IvyRacer

Paid a mechanic to fix the timing issue. He was able to modify the distributor so he wouldn't have to pull the cover and reinstall the oil pump etc... But now that the timing is set right, and I got numbers from a new failed smog test, he diagnosed a vacuume leak at the intake manifold as the remaining culprit. When I reinstalled it after changing the head gasket, I only fussed over the head bolt torque sequence. I didn't realize there was a similar sequence required for the intake manifold. According to him, it's now warped and needs to be machined and reinstalled correctly. FML I'm broke, my CA moving permit is expiring soon, and I don't have the time or physical stamina between 2 jobs to fix it myself. Mechanic said it would cost my first born in labor hours for him to do it. So... I give up. I'm passing the torch to some lucky cheapskate on Craigslist. Lowball offers aren't getting the off-road equipment or performance parts in my garage, so if I can't get my asking price I'll list the pushbar and other goodies on here.

Sorry, haven't been on in a while. It was pretty close on the numbers, but failed the visual miserably because the timing was so far off. Then the head gasket blew again. So I've been chipping away at restoring my truck almost from the ground up. When i changed the head gasket i also did everything in the timing chain kit and agonized over setting it correctly. It also has a whole new distributor, plugs, wires, just rebuilt the carb, and I have been chasing vacuume leaks for what feels like an eternity. The timing is close now, but still seems way too advanced?retarded? It gets closer to spec every time I fix something though...

Oh, and replacing the booster, master cylinder, and the crusty old ass hose that went from the booster valve? to the intake manifold, took care of the weird rpm fluctuations when braking. You should have seen the chunks that came out of the front cylinders when I bled them. Ew.

I've fixed my battery connection issue by replacing the battery with an optima (that hopefully won't leak acid everywhere), treating the whole area with baking soda, and cleaning off the corrosion. With the negative terminal tightened firmly on the new battery, I have a worry-free connection! Yay! I'd rather not re-wire the positive side unless I absolutely must. Using starter fluid, I found air leaks at the base of the carb, and around the brand new egr gasket that tightening just didn't seem to fix. So I said f-it, and pulled the carb (that was leaking fuel from the accelerator pump and generally gunky in a few more places). I happened to have the correct rebuild kit from my previous 720 project. With the carb off, I took advantage of the easy access to all the intake and egr bolts and made sure they were all tight. Found out the rear nut on the egr was loose! So solved that air leak. Now, the base gaskets on the carb were still original, and baked all to hell. The kit was missing those gaskets, so I cut my own replacements with the gasket paper from autozone. It wasn't perfect, so I filled some of the gaps with a juuust enough liquid gasket. (Did i mention "f-it"?) I just got it back in the truck, but I'll need to study the vacuum diagrams again to be sure I get all the hoses right. A few are already starting to corrode/crack again, so I may just buy new and replace them at the same time. I have to get to work now, but hopefully tomorrow I'll still feel motivated enough to finish this experiment. Everything in the carb looked pretty good except for a tiny bit of play in the choke assembly, like the mounting shaft for the choke plates had worn through a little :-/. I'll have to get it back together and fire it up to find out!

I have a stock carburetor, and it is leaking air at the base, as well as fuel from... somewhere. Looks like one of the body seals is seeping.

I have an '84 720 z24 so it sounds like those won't work for me. So, it seems like my options are to tear into my "functioning" carburetor, and open myself up to a seemingly endless new li$t of parts I'll have buy to fix the d*** thing (assuming I can put it together correctly), or skip the headache and buy a brand new CA legal hitachi for $4-500. Even then, there might be more problems that I haven't narrowed it down to yet, like the cat, o2 sensor, egr, etc... or maybe my motor is bad and this is all futile. Crap.

Were you able to pass smog with a Webber Carb? If so, please share.

I've had two 720s, and never did get either one to pass. Still working on number 2... I just want to drive the dang thing, but the tags are from 2013 :-(. I took it off planned non-op almost 2 years ago, and have been paying reg fees for a parked car. Maddening. Is anyone on here in the Northern California region, especially near Sacramento, that could recommend a shop that knows these trucks?

The heat wave finally let up, so I've been at her again. I was able to clean all the terminals, and tightened them down on a new battery. I also installed a brand new brake master cylinder and brake booster. Some nasty junk came out of the front passenger side when I bled the brakes and the front drivers side is so clogged, I couldn't get anything to flow out right. It's dark now, but I'll take another look at that later. The best part was cold starting it, and it holding a steady idle (yay!). The rpm start dropping when I step hard or pump the brakes, so there's still some work to be done.

I had an opportunity to pick up '68 Dodge Travco "Family Wagon", soooo I've been a little distracted. I saved up (even)more cash to start attacking 2 of my major vacuume leaks. The brake booster and master cylinder were both leaking, and every symptom seems to hint at a tired carb. I've already tried being cheap by picking up a better-looking booster from a donor truck, but that proved to be a waste of time & money. I'm going to bite the bullet and buy brand new parts while I have the cash. Any recommendations on boosters? I already bought a master cylinder. And I still have to smog this monster, so as tempting as a Weber is, I'm leaning toward an overpriced nos Hitachi.

Did you go with a Weber? I'm also in northern California, btw ;-). My dogs, husband, and I are going stir crazy since I had to park my '84 4x4 for almost identical issues. Glad to see you got yours back into the hills!

I've cleaned them up as best as I can, but there isn't much left of the positive terminal clamp. It looks very unique to this truck, and I haven't found a proper plug and play replacement online. I've never seen the metal burn up like that. It might have something to do with the pos pick-n-pull battery I'm using to troubleshoot, but I've had trouble getting any battery to connect consistantly since I bought it.

So... Fuse for the ignition coil was MISSING. I had accidently reversed a few vacuum lines, and one went to the vacuum advance on the distributor. Plus, the weird plastic valve that mounts to the head was broken. A bunch of the intake manifold bolts needed to be tightened The elbow going to my pcv was loose And my valve cover had cracked around one of the airbox mounting bolts. Put all that that together with the old gas it was trying to sip of the bottom of the tank, and yeah... ran like crap. I addressed everything I listed, and WOW what a difference. She sounds better than she ever had for me. She still idles rough sometimes, and I suspect the carburetor since i sprayed carb cleaner around the base and it killed the motor. I've also noticed that my battery terminals are corroded and only make contact when you get it juuust right, so maybe it's losing ground intermittently? Electrical is my weakest area -_-.

I put everything back together with a new timing chain kit, water pump, oil pump, distributor/cap/rotor/wires. I was hoping to solve my overheating problems, AND my timing problems (too far off, even after making dizzy adjustments) in one move. Well, after days of agonizing over precision, it's finally all back together and running. But, it's running exactly the same! High, bumpy idle, low oil pressure, and now a rattle?tapping?slapping? The timing is still way off too :-(. I made triple sure the timing chain and tensioner were all on right, but the chain may somehow be loose or off. I didn't touch the hitachi carb, so it may be a factor, and I'm pretty sure there is an exhaust leak somehwere, but I haven't made it around to checking that out yet. Looks like I'm back to square one. I don't know if I'll ever get this @#$% thing smogged and back on the road in California. Maybe I should move to a state with more reasonable emission requirements and better water resource management... ;-)

So, I'm shopping for a/c components now. I believe I only need to replace the dryer (and all the o-rings) when I replace the bad compressor. Now i have to decide whether I'm going to try to flush it myself and fill it with the r12 i found online, or take it to have it professionally leak tested, flushed, and filled with the 134a stuff...