Datsun 521 won´t start really need help!

[Conan]

A little over a month ago i bought a 1969 521, and i have had problems ever since. First the battery died, then the alternator, and the brake wheel cylinders. Fixed all that, then i changed the plugs and the plug wires yesterday, and it had never worked better! until i tried to drive my girlfriend to work when it then died (in traffic in a downhill, driving with a little choke) and won´t start. The engine turns over but makes no effort to start. Im thinking its the coil, the distributor or the carb. But where do i start? and as i live in Norway parts are impossible to come by and must be ordered from the U.S so i´m hoping this can be repaired in some way or else i need to know what other cars have the same parts (preferably a newer car hehe)

 

Thx for all of your time, hoping for some good descriptive answers :)

 

(may be worth mentioning that i am on a very tight budget this month, not really helping the problem when i actually need this car as an every day car)

[Skib]

start with the basics - do you have fuel and spark?

[Conan]

Im quite sure it has fuel as i just changed the fuel filter after "the fatal ride" and it has pumped up more fuel into the carb, as well as it smells gasoline when i try to start it. The plugs and wires were changed yesterday as well (plugs before it died and wires after). Tried to check the plugs, did´nt see a spark at first glance and thats when i decided to just call it a night, but i will recheck the plugs when i get home ;)

start with the basics - do you have fuel and spark?

[510kevin]

if it ran great, then died i would check connections.

electric connections at distributor?

coil wire?

distributor cap properly fastened?

is the rotor still on the distributor?

 

all pretty basic, but will really screw you.

[Conan]

I checked all the connections 20 times, i keep thinking that maybe i just need to try one more time hehe, distributor cap is fine as well as rotor, changed all the plug wires as well as coil wire with no change for better or worse. :-(

if it ran great, then died i would check connections.

electric connections at distributor?

coil wire?

distributor cap properly fastened?

is the rotor still on the distributor?

 

all pretty basic, but will really screw you.

[Jayden71]

A 521 in Norway!! :o Cool. I hope you get it runnin man! Sounds like somethin simple that will just piss you off when you find it.

[H5WAGON]

Points and Condenser...... Do you have spark?....:cool:

 

If all this other stuff has happened I would not be surprised if it is just the points.

 

Have a friend hold onto the spark plug wire and crank it over....lol

You will know if you. have spark ...(And not your girlfriend)...:P

[freaky510]

or if you have a timing light you can connect it to the wires and turn the key your self and see if it lights up try it on all 4 wires you (my timing light has pretty long leads), wont get shocked that way lol also you can try it on the coil wire :cool:

 

If your smelling gas maybe your float is stuck and flooding it out

 

GOOD LUCK

[DanielC]

Back to basics.

Compression, Ignition, Fuel.

Supply all three in the proper amount, and time, and the engine will run. Millions of engines prove that every day.

 

Quick and dirty tests. When cranking, does the engine have an even rhythmic sound, on all cylinders, or does it sound uneven? If it sounds smooth, but you can hear it slow down as each piston comes up on compression, and the engine was running OK before, the compression should be enough to get it to fire. Ideally, a compression test would be in order. An L-16 engine in a pickup should have a minimum of 159 PSI, to 171 PSI, within 20% highest to lowest, engine warm. Sorry, you will have to convert these numbers to metric, if your compression gauge reads that way. It will run with less, but the fuel economy will be not as good as it could be. If compression is not good, adjust the valve clearance.

 

Pull the center wire out of the distributer cap. Set it about 10MM from something metal, and crank the engine. You should get a bright blue spark each time a cylinder fires. If you do, check again, at each spark plug.

 

If the engine passes these tests, pour about 20 CC of gas in to the carburetor. It should start now, and run until the gas is gone. If it starts, and then dies, look in to fuel system issues. If it does not start, you need to recheck the ignition system, and especially the timing.

 

Anouther quick test of a "crank, no start" engine is to just crank it for about 20 seconds, and then go and smell the exhaust. No gas smell, check fuel system. Strong unburnt gas oder, check the ignition system.

[Conan]

I have now had a look at the spark now that i have it inside in my parents garage, and yes it does have spark, so im going for the carb as my source of irritation, the fuel pump is fine and as said before the filter is already changed. Im only 21 and last time i decided to take over my parents garage i only worked on dirt bikes, same consepts, bigger scale. Im thinking maybe just the floater is stuck as mentioned, but what else should i do/check? On dirt bikes i just went ahead trying and failing, but since i actually need this car id rather just ask you guys and get it right the first time, since i don't really know what i am doing to be honest so step by step explanations would be great/ or good links.

So that its said i do not have any specialist tools of any kind (mainly thinking about testing compression etc.)

 

They only imported 200 521's in total (londbed, shortbed, and panalvan), and not many have survived 40 years, so i have one of the last of its kind here in the country.

My 1969 Datsun 521 1300cc (longbed) has survived in good condition where it counts. (I will post pictures of it as soon as i get it out of the our tiny garage). This is my pride and joy; my girlfriend is getting jealous of it, as well as sick of hearing about it hehehe.

[Conan]

I have to add thanks a lot for all the quick replies, i was afraid of getting no answers and having to troubleshoot everything alone, and problably guessing wrong for 2 weeks before seeing the obvious.

When i called the Nissan dealer to get brake wheel sylinders, they couldnt even figure out if they ever made the car, its also not in any system databases at ANY auto shop. So far i have only talked to 1 guy that infact has heard about the car, and that was a 20sec phone call where he immidiatly said he couldn't help me what so ever (scrapyard dealer that is connected to all the scrapyards in norway, when i was looking for a new alternator)

[mklotz70]

This may be after the fact, but you might keep it in mind for the next time your engine dies.

 

Look down, inside the carb and activate the throttle...if you see a squirt of gas and it doesn't start, it's ignition. You can also, put some starting fluid or about .5 to 1 ounce of fuel down the carb....if it starts up fine, you have a fuel problem. If it doesn't, it's ignition. It is possible to flood it out and have too much fuel for it to start which is why I prefer to do this test with starting fluid.

 

If it's ignition, you can put a used spark plug in the end of one of your spark plug wires. Pull if from the plug on the engine and put your spare in the wire and then make sure the metal body of the plug is grounded to the engine. Crank it over and check for spark. If you have it, start pulling your plugs and see if they have spark with the same test. I've had brand new plugs fail at least 3 different times. They run a couple of days, then the car just quites starting. I've never had them die while driving though. Anyway......If you don't have spark when you check it with the spare plug, you'll want to start checking things with a test light. If you don't have one, get one. They are the most valuable tool you can have for ignition work. I'd buy a test light before I bought a voltmeter. There's a couple of threads around here somewhere with very long postings I've made about trouble shooting ignition systems. Since you have spark and are chasing the fuel as the problem, I'm not going to try to find them or retype it here.

 

If you haven't heard already, you can download all the factory manuals on my site...just go to the tech page. www.olddatsuns.com

[Conan]

I've had brand new plugs fail at least 3 different times. They run a couple of days, then the car just quites starting. I've never had them die while driving though.

This made me go back to the car to retest the plugs, and when i pulled out the plug and asked my friend to turn the key it started..... so i let it run a little and took a short drive and it seemed fine. All i have done today is take off the air filter housing and put it back on (also just tried to shake the car to see if the floater moved, but one would think it got a better chack than that when i towed it home), it didn't even try to start this morning and now it started after just a few seconds and that with only 3plugs :P

 

So i guess the new problem is what was the actual problem? Im thinking really flooded, or that i actually shook the floater loose (on my old dirtbike i had floater problems, which were easily fixed with a hammer)... And what do i do to prevent it from happening again?

 

Note: The exhaust fumes were white and a bit thicker than usual.

[mklotz70]

could have been flooded....could have been a loose connector too.

 

As long as the white smoke goes away when it warms up, you should be fine...just condensation in the exhaust. If it gets worse as it warms up, you may have a head gasket problem.

[Conan]

could have been flooded....could have been a loose connector too.

 

As long as the white smoke goes away when it warms up, you should be fine...just condensation in the exhaust. If it gets worse as it warms up, you may have a head gasket problem.

 

Connectors were fine i think, i was standing by the side of the road in rush traffic in the second worst intersection in the region for 1 hour 25 minutes, nothing was loose in the engine compartment, and when i was done i had taken out all the new spark plugs and tried the old ones, changed fuel filter, unplugged wiped of and replugged all connectors, and ran to the gas station and bought start gas. Not one car stopped to offer assistence of any kind and there were a few hundred cars, Norwegians in a nut shell hehe

 

Im guessing flooded as it was ideling in down hill at very low rpm so then isn´t it possible it may have been pumping more fuel than the engine could handled and flooded? Then i tried starting it when my friend was towing me which made the problem a lot worse, but i still did´nt think it would be dead for 3 days?

 

Anyway i need to find the problem i can´t risk this happening again now that winter is coming up

[mklotz70]

You may already know this....

 

When trying to start a flooded engine....hold the gas pedal to the floor hard and do not let up. Crank for about 15 seconds.....then wait about a minute. Then crank for another 15 seconds.....NEVER LETTING UP ON THE PEDAL! Keeping the pedal on the floor hard will hold the throttle plates open so that it can pull max air. When not cranking, it allows the warmth of the engine to evaporate the fuel up and out of the carb.

 

I know you checked all the engine bay connectors....what about it being the ignition switch? It's possible, but you wouldn't see a spark while cranking if it's bad...but it could be bad intermittently. I doubt it's your prob, but something to keep in mind.

 

Sounds like you may want to rebuild your carb pretty soon. Around here, it's easy enough to find another carb to throw on.

 

I know I keep going back to electrical and you keep going with flooded.....but a warm engine would have gotten over being flooded within hours...certain overnight...and would have started right back up.

 

Your spark should be strong enough to see in daylight...maybe not direct sunlight, but in the shade for sure. If you can't see it unless you're in a really dim garage, you may have a weak spark....which would making flooding it out a lot easier to do.

[nismo dr]

there were 521 panel vans? ooooh i must find oics

[wayno]

There was a Oic. of a wagon in that U model thread, I found it. If they made a wagon, they made a panel.

 

[Conan]

So is everything fine? should i just keep driving or is there anything i can fix?

[Roger]

Disconnect the fuell ine from the carb and crank the engine. got gas? bad pump?

[datzenmike]

This made me go back to the car to retest the plugs, and when i pulled out the plug and asked my friend to turn the key it started..... so i let it run a little and took a short drive and it seemed fine.

 

 

So is everything fine? should i just keep driving or is there anything i can fix?

 

I'm thinking he got it going.

[tom]

Did you ever get your 521 to operate normal?2 quick things,have you checked the fuel for water,it raines alot there ,right?521's leak water thru the fuel sender quite often.pump some fuel thru the filter into a glass bottle.water is gray looking,gas is amber.had this problem on my 521,just quit,wouldn't start.also duel point distrib.are they set correct?sometimes one set stayes closed,won't run!!

[Conan]

Did you ever get your 521 to operate normal?2 quick things,have you checked the fuel for water,it raines alot there ,right?521's leak water thru the fuel sender quite often.pump some fuel thru the filter into a glass bottle.water is gray looking,gas is amber.had this problem on my 521,just quit,wouldn't start.also duel point distrib.are they set correct?sometimes one set stayes closed,won't run!!

 

Haha yes it rains a lot :P But i had just filled up with 20 liters and added lead solution. There car runs good now (Only on battery, alternator not working, diffrent thread). It was completely dead for 3 days and when my GF turned the key on the 3day in the evening it fired up right away on 3 sylinders (she only cranked for maybe 2-3sec) and it had a little white exhaust but that disappeared after a little drive. In the morning the same day there was no sign of life what so ever.