Peggy: '69 2000 (Penny's sister) in Durango, CO - SRL31110613

[tig]

Progress! But still no bueno.

Fixed:

- Adjusted valve lash. They were all really tight. Set them to 0.3/0.2mm.
- Disconnected fuel hoses from tank and blew air through. I heard a little pop on the return line; suspect it was clogged.
- Replaced several fuel hoses.
- Connected vacuum to dizzy. Port on intake was plugged; vacuum hose was just sitting there. :dunno:?
- Connected choke cables. Not sure how they're supposed to sit when choke is pushed in; front cable seems too short.



Any idea what that two red wire with black connectors is for?

Watch til end and you'll hear glorious sounds. But not long lived. This is the longest I've gotten it to run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUGnGb65JE

I guess the next step will be to dive into the carbs. I also didn't mess with the dizzy yet; will do as @gregs672000 suggests.

[drieseck]

roysuecan,
If you look at the photo looking from below showing blue engine-to-trans plate and tach-drive to distributor by the oil line (also remarkably ---neither leaking much), to the left are the sheet metal screw "tips" coming into the engine compartment from the cabin. They hold the OEM cardboard from the other side. They have the little plastic tips from the factory. IMO in many areas Datsun had some serious attention to detail. And to top-it-off---this car has original under-hood and trunk paint, both (if previously messed with) are harder to restore than all the body other body dings combined. Nice car.

[Gregs672000]

OK, sounds like a lack of fuel. There are no accelerator pumps in an SU so rapidly opening the throttle will not help much unless it's rich... starter fluid will help a lot to get it running. You can disconnect the fuel lines and crank the motor to see if it pumps fuel... just be prepared! If you have a timing light you can check the initial timing by cranking it. No idea on the two wires but they look familiar though my set up is rather modified (EFI) and can't check.

Regarding the u joints: there are two u joints, one at the diff and one at the yoke and they should be aligned/in the exact same position of each other or they can bind or vibrate. They are mated with the splined end of the drive shaft that slides into the transmission's yoke which can spin independently with the trans in neutral. Also, there are factory marks on the drive shaft and front u joint from when it was balanced at the factory, so those marks need to be located and used accordingly to put the drive shaft and trans yoke into balance/correct position before being bolted to the diff (there's a posting about this, and I just learned this in the past year... love the knowledge on this site!). BTW, this does not apply to the 4 speed trans.

So Tig, I see you own a few BMWs so you either know a bit about cars or you have a deep wallet (). I don't have a deep wallet so I know a bit about cars! My wife is on her 4th Z3 (current is a 2001) and I drive a 2005 X3 (M54... great engine) with 195k on it and am waiting for the plastic parts to start disintegrating (what a B to work on!). Fortunately you won't need a bunch of special tools for the Datsun outside of a carb balancer...

[tig]

Why does my crank pully not have timing/TDC marks on it?

OK, sounds like a lack of fuel. There are no accelerator pumps in an SU so rapidly opening the throttle will not help much unless it's rich... starter fluid will help a lot to get it running. You can disconnect the fuel lines and crank the motor to see if it pumps fuel... just be prepared!

Fuel is flowing. Not a ton, but I can see fuel entering the filter when I crank, and if I remove the hose into the carb fuel spurts out.

Regarding the u joints: there are two u joints, one at the diff and one at the yoke and they should be aligned/in the exact same position of each other or they can bind or vibrate. They are mated with the splined end of the drive shaft that slides into the transmission's yoke which can spin independently with the trans in neutral. Also, there are factory marks on the drive shaft and front u joint from when it was balanced at the factory, so those marks need to be located and used accordingly to put the drive shaft and trans yoke into balance/correct position before being bolted to the diff (there's a posting about this, and I just learned this in the past year... love the knowledge on this site!). BTW, this does not apply to the 4 speed trans.

Good info. Thanks!

So Tig, I see you own a few BMWs so you either know a bit about cars or you have a deep wallet (). I don't have a deep wallet so I know a bit about cars! My wife is on her 4th Z3 (current is a 2001) and I drive a 2005 X3 (M54... great engine) with 195k on it and am waiting for the plastic parts to start disintegrating (what a B to work on!). Fortunately you won't need a bunch of special tools for the Datsun outside of a carb balancer...

I know a bit. I've done almost all work on my cars myself. I do have a horrifically bad memory though.

[Gregs672000]

OK, sounds like a lack of fuel. There are no accelerator pumps in an SU so rapidly opening the throttle will not help much unless it's rich... starter fluid will help a lot to get it running. You can disconnect the fuel lines and crank the motor to see if it pumps fuel... just be prepared! If you have a timing light you can check the initial timing by cranking it. No idea on the two wires but they look familiar though my set up is rather modified (EFI) and can't check. The way the chokes work is the linkage pulls the fuel nozzle downward to expose the graduated needle a little further, and it opens the throttle plates slightly, making for a richer mix and a higher idle. The nozzles frequently stick down or don't operate smoothly regardless of what the cables do, so operate them and watch how they work.

Regarding the u joints: there are two u joints, one at the diff and one at the yoke and they should be aligned/in the exact same position of each other or they can bind or vibrate. They are mated with the splined end of the drive shaft that slides into the transmission's yoke which can spin independently with the trans in neutral. Also, there are factory marks on the drive shaft and front u joint from when it was balanced at the factory, so those marks need to be located and used accordingly to put the drive shaft and trans yoke into balance/correct position before being bolted to the diff (there's a posting about this, and I just learned this in the past year... love the knowledge on this site!). BTW, this does not apply to the 4 speed trans.

So Tig, I see you own a few BMWs so you either know a bit about cars or you have a deep wallet (). I don't have a deep wallet so I know a bit about cars! My wife is on her 4th Z3 (current is a 2001) and I drive a 2005 X3 (M54... great engine) with 195k on it and am waiting for the plastic parts to start disintegrating (what a B to work on!). Fortunately you won't need a bunch of special tools for the Datsun outside of a carb balancer...

[Gregs672000]

Oops, error repost above, but I did add some info on how the chokes work.

The timing marks are on the other side and can be hard to see. I mark mine with white paint (nail polish works in a pinch).

Glad you're experienced! These cars are more basic and don't have a bunch of sensors to screw things up, so spark, compression, fuel all in the right amounts and time will get you running.

[Gregs672000]

At some point I might consider having the crank pully/vibration dampener rebuilt or replaced as it looks a little tired. They are two piece, and in rare cases they can slip and all of a sudden your timing marks are way off. I had mine rebuilt by a place in CA some time ago, and I think vendors offer new ones ($). Just a thought, not likely any source of problem now.

Oh, and your gas guage is not hooked up (pic you posted). Wiring must be hiding there somewhere!

[tig]

The dizzy is confirmed to be a no-smog 7.5. Useful resource. Too bad it doesn't have pics. Of course, I forgot to take pics when I had mine apart.

https://www.311s.org/pmwiki-311/pmwiki. ... yGaryBoone

Did more testing of spark. I think my coil may be bad because sometimes I get spark from the main lead, sometimes I don't.

I tested the coil resistance and it all looks right, but...

[jamesw]

The red and black wires are coming from the Reverse Switch on the transmission. They plug into the harness below the brake master I think.

[tig]

The red and black wires are coming from the Reverse Switch on the transmission. They plug into the harness below the brake master I think.

Thanks!

The other end is not connected to the tranny.

I had another known-good coil here (I believe from my FJ40) and swapped it in. I now see consistent spark at each plug.

But it's made no difference.

I'm not confident I have the plugs connected to the dizzy in the right order. Can someone explain where #1 goes like I'm a 6 year old? I assume 2, 3, & 4 follow clockwise around the dizzy?

[Gregs672000]

Nope... 1,3 4, 2, counter clockwise. Read again my description of static timing the engine and it will tell you how to ID #1 on the dizzy cap. So I gather it has a Gary Boone EI distributor? That's good but of course there's no points to see spark. However I think you can still static time the engine (static meaning it is not turning/running) by setting the crank at 17 degrees advance (described above) and switching on the ignition/key and turning the dizzy by hand with cap on until you get spark from #1 plug wire (or the timing light flashes if you have one). That way you'll have timing correct or damn close. For now, remove the vacuum line to the dizzy unless you're sure you have it hooked to the carb right (there's a port/barb for it) as it DOES NOT go to the intake manifold.

Keep working! We'll get it!

[Gregs672000]

How to ID # 1 on the distributor cap: Put the engine at 17 degrees past Top Dead Center (TDC... cam lobes on #1 both facing up/valves closed, #1 piston at the top of its throw). The rotor inside the distributor will be pointing or corresponding to the plug wire location for #1. Then, moving counter clockwise the next plug wire goes to #3, then #4, and finally #2.

As an aside, this is an area where some things can go wrong when installing certain distributor drive gears... they have to go in a certain way or the distributor may not have enough adjustment to be timed correctly. Since you/we know nothing about this engine or why it didn't run, we may need to explore this some depending on your success or observations. In the mean time keep poking at it. You're welcome to post some pics of the distributor, cap and wires etc. Don't hesitate to ask any question, no flaming here, just help...

[tig]

How to ID # 1 on the distributor cap: Put the engine at 17 degrees past Top Dead Center (TDC... cam lobes on #1 both facing up/valves closed, #1 piston at the top of its throw). The rotor inside the distributor will be pointing or corresponding to the plug wire location for #1. Then, moving counter clockwise the next plug wire goes to #3, then #4, and finally #2.

One of my books said all Datsun 4 cylinder motors had a 1-2-3-4 firing order. Or I mis-read it. I now see it's 1-3-4-2. Duh. And I assumed (ASS-U-ME) that the dizzy went clockwise. I fixed the order last night, but not the direction. So this morning... Thanks!

As an aside, this is an area where some things can go wrong when installing certain distributor drive gears... they have to go in a certain way or the distributor may not have enough adjustment to be timed correctly. Since you/we know nothing about this engine or why it didn't run, we may need to explore this some depending on your success or observations. In the mean time keep poking at it. You're welcome to post some pics of the distributor, cap and wires etc. Don't hesitate to ask any question, no flaming here, just help...

I really appreciate it. No frustration on my side, just gratitude.

I should have taken pics of the dizzy when I had it partially disassembled to check for the "7.5". I did get a pic of it with the cap off:



Also, this was helpful:



And the old (apparently bad) coil:

For now, remove the vacuum line to the dizzy unless you're sure you have it hooked to the carb right (there's a port/barb for it) as it DOES NOT go to the intake manifold.

Oops. I looked for a port on the carb for this, but didn't see one. I'll look again.

[theunz]

If you remove the white from the surface of the crank pulley and just leave it in the grooves it will be even better. Or do the same but extend a line from the groove all the way across the pulley for the degree mark that you want to time your engine to.

[tig]

Now that I've got the plugs in the right order, and the dizzy vacuum plugged into the port on the carb (I found the nipple on the front carb), she's back to wanting to start! A little chitty-chity-bang-bang! But no continue.

I can only get a little bang-bang going if I open the throttle all the way while cranking. I've tried the choke in different positions with no obvious difference.

Is there a procedure for setting the choke and mixture knobs on the carb to a 'baseline'?

Note that spraying starter fluid into the carb makes no difference.