wendell42 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 OK, so I had an oil leak and decided to pressure wash the engine after tightening down the obvious bolts (valve cover ect) to see if I got the leak stopped. A few hours later, I went to start the car and had gotten water in the distributer cap. Left the cap off so that everything would air dry. About 6 hour later, put the cap back on, and she fire right up. Got about a half mile down the road and it died! would crank, but not start, lots of backfiring. Took the distributer cap off, and the distributer is just spinning! Got the car home (did I mention that this happened at 10:30 at night on the way to a fire call as I am a volunteer firefighter??) Seems that the gears on the camshaft that drive the distributer have stripped out! I have NEVER seen this happen in a car before. Its like someone held the distributer in place while the car was running. Funny thing is, the gears on the distributer look fine! So, anyone know where I may be able to get a camshaft for a '73 1200? Anyone ever see anything like this before?? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Probably any B-210 or 210 A series cam should fit. Maybe the cam was chewed years ago and a new dizzy was put in and it just ... worked. There's not a lot of resistance to spin them. I doubt washing the motor had anything to do with this but tugging on the distributor cap when taking it off and on may have. Quote Link to comment
datsun65 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 On the Roadster a jackshaft is used to drive the distributer. I had a mechanic install a new fuel pump WITHOUT the required spacer. Thus, the lever of the pump (which also drove the jackshaft) was not properly aligned,and stripped the jackshaft. After all was said and done, the shop FOUND my original pump spacer on the floorboard of my car (originally told me the car didn't have a fuel pump spacer). They were honest & stood up to the mistake. They fixed everything and were very professional about the situation. Quote Link to comment
DRIVEN Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Probably any B-210 or 210 A series cam should fit. Maybe the cam was chewed years ago and a new dizzy was put in and it just ... worked. There's not a lot of resistance to spin them. I doubt washing the motor had anything to do with this but tugging on the distributor cap when taking it off and on may have. The A12 distributor is located farther forward on the block than the A13/A14/A15/A12a. Not sure the cams have dual position gears on them. Quote Link to comment
wendell42 Posted July 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 I am going to go pick up an A14 engine tonight for the car. Hopefully it is in good enough shape to get me by for a while. I have heard that the distributers are located in different areas on the A12 and the A14 engines, so I think the only hope I have to bring the old A12 back to life is to get an A12 camshaft. The guy that re-built the engine about 3 years ago is real good, I am sure if there was ANY wear on the cam gear he would have said something. Does anyone know if the computer for the electronic ignition will be OK or am I going to have to try to hunt one of thse down as well?? Quote Link to comment
king bee66 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 The A12 distributor is located farther forward on the block than the A13/A14/A15/A12a. Not sure the cams have dual position gears on them. late model a12's like OPs '73 have the dizzy in the right spot Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Uh, what makes you think the gear on the camshaft is bad other than that you distributor spins? The cause could be the distributor shaft is broken, or the pin is broken or???? The cam has threads in the cast iron, it's not a separate gear, never heard of it breaking. Yes, I've heard of distributor gears breaking. Sometime they even look good. Instead of changing the cam, put the entire A14 in. All it takes is two simple plates with holes drilled in them. The A14 distributor requires no computer. Quote Link to comment
wendell42 Posted July 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 I pulled the distribuer out, the gears on it are fine and the gears spin with the shaft, no problems with it. I looked down in the distributer hole and can see the gears on the cam are chewed up, I havnt drained the oil yet, but I am sure it is full of metal. I got a few big chunks out already, just sticking a magnet down the hole. There was an A14 engine it the car at one time, the guy I got it from had the A12 engine re-built and put it in there. They modified the left engine mount bracket, so I have to get that sorted, but I do plan on putting the A14 in there. Hopefully it will hold out till I can get the parts and time to pull it again to re-bild it. I would like to do fix the A12 as well, if nothing else, fora sutiable spare. Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Once you drive the A14 you won't want to put the A12 back in. Believe me. It is 20% more cubic inches! Plus, no points to go bad. Why are you worried about it "lasting"? A compression check and the two smoke tests will tell you if the engine is good. Quote Link to comment
gpimm Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Keep in mind that on the front distrubutor 1200 engines the oil pump and distrubutor share the same gear on the camshaft. If the gear on the camshaft is gone to the point the distrubutor is not working the oil pump won't be working either... Quote Link to comment
wendell42 Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 ggzilla, I think you are right, once I get that A14 engine in there I will be a LOT happier. Picked the engine up this evening, turning it by hand it seems to have pretty good compression. I will get the starter hooked up on it tomorrow and do a proper compression test. The engine was sitting for a few years, but was under cover so it should all be OK. I figure between the two engines, I should get one decient one! gpimm, I did notice right as it died, the oil light did come on. I Was able to do a more thorough check at the cam, and it is definately the gear on there that is shot.. Once I get the old girl back on the road, I will pull the cam out and take some pics and see if I can get the posted on here. Thanks for the input everyone, I will keep you updated on my progress. Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Yes, and the good news is that when the distributor stops, so does the engine, so likely no damaged occured because oil pressure failed. Early vs Late Datsun A-series camshafts Quote Link to comment
DRIVEN Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Just out of curiosity, where's the break between early and late? Quote Link to comment
wendell42 Posted July 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Well, the A14 motor I picked up needs to be re-built before I can do anything with it. the number 4 cylinder only had 25psi for compression. Going to start getting the parts in to re-build it so that I can get the old girl back on the road. Thanks everyone for all your help and insights. Quote Link to comment
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