72 510 Wagon, First Car, New Experience

[Entrymax]

Hello! I'm Ibarra, a junior going into my senior year of highschool this winter.
The owner of the car lived a block behind my house and I would see the car in the driveway. It looked
quite dilapidated. Up till this point, I personally have never worked on a car before. I've always enjoyed cars, but have never had a chance to get my hands dirty. I figured this would be a great car to learn the basics on since older cars were much more simple. So I went up to the old lady who lived there and asked if she would be willing to sell the car. I learn that it hasn't been running for about a decade, and that she was part of the Norcal UFO club. 600$ later the car is in my driveway. Unfortunately I do not have a garage. So I'll be doing my best with an awning I've recently set up.

She called it Poppy, and I will be doing the same.
Thankfully, along with the car, she gave me a Haynes instruction manual, a copy of "Auto Repair for Dummies" by Deanna Sclar, a few boxes of assorted parts, and about 12 years worth of auto maintenance receipts.

Well, here's how it looked like the day I purchased it. Still in her driveway.






Floors look well




So do the rockers


Engine Bay

April 2013

• 7th - Purchased Car
  24th - Towed car to house
  Cleaned Paint

May 2013

• New Sparkplugs NGK BP5ES
  Oil - Valvoline VR1 10w-30
  R/R Fuel Filter
  R/R Oil Filter
  R/R Thermostat (& gaskets)
  R/R Fusible Link
  R/R Battery
  R/R Fuses
  R/R Fuel Lines - [Filter to Pump / Pump to metal lines]
  Learned not to - Stripped 3 bolt thermostat housing and currently converting to a 2 bolt setup.
  19th Got the motor started for the first time (yay)
  Coolant

[Entrymax]

As of today, here's Poppy.











All was needed was just a wash and Meguiars #7 / Ultimate Compound

[Entrymax]

So far, here's whats been done.
-Sparkplugs (NGK BP5ES @ .32)
-Oil (Valvoline VR1 10-30)
-Oil Filter
-Fuel Filter
-Replaced old varnish fuel

I've gotten the motor to turn over, and through that I've found a few electrical issues.
After replacing the fusible link, I noticed that the wiring for the coil is quite different from what I've seen in the manual.

-Blk/Blu goes to Balast Resistor
-Blk/Wht goes to Positive Coil
-Blk/Grn goes to Positive Coil

THEN


-Blk/Blu is bound to Blk/Grn

Isn't Blk/Wht supposed to be pronged to the other end of the ballast resistor?

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I've also come to the conclusion that my fuel pump isn't working through the notion that theres no fuel passing through the clear fuel filter as I try to crank the motor. Is there a way to see if it works without removing the fuel tank.

Also if it truly is gummed up, is there anything I need to be wary of when removing the gas tank?

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Would it also be in my best interest to overhaul the carburetor before trying to start the motor?



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When disconnecting the carburetor from the fuel line, which point is best to disconnect? (Fingers on each point)



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Is this a second fuel filter? If so, will any aftermarket fitting suffice?



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What does the gauge to the right of this photo measure?



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How do I go about disconnecting the yellow and red wires without clips from the fuse box?

[510wizard]

On the coil wiring, please take a picture of the distributor. The stock dist. might have been replaced with a matchbox style dist. and the matching coil (which is a plus) and the ballast would have been bypassed. You can connect the fuel pump inlet to a gas can, to see if the pump is working. If the rubber hoses haven't been replaced from the fuel pump inlet to the gas tank, they might have cracks in them, which then the fuel pump is sucking air. There are hoses back at the fuel tank that are notorious for having cracks after all these years. That gauge (not stock) is to measure oil pressure. The red and yellow wires will unplug from the wiring harness, which is in the lower part of your picture.

[510wizard]

More to add after rereading your above questions;
Was the fusible link actually bad? After 40 years of playing with 510's, I have never seen a bad link. I wouldn't mess with the carb to start with. You need to find out why gas isn't getting to the fuel bowl first. Get some fuel hose, connect to the fuel pump inlet, stick the other end into a gas can, remove the spark plugs to allow the engine to turn over easier, crank the engine to see if fuel appears in the carb glass window. If it does, that means that the hoses in the back are cracked and/or the tank is clogged. Replacing the hoses in the back of a wagon is a bitch of a job, which usually means the tank has to be removed anyway

[cambo]

[quote="Entrymax"]So far, here's whats been done.
-Sparkplugs (NGK BP5ES @ .32)
-Oil (Valvoline VR1 10-30)
-Oil Filter
-Fuel Filter
-Replaced old varnish fuel

Welcome to the world of 510 ownership. In todays market $600 for a 510 in that condition is a steal. I agree with 510wizard about replacing all the fuel line with new and tring to get it running from drawing fuel from a gas can. I would loose that second fuel filter in the process. When you remove the old rubber fuel lines don't try to pull them off, get a box knife and cut them off. When you replace the rear fuel lines it would be a good idea to blow through the steel fuel lines with several cans of carb cleaner to blow out any old varnished gas. I wouldn't worry about rebuilding the carb untill you get some fuel up to it and see if it runs. Even though the coil wiring looks funky chances are it ran with it wired like that when it was parked. You should bleed the brakes to flush out all of the old brake fluid and make sure the car can stop safely. Good luck!

[Entrymax]

I believe it's still a points distributor, but I still get a spark from the plug cables, so I guess this funky wiring works for now. Although I'm planning on re-doing the engine harness this summer.


I'll by trying the gas can method later today and will check in later.

Thank you!

[okayfine]

To modify the fuel pump test if you get no immediate fuel into the carb window - pull the output hose from the pump and direct a new hose from there into a separate container. This way you can verify that the pump is (or is not) pushing fuel out. You could have a clog in the line between the pump and the carb (since you have some of the original vapor control parts, shown in the picture at left where you are pointing three at the fuel line), or the carb itself could have problems. I agree with not focusing on the carb, but it may be an issue.

If you need a new pump, make sure to buy one that has the screw-top lid, not the clamped lid. You can search RockAuto.com for the part and they'll have pictures. In the last year or two I bought a new/Japanese fuel pump from them for $15 or so.

[two_68_510s]

On a different note: Your paint came out really good!

[RonM]

Hey Miguel,

I'm really impressed, for a first time wrench turner, you're doing very well. LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE A NATURAL. Great job on your project thread too man, all the right information and tons of pictures. I see good things in the future for this Puppy.

[Entrymax]

Good news
I got the motor to start yesterday hooray. At first the idle would keep dropping and it would die, but after adjusting idle and running it for a while, I was able to lower the idle again without it dying. Exhaust was clear. I know there's an issue (from what the lady told me) with coolant mixing with the fuel/air at the base of the carburetor and I believe all that's needed is to replace the gasket and torque bolts to spec.

Bad news
The temp gauge in the car rose up almost to red while I was idling the car. I believe that the thermostat was probably stuck. So today, I went about getting a new thermostat and flushing the cooling system. After replacing fluids and thermostat, I tightened everything and began to pour coolant in. I hear a dripping noise and realize that fluid is leaking out between the thermostat housing. I try tightening the bolts on the housing and end up stripping the threads on the base of the thermostat housing.



Now I believe there are three routes I can go.
-For one, is anybody willing to sell me a 3 bolt thermostat housing?
-Second, I can try finding one on ebay or in a pick and pull - Which cars carry the 3 bolt thermostat housing? (
-My third option is using a helicoil. Would anybody here know the thread pitch of the housing bolts?

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Also, I noticed that the motor has a W58 head. Is that what came oem in the motor or is it something else?

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When I took off the coolant I noticed these gel deposits. Is there anything I need to know about these?


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After shutting the car off, I noticed that the fuel in the float bowl is slightly above the little mark on the glass window. Is that normal?

[two_68_510s]

I have a few extra 2 bolt setups. Both parts.
Can you convert to two bolt? I don't know if that would work, but I think so.

IMG_0042.JPG (20.85 KiB) Viewed 7568 times

IMG_0041.JPG (21.39 KiB) Viewed 7568 times

[Entrymax]

I believe I can swap to a two bolt housing from the three bolt housing. (Can anybody assure me haha)
How much mailed to 94590 Vallejo, CA?
I'm still going to try to helicoil the 3 bolt setup, but just in case I screw things up hehe ;D

Thank you!

Are there any cons going to a two bolt from a three bolt housing setup?

[cambo]

When I took off the coolant I noticed these gel deposits. Is there anything I need to know about these?

That gel is silicate gel from old coolant breaking down. You need to flush the system well to get all of that crap out of there or you are going to have overheating problems. I would try a good chemical flush. You should also wait on adding more coolant to the system until you know its flushed out. Just use water until you know its cleaned out and then add coolant later. Just a warning, don't leave coolant laying out in a open container. It's sweet tasting to dogs and cats and if they drink it it will crystalize in their kidneys and kill them.

[okayfine]

The temp gauge in the car rose up almost to red while I was idling the car. I believe that the thermostat was probably stuck. So today, I went about getting a new thermostat

You can test the thermostat to see if it functions. Drop it in a pot of water, turn on the heat, stick in a cooking thermometer (candy, meat, etc.) that'll keep track of the temp in the 150°+ range. Given your symptoms, it's possible the stat won't open even at boiling.

I try tightening the bolts on the housing and end up stripping the threads on the base of the thermostat housing.

This will happen. Bolts have torque specs, so it's good to be familiar with them as the spec is generally all you need. If you had dripping, then the parts weren't flat at the flange, the gasket wasn't good, etc. Tighter bolts rarely fix what's wrong when it is something like that.

Would anybody here know the thread pitch of the housing bolts?

8mm x 1.25mm

Also, I noticed that the motor has a W58 head. Is that what came oem in the motor or is it something else?

W58 is not the original head for the car. W58 is what's known as the smog head. All the cylinder head information you could want:

DQ Volume 12 Issue 2 - Tech How-To: L-series Cylinder Head Guide — Nissan produced many different cylinder heads that will bolt to the L-series block. As these parts become harder to find, it is important to know what you need or what you want before shelling out cash to buy a used piece. DQ lays it all out, including information on unobtainium heads.

W58 would make me wonder what block you have. On the spark-plug side of the block, just below the #4 plug, there's a small flat area what should have an "L" and a number engraved after it. L16, L18, L20B - which does yours say?

After shutting the car off, I noticed that the fuel in the float bowl is slightly above the little mark on the glass window. Is that normal?

Sounds fine.

Going forward, it is useful for us to know what you did, so that in the future we have a better idea of what's been done. So how did you get the car running/what was the deal with the fuel supply/tank/pump?