1986 Nissan 200SX XE from North America - Comments

Brake cylinders and rotors replaced at 125000 and 350000 miles.

Timing Belt replaced ever 60000 miles.

Power steering rack and pinion replaced at 325000 miles.

Intake rocker shaft broke at 270000 miles.

Exhaust rocker shaft broke at 310000 miles.

Alternator replaced at 130000, 160000, 210000, 260000, 300000, 350000 miles.

Fuel pump rebuilt at 200000 miles due to corrosion on the top surface.

Wheel bearings replaced at 370000 miles.

Struts, shocks, and strut bushings replaced at 310000 miles.

Internal speedometer drive gear located in transmission was stripped when car was purchased, never replaced.

Starter connections replaced at 180000 and 345000 miles.

Battery cable replaced at 320000 miles.

Electric window motor connections repaired at 140000 miles.

Front crankshaft seal replaced at 260000 miles.

Valve timing adjusted every 30000 miles or so.

Oil pan gasket replaced at 279000 miles.

Exhaust manifold gaskets replaced at 310000 miles.

Cylinder #2 fuel injector replaced at 340000 miles.

Oil pressure sender uses a bizarre cross of metric and SAE threads, and aftermarket sender doesn't fit. I have had no oil pressure sender connected since 180000 miles.

Rear wheel bearings replaced at 260000 miles.

Persistent differential carrier leak. It needs new seals, but the drive-shafts are a pain to remove, so I just refill it every 3 months.

0.2 degree error in right front camber causes excessive tire wear, but handling is fine non the less. Repair requires the use of a body alignment machine which I do not have.

Oil separator hose broke at 240000 miles, and engine removal is needed to replace it. Although its absence increases emissions and possible engine contamination, I am too lazy to pull the engine to replace a $5 hose.

Engine coolant bypass hose under the intake collector started leaking at 310000 miles. Repair of $2 hose required over 4 hours of labor.

Distributor cap and rotor replaced at 270000 miles.

Fan clutch replaced at 290000 miles.

Water pump replaced at 280000 and 288000 miles. The replacement pump was defective and was covered under warranty.

Exhaust components replaced every 20000 miles.

Thermal Vacuum Valve broke at 250000 miles. It has not been replaced.

Seat back pivot broke at 240000 and 250000 miles. The second repair was due to my poor job of welding the first time around.

Rear windshield washer has always been non-functional due to a broken pipe in the passenger side pillar area. It would require about 4 hours to disassembly to repair, and I have not judged it that critical.

Differential started to howl at 330000 miles. Its pretty minor, but will need adjustment at some point.

Engine currently smokes on startup due to worn valve guides and seals and has since 340000 miles.

Air conditioner tensioner bearing failed at 285000 miles.

Chassis torque settings are checked and adjusted every 10000 miles.

I purchased this car for $900, and it has been and remains a great car. It is incredibly simple to maintain, and an abundance of parts are available at very reasonable prices. The factory service manual is however indispensable.

My weekly commute varied from 400-1800 miles, so I needed an economical car that was easy to keep running. The 1986 200SX has proven to be my perfect car. Although I wrote a small book on the items that have failed, I'm sure I have exceeded the designers original expectations for component life.

The handling is really great. I drive in all types of weather conditions from Storm chasing to blizzard and icing conditions, and the indepedant rear suspension has proven a real asset numerous times in less than optimum conditions.

The ride is pretty harsh, especially on my long commutes, but the feedback provided by a stiff suspension is invaluable on ice. In addition, cornering performance is amazing. I usually don't have to slow down for 30mph on and off ramps, except when someone in a "new car" is in front of me.

Road noise is pretty high, but that's probably due more to the age of the rubber seals than anything else. There is however a high pitched whine due to wind noise at speeds above 90mph. Then again, one probably shouldn't be driving that fast either.

Acceleration was pretty good up until 300000 miles. The effective torque band has shifted from 2500-3500 as the motor aged, with a net result that acceleration from a stop is not that good anymore, but is pretty snappy for passing etc when shifted into 4th.

The biggest fault is the undersized Hitachi Alternator and its lack of a method for cooling the diodes. Fortunately alternator I always buy components with lifetime warranties.

The second fault of the CA20 motor is the poor design of the rocker shafts. It's a real pain to have them break, as the engine will only run at 3500 rpm and above, and even then, you don't have any power, but you can keep it running. The good thing is that rocker shaft replacement is it only takes an hour or so.

Dealer service is a nightmare. I do all of my own work, as the mechanics are not at all familiar with these vehicles anymore, and one can get really overcharged for anything other than simple repairs. Fortunately most repairs are simple.

The key to keeping a car running is to set aside a repair budget and fix everything that breaks right away. I allocate $400/year for maintenance on my 200SX, and most of the time, I end up with $100 left over at the end of the year.

Excellent Review!

I too own a 86 200SX with 235,000 I first replaced the Clutch at about 210,000, 3 Alt's, Pwr Stering Leaks {Works OK} relplaced timming Belt twice. I am doing my first water pump in a couple of days, wish me luck. I've owned the Car over 10years I love IT!

I too own a 200sx, I bought it from it's first owner for $1000 with only 110k!! it's an excellent car, fun to drive, especially when you get up to speed, I've had very little problems with it, I had to change an alternator at 130k, and the rear windshield wiper stopped working on mine too, but it handles great, the pickup is awesome, I can easily bring it up to 100mph, and it remains a smooth ride (though below 50mph is kinda rough) it's incredibly smooth to shift, and the position you sit allows an excellent view and a low to the ground feeling, I love my 200sx and will never get rid of it.

Thanks for the excellent review!!! I think that its awesome that you have done so many repairs by yourself. I bought my 200SX so that I could learn how to work on it myself... so far I've learned how to do a couple minor things such as changing the oil/filter, and the fuel filter. But I look forward to learning more. Again, thanks for the excellent review, I can't believe that your car has 300,000+ miles on it.

Is this car good for drifting cause I have one to. I got it cause it reminded me of the 1986 toyota corolla hatchback.

I bought mine about nine months ago for $250, and it needed some heater core work. I had a problem for the longest time getting the car to rev past 4000 rpm while in gear. I fixed it and the car has given me little trouble, though finding parts is very hard in my area.

I purchased my 1987 Nissan 200sx from a friend who worked so close to his home that he hardly needed to use the car --- and always had to jump it 'coz the battery had discharged.

The car requires very little maintenance, though I've had to do some repairs myself due to the fact that this particular engine (a 2.0 liter four cylinder that has 8 spark plugs!), because of its age, had quite a few vacuum hoses that had cracked and started leaking; I know this whenever the car idles roughly.

Also, the interior door trim and dashboard have developed cracks from shrinkage & UV bombardment.

Starting the car requires, I swear, only half a crank of the starter motor. It purrs like a kitten immediately even during cold starts.

The rear shocks had to be replaced, outer tie rods, speedometer cable gear (at transmission), rear calipers love to seize especially if you don't use the e-brakes often.

I have a slight power steering leak that I chose not to repair; instead I added a bottle of Lucas p/steering stop leak and so far it seems to work.

I presently have 17" rims on it for looks, but would occasionally switch back to the original 15-inchers whenever I plan on taking long road trips. The car rides harshly to begin with.

I've always enjoyed 5-speed rear-wheel drive cars, and this one is definitely one of the more enjoyable vehicles I have owned.

The rear wiper motor stopped working, but was easily fixed by opening up the motor and spraying it down with liquid penetrant (not WD-40).

Rust is an issue with this car, especially at the fender openings; try to keep rust at bay by touching up the paint with rust-preventive treatment/paint.

Dressed it up a bit by replacing the steering wheel with a carbon fiber GT Grant (10.5 dia) as I didn't really like the original. I also replaced the pedal pads and gear shift knob with aftermarket racing-style carbon fiber units.

The engine continues to pull strong (almost 200K on the odometer), but it feels like it could use a 6th gear. I'm sure a lot of 200sx owners will agree with me on this. Did you notice how the original exhaust pipe made a u-turn coming from the rear muffler? I've always disagreed with that design and have since custom-fabricated an exhaust system that runs a straighter path to a high flow muffler. Definitely freed a few more horses by doing this.

Oh, by the way, leave the drifting to the 240sx; this car is way too heavy and lacks the chassis rigidity for that kind of use.