My 720 Resto

[Charlie69]

Mine was behind the Heater core box and the AC evaporator box.  Have to remove all the heater & AC boxes starting with the blower box on the right side (passenger side) of the cab.  There are 2 bolts holding the holding the heater core and AC evaporator box that are on top of each box.  To get to these bolts I had to remove the dash assembly.  A 10mm ratchet wrench makes the top dash bolts easier to take out.  Dash has 3 bolts on top, 2 bolts on each side by the doors. and 1 bolt in the glove box, very back.  It is a PITA but I know my 300 thousand mile motor is still pushing 45# plus oil pressure.you can not see the blue tape because the harness runs behind the boxes along the firewall.  The blue tape in the image below was unrapped to release the plug and for better viewing.

 

[wayno]

Right here you said you have gauges, now you say you don't even have the plug, I am confused, what are you looking for?

Found it!

Yahoo, I have gauges!!!!!

[720inOlyWa]

Okay, I realize that I have been a bit confusing in my exuberance and in my frustration. Wayno, when I got your pigtail, I installed it nad went looking for the plug conector. But that session ended before I was going to find it, so I just used a jumper wire to test the volt meter, check the gauge lights, etc.. And that all worked fine. That is what I was reporting. But at that point, I still hadn’t found that damn official gauge plug.

 

So over this last weekend, I dug into it twice- and failed to find it both times. Man, I really went for it, too. Now my Irish is up and I am pissed at that hiding little fucker, so today- if it isn’t a downpour all day- I am going to jerk the dash out to the point where all is revealed. It HAS to be in there somewhere. But I tell ya’, as I was giving up on Sunday, you would have been hard pressed to convince me it is in there. I really gave the search my full force, all to no avail.

 

Now that I have heard from Charlie and Guam, I am fired up again for the final solution- a dash jerk. This bastard aint gonna beat me. No way! If it wasnt for Ratsun encouragement....

 

Guam, I was meaning that I hooked up the pigtail and used it as a distance guide. Once you plug it into the gauges, it sort of tells you where the plug must be hiding by virtue of its length.

 

Most people glance at their gauges every once in a while. Some actually pay closer attention. Others never look at them at all. But when my oil pressure and volt meter are finally up and going, you can bet that I will savor the readings off of those gauges, maybe even more than I enjoy looking at my tach and clock. I will have really, actually earned that information coming of of those gauges!

[Charlie69]

When you find the pigtail place it with your existing heater/AC wires,  I ran mine out with the existing heater/AC wires.

[_chiefjt]

I will take pics of how it's setup in the in cab. The only thing is I don't have the center console or gauge holder yet so yeah. lol

[720inOlyWa]

Okay, so that was a real bitch and a half.

First off, Guam, you must have some skinny-assed fingers! Holy crap, you guys, it was taped up next to the damn firewall. I had to pull the dash to get to it. I wish someone had told me that is is not that big of a deal to get the dash loose as I would have just done that first. I got intimidated needlessly by the task of removing the dash.

 

My only tip off on the plug was the metal hook. I saw a metal hook way, way back there and looked (felt) upstream from there. And there it was. I don’t have a radio, just one of those cubbys with the lid in front. That snaps right out and, along with removing the ashtray, this gives you about as much access to the area as you are going to get without moving the dash out of the way. So I assumed that had to be enough because you guys went in through that hole. Still, with that much access, I was not even close to getting to it. There is NO WAY I could have reached it- ever- without getting the dash out of the way first. I am in awe that you guys dug it out without removing the dash. Pretty incredible, really.

 

So now the interior of my truck is exploded out there and I am done until tomorrow, at least. I shop vac-ed the under dash area pretty good and called it a day. My King Cab looks like a pair of crazed wolverines had an orgy in the cab over the weekend, with all the interior parts just tossed in the cab. My brother in law is stopping by in the morning and he said that if it wasn’t pouring, he would help me (cheer me on while raiding Mary’s stash and the frig, in that order) while it all goes back together. I have one of those shelter canopies that I can put up over the cab if I really need to stay dry. I have not addressed the installation of my pressure sensor yet as the rain chased me off yesterday before I could remove the wheel well skirt, pull the filter and drain the oil, as planned. I figured that would be the optimum time to swap out the sensor, too. I still need to go raid the jy for the sensor wiring connection.

 

So, Guam. Before I forget, and while this thing is all apart, I will swap out my black gauge holder with the tan one from wayno and send the black one off to you. It may take a day or two, but I will do it. I think your mailing address is in my mail here. Thanks for all the help. You, and everyone else. Thanks to this battle, I really know my dash- and the dash harness- pretty good now- it kicked my ass!

[wayno]

Yes it will be easier if the oil filter is removed to deal with the oil sensor, and at the same time you should look at your wiring in the engine compartment for the other wire, it might be folded back wrapped up in tape with the oil light wire, otherwise if it is not there, then you will have to add your own wire for that.

It's a lot easier to find that plug for the pigtail, if you know where it is, if you don't know where to look, then you have to get lucky as you are feeling around back there blind.

Yes the dash comes out fairly easy, I can remove a whole wiring harness in just over an hour if I have a charged battery in my Makita/Dewalt, it takes longer if I have to put it back together.

BTW, when ever I change out a wiring harness, I always put that plug out where I can get at it, as I know I will be using it most my rigs have them gauges, all except one, the 720.  

[_chiefjt]

I think he meant to send the black gauge holder to me lol. But thanks man that'll help me out a lot.

 

I told you it would be back there. I'll post a pic of my skinny hand in the radio hole and with the plugs and everything all plugged in on the inside. Not the outside cause I still gotta get my oil pressure sensor.

[Charlie69]

 I had to pull my dash also.  Takes about 20 minutes to pull the dash as I have done so many.

I pushed my wires down between the heater/ac switches and the heater core box to contain the wiring.

[wayno]

I reread the post and realized that I read it wrong, I edited my post above. 

I think he meant to send the black gauge holder to me lol. But thanks man that'll help me out a lot.

I told you it would be back there. I'll post a pic of my skinny hand in the radio hole and with the plugs and everything all plugged in on the inside. Not the outside cause I still gotta get my oil pressure sensor.

[_chiefjt]

Oh, lol you must have done it right before I posted.

[720inOlyWa]

No, right after, Guam.

 

So my wife calls me yesterday afternoon and she is crying. She is out at the Nissan dealership and the service tech just told her that her 2010 Versa has piston slap and needs a new motor. $6,000 to fix it. This car has been impeccably maintained and has 70,000 miles, and now, just when it is paid for, the engine has gone to shit. She said they gave her a sympathy discount of ten dollars off her diagnostic because the news was so bad.

 

In about an hour, I am going to go out to the Bruce Titus Nissan dealership, located here in Olympia, to do some battle. Oh, that should be a fun conversation.

 

This Versa has been an awful car.

 

Do you think Nissan still makes decent cars? Not me. Not by a long shot.  A decent car- or truck- has piston skirts, for one...

 

Somewhere around 1985- when they still made serviceable vehicles out of metal that were fun to drive and reasonable to maintain- that’s the end of the line for me!

 

Speaking of fun to drive, some awesome driving news came out today.

Jesse Robertson was named to drive the Miss Djulio Pizza unlimited hydroplane this season. Many of you do not know what an unlimited hydroplane is, many more have never heard of Miss Djulio, and not a one of you has ever heard of Jesse Robertson. That’s okay. Forget everything but the name Jesse Robertson, because you will be reading about him in the news in the not too distant future.  He is only 24 now, but he looks like a potential Hall of Famer to me.

 

Jesse started racing boats with R/CU, a very serious scale model hydroplane racing club here in Washington. I belong. I raced against him and, to a man, everyone in R/CU will tell you that Jesse is on another level. I have seen him do stuff in racing situations that I still have a hard time believing. He just has it, and in spades. And he is fearless, cunning, smart and decisive too.

 

Now, against long odds, that ‘little kid’ that beat us all so handily has worked himself into the seat of a real unlimited hydroplane. Yes, this ride is a turkey and has no shot at winning. But Jesse will beat some people with it, surprise a lot of folks, get noticed, and get a competitive ride so fast that he will be one of those ‘out of nowhere’ stories in the news in another year or so. From there, good luck beating him.

 

You heard it here first, Ratsunites: Jesse Robertson has arrived. He is heading to Doha for his first unlimited race. Shit just got interesting again. Did I mention that he is just about the nicest guy you would ever meet? I love to see good young folks do well.

[720inOlyWa]

...And finally all of the plastic has been returned to its rightful places. Whew! Maybe we will get a little weather break here today so that I can get to the sender in and the oil change done- finally. I kinda look forward to getting back into the engine room to finish up my air cleaner project.  

 

I listed a whole bunch of stuff on Craigs list yesterday. Desks, wood stove, a recliner. I am clearing out one stall of the garage so I have a tolerable place for winter 720 projects. I also picked up an engine stand this week. I’ve got big plans for my ‘gomer truck’.

[_chiefjt]

Jesse Robertson, I know him...........oh wait, no not really, but I have a feeling I will. lol

 

Now that you got it together post some pics! haha

[Charlie69]

720inOlyWa

"So my wife calls me yesterday afternoon and she is crying. She is out at the Nissan dealership and the service tech just told her that her 2010 Versa has piston slap and needs a new motor. $6,000 to fix it. This car has been impeccably maintained and has 70,000 miles, and now, just when it is paid for, the engine has gone to shit. She said they gave her a sympathy discount of ten dollars off her diagnostic because the news was so bad.

 

In about an hour, I am going to go out to the Bruce Titus Nissan dealership, located here in Olympia, to do some battle. Oh, that should be a fun conversation.

 

This Versa has been an awful car.

 

Do you think Nissan still makes decent cars? Not me. Not by a long shot.  A decent car- or truck- has piston skirts, for one...

 

Somewhere around 1985- when they still made serviceable vehicles out of metal that were fun to drive and reasonable to maintain- that’s the end of the line for me!"

 

I would get a second opinion.  There are a lot of beginning mechanics working at dealerships!

[720inOlyWa]

Other trucks are other trucks. And while I am pretty amped up to mess with another 720- let alone a 4wd twin to this project- this thread is about our beloved Fudgecicle and probably should stay that way.   Yesterday, between rain squalls, I swapped out my black gauge holder for the cool matching one that I got from wayno. (Many thanks again!)  Now I have no excuse for not passing on my good fortune to Guam- by getting the black one that I removed off in the mail.

 

 

It looks like we may get a break in the weather today. If so, I can get my oil pressure sensor installed. Since the engine is coming out of the ‘4x4 Fudge’ anyway, I will make it easy for myself by ‘borrowing’ the sender wiring from it for a while.

[720inOlyWa]

To do / Today:

Install my oil pressure sensor.

Make a wooden timing chain block ala mike’s dimensions.

 

[_chiefjt]

Again, your interior is looking clean!

[720inOlyWa]

Using The Fudgecicle to haul shit away from its beefy cousin.

 

 

This is why I didn’t quite make it to the Datsun get together in Tacoma today: the tow truck arrived and pine needles (and other miscellaneous bullshit)  had to be removed at once!

[Charlie69]

How did you find 2 the same color?  Nice collection.  You are hooked.

[720inOlyWa]

How do you end up with two brown 720s?

 

Seriously, it almost fell on me. Time will tell if I wish that it hadn’t, however. This one needs a lot of TLC, so it fell in the right place.

[84720FourWheel]

I need more pics of the 4x4.  :poke:

Whats wrong with it anyway? 

[720inOlyWa]

Thanks for the question, Four. 

With this 4x4, I am playing with ‘house money’. I traded in a way that made it, essentially, a free truck, plus $300. So was I going to say no?

 

The body is really pretty straight and good, so that is a huge plus. Not much rust at all. The previous owner said it has a blown head gasket, but I am not so sure. I think it may be leaking coolant at the intake manifold. No matter, it has 150k and will get the head gasket / timing chain treatment in any case.

 

This truck has been badly cared for, poorly maintained, and shabbily treated however. I have two days into it just getting the grime, oil, and shit of of it. In that respect, it is a real mess.  The previous owner wanted to keep the battery, so we negotiated that. But when he removed the battery, he removed the terminals as well! Ugh. No problem, I will get new ones when I get around to replacing the battery. Yesterday, I gave the battery tray the full POR 15 treatment as a first step in her rehab. I have a space heater running in the cab for the second straight day, trying to dry out the floor and seats because the previous owner left the fucking door open for two rainy days before the tow truck came for it. Brilliant, kind hearted.

 

Under the hood was unbelievably filthy. It has a Weber, but everything seems jury rigged and cobbled together. The choke wire is’t even hooked up. Bunches of the hood blanket had fallen away and found their way into nooks and crannies. It was bad, I tell ya!. But much better today, and in a few weeks, it will be running great again and all immaculate in the engine room.

 

I had the good fortune of driving an 85 King cab 4x4 last week, a really nice one. And the owner gave me the rundown on the transfer case and we did a little four wheelin’. I’ve got to say, it was really fun! So now I am psyched to do a little of that with this truck in the near future. My plan is to fix it up and sell it to a friend who raises goats on Vashon Island. She wanted my 2x 720 truck immediately and almost offered enough to buy it right there on the spot, but I stuck to my guns and kept it. But I told her I would find another, fix it up for her, and sell it to her at a fair price. Time will tell which truck she actually ends up with, but de-funking this 4x4 version makes me appreciate what I cream puff ‘The Fudgecicle‘ was when I got it!

 

[720inOlyWa]

I will move my 4x4 resto updates and pics to a new (old) thread and leave this one to The Fudgecicle, which still has a ways to go before being certified ‘tight and right’. 

[720inOlyWa]

Recycled a partially worn battery hold down into my truck today.  I dug it out of the gravel there in the jy, finding part by part. 

It aint much, but it will do until a better one comes along. Beats the bungee cord I had on the job until now...