saridout

i dunno, i just downloaded the carfiche version, and it's the same way. it's not very obvious if you just eyeball it; even if you line the pages up, like i did in photoshop, at first glance it looks right. but there are wires coming out of the ignition switch on page two that aren't there on page three, etc.

the download from xenon: anybody else notice that the 2nd and 3rd pages don't match up?

ok, kind of embarrassing update: after rechecking all the connectors in the engine bay, i noticed that the large plug on the dropping resistor was not fully engaged. after connecting it, the car still wouldn't start with the key, but a wire again from the battery to the starter made it start almost immediately. it runs VERY rough, with a heavy lope and dies after about a minute. moving the distributor doesn't seem to make that much of a difference, though at some points, it seems to smooth out for about 10 seconds and then go back to loping again before it dies. found a pressure gauge, and it says i have late valve timing. i'm almost 100% positive that i timed the cam correctly. what else could be causing this reading?

i checked the oil pump again and took a photo of the rotor (see attached). the engine is definitely at TDC, the lobes for the first cylinder are up, the rotor is lined up with the timing mark. i don't think i could be any more certain that it's timed correctly. unfortunately, i can't find my fuel pressure gauge, but i should probably mention that when dad unclamped the top of the hose coming from the fuel filter to the steel fuel lines, it started spewing out from around the end, and the pressure pushed it off and got gas all over him. if this doesn't mean i have adequate pressure, i'll have to wait until i can get back out here next weekend. when i put on the new injector clips, i did my absolute best to get the wires attached exactly as they had been previously, but it's possible i got one or two switched. does it matter if the two white wires going to an injector get switched around? i'm definitely getting spark. it really sounds like it wants to start. here's a video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26373558@N08/4002737936/

1) i thought i had timed the oil pump correctly when i first put it together, but it seemed to be off once i got the distributor back on. i pulled the pump off and we put the engine at top dead center and lined up the rotor with the mark for 1 on the distributor body. as far as i can tell, it's timed. 2) during the rebuild i did a complete engine bay refresh. pulled everything out forward of the bell housing. i replaced all my injector connectors, the starter/solenoid, a handful of misc wires and connectors such as one of the spade connectors on the ignition resistor. edit: the fusible link coming off the battery seemed to be shot, so i just pulled it out for now and connected those wires together in its absence. i can't imagine that that would cause this. 3) i will check this in just a bit. 4) they are fastened as securely as possible. 5) i'll check this tomorrow. until then, do you think that the lack of response to the key and the clunking sound are caused by whatever's keeping the engine from starting? or is one causing the other?

i just got through a complete rebuild. i tried the first startup, and at first, it seemed like the car wasn't reacting to the key turning, other than the lights coming on. then i could hear a small clunking noise every time i turned the key, coming from under the dash near the fuse box. we ran a wire directly from the battery to the starter, and it turns over like mad, but won't start up. any ideas? update: there is definitely fuel coming up at least as high as the fuel lines over the manifolds.

ok, it was a fusible link. all fixed now, thankyou now i've got a new problem! i'll post it in a new thread

since i've gotten my engine back in the car, i've got no electrical power at all. no lights, no reaction to turning the key, et cetera. the battery seems to be fully charged, and i was very careful to reattach everything just as it was before the rebuild. i've replaced the starter unit and the fusible links, but that's all i've changed. if there's one thing i'm absolute pants at, it's electrical stuff. where should i even start looking? is this being caused by a short, possibly?

i'm still getting the engine put back into the car, so i haven't turned it on yet to see if it works, and even when i do, it's likely that there will be no way to tell if it's working. the new switch functions in practically the same way, the only difference being that it connects at a lower temperature (90F versus 135F). if you choose to go with the 1974 switch like i have, you'll need to cut off the connector and put a ring connector on one wire that is large enough to go around the nearest bolt that attaches the thermostat housing. the other wire needs to have some more wire spliced onto it along with a bullet connector. that'll connect to a red wire coming off the same 4-prong plug as the thermal transmitter. look here for diagrams http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30273&highlight=water+temperature+switch note that it shouldn't matter which wire you use for ground on the new switch; they'll both work.

the new switch for a 1974 260 has arrived, and it fits! i tested it on the stove, and it completes the circuit at about 90 degrees. the original switch, according to the FSM (pg. ET-16), closes the circuit at 134 degrees, and that's a difference i can live with. i'll let yall know if there are any developments once i actually get the car running.

thanks! i do not have those. are they bolted onto the head? it's sort of hard to tell from the photos.

but now that i've got my engine assembled, head bolted on etc., where do i attach the chains to hoist it? i'm not seeing anything obvious on the block, like "slingers." the fsm doesn't offer much insight...

is that from your new N4202 switch?

maybe it's the angle, but the threaded portion of that switch looks bigger than the switch on my car. do you have calipers? the threaded portion on my switch is 13.45 mm wide. also, dad got back to me with the markings on it. one facet says 509 and another facet says TB-14.

while i wait for my dad to inspect the switch on my car for markings, i thought i'd post these ignition diagrams from 1974 and 1976 model. i'm no good with electrical stuff, but it appears to me that the water temp switch in both years functioned the same way. thoughts? i am a little confused though, cause i thought that my car was a california car, having an advanced emissions system, but the fsm says that only non-cali models had the water temperature switch. here is the copy from the fms: "On the non-california model, the advance control relay and water temperature switch are provided. The temperature switch is a bimetal type. When the engine coolant is at low temperatures, the contact points are close and current flows through the relay, so that the transistor ignigion unit transmits advanced ignition signals. When the coolant reaches and fixed temperature and the bimetal temperature switch contacts are so opened as to not let an electrical current flow the relay, relay contacts are closed and another voltage is applied to the ignition unit, which transmits retarded ignition signals. In this way, advanced signal is changed over by the temperature of engine coolant."

i'm also asking about whether the water temp switch from a 74 might work in a 76. see my photos

yeah, i've already checked at courtesy nissan, that part is no longer made. :/ from what i've been reading (http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=1028472), the 74 had the same kind of distributor, which would lead me to believe that the 74 water temp switch functioned the same way. my car is EGR equipped; but to affect the EGR, the switch would just have to signal to it as it's passing through on the way to the ignition module, right? i may end up buying the 74 switch just to give it a try. if it works, then it'll be a solution for this problem that other folks can use too. back before i started rebuilding my engine, my car was constantly running way too rich. Could a disconnected water temp switch have precipitated this?

ooooh that's beautiful. i wish i had one

are you talking about the temperature sensor? what rock auto calls a temperature switch features a photo of a coolant temperature sensor. i need the switch. please look at the photos.

i need a replacement water temp switch for my 1976, but unfortunately nissan doesn't make them anymore and i can't find any third party suppliers. i noticed that MSA sells a water temp switch for a '74 that looks very similar to mine, albeit with different connectors on the wires. has anyone ever used one of these to replace the switch in a 280? do the threads even match? being that one is from a fuel injected vehicle and the other is not, would they function the same? here are photos of a 1976 switch and the MSA switch:

ok, new question. now that i've snapped a headbolt off in the block (no worries, i got it out), how do i get the copper spray OFF of the block and head? acetone? also, would using the same head gasket again not be recommended?

hey motorman, your block looks real good. i was putting my head on today and broke one of the head bolts got it out of the block, but now i have to wait for the new bolt to get here next week. here's a photo of the brg for ya.

i'm reassembling my engine bay, and i don't think this is part of anything that's bolted to the walls, but i just can't remember where it goes. it branches off of the harness that goes down the driver's side rail towards the front of the engine bay.

thanks a lot phred, that's exactly what i needed to hear

the book says, "to seal a head gasket, coat it with high-temperature aluminum paint, copper coat, or equivalent."