1984 720 Nissan king cab 4x4 Fixing up for my wife's brother..

[Hendogg]

Ok so there is quite a few guys here that build Nissan's..lol I Bought a 1-84 720 Nissan king cab 4x4. By the tag on the door it did come with a Z24 carb motor. And it is not running cause they put a 87 or so I was told Z24 motor with only 33K miles on it and the wires to the Distributor is not the same but at lest was a carb motor. I need to know if the Distributors are interchangeable on all of the Z24 motors?? And if anyone close to Oklahoma has a Distributor for a 83,84 Z24 motor and a Radiator and maybe a few other parts.. Pic #3 is where I am guessing the old Distributor hooked up. But It should make a nice little truck for my wife's 16 yr old little Brother. It's not to bad of a little truck for us only given $600.00 for it. I think the motor and trans is worth at lest that much.. Or hope so..

 

            

 

 

         

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

[Telkwa]

I don't know if this will help any.  Here's a shot of the wiring at the rear of the distributor on our '86 Cab/Chassis 720.  These wires face down and to the rear on my truck.  You can see the vacuum advance dashpot, which faces down and toward the front of the truck.

 

 

There's a ground wire to the left.  It goes into its own protective tubing, which then goes straight into the engine compartment wiring loom. 

 

The other four wires connect to that electronic module inside the distributor.  The colors are a little hard to i.d. because the flash washed them out some.  Red, white, black/white, and a dark blue.

 

Here's where those wires meet a plug coming from the engine compartment wiring loom.

 

 

I marked it to reduce confusion.  These plugs face each other when attached, so be sure to do the proper interpretation.  As an example, the Black/white wire from the distributor side connects to the Brown wire on the truck side.  The Red wire from dizzy goes to Wht/Blu.  The Wht dizzy wire goes to Blu/Wht.  The Dark Blu dizzy wire goes to Red.  Red twice - I wish they didn't use the same colors more than once in one loom!

 

The blu/yellow wire had no matching wire coming from the distributor, so it does nothing on our truck.

 

If these wires and colors seem to match up with what you've got at the truck loom and the distributor, maybe try hot wiring them together and see what happens? 

[Telkwa]

Your pictures are only about 24kB.  They're too small to tell for sure what's going on, and if I try to zoom in resolution quickly dies.  However, it appears that you might have at least the red, white/blue, and brown coming from the engine compartment loom?  The brown one almost looks like it's a two-tone, can't tell for sure.  Is that 4th wire black?  If so, then it's not matching the colors from our truck, is it?

 

I can see one problem right off the bat - whoever was hacking at this before you scrounged up a 3-post terminal block, and you're going to want a 4-post if you don't want it to look cheesy.

 

It appears that the truck side red wire is going to the dark blue wire, and the truck side wht/blue is going to the red.  Whoever got started on this (if we're going to assume they didn't get all the wires mixed up) connected at least two of the wires across that 3-post block just like our truck.

 

Do you have 4 wires coming out of the distributor?

[Hendogg]

Well the 4 wires that come out of there are White, Red, Green, Black and then a all metal or mash that in cases them. The truck is a 84 and the motor I was told came form a 86.87.. I will add some better pic's to this. Sorry about how small the 1st ones was. It was the 1st time I have ever had to get a url to post a pic's on a site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The colors are White, Green, Black, Red.. That come out of the Dizzy..  And I don't think it has a Vacuum Advance on it..  That is why I think i need a Dizzy out of a 83 or 84 but just not shore they will interchange. 

[Hendogg]

And the wires come out of the bottom of it rather than the side like yours. It maybe newer than I was told. I looked up a Dizzy from a 86.5-89 and it has the wires that come out the bottom of it rather than the side of it..

[Telkwa]

Hey, no worries about those first pics.  I'm kind of a geek, and a photo enthusiast to boot, but it took some head scratching to figure out how to post on this forum.  

 

I've found there are two important steps to getting good close-up shots.  First, you can never have too much light on the subject.  Second, you really need to have a camera that can do decent macro work, and that tells you what it decided to focus on before you pull the trigger.   Smart phone cameras don't cut it.

 

I was hoping you'd have the same color code as ours, but you don't and the dizzy is clearly not the same, what with the wires coming out in a different place and all.  No vacuum advance?  Is that something newer cars don't have any more because software takes care of it?

 

I've seen threads on here that talked about identifying your motor from the stamp somewhere near where the head meets the block.  It seems to me that the thing to do now is verify what vintage engine you've got.  Maybe that'll help with the distributor questions. 

 

I wonder if it could be a Z24i engine?  Could it be that someone pulled the EFI hardware off and bolted a carb & manifold on??  That's probably crazy talk...    

[Telkwa]

I looked at your pictures again, thinking about how to tell what engine it might be.  I spotted one interesting difference from ours...

 

 

I forgot what that little vacuum gizmo does.  On our truck it screws directly into the intake manifold.  Notice how yours is a separate device.  I wonder why they did that?  It's more complicated than ours because a tube had to be added to bring vacuum to the device.  Your power steering bracket is also different than ours.  Nissan modified the power steering hanger to accommodate the vacuum thingie.  That should be a clue as to when this engine was built. 

 

Fastboatman's massive vacuum line thread shows what our vacuum gizmo looks like, bolted to the mainfold.

[680-7twenty]

I just saw one like this at a junk yard. It's the z24i. Mine is on the intake manifold. I guess Nissan started August '86 doing this.

 

Check out this page

 

http://nissannut.com/projects/z24i_fuel_injection/

 

http://nissannut.com/projects/z24i_fuel_injection/EGR_cut_solenoid.jpg

 

Hope this helps

[Telkwa]

Hey, thanks for the great links.  That guy put a lot of work into the conversion!  I'm saving those.  Although I gotta say, if I wanted fuel injection that badly, I'd go shopping for a D21 instead.

 

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here.  Someone had a Z24i block and some Z24 parts.  That person either didn't know what they were getting into, or didn't care.  Just bolt it together somehow and sell it as-is.

 

Read thru the guy's story about how he did the conversion from Z24 to Z24i, and you can see numerous potential problems.  Distributor, coils, ECU, the starter, etc.

[wallaccx]

Hey, thanks for the great links.  That guy put a lot of work into the conversion!  I'm saving those.  Although I gotta say, if I wanted fuel injection that badly, I'd go shopping for a D21 instead.

 

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here.  Someone had a Z24i block and some Z24 parts.  That person either didn't know what they were getting into, or didn't care.  Just bolt it together somehow and sell it as-is.

 

Read thru the guy's story about how he did the conversion from Z24 to Z24i, and you can see numerous potential problems.  Distributor, coils, ECU, the starter, etc.

 

Let's get today's dumb question of the day out of the way-- does the Z24i get rid of the exhaust side spark plugs?  Seems like there should be a lot more wires coming off that distributor cap.

[Hendogg]

Sorry about not being on in a few days.. I looked up the numbers on the Distributor and it is from a 1986.5-1989 Nissan D21 Hardbody truck that came with the Z24 4 cylinder engine not the Z24i. And I talked to the guy that I got it from and he just pulled the motor out of a 87 Nissan Pickup and said that he didn't change any thing on it and i asked him if he had the old motor and he said that the truck didn's have a motor when he got it.

So It looks like all I may have to do is find a Dizzy from a 83 or 84 Z24 nissan and hook it up to make it run for the most part. Or I am hooping. And from what I have read you could get the Z24 all the way up to 1989 with a carb still on it. If you wanted Fuel Injected  then you got the Z24i motor..

 

With all of the checking that I have done the Z24 and Z24I is the same for a long block 8 plugs the Difference is one has a Carb and the other is Fuel Injected That's the only Difference between the to of them other than bolt on parts that Nissan changed.. Now what I have read is to go from a Z24I to a carb you have to change the Dizzy and the drive gear, But you don't have to pull the timing cover to do this. But IDK for shore. Just what I have read.

 

And these parts are the same for both motors or at lest the hard parts. 

Long Block 83-90, Oil pump 2.4L 83-04, Timing Cover 83-89, Timing set 83-89,

 

[Telkwa]

Let's get today's dumb question of the day out of the way-- does the Z24i get rid of the exhaust side spark plugs?  Seems like there should be a lot more wires coming off that distributor cap.

 

According to this post by datzenmike, the Z24i came with 8.  I am/was confused about that also.  If you look at the second-to-last picture in Post #4 you can see that it's an 8 plug cap.

 

I also thought that the carbs were completely dropped in '86, not phased out.

[Hendogg]

Well what I have found on line was as long as it was the Z24 it had a carb, But if it was the Z24I it was EFI. But I don't know for shore..

And by looking at the Grease and dirt that is on the motor it don't look like it has ever been pulled a part.. So I don't think someone just throw it together to just get ride of it. 

An By the numbers on the Dizzy it is from a 1986.5 throw 1989.. Witch matches what the guy said with it coming from a 87 or 88 like he said..

And he seemed like an ok guy he was in his late 50's if I was guessing.. But who knows with people these days..

 

What I need is some pic's of a 83 or 84 with the Z24 motor to see how the dizzy hooks up and ever thing. And find a dizzy from a 83 or 84 and just try to put it in an hook it up and see what happens.. You know..

 

 

Telkwa I am guessing that your 86 don't have the little black box like my 84 does.. Where the Dizzy hooks up..

[Telkwa]

No, you're absolutely right.  If you're referring to that somewhat triangular-shaped junction box with the three connections inside near your coils.  Our '86 (actual build date /7 of '85) has the gray plug (in post #2 above) that connects the distributor wires to the truck loom.

 

In the thread that I linked to in post #12 datzenmike refers to a CAS.  I think I understand what he's saying, but I'm not familiar with the terminology.  I thought a distributor was a distributor, whether it was a fancy electronic one or just a plain old-school one.

 

I hope you're right about the seller not just throwing some stuff together and selling it.  I'd like this to have a happy ending for you.

 

Something about the old guy's story doesn't add up.  If he just pulled the newer engine and dropped it in the older truck, how come the distributor wires have been cut? 

[taraclinton]

I have an 86 720, that had the z20 in it, and did a motor swap to the z24 out of same year hardbody. my plugs look exactly like the pictures you posted, five on truck side and 4 on dizzy side.. so with what you said is the blue/yellow wire useless, or what would you guys suggest on how to fix this problem so I can drive my truck? they were both 2wd

[datzenmike]

Telkwa and Hendogg have not been back on this forum for about a year so don't expect a reply. This thread is over a year old and getting stale.

 

You can't have 5 plugs on one side and four on the other. There are 4 per side on the Z series motors in the 720. The distributor cap has 8 plug wires and two coil wires on it.

[Hendogg]

No, you're absolutely right.  If you're referring to that somewhat triangular-shaped junction box with the three connections inside near your coils.  Our '86 (actual build date /7 of '85) has the gray plug (in post #2 above) that connects the distributor wires to the truck loom.

 

In the thread that I linked to in post #12 datzenmike refers to a CAS.  I think I understand what he's saying, but I'm not familiar with the terminology.  I thought a distributor was a distributor, whether it was a fancy electronic one or just a plain old-school one.

 

I hope you're right about the seller not just throwing some stuff together and selling it.  I'd like this to have a happy ending for you.

 

Something about the old guy's story doesn't add up.  If he just pulled the newer engine and dropped it in the older truck, how come the distributor wires have been cut?

 

The reason the distributor wire have been cut.. Was cause I cut the plug off since it didn't match the plug on the truck.. And I tried to hook it up any ways.. But after I cut the plug off I realized it had more wire than I could hook up.. I did end up finding a 4 of 84 that had the same amount and colors of the truck that I had.. So I bought it. But the got offered way more than I had in the truck.. So I sold it to the next guy.. But he put the distributor in the truck and it runs very well.. And I see him in it every few days at the store.. And he said that it is a good little truck..

 

But thanks for y'all's help.. It was just that It needed a earlier model distributor.. From one like mine.. Had to change the oil pump shaft and distributor because they were different..

[Hendogg]

I have an 86 720, that had the z20 in it, and did a motor swap to the z24 out of same year hardbody. my plugs look exactly like the pictures you posted, five on truck side and 4 on dizzy side.. so with what you said is the blue/yellow wire useless, or what would you guys suggest on how to fix this problem so I can drive my truck? they were both 2wd

There should only be 8 plugs.. 4 on each side I the motor.. And 2 coils like King Rat said.. But I will help out all that I can..

[taraclinton]

There should only be 8 plugs.. 4 on each side I the motor.. And 2 coils like King Rat said.. But I will help out all that I can..

 

Right, I meant the clip from the dizzy to the harness..

[JDavLaw]

I have a 1984 Nissan 4x4, 720 pickup and am in desperate need of an ORIGINAL FRONT GRILLE GUARD. If you EVER want to sell yours, let me know!

[Charlie69]

Telkwa and Hendogg  I have an 89 Z24 from a Hardbody (D21) 2wd that is a throttle body injected Z24.  It is not stamped Z24I on the engine boss by the serial #.  I also have an 1986 720 2wd that I daily drive that is a carbureted 720 out of the factory.  I will post some pictures on Saturday of the Z24 throttle body injection.  I have not done the distributor swap but have read that you need to change the distributor and the distributor drive shaft to swap the distributor..  I have also read that the timing chain cover also had to be swapped.  This I am not sure of.

 

The intake manifold and the the distributor on the engine in Hendogg"s truck indicate that it is like the throttle body injection 89 Z24 I have in my garage.