wardie

When I had to replace my front timing cover due to a pin hole in the back of the water pump area i was scared that this would be an issue. My local "L" expert told me if this happened to get a new sump gasket, clean off the old gasket around the area that matches the timing cover, cut the new gasket to fit that area and then use "high temp copper silicon" to seal the join between the old and new gasket. Don't use a lot just enough to fill the join. He also suggested that I loosen the sump bolts prior to doing this so the silicon could squeeze in better. Then tighten the bolts once the silicon had set thus you don't squeeze the silicon out before it's set and sealed. Hope that this helps Wardie

I used ones from a R31 to get my MR30 Hatch thru rego. Could not see a difference and they worked 1st go.

Merry Christmas to all forum members & lurkers. I echo Ghostrider with the "be safe" message, PLEASE travel safely and with patience over the holidays. My thanks goes out to all the people that assisted me this year with knowledge, parts & suggestions. Hoping to continue the journey with you all in the New Year Wardie

How did you go getting some time to look at the radiator? Is it any good? How much would you want for the heater core? Wardie

Hey Paul, How's the radiator? If It's any good let me know how much you want for it. Is the heater any good? Regards Wardie

I got replacement injectors for about $70 each from Rebel Spares. They did not have them on the shelf but got them in next day. I also had issues with leaking at the base of the rubber hose on some. I replaced the rubber hose a couple of times (make sure that the hose is FI rated) but found that they leaked again if I mucked around with the fuel rail. I now have hose clamps at the top and base of the rubber hose and have had no leaks for a while now even though I've had the head off since doing it. Wardie

Hi B0oStEr, Is there any radiators? If so what condition are the radiators? Is there an auto radiator? Thanks Wardie

Thanks Guys, I got one off a L18 and when comparing it to my original was amazed by how much meat was missing from mine. I put it back together and she ran like a three legged dog, missing on one cylinder. Mucked around checking compression, leads, timing, valve clearances and anything else I could think. Eventually I narrowed it down to #2 pot after I did a run and pulled the plugs, #2 was wet and dirty. Swapped out the lead, swapped the dizzy cap, swapped injectors with another pot. Eventually put one of the old plug set back in and she fired on all straight away. I wasted 2 days because I never thought a new plug could be faulty. DOH!!!! Wardie

Thanks for that guys. Appreciate the help. Wardie

I've been told that the 180B Timing Chain Cover is the same as the L6 cover. Is this so? Does anyone know of any other motors that have the same part. I'm reason I'm asking is because on my L24E the water pump area is corroded out really badly. I need to fix a large pinhole (second one since I've had her) and will have to build up the corroded areas with weld but I'm told that there is not enough good metal left to weld onto. The welding shop guy easily pushed a scriber through the casing in about 5 areas whilst we were assessing what to do. All the wreckers near me have not got any L6 parts that are usable but one says that the 180B motor and maybe the 1.6 & 2ltr ones are the same. I'm waiting for him to show me one to compare. Thanks Wardie

My thanks goes to Dennis for dropping off that VRS set. Luckily for me he had to pick up a T*y**a from Newcastle today and was gracious enough to make a stop on the beautiful Central Coast to give it a rest. 66yostagea, Unluckily for me I picked up my MR30 with 240K on the clock from a shonky dealer. It was only $1000 and seemed OK when my wife was driving it around town but it crapped out on me when I started driving it to Sydney each day. They must have done a quick engine flush and topped it up with new coolant to look good knowing it had cooling issues. I've probally got it close to acceptable but I think that I have had it too hot one too many times. I'll know in the next couple of days once I get it pulled down. When it put it back together I will be giving the block a rub down with a emery stone to ensure that I have removed all the crap and any light corrosion if any. As to the head, I will straight edge it first to see if it is within specs and then get it machined if it's out. Anybody have any suggestions whether I should lightly stone the head face to make a better seal or not? Wardie

D, The last time I had oil in the water I had the head pressure tested for cracks and checked for warping. There was a small issue with some corrosion around one of the water jackets near the edge of the head and I had that welded up and machined. I also had another small issue when I got it tested the second time when the shop guy scratched the head face slightly on pickup so it was machined/polished to remove that. So after all that it should have been within spec. When I pull my head this time I will firstly check it with a straight edge to see if it is within spec. I will also pull my timing cover/water pump housing as this was my issue last time and they only welded the areas around the pin hole so there is still a chance that it could have corroded through in another area. I think that this is unlikely as I had water in the oil as soon as I drove it last time. I saw the ebay VRS kit and that prompted this post as I used one of these kits on the last rebuild. His price is $37.50 plus $12.50 to ship it up here. I have seen on some Ford forums that Ezyfit are considered to be garbage so that's why I am chasing for Nissan owners opinions on them before I go that route. My experience with the initial gasket set was that everything except the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe gaskets seemed to fit alright. I had to reuse my original manifold to pipe gasket as the Ezyfit one did not fit at all. Thanks for the offer of the VRS set mate, I'll see what I can dig up around here first though, as I'm really going to need my wheels this week due to some part time work that is firming up and may not be able to get down to see you before then. Thanks Wardie

The head wasn't cracked last time I had it off, I had it tested twice as it was still getting water in the oil after replacing the head gasket the first time I had issues. This time it seemed to go suddenly and with research I've done tonight it sounds like a head gasket leak into one of my cylinders. I think this because last night the oil was not brown and this morning it is, I'm thinking that the water has leaked passed the rings in to the sump o/night. Do you know the cost of a Nissan HG? Wardie

G'day Dennis, I've looked at the S/W website and they are selling L24 top half gasket kits for $75 - no brand names mentioned. He also has "L28 Head gaskets Std - Genuine" for $71. I will be shopping around when I can to get some other prices. According to the Ezyfit pdf that I have downloaded the L24 and L28 head gaskets are the same. Is this right to your knowledge? I'm really pissed that this has happened and need to get it back on the road asap fairly cheaply but not at the risk of having another failure. I can't afford to be back at the mercy of using my wife's car when she feels like it. Wardie

Once again I've got f***ing water in my oil. Don't know why yet but suspect the head gasket. I was almost home from a 1000km trip on Sat night when I noticed that my water temp was rising. By the time I got off the freeway and found a place to stop it had pegged. When she cooled enough I filled the rad up with almost 8 litres of water and at that time the oil was still black. When I gave her a rev she blew lots of condensation vapour out the exhaust so I carefully limped the 10 km home and put her to bed. This morning I checked the rad again and she was empty and the oil is chocolate. I topped her up and started her and she is blowing lots of water and condensation out the exhaust. Last time she did this it was a pin hole in the rear of the water pump housing but I don't think that this is the same. When she was apart for this I fitted a Ezyfit VRS gasket after getting the head pressure checked. I'm feeling that I've done a head gasket for sure this time (due to the amount of water/vapour out the exhaust). Since I fixed her last she has had cooling problems due to a clogged rad core and she has boiled twice on trips but I thought I had cured all that. Anyone have good or bad things to say about these gaskets. Anyone have any alternate brands that they recomend. Thanks in advance. Wardie

Dennis mate, I'm sorry to hear that he has passed. Take each day as it comes and things will get easier as they pass. I am sure that in time any forum "irresponsibility" caused by this will be forgotten, but I am also sure that you will still be a passionate Old Bugger when it comes to your Nissans for ever. Warm Regards Wardie

If the noise goes away when you rest your foot (slight pressure) on the clutch pedal it's the thrust bearing. The box will have to come out to replace it as the bearing sits on the input shaft of the gearbox. Wardie

Hi Dennis, Would one of these fit my MR? Wardie

Due to some corrosion caused by leaf litter stuck between the condensor and the radiator the two radiator shops that looked at my rad would not rod the unit out as they were concerned about it failing and then having me harrasing them to fix it. At this time I cannot afford to recore the unit but I need a car as I am between jobs so the backyard job.

After searching around for a NEW radiator - no one make one for the R30. Pricing a recore - $360+. I decided to try some of the backyard cures for a clogged radiator. After researching the net I decided to try using "CLR" to loosen the crud and then water and compressed air to reverse flush. I used 1/2 bottle of "CLR" and topped the radiator up with warm water (rad out of car), then left it for 15 min giving it a agitate every 5 min, making sure that the mixture filled every tube. I then reverse flushed it with large amounts of cold water. Once I saw no more foam I injected compressed air through the drain plug hole with the radiator upright. Note - make sure that the inlet port is plugged and the filler is pointing away from you or you'll get blasted!!. I let the rad fill back up after each blast. I then repeated the process with the second 1/2 bottle of the "CLR". I was not brave enough to use the full bottle in one go as it is acid based and I did not want it to chew out a soft spot. Looking through the filler I can see that the tubes directly below it are now open. I also gave these tubes and any close by a blasting with compressed air to remove any residual crud. I don't think that I managed to totally de-crud the rad but it's a start. I also noticed once everything was cleaned up that there was about 0.5mm of rock hard crud around the filler on the surface that the radiator cap seals to. This was letting water flow out the overflow port while I was reverse flushing with the new cap on. I scraped this away and sanded out some of the deeper scratches and now have a good seal. I took her for a run on the freeway at speeds that would have caused her to overheat previously and she sat below 1/2 even up the hills. I still have the thermostat out but will drive her for a week and if she stays cool I'll refit t the thermostat later. Wardie

Hi All, As you have seen in another post of mine I am having overheating problems with my auto MR30 hatch. I have checked around my area to see if I can get my radiator cleaned out but as I have some corrosion and missing fins due to some leaf litter between the rad and the condenser, it looks like I will need a newer one. Most radiator shops here on the Central Cost say that they cannot get a new one for the 83 model L24E as there is no listings (all start at R31). Does anyone have a radiator that they want to part with or does anyone know a wreckers or a mate that would have one. Perfer in Sydney, Newcastle or Central Coast. Is there another model Nissan/Datsun that would do the job? Thanks All Wardie

Thanks All for your comments. On the weekend I replaced the water pump ($50) and reverse flushed the radiator and the block. Didn't get any crap out. I also gave the radiator a couple of solid hits with a large rubber mallet around the frame whilst flushing it to try and jar any crap loose. Did not make any difference at all. Still half way around town and up on the top small mark on the freeway with the A/C fan running. I'm going to look for another fan clutch at the wreckers. How tight should they be? Is there an easy way of picking a good one? Are they cheap enough to buy new from an autoparts store? If that does not work any one know a cheap place in Sydney to get a recore or refurb radiator? Thanks again Wardie

I pulled my thermostat out and tested it. Seemed to be OK but I did not put it back in. She runs over half still around town and I am still to try the freeway. My brother-in-law thinks it's the viscous fan coupling thats the problem, he reckons it's too loose. How tight should they be? I would have thought that this would show up as a slow speed heat problem as I would assume that there is enough air being forced through the radiator at highway speeds. Thanks for all the advise so far. Wardie

A long story. On the weekend I went down to Temora near Wagga. Down near Yass the temp gauge started to rise so I pulled over and checked the coolant level, all OK. Kept going and noticed that the faster I went the higher the gauge read, when I slowed down it went down again. Checked coolant again, all OK. I jumped the aircon pressure switch to activate the electric fan (AC stuffed) for extra cooling and kept going. Eventually she boiled even though I had slowed to 80 and was taking it easy up hills. I let her cool down and refilled her with premix coolant that I had bought just in case at the last stop. She stayed hot for the last 115 km. When I checked the coolant later all levels were OK. The day was hot but not over 38. I ran some radiator flush through her and got some (not much) gunk out so did it again. This time no gunk. I filled her up with quality coolant using 50% ratio and pressure washed the AC condenser/radiator to remove any bug debris etc. She ran hot at 100kmh untill the sun went down and then over half way for the rest of the trip. I have checked the coolant again and it is still full and clean. Guys/Girls from all your collective experience with L motors what would be the best place to start fixing this. I thought it would be the radiator but after flushing it a few times am now not sure. Do water pumps stop pumping? I have replaced the thermostat a few months ago as the old one was stuck open. Should I pull it out so there is no restriction in the colling system. Any advise gladly accepted. Wardie

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