| Author |
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Hughlysses
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 02:24 pm: | 
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Yea, it's certainly worth looking. Pull the valve cover and you should be able to see if the timing chain is intact. Then pull the head; that'll show you how catastrophic the engine damage is. Even if most or all of the valves are bent, that's not a crazy replacement expense unless the head is beat to hell.
Are you on any Nissan forums? That might be a good source for decent used engine if you're not finding one through the other channels.
Hey- you could always drop a different engine in it; maybe a V-6 or V-8 or something like a 5-cylinder diesel out of an MB 300D if you want fuel mileage! |
86129squids
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 03:01 pm: |
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Hoot, correct. And, dammit if I hadn't had that replaced a year ago this past Spring... grrr...
My buddy said it looked like it seized with some of the valves wide open, not closed, but of course there's the 1234 sequence staggered. I've not looked at the manual for that yet. One step after another... what I'd REALLY hate about losing that truck is the years of accumulated stickers all over the tailgate and rear window!!
Hugh- man, I'd LOVE to make a sleeper out of it! Dang thing looks so shaggy, it'd be a helluva time if I could blow some fancy sportscars into the weeds. BTW, dude as I was leaving work had a pristine, dark green Ford Fairlane GT with Cragar mags parked out front. Watched/listened to him leave, AWESOME 390 just purring/growling. Then, at the gas station another dude had a new blacked out Ferrari... SIIICK. |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 03:16 pm: |
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Automatic door locks freak you out? I mock you in Monty Python language! !
I've decided with my 2013 Caravan that my next car will have only an ignition computer. Period. ( I'm not Luddite enough for points )
More than half the repairs I've made are complicated by the central computer.
The drivers seat was shot after 140k. The replacement from Keystone had a short in the butt sensor so we had to strip the wiring from the old seat. No big. Just annoying. The OEM replacement window switch panel bought from the dealer throws a fault code. I may need to have the computer re flashed for $100+. I can't even install stock fog lights without changing the sales code IN DETROIT and reflash computer. It won't turn on the circuit already there until I do.
Madness.
I'm shopping for old cars now. A Valiant with a slant six perhaps. No air bags. Death trap. Primitive.  |
Hootowl
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 03:56 pm: |
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Buddy of mine had one of those. With a volvo turbocharger on it. It would go from zero to 70 faster than you can imagine. If it was dry. It had oem size tires and they would start to spin at about 50 if it was wet and you had your foot in it. Thing sure was fun though. A genuine sleeper. |
Natexlh1000
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 04:26 pm: |
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I was shopping around for an engine swap for my old Toyota before I found out the cat was clogged like a banana in my tailpipe!
Anyways, One popular engine swap for small trucks is a VW diesel. Light enough to me doable with stock suspension.
I wanted to do a Cummins 4BT but they are like 1000pounds and 15 feet tall!
Then my Cat rusted off on a train crossing and suddenly, I had a V6 that could actually pull the truck.
It still got terrible fuel economy though. |
Hughlysses
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 04:27 pm: |
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Slant 6's rule. ~20 years ago in the office where I worked, there was general agreement that Slant 6's were the most durable engines ever built and that they would last forever. There was also mostly general agreement that Quaker State oil was awful and would quickly ruin any engine it was used in.
That generated the philosophical question "what happens if you put Quaker State in a Slant 6?". We speculated that it would cancel out the normal indestructibility, and that the engine would then only last 100,000 miles or so.
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Hughlysses
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 04:31 pm: |
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+1 on the VW TDI swap. The main complication to those is that on any newer than ~15 years old or so, you have to swap over the computer, a portion of the wiring harness, and the ignition switch to make it work. There's an entire sub-forum at TDIclub.com on swaps:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=63
The 4BT is an easy engine to swap as all you have to connect is a one 12V wire and a fuel line. Unfortunately like Nate said they're the weight of a battleship anchor and almost as big. There are some smaller Cummins but they're not nearly as common. |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 06:21 pm: |
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"Dirt Every Day" a Motor Trend/YouTube show, put a Cummins in a Jeep and drove it underwater with a 14' snorkel. |
Natexlh1000
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 11:11 pm: |
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Oh yeah! I saw that. What did they say that engine was? I know they said it was lighter than the old cast iron anvils. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 11:37 pm: |
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I think Brad should replace the blown up lump with a 1929 Webley-Vickers V-twin engine. |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 01:47 am: |
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Dirt Every Day used a shiny new Cummings for the Nissan truck. Nice to have sponsors.
I think that engine is now out, it was still a heavy thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nissan_engin es
Maybe an engine swap that might bolt up? You'll have to check the Nissan forums. A V-8 out of an Infiniti, perhaps? |
Malott442
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 10:02 am: |
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There's a handfull of Hardbodies in Knoxville for sale cheap:
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1989-nissan -hardbody2wd/6263890736.html
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/d/86-nissan-h ardbody/6262770574.html
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/d/nissan-hard body-4x4-5-speed/6263455803.html
I had a 92, and it was an absolute RIOT.
I had it lowered with notches for the springs, air shocks to pick it up over speed bumps, thick sway bars, a 240sx transmission, LSD.
Had a gas tank with a pump rigged to spray nozzles that would coat the rear tires with premium. A few short screws in the tread, drop the clutch, and whooof
I was young, I survived, it was awesome. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 01:39 pm: |
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That's it! Spend about 10 Grand doing an engine swap that will constantly give you fits and won't be dependable to make it to the supermarket and back on a regular basis. But it will make lots of power and will happily destroy clutches, transmissions and differentials.
After a few months of that, you'll gladly go out and buy the most boring and reliable car you can find. |
86129squids
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 03:46 pm: |
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Thanks Malott- been watching, but not today so far. The last one was 4X4, skip that one. Been all over TN, never been to Mohawk.
Planning to begin tearing down the motor soon, hopefully do this on the cheap. Got a good shop working on M's Solara right now, replacing the rear sway bar bushings and such, so that car will be good to go. My main goal is preparing for her daughter's wedding at Caesar's Palace in Vegas, first week of October, hoping to have money AND do it on the cheep. Gotta work my ass off between now and then. |
Mr_grumpy
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 11:32 pm: |
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This might sound daft, but check the local forklift scrapyards, Nissan put both gas and diesel lumps in fork trucks, some of the diesels were turbo'd too. |
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