new-to-me 1983 Maxima Diesel Sedan

[ronin]

Hello all. I briefly mentioned elsewhere that I had purchased an 83 sedan awhile back. Well, I finally got a chance to pick her up and head home. I wasn't sure what to expect (the asking price wasn't that high) so I had a friend take me down in his truck so that we had the option of swinging by a U-HELL to pick up a car dolley if needed. The car was a little over 200 miles away. Well, she fired up fine and everything (of importance) seemed to work ok so we took off. The engine and tranny (od automatic) ran fine, steering had a slight shimmy over 60mph, and the shocks were non-existant. I took it fairly easy, 65-70mph and everything went well.

I do have an issue of a number of idiot lights coming on and sometimes going off, only to return, but it didn't seem to effect drivability. the body and interior are rough, but for what i paid I can't complain.

Anybody got any ideas on the idiot lights?

Take care, and I'll kepp you posted.

Eric

[asavage]

Eric, could you update your Profile to include your Location? Click on "Profile" at the top of any page. You might add your vehicle info to your Signature block too.

I took it fairly easy, 65-70mph . . .

Must be Nevada or Texas; "fairly easy" around here is 50.

I do have an issue of a number of idiot lights coming on and sometimes going off, only to return . . .

Anybody got any ideas on the idiot lights?

Yup. Your alternator is dying. See this thread for more information (you'll have to read most of the thread to get to the meat), and the Hitachi LR160 Alternator thread. Usually the diodes breaking . . .



. . . but you could get "lucky" and find a delaminated harmonic balancer or a very loose belt and get the same symptom.

[ronin]

Sorry for the delay. I have updated my profile.

I was going from GA to SC. It was highway the whole way, including going through Atlanta. Considering 80mph is the realistic speed limit, I felt that if I went any slower I would be endangering my life even more than I already was with the kick butt shocks I had (or the lack thereof).

I'll check the alternator. For $500, I'm not complaining too much. It got me back home which is all I ultimately ask of any car.

Looking forward to getting her ready for the road. I have a 30 minute commute and plan on driving the Maxima.

Take care,

Eric

[HowlerMonkey]

As of last weekend, I now only have one functional shock and the gyrations this car does when hitting a dip is insane since only one shock is doing anything.

So it's two rear shocks this weekend.

[ronin]

Good luck! Sounds like you may be in worse condition than I was. I'm starting with the front 2 first and see how she feels.

Let me know how easy difficult you found it, and what tools you used.

Take care,

Eric