Looking for Trouble

[bud777]

I bought a 91 NSX with 54000 miles and had it shipped to Oregon from New Hampshire. I had the speakers and the window thingies done and got to really drive it for the first time today. WOW just WOW!!!! I cannot believe the power and responsiveness. No wonder everyone here loves them.

I noticed a few things while driving and wondered if they are normal, or if I should worry about them. Oil pressure at idle is between 2 and 4, but goes up over 6 at 3500 RPM. Is it normal for it to drop like that at idle? The alternator seems to be at about 15 amps during normal operation. Any problem there?

beyond that, I didn't notice anything to worry about. Are there other things I should check?

This is a great board and i am happy to be a part of it. Thanks in advance for your help

 

[ncdogdoc]

Congrats and welcome to the family

Oil pressure fluctuations that you noted are normal. If you do a search on here or check out the WIKI you will see there is a questionable sender for the oil pressure gauge, but my car does exactly like yours.

The high amperage has been a harbinger of a dying battery for me in the past. These cars don't get driven every day and there are electrical leeches that will drain a normal battery in a few weeks time. Watch the needle as you drive it more, it may drop back to 13-14, or if it stays up, consider a replacement as cheap insurance.

Enjoy safely, but most of all, enjoy!

 

[nis350]

I bought a 91 NSX with 54000 miles and had it shipped to Oregon from New Hampshire. I had the speakers and the window thingies done and got to really drive it for the first time today. WOW just WOW!!!! I cannot believe the power and responsiveness. No wonder everyone here loves them.

I noticed a few things while driving and wondered if they are normal, or if I should worry about them. Oil pressure at idle is between 2 and 4, but goes up over 6 at 3500 RPM. Is it normal for it to drop like that at idle? The alternator seems to be at about 15 amps during normal operation. Any problem there?

beyond that, I didn't notice anything to worry about. Are there other things I should check?

This is a great board and i am happy to be a part of it. Thanks in advance for your help

These are normal. My car does the same. No issue with drain battery even with 3 - 4 weeks in the garage.

 

[shawn110975]

I agree with the other posts, normal.

just watch those needles

and welcome to the best car you will ever made

 

[bud777]

Steve Goodwin has a song that says "Don't go looking for trouble, trouble will find you..." Took the car to the dealer for a full inspections including the snap ring. Everything was great until we looked at the snap ring. Even though there was no movement in the shifter (I checked that before i bought it), we could clearly see that one of the horns of the snap ring was missing. I am replacing the transmission with a SOS one with the short gears. Total cost will probably run about $7k. I bought the car knowing this was a possibility, so I am not that despondent, but I WILL end up with about $40k invested in a 91 with 55,000 miles. A perfect 91 with 55,000 miles . I should be disappointed, but the car is just too damn nice.

 

[tbromley]

That's a pile of dough in a 91 but if you like it and are going to keep it - doing all that may not be too bad but it seems a bit high to fix the snap ring and do the geats? I would have thought more like 5k or so. Oh well, just keep it for a long time and it'll all be fine. Lots of guys end up doing the short gears anyway. So that's not so bad I guess. Good luck with it but what about pics - we need to see em!!!

 

[bud777]

I should have it back in a few days and I'll put some pics up. The clutch was 2k from the dealer, the transmission was $4225 from SOS and there was about$1 in labor. I probably could have done it for a grand cheaper if i had tried harder.

It would bother me, but before this I owned a Lotus Esprit. After that, nothing bothers you

 

[Nukem]

Bud777 Congrats on the purchase, hope all goes well with the trans. I haven't heard any regrets from anyone that got the short gears.

These are normal. My car does the same. No issue with drain battery even with 3 - 4 weeks in the garage.

My car's battery is drained after about 2 weeks if its not on the charger or hasn't been started. My old 93 Legend was the same too. Thats on a new battery.

 

[bfrank1972]

I should have it back in a few days and I'll put some pics up. The clutch was 2k from the dealer, the transmission was $4225 from SOS and there was about$1 in labor. I probably could have done it for a grand cheaper if i had tried harder.

It would bother me, but before this I owned a Lotus Esprit. After that, nothing bothers you

LOL that's funny - you must be used to re-working transmission by now (I love Esprits btw). The short gears will make the car immensely more enjoyable to drive, 'tis a good investment IMHO.

 

[Big_D]

A well sorted out '91 with that kind of mileage is worth at least $33K and with the new clutch and refurb tranny, you are only a couple of Gs more than you probably should be. If the car was well taken care of then its worth the extra dough IMO.