It wasn't until about a quarter of a century ago that we wrote our first service article on a Nissan product. Its horsepower and handling weren't exactly breathtaking, either. It was, however, as simple, dependable, and serviceable as anything we'd ever seen, so we couldn't help liking it. To say that Nissans have become fabulously more sophisticated since then is quite an understatement. Instead of styling that looks like it came out of a '50s space comic, the recent crop is eminently smooth and handsome.
Performance is great, too.
But, as with all other carmakers who do business in this country, that simplicity we loved so well is gone, supplanted by amazingly complex technology. These tips will definitely help you sooner or later. We'll start with the seam between the head and block. Maybe you'll remember a frequent problem with old Datsuns, which used a very conformable screen-core gasket. With expansion and contraction, the gasket tended to ratchet outward, swelling to the point that it protruded from the joint.