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newbie- just bought 72 521 l16- no fuel no spark


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hey ratsun'ers,

 

I just bought a non running 521 1972 pickup.

 

i replaced the coil, fuel filter, fuel pump, battery, wires, condensers, points, plugs still no spark. still no fuel...

 

i cleared the fuel line to and from the gas tank and still no fuel being pulled to the fuel pump.

 

6274430287_103e49f55d.jpg

L16 motor by empte_eyes, on Flickr

 

6274418613_e5fa581692.jpg

1972 Datsun 521 pickup restoration project by empte_eyes, on Flickr

 

6274426207_7a8562a331.jpg

1972 Datsun 521 pickup by empte_eyes, on Flickr

 

6274422333_6e5a77c348.jpg

1972 Datsun 521 pickup by empte_eyes, on Flickr

 

6274962458_f408284a25.jpg

1972 Datsun 521 pickup by empte_eyes, on Flickr

 

6274967508_53731bb649.jpg

1972 Datsun 521 pickup by empte_eyes, on Flickr

 

6274958348_5d0d7609b9.jpg

1972 Datsun 521 pickup by empte_eyes, on Flickr

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well the first thing i would suggest is posting those pictures in IMAGE format :lol:

 

Get an EL dizzy, no points to mess with :)

 

so have you taken the fuel line off after the pump and turned the starter over? still no fuel come out of the lines?

 

 

also: you have a double post

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Here is what I did with a 521 I bought last April. Near the bottom of the first page, what I did to get it to run. Alas, I am still dealing with titling issues.

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/30606-my-ratsun-datsun-521/

 

No fuel, no Spark?

Lets do spark first. Do you have battery voltage at the positive side of the ignition coil? If you do not, no amount of new coils, plugs, spark plug wires, condensers, or points will make a difference. Once you have power to the coil, do the points have voltage at them when they are open?

 

For the fuel, I just used an old lawnmower gas tank to temporarily feed gas the the carb.

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id love to ditch the points asap, what is the cheapest way ?

i havent found any dual point conversion parts avail at my auto parts store ?

 

re: jon 521 - no i havent disconnected the fuel line and turned it over, i will try 2morow

 

 

thanks guys!!!

 

Ill post pics of my other Datsuns when i get this project sorted out !

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Here is what I did with a 521 I bought last April. Near the bottom of the first page, what I did to get it to run. Alas, I am still dealing with titling issues.

http://community.rat...sun-datsun-521/

 

No fuel, no Spark?

Lets do spark first. Do you have battery voltage at the positive side of the ignition coil? If you do not, no amount of new coils, plugs, spark plug wires, condensers, or points will make a difference. Once you have power to the coil, do the points have voltage at them when they are open?

 

For the fuel, I just used an old lawnmower gas tank to temporarily feed gas the the carb.

 

++++++++++++

thanks for the reply !

 

LOL-I was looking at your post earlier today before I was working on my truck...

 

no- i dont have voltage on my pos. coil, ??? i just noticed before sunset tonight...

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When I was trying to start Ratsun, I first checked the compression.

If the compression is bad, no point in going any farther.

The compression was good enough.

If the key does not supply power to the coil, (ballast resistor actually) just use a jumper wire from the positive battery post, to the side of the ballast resistor not connected to the coil.

for fuel, dump about a tablespoon full of new gas down the carb. It should fire, and run for a short period of time.

 

If it fires, than start to deal with trouble shooting.

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no fuel or no spark

 

replaced the coil, fuel pump, fuel filter, battery wires, plugs, points, condensers,

 

On a truck this old it probably didn't hurt to change all that stuff (except maybe the fuel pump, they rarely go bad) but as a rule it's best to trouble shoot the problem rather than throwing new parts at it. As stated you need two things to run... fuel and spark. To a lesser degree you need compression but even with low compression they will usually start. Since you say both are missing it doesn't really matter which one I start with.

 

Fuel delivery

I have found that when the lines are empty it takes a lot of cranking the motor to draw any fuel. The filter and pump are also dry as were replaced too. Get one of those cheap siphons that have a squeeze bulb to prime them with. Connect it to the hose that goes to the pump and use it to draw fuel up as far as the pump by hand. Now, when you get your spark working a couple of teaspoon fulls of gas should fire it up briefly, enough to prime the pump and keep you going. When I was younger in the 70s I used to run out of gas all the time. So to prime the system I would blow into the tank fill hose, inhale through my nose and blow into the tank. Usually three breaths would pressurize it enough to start to fill the carb. I would check the sight glass on the front. I do not advise this as gasoline fumes are very dangerous to breath in, just saying that it works with a bit of practice to get a tight seal.

 

 

I have merged your double post with pictures into this one and erased the third post. In the future one post, THIS ONE should be used for fixing your fuel/spark problem. If you decide later to start a project thread I can move this one to it. This will keep all your 521 related Q&A together.

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update: We have Fuel and Spark !

 

 

Cleaned distributor connections,

 

extensively drained and cleaned the corroded gas tank in n out, scraped rust inside the tank, in and out of fuel lines, blew the nastiness out w/ an air compressor.

 

re-did points, gap

 

burnt up a coil n replaced it

 

primed fuel pump and lines after cleaning out once again w/ air compressor

 

noticed awesome exhaust leaks !

 

replaced bad wiring from coil to distributor !

 

replaced distributor rotor

 

-----------

 

-The truck fired up and burned out 20 years of neglect, it ran pretty good until rev'd up exposing a few exhaust holes in the pipes, eventually smoking and motor began to run a little rough misfiring,

 

-Underneath the carb a white smoke steadily poured out, faintly smelling of coolant?/ not sure though,

 

-My ignition switch seems a bit sticky, and fell out...

 

------------

 

-Tomorrow I'll patch the exhaust holes w/ some empty Tecate beer cans currently full in my fridge and some old rusty hose clamps

-Trace that leak under the carb

-Check plugs

-trace a couple small oil leaks

-check out front brakes

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UPDATE:

 

Pulled off all four Brake Drums:

 

-Need to replace both front drums, cylinders, shoes, springs ( full rebuild)

 

(Autozone quoted $120 for front brake parts, Does anyone know best price for front drum brake parts from other auto parts stores ? 1972 521 L16)

 

 

also:

 

- re-wired distrib and coil

- patched exhaust holes

- repair and clean air filter

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