Nissan Skyline Problems

It is right in the middle of the price guide for that model, and with its relatively low kilometres and history of regular servicing it would seem a fair price.

It’s against the law to tamper with an odometer, but I’m sure it does go on. If you’re going to buy a car like this you need to have it thoroughly checked by a mechanic who knows them well. An experienced mechanic should be able to tell if a car’s odometer doesn’t appear correct.

Don't be fooled into thinking you're buying rocketship like the turbo model, the non-turbo 25GT isn't quick. But it does stop and handle well, and it's not a bad car to learn on if you're a rookie driver. Mechanically they're a solid car, well engineered, and reliable. It's important to find a car that hasn't been thrashed almost to death by a young driver already.

There are two ways of setting your car up to run on e85. One, the cheaper one, sees it tuned to run on e85 exclusively, in which case I don't believe it would actually run on 98-octane. The other, more expensive one is to fit a flex-fuel system, which is able to detect what fuel is being used and adjust the tuning accordingly to run on either fuel. The latter system requires the use of a sensor, the same used by GM in its flex-fuel cars, and an ECM to control it. That your car will run on 98-octane fuel leads me to believe that it could be fitted with a flex-fuel system. If it is there  is no danger in running your car on either fuel. To check take it to a mechanic with experience in Skylines and they should be able to tell you what has been fitted to your car.
 

They can be converted successfully using a vapour-injection system, or better still, a more up-to-date liquid injection system. Both will deliver top performance, but the liquid-injection system will deliver the best performance. Finding a kit is a little difficult, the demand for them isn't high, so no one to my knowledge has taken the trouble to develop one, but the guys at the Australian LPG Warehouse (03 9770 2287) can develop a kit for you and it won't cost you any extra.

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.

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.

THE Skyline was a good, solid car in virtually all respects, particularly the 1988 Series III. The main complaint was a noisy diff, which was more of an annoyance than a serious mechanical defect. But at almost 300,000km, mechanical failures are more likely. It is valued at $3500-$4000, dependent on condition.