A14 Nissan 1.4

[blazer81.6]

Hello guys. Hope all is doing well. If someone could help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. I have an A14 1.4 Nissan Datsun. It is currently in an old Ford skid steer. It hasn’t ran right since I had it. It get hot and dies. Seems like it’s out of time. 

 

This evening I took it down to the timing chains and noticed the shiny links weren’t lining up with the dots.  When I spun the crank on around, the dots do line up. The chains seemed lose, and there was a shiny place on the crank cover.  

 

With the shiny links not matching the holes, but the dots matching, do you believe it’s out of time? Sorry, I’m a novice at best.

 

I took.some pictures on my phone but can’t figure how to upload to post.?

[datzenmike]

Ignition timing is set by adjusting the distributor. Cam timing, by adjusting the cam sprocket.

 

The line up of dots and links are for assembly so the cam is properly timed to the crank. As soon as you turn the engine it comes around in a random place. If you turn enough times you will bring it back into register. Above the crank sprocket you'll find a spring chain tensioner with a plastic 'shoe' pushing against the inside of the chain. Because the engine pulls down on the left or driver's side it will be tight when running. The 'loose' or slack side is the right or passenger side where the tensioner is. Do not remove anything unless you place the engine at top dead center. (TDC) This is so you know where you started from and can find your way back.

 

I don't know enough about the A series so until someone who does replies, try to locate a factory service manual (FSM for your year car) on line, like e-Bay.... about $20. This will give you the procedure for checking timing chain wear (rather than 'it seems loose') and how to adjust or replace it properly. Also how to set the ignition timing and how much. At $50 an hour for a mechanic that knows as much as you do about a car that's at least 35 years old that FSM pays for itself the first time you open it.

[Tom1200]

As one of the A-series guys I can answer this: 

 

You'll find a diagram on Datsun1200.com but here is what you need to know. With the number one cylinder at TDC the key way on the crank sprocket should be point at an angle approximately 4 o'clock. The dowel hole on the camshaft sprocket should be in line with the key way pointing down at 4 o'clock.  At the same time the dot on the crank sprocket should be at 3 o'clock and the shiny chain link lined up with said dot, the dot on the camshaft sprocket should be at approximately 1 o'clock with the shiny link lining up with that dot. 

 

Also on Datsun1200.com you'll find the spec for how much slack is allowed in the chain and how to measure it.

[blazer81.6]

Tom, I’d like to send you a picture of mine. It appears a little different. No cam hole.

[Tom1200]

There has to be some sort of dowel pin, if the bolt and washer are still on the cam the dowel may be hard to spot. You have to look carefully in the crevice between the washer and sprocket surface............look careful it's there.

 

If you actually the cam bolt and sprocket off and there is no dowel all I can say is I've never seen one without the dowel and hole in the sprocket. 

[KELMO]

I seriously thought I had a pic of this floating around somewhere but cannot seem to find it. I think I have a timing set floating around the shop. If I can find it this afternoon I will try and post up a pic.

[blazer81.6]

That would be great sir.

[KELMO]

Didn't find it yesterday but today is another day in the shop.

[KELMO]

Okie Dokie, lets see what we have here......

Pic of the page from a manual.

Gear and chain set laid out on the bench. This is ROUGHLY what it should look like once installed. The yellow mark toward the outside points to the mark for cam gear. The other one is just pointing to where it should line up to the crank gear, This should be a straight line between the cam dowel and the crank keyway.

The tip of the screwdriver is pointing to the timing mark on the cam gear. You can also see the hole for the cam dowel pin.

In this picture the tip of the screwdriver is pointing to the timing mark on the crank gear

 

Hope that stuff gets you closer. I wish I had a pic of this actually installed.

 

 

[blazer81.6]

This helps so much! Thank you so much. Mine looks just like diagram one, however cylinder one is not quiet TDC. I’m assuming from the diagrams I’ve researched, cylinder one is closest cylinder to the fan shroud, on the A14 models?

[KELMO]

Yes, #1 cylinder is the closest to the fan/radiator/water pump.. at least it is on an A12(same engine family and what not).

 

You said it was over heating. Are you going to replace the head gasket? Did it get hot enough to warrant replacing the head gasket?

 

To post pics on here you need a hosting site like Imgur or Flckr...don't use photobucket.

I use Imgur and it is pretty easy. Sign up, download pictures from your computer. Once you have pictures on your account, click on your account tab and go to images (this is the same place to upload images...there is a tab in the upper RH corner, it is green and says add inages), click on the pic you want and it will open a window with the picture in it. There will be tabs to the right of the picture that say "copy", click on the one next to BBC code (message boards and forums). Then on Ratsun, right click in the reply window and paste.

 

I said all that to say this; Pics would really help on this deal.

 

And besides that, we like(demand is more like it) pics around here.

[blazer81.6]

Great! I’ll get on the laptop this evening and download Imgur.

[blazer81.6]

https://imgur.com/gallery/gO4MYaf

 

 

Above picture is both dots aligned, with cylinder 1, TDC.

[blazer81.6]

I think a head gasket may also be a good idea. The above picture is on the compression side. You can see that the shiny links are no where near the dots on the gears/sprockets.

[KELMO]

Something is way not right in the pictures. The dots should not line up like that for setting up.  If you were to pull the cam bolt out, you would find the dowel pin behind the washer.

It has been a while since I have done this so I may read up on it a bit and see if I can figure out where you are in the process.

[blazer81.6]

I do now see the hole located in the cam sprocket. I can turn the motor over several times and eventually the cam sprocket dot and crank gear dot will line up with the shiny links on the timing chain. Also, the dots will be positioned as the diagram above describes. That said, number #1 cylinder is no where near TDC. The motor would start and run pretty good, until it would get hot. Then it would begin sputtering and the engine would quit. It always acted as if it was out of time.

 

So should I be able to put cylinder 1 at TDC, pull the cam sprocket and crank gear, position the sprocket, gear and chain as above diagram, and reinstall?

[KELMO]

Well, if you remove the crank gear and it is not in sync with the # 1 piston...when you go to reinstall, that keyway will still be needing to point in the same direction as the illustration above. It just seems weird that it ran this way. I have an A14 motor that should be easy to tear down. Hopefully I will have some extra time this afternoon.

[blazer81.6]

After a lot of research, I believe I MAY have found the answer. Cylinder #1 wouldn't be at TDC when the shiny links are matched with the match marks (Cam sprocket match mark at 12:30, Crank gear at 3:30) The shiny links are just to ensure the cam sprocket and crank gear work together? I believe I read there are 8 links in between the match marks. It's actually only 1/2 way up in the cylinder. However, the motor should be at TDC when the cam sprocket and crank gear dots meet. Does this sound accurate?

 

 

[KELMO]

No, it doesn't but what the hell do I know.....Take a look at what I found when I THOUGHT I had # 1 at TDC.

This pic was taken after lining up the timing marks on the crank pulley with the timing marks on the timing cover. Wait, the fricking keyway is at 12:00 what the French?

Then I get the timing cover off and look at this happy crappy...both of the timing marks on the cam gear and crank gear are at about 11:00 and the dowel pin is at about 2:00.

 

I really want to pull the head off of this thing but not today (got 1200 stuff to do). Do you have a service manual that applies to your car? Other than 1200.com, you can get FSM downloads at nicoclub.com (at least I think you can). All of the information I have is for an A12 but I can't think that there would be any difference in the set up for timing, even with the dizzy in the middle on an A14 and at the front on an A12. It should also be noted that I do not know the origin/history of this engine so it could have come into my possession in a jacked up state.

[blazer81.6]

I did order me a manual. I guess I'm more confused now than ever. Maybe there are more than one way to time the A14. I appreciate you taking the time to show the internals on your motor. I find all this timing stuff to be confusing.

[KELMO]

Well, we're in the same boat as far as the confusion goes. Like I said, I really want to pull that head and see what's what inside. I am not going to turn anything over until the head is off so I can see where everything is.

[Tom1200]

I should have mentioned this earlier, if you have the cam timing out by even one tooth the motor will barely run............ask me how I know.

 

So let's back up a bit:

 

First define hot, what kind of temps are talking about?

 

Second how long before it gets hot?

 

Third once it cools of it restarts just fine?

 

Finally, per chance have you checked the coil as well as the valve clearances? 

 

A-series have to get smoking hot before they die and once the do they've usually melted the head gasket or the head itself. The A15 in my race car hit 275 F before it died. I probably did 10 laps (30+ miles) at over 225 F, plus at least one lap at 240-250F

 

[blazer81.6]

The radiator was boiling. No temp gauge, as the motor is installed on an old skid steer.

 

it runs for about 10 minutes, starts missing, and dies. After it cools, it starts back and runs. I bought a new distributor, head gasket, coil, and plugs. Just haven’t had time to install

[datzenmike]

 

This looks 180 out to me. Turn crank one more turn and the dots should be directly across from each other. Check the #1 cylinder... both valves should be closed.