79 210 goon auto - slight loss of power when accelerating from a stop

[brownevan]

Hey everyone,

 

I noticed my 210 started stalling ever so slightly occasionally when i start driving from a stop light. It will sputter, almost like the engine is flooding a little or something. any insight?

 

 

picked her up a little over a month ago for cheap; no major issues so far, plans for body/paint and getting those slot mags repolished...

[datsunaholic]

Flooding? More likely starving. Symptom of a bad accelerator pump.

[brownevan]

what's the best way to get that taken care of, carb rebuild?

[Draynor]

Can't really help you with your problem. But I did see you drive pass me today, the wagon looks clean man. I was in the blue 510 goon.

 

Hopefully you figure out the issue...

[Eagle_Adam]

sweet good man! datsahaulic is on the right trac

[datsunaholic]

Generally the accelerator pump can be changed without rebuilding the entire carb, or even taking the carb off the car. But... the only way to GET the pump plunger is to buy a carb kit. If it's NOT leaking and has no other issues, I'd just change the pump.

 

And, it could also just be clogged. If it sat, the pump chamber or the outlet nozzle could be clogged. That can also be fixed without a full rebuild, but you'll need carb cleaner and best to have compressed air to blow it out. You do have to remove the accelerator pump to do that, which would tell you its condition, like if the bellows are torn or the plunger is damaged. I believe the plunger assembly has a gasket, though I'm thinking of L-series carbs here. Don't have an A-series carb around to know if they're the same basic design (the carb model is quite different but are designed quite similar).

[brownevan]

The car sat garaged while the import mechanic I bought it from built it for his daughter for 2 years, so I think you gouys are probably right. I'll head out to my property and grab the compressor. Thanks.

 

By the way; draynor- I totally saw you! Nice ride. I pointed you out to my girlfriend. :)

[Draynor]

The car sat garaged while the import mechanic I bought it from built it for his daughter for 2 years, so I think you gouys are probably right. I'll head out to my property and grab the compressor. Thanks.

 

By the way; draynor- I totally saw you! Nice ride. I pointed you out to my girlfriend. :)

Lolz,Thanks man!

[ggzilla]

Don't even think about starting by replacing the accelerator pump.

 

 

Yes, it could be that ... but a) it's less likely than other cause and B) it's the most work

 

Start by troubleshooting the cause. Most common cause is a vacuum or air leak. I fixed a 210 earlier this month with that exact sypmtoms and it was a vacuum leak.

 

1. Engine idling, check the fuel bowl level. If it's not dead-on the dot, or at least very close, that's one problem.

2. Inspect every small vacuum hose for cracked ends

3. Look for hoses that have become disconnected

4. Engine idling, squeeze PCV hose with pliers. If idle increase speed, clean or replace PCV valve

 

Taking Off:

* Small loss of power. Hesitation. Surging when driving slowly,Cause: vacuum leak

* Medium loss of power. Engine tends to die. Cause could be the coil.

[brownevan]

 

Taking Off:

* Small loss of power. Hesitation. Surging when driving slowly,Cause: vacuum leak

* Medium loss of power. Engine tends to die. Cause could be the coil.

 

Definitely a small, very quick loss for less than half a second, then it kicks right in and purrs perfect down the road, no other problems with loss of power, if i floor it going anything faster then 5mph it downshifts and kicks right in. also, this doesn't seem to happen when i am stopped uphill; i found that to be very odd. thanks again everyone for your feedback.

[SlammedSunny]

My B210 does this exact sympom, when its cold out and the engine is cold. Once the engine is up to temp no more problems. Can't say thats your problem as there are other likely causes.

[ggzilla]

My B210 does this exact sympom, when its cold out and the engine is cold.

Yes, because the general cause for hesitation is running Lean.

 

That's normal when engine cold -- if your choke is not adjusted correctly. A little adjustment and it will run perfect when cold.

[datzenmike]

Not a fix by any means but you can reduce the symptoms by turning the idle up slightly. Still needs a fix.

[ggzilla]

Automatic choke is very, very easy to adjust. Just that most people don't know how to do it correctly. For photos and procedure see http://datsun1200.co...hoke_Adjustment

[ggzilla]

Sounds like it is the coil. Borrow or buy a good coil and see if the problem clears up.

* hesitation when starting from a stop

* intermittent losses of power, stranding me on the road randomly ... it won't start for 30 minutes

 

 

The good coil is the genuine Nissan one (Hitachi or Hanshin). You can find these at Pick-n-Pull for $11.

 

 

If those two symptoms have the same cause, I'd say it is the coil. But the two symptoms might have two different causes. So better to borrow a coil, in case it doesn't fix it.

 

 

Original post browevan said:

Hello everyone,

 

If this has been discussed in an earlier topic, my apologies in advance.

 

So, my 1979 Datsun 210 Wagon (in signature) and I have been battling her slight loss of power since the day I bought the car a couple months ago.

 

What started out as a tiny, nearly unnoticeable hesitation when starting from a stop, has blossomed into full blown intermittent losses of power, stranding me on the road randomly. Every time this happens I wonder if the car will start again. Sometimes it won't start for 30 minutes, and sometimes it won't skip a beat and drive without a single problem for 15 or 20 minutes afterwards.

 

It seems to have a loss of power ONLY in the low rev range. if I can get the car up to speed (praying to god), it appears that it would run through an entire fuel tank on the interstate with no problems.

 

The gap in hesitation increased, until it took pumping the gas and shifting into neutral on the auto tranny to get the car to stay running. Today, it's broken down 4 times; the same day i replaced it's leaky fuel pump with a brand new one, and I barely got the car home. I had to run every stop light for 5 miles.

 

since i bought the car, I have sprayed a compressed carb cleaner directly into the carb, I've ran two bottles of seafoam, checked the fuel filter, and replaced the fuel pump; so I am fairly certain that it's a carb issue. I posted about this a few weeks ago in the 210 forum, but the problem went away a bit and I was driving other cars.

 

I blew up a built 4k starlet that I have and am sitting, waiting for a 1350 dollar repair while the 210 is my only other ride, currently. Anyone who can help me or had similar problems will be my sovereign savior, as I've had it up to here with the car, and I don't have a third vehicle right now.

 

I live in Portland, Oregon if any of yous are experts :)

 

thanks guys, been reading ratsun a long time before i had this car, but this is my first datsun and I just want to keep her on the road.

 

(PS: What are my options for aftermarket carb, will a weber 32/36 run well?)

------------end quote ------------

[JAS]

Try cleaning the bowl, idle air circuit through the idle mixture screw hole, through to the bowl and primary port... So assure your float is set right... Make sure your primary power jet and other jets are secure and not loose. remember to set the idle screw back to where is should be, 1.5 turns open or so...

[LenRobertson]

Your problem may not be the accelerator pump, but it is easy to check and eliminate it from possible causes. With engine OFF, remove the aircleaner and look down the carb throat with a good flashlight. You will need to hold the choke butterfly wide open. Stick a big screwdriver beside the butterfly or something. Then work the throttle linkage by hand. If the accelerator pump is working properly you should see a decent squirt of gas come out of the pump discharge nozzle down in the carb throat. You need to have your head and the light just right to see it. If you don't see any gas or see it down on the closed throttle butterfly, let us know. Then we can get into removing the pump and inspecting. If you've already removed the accelerator pump, or are about to, Danger! Danger! there is a tiny stainless steel ball at the bottom of the pump cylinder under the spring. If you don't know it is there and blow air or carb cleaner  down the cylinder, the ball will go into orbit.

 

Len

[ggzilla]

You can't really tell on a 1979 210. The carburetor is so lean that you can't see the accelerator pump jet stream clearly. Still, you can look and if you see a clear stream, then it is OK. But if you don't see it, it might still be OK.

[LenRobertson]

You can't really tell on a 1979 210. The carburetor is so lean that you can't see the accelerator pump jet stream clearly. Still, you can look and if you see a clear stream, then it is OK. But if you don't see it, it might still be OK.

Ahhh, another thing to add to my (limited) knowledge of carbs. Me posting on carb threads is like the blind leading the blind . I got mine to idle, but couldn't solve the bog coming off idle problem. Yesterday I pulled it off the 510 for a rebuild. Which may or may not be an improvement. I wonder how many carb problem threads are on Ratsun right now? Seems like several. My theory is that carbs wait for crappy weather before acting up.

 

Len

[brownevan]

update: I think i've figured it out. Replaced the fuel pump and filter; It improved for a couple days, but eventually led me to break down again. I am super busy, and paid a buddy to put the fuel pump in while I was at work, and the damn connections were so loose it wasn't pulling fuel into the engine. Borrowed some tools from a cafe, tightened everything up, and got it home. Woke up this morning, looked under the hood again and noticed my pre-exhaust hose was completely severed; replaced that, replaced the plugs/wires, and the car drives better than it ever has; and it fires right up. 

[ggzilla]

So it was low fuel pressure from leaking hose (hose connections not tight). We'll have to start talking about the basics more.

 

Glad to hear you got the problem solved.

[brownevan]

haha, for sure.

 

well, the story continues; after a day or so of running better than ever, she shut down completely, and for good. the starter had plenty of power, and when the engine was running it was great, but i have no ignition again, this time after a new cap, rotor, coil, plugs, and wires.

 

I had exhausted my weak amount of knowledge, and sent her via an AAA tow to a datsun shop in clackamas.

 

i wouldn't have except i have a KP61 starlet, and IT'S also in the shop getting major valve work done, rendering me carless. The mechanic, Jock, also does a spring perch mod on the 210 to lower it for a good price, so I figured I'd just send the poor wagon down there for a slight drop and a fix. should be back anyday now, i have a feeling its nothing too major; just a diagnosis I couldn't do :(