What could be squealing on Primera!

thelms, Jan 7, 3:59am
Looked at a 93 primera today sr20 auto, car is all good but has a squealing noise from engine, looks to be comming from injection side of engine but not sure,appears at 2-3000rpm then stops but restarts when back at those revs, does not appear to be any of the belts, owner said noise startedafter he drove through about 2 foot of water, this was in the feb quake and car has been sitting ever since, though he just got a wof so he can sell.

NZTools, Jan 7, 4:02am
Walk away quickly. It isabout to snap the camshaft. The camshaft bearings are no longer getting any lubrication, and the camshaft is binding in the bearing journals. in fact, dont walk, run.

thelms, Jan 7, 4:06am
listing 437565253

kazbanz, Jan 7, 4:07am
what nz tools said--if its inside the engine the cams are about to sieze/snap.

thelms, Jan 7, 4:10am
Thanks guys ! Will move on to something else

trdbzr, Jan 7, 4:37am
The early SR20s had tiny oil galleries that would have gunk build up over a while if it wasn't serviced on time. Also the early P10 Primera's had rust issues.

johnf_456, Jan 7, 5:34am
Skip it

kazbanz, Jan 7, 5:41am
HANG ON- are you certain the noise is coming from INSIDE the engine!
Theres a BIG difference between a belt squealing outside the engine and a swqueal INSIDE the engine.
Worst case is a siezed ac pump or alternater bearing which in the grand scheme are cheap to fix

thelms, Jan 7, 6:18am
The aircon works and works well, had a real good listen to alternator doesn't seem like either of those, sound seems to be coming from up by the injectors, I stopped up the road from sellers house and popped the bonnet, revved the engine quite hard, it then idled rough and stopped, started again fine though. Be keen on buying as seller will take $1300 and with those low kms could be worth persevering, I would be able to do an engine swap myself if worst case.

msigg, Jan 7, 6:50am
sound to me like a air leak, if the cam is gone it won't last long, If his story is true that it started after driving through water then it ani't the cam. best bet is see if you can call into a garage somewhere and get a mechanic to look at it for you or even car inspection services, in the picture it looks a bit rough so yuo'd want to get it cheap anyway. You can't get much of a car for $1500. Its worth getting it checked out then you can buy it.

phillip.weston, Jan 7, 6:56am
who cares about how many kms it has done - it's a 20 year old car now and the kms mean squat. One with upwards of 200,000kms with zero problems for a similar price would be a much better buy.

thelms, Jan 7, 7:05am
true but I don't mind doing and engine swap on a car with 150kms but coudn't be bothered on a car with 250kms, all 20 year old cars are going to need money spent on them some time or other, cv's, brakes, aircon's,electrics, power steering units etc etc. besides sr20 engines are cheap as.

phillip.weston, Jan 7, 8:02am
yeah but it doesn't look to be the best looked after example so why not find an example which is in better condition without a potentially serious engine issue! Those Primeras were common as mud back in their day - you really didn't have to look far for a gun metal grey P10 Primera.

iron-maiden, Jan 7, 8:48pm
i wouldnt,i brought a 1993 primera for $1500 with 130,000kms on it and no problems

klrider, Jan 8, 12:14am
is your wife in the passenger seat -! If so, try driving without her, this may make a diference.

curlcrown, Jan 8, 12:40am
The fact that he says in his add may need engine work is reason enough to stop looking at it.