carterb Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 I was really curious about how easy the CV axles went in compared to my experience with Cooper where I had to give up. So first thing Friday morning I lifted up the rear and measured the distance between axle flanges. 14 1/4" on Granny 14 3/16" on Cooper Now I'm really confused... 1/16" was not the difference between working or not working. I'm going to have to have another look at Cooper and see what could possibly be different. 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Brenda assisted on the pedal as I bled the brakes. So cool to have real brakes up front! We went on a test drive a little after lunch and made it about a mile from the house before this terrible grinding/vibrating sound came from the left rear. We pulled onto a side street and I got out and had her drive as I pushed the car while it wasn't running so I could verify where the sound was coming from. Left rear for sure but there was no drag or heat or anything. Carefully drove back to the house, jacked up the rear and removed the left rear wheel and drum. There was probably 1/8-1/4 cup of brake dust in there. I'm guessing all the work vibrated all the dust to the bottom and some of it got between the brake pads and the drum and that was giving me the issue. I cleaned everything up, put it back together, and there was no repeat of the issue. Nothing to do now but clean up and start packing the car. It looked like I had time so I figured I'd give the Granny a quick wax job. There was way more oxidation than I was counting on so the results were terrible. (I seem to do this every year - you'd think I'd learn) Crap! Out came the buffing wheel and rubbing compound at least for the hood/roof/trunk. That didn't clean up awesome either so I washed again, dried, and re-waxed Saturday morning before hitting the road. I was able to achieve "presentable" but not sure an uneven shine is better than an even haze. Oh well, that's what we get. Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 The drive to Canby early Saturday morning was completely uneventful and let me tell you that Granny has been transformed! It loves the freeway now with the new rear end gearing and it is so smooth with the CV axles compared to Cooper. I loved every minute of it. The rear was a little bouncy so I probably need to firm up the shocks a bit but otherwise it was perfect. Stopped in Woodland for gas and food and saw Jonah go by in his orange and silver BRE stripped 4dr. Passed a line of Ratsun guys in 411's, 521's, 1200's etc (is that the Olympia crew?) somewhere close to Oregon but otherwise - no other Datsun sightings 'till we pulled into the Fairgrounds - during a downpour. Set up the tent in the rain and then of course as soon as we hammered in the last tent stake, the rain stopped. Great turnout on Saturday. I was able to say hi to lots of people and take lots of photos and the dinner with John Morton was really cool! 500+ photos here: http://datsun510.com/index.php?/gallery/album/763-canby-2017/ 3 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Sunday started cool but it got nicer and nicer as the day progressed. Had some fun with my fisheye Raffle was great. Jeff and Sam donated an entire James Boswell Coachworks set-up! That thing may have sold more tickets than the Z-Therapy SU's! Awards were interesting. Third place 510: (teal 2dr on right) 2nd place 510 : Byron's rootbear colored 2dr. 1st place 510 - this amazing stock 1969 wagon. That's original paint folks! 2 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 The drive home was kind of lonely as far as Datsuns go but there were sure a lot of waves, thumbs up, and iphone pics and video. Funny how much these cars get attention. We stopped in Tacoma to visit with my friend Dave for a while, then stopped for gas in Fife. About 10 miles later, if started to feel some fwd/aft accel/decel movement. Brenda felt it too so I knew I wasn't going crazy. 5 more miles and the long descent down to the I-5/405 interchange it was getting really bad. I remember I felt that same kind of off and on drag when I was towing Racecar home and the diff locked up and put me on the side of the road. Surely that wasn't going to happen again was it? I stuck to the right lane in case I needed to make an emergency exit and we headed up 405. On climbs it was fine. On level ground I could feel it a little if I was trying - and I was as hypersensitive at this point as you can get so I was trying for sure. On downhills it was the worst! What could be going on? Was I reverse loading the diff when I was going downhill on compression and crowding the pinion or something? The longer we drove the worse it got but the closer we were to home so I just kept going. By the time we reached the hill above Woodinville I slowed a little at the top so I could accelerate or maintain constant speed the whole way down. That worked okay and we only had one last downhill to go into Canyon Park. This time I thought okay, I'll shift to neutral at the top of the hill and coast down, completely unloading the diff. As soon as I did it, the engine died. Oh man! I took the off-ramp, put the car back in 3rd and gently released the clutch. The car restarted and we headed to our place in line at the light. The car died again when I pushed in the clutch to come to a stop. I got it started again with the key and now I was heel-toeing to apply brake and throttle to keep the revs up. The rest of the drive home was a balance trying to keep the engine running and it died again for the last time at the top of our street so I coasted into the driveway, parked, unpacked the car, and called it a night. 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 After sleeping on it I'm almost certain I know what's wrong. I filled up the tank with bad gas at the Chevron in Fife. The deceleration I was feeling going downhill off throttle was the engine dying and restarting and dying and restarting over and over and over. It would not idle and runs rough at steady throttle even with no load. It's certainly not the rear-end anyway. I looked everything over today and found nothing loose, no vacuum leaks, nothing like that. And the timing is right for the gas station theory. Plus there was a tanker filling the tanks while I was pumping. I've been told that is bad but I've also been told that is hogwash. Well I've never purchased a tank full of bad gas in my life but there is a first time for everything. Is it water or something else? The sight glass offers no clue: Looks like gas to me. I'm going to have to drain the tank. Is it better to do it from here in the car: (note Japanese newspaper I found under the gas tank) or here under the car: Or is the only way to do it to pull the tank completely out? If there is still a little gas left, and there is some water in it, do the fuel additives work well to kill off what's left? Hopefully I can take care of this tomorrow and get Granny back on the road because I'm driving Bruiser right now and I really need to replace that steering box seal. 1 Quote Link to comment
q-tip Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Drain it as much as possible, fill with fresh fuel and add a bottle of heet just to be safe. 2 Quote Link to comment
KELMO Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 I don't know if this is the case with automotive fuel but..........I have been told that when there is water in AV fuel (100LL) that it will lay below the fuel. Maybe someone smarter than myself can confirm. Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Yes, lays at the bottom of the tank. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 the timing is right for the gas station theory. Plus there was a tanker filling the tanks while I was pumping. I've been told that is bad but I've also been told that is hogwash. Well... I have been told that when there is water in AV fuel (100LL) that it will lay below the fuel. Yes, lays at the bottom of the tank. Conventional wisdom is that the water settles on the bottom of the tank at the gas station. Then while the tanker is pumping fuel into it, it mixes up and if you fill within a few minutes of that you will get some water. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 I'm going to have to drain the tank. Is it better to do it from here in the car: (note Japanese newspaper I found under the gas tank) or here under the car: Or is the only way to do it to pull the tank completely out? There is a rubber plug in the floor right below the tank that leads to the outside. And a bolt/drain plug in the tank right above it. They are very easy to drain. :thumbup: 2 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 I bought a couple 5 gallon ga$ can$ (those things are spendy!) and a bottle of HEET on the way home from work. I lifted and supported the back of the car and proceeded to drain the tank using the engine supply line. 2 1/2 jugs later, the job was done. I put in about 7 gallons of fresh gas with 1/2 the bottle of HEET (it says it treats 20 gallons) and started up the car. It ran like crap as to be expected since I didn't empty the carb or the fuel filter or any of the lines. I took a video so you could hear what it sounds like running rough, hunting for an RPM to settle on but not able to find one. The choke is pulled to keep the revs up or it will just die. Unfortunately, I had the phone too close to the fan so it sounds like I'm on top of a mountain standing in the wind. http://datsun510.com/uploads/monthly_2017_06/59429d5f615ef_06142017grannygasswap(1).MOV.bc5f6a46361bff241890ba25c298903c.MOV I went on a 1/2 hour drive to clean out the carb and forward lines but never could get the car to settle in an idle, I had to use the choke and neutral every time I went downhill or came to a stop. Hmmm... To be continued I guess. --carter Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Still got points? Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Still got points? Yeah he does! He gets at least 10,000 internet points cuz it's a 4 door bluebird! 2 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2017 Still got points? Electronic Ignition. Recongnize the distributor? It has a bolt down cap. I'll take a better look at it this weekend. Are you thinking Kelvin's law? "If you think it's fuel - It's electrical. If you think it's electrical - It's fuel" 2 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2017 Carb loose? Not that I can tell but I will look this weekend if there is another possible source of air/vacuum leak/etc. Or a clogged jet in the carb? Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2017 Yeah he does! He gets at least 10,000 internet points cuz it's a 4 door bluebird! Woo Hoo!!! 1 Quote Link to comment
q-tip Posted June 16, 2017 Report Share Posted June 16, 2017 Clogged jet would be another likely culprit. 1 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted June 16, 2017 Report Share Posted June 16, 2017 Is it still the original muffler? Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2017 Is it still the original muffler? No - rear crossmember back has been replaced. Quote Link to comment
Trophy24 Posted June 17, 2017 Report Share Posted June 17, 2017 I am curious if you were able to see any contaminates in the fuel. We have to look for that kind of thing at work from time to time. Sometimes we see 2 cars towed in that filled up at the same station! I can send you some info on a way to test for the amount of water suspended in the fuel. The 10% methanol allows it to hide the presence of water quite a bit. In a nutshell, you need a clear measuring container. Add a known amount of water to the fuel that will exceed its ability to suspend the water in solution. Shake it up and allow it to separate the water/gasoline. Compare the amount of water to what you added and voila! you know if there was water in suspension. Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted June 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2017 I really like that Tokyo Nissan sticker. I wonder if I could get it remade Better yet, answer this guy's ad and buy his RHD Fairlady Z http://community.ratsun.net/classifieds/item/8448-several-zs-for-sale-240-260-280-1-rhd-280/#overview https://www.facebook.com/850692131647765/photos/a.1534807616569543.1073741833.850692131647765/1534808806569424/?type=3&theater It comes with its own sticker! 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.