PaddymanChris

I've changed the oil every 2000 miles or so for the last few times, just to keep it clean. I changed the oil again last weekend when I replaced the oil pressure gauge switch that was leaking oil all over. I was using 5w-30 for the winter (very cold here in Utah). This last time though I figured I'd try the Delo 400 like some on here have suggested, and it's running great with it. I also was worried that it may be too thick, but starting-wise it's acting roughly the same as the 5w-30 was. I'm thinking I may just take out the starter tomorrow, attempt to take it apart to see if the components are all gummed up or if it's just burnt out, and replace it with a new one if need be. I just can't think of what else it could be. Thanks again for your helpful suggestions, this community is great!

Here's what I found starting it this morning... Seems the voltage dropped from about 12.4 to 9.9 when I started it up this morning. It started a little bit faster than it has been, maybe because it's a little warmer outside. Anyways, is that a normal drop while starting? Here is the battery that I have in it (1 month old)... http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSBG/24EXTJ/03321.oap?year=1985&make=Nissan&model=720%2BPickup&vi=1210374&ck=Search_C0423_1210374_3820&pt=C0423&ppt=C0005 Is that a strong enough battery for the truck? 875 cranking amps (700 in cold) seems decent enough to me, but I don't know. Does anyone happen to know the amperage pull from the stock starters? And Mike, as soon as I can get access to another vehicle I'll try that out. Thanks again guys for the help, I appreciate it a lot.

When I got home from work last night I checked the battery voltages with the truck running and when everything was off. When running, I got a reading of 14.4 or so volts. When off, 12.67 volts. That sounded about right, but the real test was this morning when I checked it again. when I got out and tested it, it was 12.65 volts. Running, back up to 14.4. So luckily, I don't think the battery is getting drained over-night. Seems we had the same idea, because that would make sense with how it's starting in the mornings. Oh, and it started really slow again when I tried this morning. My next thought would be that the starter needs cleaning. I've only read a little about how and when to do it, so forgive me of my ignorance. Since the oil pressure gauge switch was leaking so much oil, I'm thinking that may have gummed up some components of the starter possibly? Have any of you taken apart and cleaned a stock starter on one of these? Or maybe that's not the right road to go down haha, I'm just stumped at this point (and I don't want to go out and buy a new starter just yet).

Ok, so a little update here. I spent all last saturday working on this thing, and found a couple issues. I took the passenger front wheel off to get to the starter easily, and noticed there was a bit of fresh oil on most of the wires and stuff around the area. After some further research, it looked like my oil pressure switch was busted, and was leaking oil all over. Took off the little rubber boot on the top, and there was more oil that came out. Didn't think it was good for oil to be coming out of the top of it where the wire plugs in, so I got a replacement and replaced it (which was surprisingly easy after taking the starter and oil filter out). So, with the starter out, I took it over to autozone and had it tested. Everything was in the green, guy said it was running great. Now, I have read that these tests don't put a load on the starter, but I was glad to hear that it was running at least. While I was there, I bought a few new battery cables. I cleaned the battery terminals (new battery so it wasn't too much), and took out the old positive and negative cables. I cleaned and wire-brushed where the ground bolted near the intake, and cleaned up the positive terminal on the starter. I installed the new cables and clamps, and reconnected everything. The only thing that had me kind of worried was the amount of oil that was on almost everything on the starter. There is a little wire connecting the larger and smaller parts of the starter that didn't have any protective coating on it, and it seeped oil out when I moved it slightly. Also, the little push-on wire to the starter was also covered in oil. Would those affect the starter working properly? Anyways, got it all put back together, and it started great. It usually starts great, except after sitting for more than 8 or so hours. I checked the advance, everything looked good, and it looks like all of the plug wires are in the right positions. But, after all that, when I tried to start it monday morning for work, it was really sluggish like in the video I posted in the first post. Started great for the rest of the day, but come tuesday morning it struggled again. My guess is that it's either a faulty new battery, or the starter. The fact that it starts great every other time makes me wonder though, I'm just stumped. Thanks by the way for the suggestions so far, I really appreciate the help!

I replaced the battery with a brand new one since it started happening, but it didn't help the problem much. The battery it had was 15 years old! Would bad wires or grounding be the problem? Or do you think it would be the starter? The fact that it starts some of the time and not others has me stumped.

Hi mates, This is my first post, but I've been lurking here for a while using some of your guys' advice quite often since I purchased my 85 pickup. It only has 83,000 miles on it (been sitting for a while with the guy I bought it from). Recently, it has started to struggle with starting in the morning. Here is a video of what it does... Since buying the truck, I've replaced the spark plugs, ignition wires, ignition rotor, distributor, and battery. I've also replaced all the vacuum lines with new ones. I'm not sure if this is a starter problem or what. It only struggles if it's been sitting overnight or for a long while. I start it for work in the morning and it struggles, then on my lunch break it starts just fine, and when I leave for home it usually starts just fine. I'm pretty new to working on cars, but I'm really enjoying tinkering with this thing. It runs beautifully when it starts and runs, it just struggles in the mornings. Oh, and I live in Utah, and it's been getting pretty cold in the mornings, so that may be contributing to the problem. Any advice for a beginner like me? Any would be greatly appreciated!