New World Datsuns...

It's all fixed now but, as usual, PB is being a little bitch and not letting me get to my pics.

So, I went out to Salmonberry again with a few of my Russian friends was about 3-4 miles in on a side track when I went to the left side of the lane to avoid a football sized rock. When I did that I scrapped the gravel crown in the road. Buried in that gravel crown was a very solidly anchored rock (boulder?) that I snagged with my center link, then by muffler clamp. The result was a wide open exhaust right under the transmission and SEVERE toe-in -- scary severe.
Not to be deterred, I went another 1/2 mile or so to the end of that spur and expelled a couple hundred rounds. When I was done I jacked up the passenger side to see of I could at least slip the exhaust back in to place. No dice. Also, no tools and no cell service. With no other options, I decided to just limp home. "Squirrely" doesn't even begin to describe how it handled on the gravel roads getting back to 26. Once I got back on pavement it was much more predictable but still a chore to keep from darting. I probably knocked 30-40% of the tread life off getting it the 30 miles home.
Put it on the lift, hammered the center link back close to where it was, fine tuned the tie rods back close to straight, and reconnected the exhaust. Mostly all better now. I'll fine tune the alignment at work.

Also, thinking about running stock wheels and hubcaps for a while just for a change. Tires are pretty used up though.


Pics when I get cooperation.

I cannot stress this enough, just let photolame sit(don't use it but don't close it either) and open another account with some other photo hosting service, that is what I did a few years ago and I don't have any of the issues all you guys are having, I don't have advertising pop up instead of my photo either, as a matter of fact there is no advertising anywhere in Picasa which is what I use.
My photolame account is still open, I go there maybe twice a year and use it to make sure it stays active, all my photos are still on Ratsun.
For me Picasa is way easier to use there than it is to use here on NWD, and photolame is just a hassle to use on any site/forum.

The Russians I was hanging out with...


Horrible lighting, I know, but you can still make out how much it was toed in. Both sides were that far in.

I once had a friend who just pulled off the freeway, and while turning into a parking spot the car came to a sudden stop. They got out, and quickly realized both front wheels were fully turned in. Found out whoever last worked on the car used the wrong outer tie rod and the inner tie rod was just dangling inside.

I do have outer tie rod to outer tie rod all moog(centerlink AutoZone) sitting out of my car...i dont think I even had a full year on that stuff.

I've been driving my goon a lot more lately, because we had a break in the rain (note to self - I've got to deal with those wipers soon), and of course I get the itch to do shit to it. That prompted me to go through this thread from start to finish. What's not to like about this Datsun? I trust you'll get the off-road releated problems sorted out. I go off road too, and it's one reason I haven't put any effort into lowering my wagon - then again, I haven't put much effort into it at all.

The motor is truely the best part of this, but there is so much more (eg: roof rack, wheels, sway bars, etc.). I also like the random wife pics, too bad she lost interest. I can't wait for the next installment!

Thanks for the interest.

Honestly, I haven't even given much thought to what the next phase might bring. I haven't finished the wheel project yet. I'm not satisfied with the bullet mirrors but don't have replacements yet. It could use some attention under the hood; Pull the engine, clean/smooth/repaint the engine bay, relocate the ECM, shave the battery tray and move it under the back seat, and on, and on. It still has no carpet in it.
Part of the problem is (and I realize it isn't a problem) that it has been extremely reliable so I just drive it and rarely even think about working on it. Too many other distracting projects I guess.

Sitting at a stoplight this afternoon with my foot on the clutch. Heard a pop. Went to pull away and clutch was slipping. Clutch pedal went soft. Eased it back home and just parked it. Haven't done any exploratory surgery yet but I suspect a failed pressure plate.
Dammit.

That is annoying. Just because of the work.

What brand of clutch do have in their? I really like the Exedy I had on my L series, and they seem to be the favorite stock replacement in the CA world.

Honestly I don't even remember what brand after all the years since I put it together. It was a mix-n-match of GM pressure plate and Datsun disc. Maybe it'll have some identifiers once I get it apart. I've never experienced a failure quite like this before. I'll probably tear it apart tomorrow after work and see what's up. Then see if I can get a decent deal on parts locally. If not, Rockauto and a week downtime.

Yup, fractured diaphragm in the pressure plate. It was a Valeo. No photo because it would be next to impossible to see. New Sachs unit on order. The disc is Exedy and will be reused.

I like Sachs as well. I know they make a lot of OEM parts.

Pressure plate showed up yesterday. Opened the Sachs box to find another Valeo pressure plate -- the identical part to the one I just broke. Oh well. Put it all together and it just feels waaay different. Not necessarily in a good way. If you go back a few pages you'll see that just over 2 years ago I replaced the disc and slave cylinder. At that time I had the raised portion of the flywheel machined down to increase clamping force. What that also does is make the clutch "fingers" flatter when everything is tightened down. That means less travel.
So here's my theory; I think my pressure plat actually began to fail at the drag strip 2 1/2 years ago, then had a dramatic (but not complete) failure 6 months later. At that point I replaced the disc and slave and was able to dial it in to where I liked it. The extra .030" I had machined was just covering a symptom of a failing pressure plate. It really never felt or performed better than after those repairs.
As it stands now I just don't like the feel of it and I'm considering putting some .030" shims/washers under the pressure plate bolts to see how it feels. Maybe this weekend. I'll update my findings when I have answers.

Totally self-inflicted.

I don't understand how that works exactly, was the raised portion outside of the clutch disc, like the flywheel was dished?

Yes. I had the raised mounting surface on the perimeter machined shorter. This is the flywheel. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 35&jsn=377

This is the pressure plate. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 35&jsn=381 Doesn't really give much reference to the way it mounts but the friction surface sits lower than the mounting surface.

DRIVEN » Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:31 pm wrote:Yes. I had the raised mounting surface on the perimeter machined shorter. This is the flywheel. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 35&jsn=377

This is the pressure plate. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 35&jsn=381 Doesn't really give much reference to the way it mounts but the friction surface sits lower than the mounting surface.

OK, that would definitely change the pressure on the disc, but depending on how much was removed it could kinda screw up the pedal.
In theory how ever much you removed from the flywheel needs to be added to the throw out bearing collar, even a 16th inch removed from the flywheel could be a quarter inch where the throw out arm comes out the case, and it could be an inch or more at the end of the arm.
You had another think happen also, the diaphragm fingers dropped/moved away from the throw out bearing also, this could be a significant amount of change at the end of the push rod, it actually could be out of the envelope of operation, you likely need a taller throw out bearing collar.
This is the problem that guys have when they change over to a 5 speed from a 4 speed, they use the 5 speed throw out bearing collar which is for a 225/240mm clutch cover/pressure plate on a 200mm clutch cover/pressure plate and it don't work, the height difference to to much, and you got a double wammy.

All good info. Thanks. I'll let you know what I find out.

I almost got this, that rear drivers quarter was just too scary, did he try to sell you that jeep too? little trailer park in east vantucky? was a nice guy, let mess with it to get it running, my mom wanted me to look at it for her... but I felt to inept to complete the work it needed for her abuse.

I don't remember a Jeep. It was a runner/driver when I delivered it. Too bad it had to die because it easily could have been saved. The quarter was ugly but the replacement was near perfect. Also, it was originally that mint green color which is probably my favorite color on a wagon.

he didn't pull the quarter out, said he had it in the shed, but he let me get it going in his driveway. it just felt so thin I had no idea how far it would have to go. we were looking for something that needed alittle less . but it was workable. glad some one grabbed it up

Good too see your still plugging away