Dave WM

1st off tic is gone, pulled the pivot, reassembled under oil bath, all good. Now the odd stuff. installed T stat, put funnel in rad, made sure it was the high point, filled to the max, no instant overflow. as the engine heated up I got a slow expansion and push out of coolant but no bubbles. by the time it hit about 185f it was just a bit of water coming out. Not sure I understand how that could happen unless there is gas filling somewhere, but decided to do the chem test again, before draining coolant (with it still running) I just pulled some garage air thur the test kit, opps blue is starting to turn green.... So before ANY more messing the engine is going out to the sidewalk for the next test. I cant imagine that enough exhaust gases were accumulating inside an open garage, but before any more moves, its going WAY out in the open air. Perhaps some of my recent decisions may be explained by the garage air test......... ZH I will add that to the list of to do IF i get another L after an OUTDOOR test of the chem test.

sounds like the issue, I just was not able to get it to running speed. I wonder if nissan used these hyd pivots on ohter models?

Not sure exactly what it looks for. the puzzling thing is I sorta went thru this with the Non turbo, one day went out and test it again and IIRC i tested ok with the MN47 and then did with no changes made. Never failed since (i have tried it many times to confirm). Its NOT overheating (stayed right at 180-185 max on a super hot day with air temps over 100f, no thermostat mind you but no shroud either and not the best fan placement with respect to the rad. I will try filling the rad up to the top, then starting and see if water boils out. I think I have seen where if gases are getting in, esp on a cold engine then the water will quickly overflow the filler neck as gas displaces coolant.

I got nothing to lose on the the spray on the used OE HG, its going to get tossed anyway. May as well have fun while the engine is easy to work on and test (with the test stand). Here is something new, it had a loud valve tapping sound, this is with the hyd pivots. I used the stethoscope and decided it was on #2. pull the valve cover and sure enough there was play at the pivot even as the lope was starting to make contact with the ramp. The pivots use oil and have a spring as well (weak) I will purge the air out of the pivot, and also verify the well it sits in is getting oil (crank engine ign off, plugs out). My guess is it would have eventually purged the air out, in time if it had been normal driving speeds. Idle testing for gas means low pressure and volume, it never cleared up even with me running it for 30 min screwing with the testing. My guess is with the engine off there is always going to be at least one valve that is open (the pivot under pressure). Over time the oil inside will leak down. So I presume any time an engine is shut down for an extended time, this will happen. Anyone with a P90a head can confirm?

I had assumed that would be something I could see, I recall looking them both over, perhaps not well enough... I was thinking of applying some bluing to the surfaces and then running them over some 220 wet/dry on a flat stone (marble or granite) as a better way to see imperfections. I am pretty unsure about a machine shop. Its not something they routinely do, dont want them running .010 off the tops if it only needs .002 etc... Just dont know how to tell if they are competent as I have NO exp with a machine shop.

I will pull the head soon, will take a look, see if I can find a shop that can do for me. Thanks!

Yea I know sounds like a dumb idea, but hear me out. Just installed a new OE nissan head gasket on to what I think is a good head and block, well prepped, torqued pre fsm etc... Still getting a exhaust gas leak in the radiator per the blue chem test. I was going to try another head gasket (yea I know the definition of crazy) to see if that stops it. But since the engine is on the test stand and very easy to work on AND I want to try it out, I am going to remove the head, and try some copper spray on the just installed and tested gasket. If nothing else I can add another L to the record book. After that L is recorded I will try a different make of HG. Again I have check the block and head for warpage cleaned well before install. I am at a loss as to why this is going on. I will also break out the magnify glass to inspect the head combustion chambers.

good news bad news... good new is I got it all back together, no more brown anything including foam. Bad news same thing with the exhaust gases in the rad. I just cant figure out where its coming from. I looked at the block cyl walls when it was all apart, no cracks, it would have to have a crack there for gas in water jacket. The head also looked fine, again no cracks. This leaves the gasket as the only culprit (or warpage the gasket can not handle). The test with the straight edge were well within spec, and there were no defects noted on the sealing surfaces (block or head). So my only guess is I did not properly prep the surfaces and/or did not torque correctly. I retorqued after the inital run to 65ftlbs in the correct sequence. they took a tiny bit of torque. tested again, same thing green then pale yellow. I confirmed the test kit on the good engine so I know my process is correct. Next up will be to pull the head again and try a different gasket. I have an NOS aftermarket gasket, looks like asbestos infused, will try again with clean surface prep and torque sequnce in 3 stages. If that fails I my just bag the project for now, or maybe try installing the turbo on the good engine with the MN47 head. Other interesting news, I installed an O2 sensor in the bung that is cast into the manifold I used (had to plug it anyway). hooked up my analog VOM (simpson 260), and was able to get the voltage right at .5v by adding a bit more flap (just push it in) while running. I seems the setting is a bit lean, I may have some vacuum leaks or maybe that is just the way it is. the voltage .5 during the start up (when the enrichment is higher on a cold engine) but tapered off to near 0 as it warmed up. Adjusting the idle blead did not help (again vacuum leaks were probable). anyway the vac was about 15hg when meter read 0 volts, manual enrichment to .5v and the vacuum goes to more like 18hg. Clearly a sign of a better A/F mix. the O2 is a cheap bosch single wire i think refered to as a narrow band, regardless I can see how something like this would help with setup of the FI on one of this old open loop FI systems. I am thinking of coming up with a circuit that is 0v at .5v from the sensor with +/- as it goes from 0 to 1v, with a variable output voltage on the +/-. that could be fed in series with the output from the AFM wiper, making a closed loop system with a single mod to the wire harness. IIRC an op amp maybe involved to allow for the +/0/- output adjustable for voltage so the correcting voltage could be varied in amplitude so as not to overwhelm the stock AFM reading.

IIRC I was able to do all disassembly with various jigs and fixtures the press. As to the dimples being critical, cant help.

dumb on my part about thinning the washer that would do nothing...

oh so its not locked, that's good. could be a tolerance stacking up issue with the new bearing. If it was me I would mic out the old bearing and compare to the new, maybe even just reinstall and check again to see if old bearing gives you clearance per spec. If so and new bearing is indeed larger (unlikely but if) then i suppose you could get a flat stone and carefully sand down the washer. better to mill it but that may not be practical. I know I had a hard time finding that inner race, i had to order from japan, I did not like the idea of a new bearing on an old race.

IIRC that endplay would be decided by the roller race under that bearing. Did you change any bearing parts or gear? I am pretty sure you dont want that to be loosely tightened.

fyi, i had a reverse switch that did not work, turned out i had installed a copper washer during the rebuild that was not there before. remove the washer, bingo switch works. Agree 100% on testing things before throwing new parts, and when a new part is deemed needed, test it before installing...

I hope you guys get your AC working, I got back from a 800 mile round trip thru central AL/GA/FL last week. Mucho hot everywhere, AC (stock R-12 orig compressor) all worked very well made for a nice cool trip. It really helps to enjoy the car. I have the "shadow" brand louvers, no holes in metal type seems to help, esp with not speeding (over 80 and it starts to rattle). Also I keep a white towel bottom black towel top cover on my dash. Hours of time even with AC on and inside temps comfortable the dash gets VERY hot for the sun. I don't know if it helps keep the car cooler, but my dash is never warm with that combo. You need the black on top to cut glare.

I was able to find a brand new OE turbo oil feed line from Japan. Came it today looks like a perfect fitment when compared to the old one. All that is left to do is put the turbo engine on the NA test stand and install the dizzy and the intake manifold. I already attached a spare exhaust manifold , T stat housing, and alternator with fan belt and pully. Last time I ended up swapping out a lot of stuff from one engine to the other, this time I am going for a faster turnaround time to test. It will prob be a few days as its just so dang hot its hard to get motivated to do the heavy lifting of moving engines around. Will see how long I can hold out (Stimpy guarding the red button at the end of "space madness")

You only need the adapter plate to attach a starter to an engine. A simple test short of actual running it would be to remove the plugs and while its on an engine stand (not a test run stand just the normal engine stand), bar it over by hand as quickly as you can and get a single bump compression reading. I was able to generate about 75psi this way. OR you could attach the starter with the plate that mount between the engine and the trans (what I called the adapter plate, its really not adapting anything) and spin it with a starter. I would just set the engine in an old tire for this test. while you are at it check the oil pressure with a manual gage. this would allow you to get some idea of the overall condition (should build even compression of about 150 psi or more, and should get some reading on the oil pressure, maybe in the 20psi range with just the starter and no spark plugs IIRC. I have some old videos showing turning and engine over for compression and oil pressure test, I did it with the trans on before I realized just the plate alone was enough.

forsure, after next time I use it will just drain again. I did run it for a few minutes, oil looked clear, but oil is cheap so why not. got the rest of the plugs in, demo video of using the tool coming. I did have one issue you may want to check on yours, the shoulder of the tool was just a tad wide for the plug by the oil sending unit. there is a cast in boss that is just a bit closer than anywhere else to the opening. My tool got hung up (will see in the video). Off video I went back and filed it for clearance, then used the tool again to make sure it was a flush fit. I also checked the depth of the edge of the plug to the surface of the block. It was close enough that I did not feel any need to touch up the tool, the block is pretty ruff and getting a precise measurement using it as a ref seemed silly. I am sure its within spec if I knew what they were on that.

fyi, I ran it and it seems to have survived despite my tool abuse 🙂 new oil in site glass looks nice and clear, vac was good, no odd noises. perhaps dodged the bullet, can I borrow you milling machine, want to try a new way of chopping up chlorine tablets for pool use...

you pump got DM'd

got the freeze plugs in on one side (5) the tool worked great, esp on the one by the CC vent pipe. That would have been a pain as its kinda tight. CO i am not too sure about delrin, it takes a few very solid whack to seat the plug tool up to the shoulder. Not sure if delrin would deliver the needed impaction to fully seat, or at lest you should try it to make sure there is no rebound effect causing lack of full depth of the plug.

ok since it has been an intermittent issue, I think I will start with just jumping the floor switch. IF the light still acts up (stays on when not cranking) I can assume my relay is at fault. This beat me trying to do continuity test with intermittent devices.. I will just keep an eye on it for a few weeks to see how things go.

Dave realizing not needed to use vac pump...

i have been hesitating to turn it on, keep hope alive!

the idea (flawed in execution) was to monitor the clear tube for liquid. the actual uptake was so fast that it caught me off guard. I would have nver fast enough to see the fluid rise and cut off the pump considering how fast the jug was emptied.

the kia may have a lower amp draw. Before doing anything I would check that at the fuse just to base line where you are. Generally speaking if you are moving more air the amp draw would be higher BUT maybe the kia is more efficent a motor, losing less power to heat and more toward useful work.