man had a 4WD one. He even bought the plate ATESA for it

[fuel]

Yeah they came CA18DET from 1988 unil 91ish, and the SR20DET ones were available from late 90 to 92 for the U12s, and the U13s were all SR20DET. All were Atessa 4WD I beleive.

[RS13]

The Bluebirds came with the smaller T25G turbo and less boost as compared to the GTiR T28, the couple that I've been in/driven are pretty gutless, and as mentioned, the 5spd gearboxes share the same "glass" internals as the GTiR 5spds as well. Auto boxes seem to handle it better. They're pretty rare cars, but you can use most driveline parts from GTiR, and the common SR18/SR20 model U13s are everywhere so panels etc won't be a problem.

Other than that, make sure the oil is clean. The tiny little holes that feed oil to the cams get blocked incredibly easily when the oil gets dirty, which leads to worn out cams, which is roughly a $1300 job at your average garage.

[Loudtoy]

Any one know if the boxes in the ca18 powered ones are the same as the sr20, if they are i'm probably keen in the box in that car keith

[fuel]

Bellhousings are different

[Truenotch]

Don't think they are the same from memory Jimmy, bellhousing bolts are diff I think?? Can check for you if you want.

If you do buy this car change the Spray Rails for the hydraulic lifter setup. a set of rails is abour $20 - $40ish from memory at Kiwi Cams, but doing a new set of cams / a whole new engine is much more.

Look under the oil filler cap, if it is sludgey on the cap itself it's not a good sign, if there is a build up of sludge down the filler hole then thats not good either. Worst thing is after the spray rails clog up they start to clog the oil galleries that feed the rails... And if is already stuffed there will be a lovely squeeky squeeky metal - metal cam noise.



I think they are cool though , even though it is still just a boring 'ol U13

[Loudtoy]

Don't think they are the same from memory Jimmy, bellhousing bolts are diff I think?? Can check for you if you want.

Yeah if you could that would be good. Ive been offered a p10 t4 primera but the auto box is stuffed and was thinking of changing it to either manual, which so far is looking expensive, or keeping it auto but had to find an auto box for them

[RS13]

Don't think they are the same from memory Jimmy, bellhousing bolts are diff I think?? Can check for you if you want.

Yeah if you could that would be good. Ive been offered a p10 t4 primera but the auto box is stuffed and was thinking of changing it to either manual, which so far is looking expensive, or keeping it auto but had to find an auto box for them

Doooo eeeeet!

[NA Drifter]

Any one know if the boxes in the ca18 powered ones are the same as the sr20, if they are i'm probably keen in the box in that car keith

Yeh, let me know, else the auto box going to be scrap alloy...