Nissan Skyline 1989 Problems
No car is perfect, but we've gathered everything relating to the Nissan Skyline 1989 reliability here to help you decide if it's a smart buy.
High skyline
THE R31 Skyline is robust and generally reliable once you've become used to the howling diff. I'd suggest you test for leaks from cylinder to cylinder and from each cylinder to the water jacket. It could be a head gasket leak.
Fuels rush in
THERE is a lot of information about the effect of ethanol blend fuels on engines, but don't expect carmakers to come out and say their engines will run on it. Think about it. Your car is 20 years old and never developed for ethanol, so Nissan has no info on what might happen. As a result they will never tell you it can run on ethanol because that leaves them open to litigation if it turns out there is a problem. Ultimately it comes down to the concentration of ethanol in the blend, and most blends on sale now are 10 per cent, which won't cause any problems. The higher the percentage, the greater the chance of having problems with fuel system hoses, seals, pumps et cetera.
Check out the axle
THE Skyline is a good car that has few faults, apart from a spate of noisy rear axles in the early days. Listen for rear-axle whine and walk away from any car that has that. Other problems from old age and high mileage include oil smoke, rattling engines, notchy gearboxes and rust.
Temperature tricks
THE SKYLINE never had a cooling problem, unlike the VL Commodore, which used the same engine and was very troublesome. The problem is related to installation of the engine, not the engine itself. In the Skyline it was a gem. You say the temperature goes up but not whether the engine overheats, so I assume it doesn't. It's quite normal on the Skyline for the gauge to swing, depending on the temperature of the day or the load on the engine, and as long as it doesn't go all the way to the H mark, there shouldn't be a problem. If it does go to the very top, I'd expect you to have signs of overheating, so I guess what you see is normal.
Listen to diff
YES, the Skyline did have some diff problems, so listen carefully for any noise coming from the diff when test driving. It's not a huge problem so don't be put off as replacement diffs can be bought for $200-$300.
