New World Datsuns...

Got it all back together, cranked it, and I was still getting grinding out of the starter. So I investigated...



I have no explanation for this.

Well replace the starter and proceed...

Oh, and I have zero confidence in this engine anymore. Completely expecting it to run like shit.

Replacement starter will be here tomorrow, in the mean time I'm getting bored. So off comes the fuel rail.



There was an external leak that can be seen in certain spots because they're clean unlike the rest of it. And judging by the condition of the upper and lower o rings, they were probably leaking internally also.





I also put together this little stabilizer bracket together for the MAF/air filter. It's really solid now.

She cranks normally again! If you're reading, send some hippy vibes or whatever my way.

Warm fuzzys headed your way.

Didn't work. Something is really wrong. I'm at a loss. Cracked block? It was hard to get started, blowing smoke like hell, has no power, and dies if I take my foot off the throttle.

Pulled plugs and cylinder 2 is smoking. Think I need a block core.

Compression or leakdown test first.

I'll do both for sure. I'm going crazy with this damn motor. Should have let it be with the slight HG leak and bad valve stem seals.

Well I wasn't expecting this.


This was a dry test, but since the KA has piston oil squirters does that make it a wet test?

Still, not so bad on the wet test. I've never really done a wet test, but I added about 1tbsp to the cylinder before each test, and added the same amount when I went through the second time.

Rented a cooling system pressure tester from O'Reilly. The tool leaks, lmao. Even with it leaking, it held pressure pretty well. I couldn't find any fluid leaking into the cylinders. But I did find an external leak, it's the thermostat bypass outlet. It's another one of those that is under the intake mani. I tightened the clamp down some and it still leaks.

I did start it back up today after cranking it a bunch to get the oil and whatever else out of the cylinders. It smoked for a second at start up, but then it was good. It's running again! The coolant leak still needs to be addressed, but I have coolant flush solution in the system now so I'm gonna wait another day, drain that old dirty coolant, then pull the intake manifold and replace every necessary hose I can find and replace them. I'm not taking the chance of something else under the intake going bad later down the road. Luckily I've got spare gaskets for when I put it back on. Happy Sunday for me

EDIT: I thought about it and it's the same coolant hose that I forgot to put a hose clamp on when I pulled the intake manifold off last time, lmao shit. I guess I'll do it the same way I did before, just pull off the throttle body, then I'll have my girlfriend wiggle the hoses in and out

Ran the car today for a few minutes, just long enough to time it and make sure everything still looks okay. I did spend about twenty minutes looking for a metal on metal squealing sound. It was my damn headlight bezel rubbing back and forth on the back side of the eyebrow trim. Set a screwdriver on it to shut it up and went on to flush out the radiator. Man, the liquid was orange and all sorts of nasty. I think I might actually use another bottle of flush solution and clean it one last time. I think there might have been enough stop leak in the system leftover that it actually sealed that leak. Hmmm, not betting on it, still planning on pulling the intake again anyway.

Also, before I fill it up again I'm gonna drill and tap new threads into the bleeder bolt hole. Mine is broken off in there and bolt extraction methods failed me. I'll have to go up to and M8 vs M6, this isn't somewhere I want a Helicoil.

Like promised, I tapped new threads into the bleeder bolt hole, M8x1.25+A generous dollop of thread sealer and a crush washer. Don't worry guys, it doesn't leak. Lol

Today the gap between the rad and core support really started to bug me. When I got it I didn't want to chop down the mounting points because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough threads to tighten the bolts. But now I think I could shorten them to at least the length of the M6 Helicoils I have. That would give me plenty of clamp. I'm a huge fan of Helicoils lately BTW. They've literally saved this engine.




I also ordered a set of EBay gauges for water temp, oil pressure, and voltage. Don't need anything too advanced. I think they will fit nicely in the radio slot or maybe behind the glove box since I have no actual box anyway. To be continued...

Did you ever figure out if you had an internal leak the 2nd, 3rd? time around?


And you drained your oil after all those head removals, right? Water eats at the engine bearings badly.

I did indeed. ^^^


Head gasket seems good so far, but I am still smoking. It starts smoking when it warms up and I've been driving for a few minutes. It's a constant smoke, not just on throttle blips. It's gotta unburned fuel or oil, hard to tell as I've never encountered either, and I don't drive enough to know anything about it's fuel economy. Plenty of experience blowing HG's though, lol.

^Subaru guy^

Yep, haha.

Okay, so I am losing coolant. I drove again when there was a sun break, and noticed the smoke was white. Let it cool down and checked the coolant, it was low. I pulled all the plugs while it was hot and no smoke (engine bay). No visible leaks in the engine bay or the heater core, no drips, no smoke. Only evidence is the reservoir level rose and the radiator level was low. I'm not sure if the radiator level drop is equal to the amount of rise in the expansion tank, but that would point to a faulty radiator cap, right? Seems kinda obvious now that I wrote it out, but I take nothing for face value anymore. Been chasing my tail with this motor too long to start assuming anything.

Good news is the motor seems healthy other than the smoke, full power, smooth idle, no stumbling, no codes. Noisy third gear, slight whine.

I pulled up some of the weather strip from the trunk, peeled the adhesive, then reset it using the truck lid itself to hold it in place instead of binder clips. I haven't seen any water in the trunk yet so I'm hoping I won't have to keep the car covered anymore. But it hasn't really been raining enough to know, I might dump a bucket of water over the rear to see how it does.

Polished one wheel up some, it looks good, but I wish I would have started with a more course cut, the medium wasn't quite enough. I think I'll get some more compound before I do the rest.



I'm gonna try and make it out to Canby tomorrow sometime, I've got 510 stuff to let go of and a few things I might look for. Look forward to meeting any of you that are there.

Wheel looks great.
Take lots of pics at the show for us lame-Os that can't make it.

Meh, I got there at about 2:40, actually drove into the show, nobody there to tell me to turn around. I had to drive all the way through to a dead end before I was sure I wasn't supposed to be in there. Then had to drive all the way back through the way I came. I could tell there were a few people like, "wtf is this Chevy doing creeping through here?" Haha. By the time I got out to the road it was almost 3 and I had no idea if it was worth staying. I screwed it up.

I spent most of the weekend gathering supplies for the California trip since I got confirmation. In between all this I pulled the upper intake manifold to replace the hoses that (use to?) leak.. now that it's back together I filled it up and there is a leak somewhere else, argghhh! All new hoses were new, but I reused the original hose clamps in some spots, the springy squeeze type. Maybe ours because of those, maybe not, I'll find out soon enough. This time I am going to pull the lower manifold off to fix that leak, unless I find and can can get to it first. This all makes me want an aftermarket intake just because I think it will be easier to get to stuff, not sure if that means deleting more stuff or not though.

It's almost there, almost.

Not to rub salt in your wounds but...














Nissans still suck. You know how many coolant hoses my 2.4 swap had? 4. 2 radiator and 2 heater. And not a single thing under the intake to have a chance of leaking. All my troubles were security system related.
You'll get it all worked out. Hopefully before you head south.