Captain Obvious

And since we're talking about ported vacuum sources... Here's a pic down the throat of the throttle body and you can see the distributor advance port on the left and the EGR port(s) on the right. Been a while since I studied it, but IIRC, the pair of larger holes in the foreground are BCDD. The distributor port is the rectangular slotted one on the left back where the butterfly would contact the housing if it were closed (instead of being blocked open as it is in the pic):

Yeah, I took a quick look through the service manuals looking for some sort of diagram or sketch that did a good job of showing those vacuum lines and came up with nothing very good. Best I found was in the Engine Tune Up section, and the clearest year I found was 1977. So take a look at ET-2 in the 77 FSM manual. You're interested in tube numbers 5, 12, and 14. 14 comes off the throttle body and goes to a metal "T". 5 comes off the "T" and goes to the vacuum can. 12 comes off the "T" and goes to the distributor.

I've thankfully never needed to open up a Z transmission but I have been inside a couple other manual transmissions in the past and I assume the basic concepts are identical. Point is, I'm no expert and other than pointing out that it sounds more like a linkage or interlock problem than a clutch problem, I'm not the guy who can pinpoint the exact location of the issue. I did in the past work on a transmission where it was hard to get it into a non-synchronized (first) gear and it turned out that the two gears that meshed were both badly damage and the teeth had actually smeared to the point where getting them to mesh was difficult. On that one, there was a also a loud whine when in first gear. I don't think that's what is going on here.

It's the one that points toward the radiator. Vacuum from that front port should "T" to go to two places. 1) the distributor vacuum, and 2) the carbon canister control line.

Forgive me, but I'm not sure I can see how this could be a clutch issue. Because reverse is non-synchronized, clutch drag would manifest itself as a grind when trying to put the car into reverse (because the gear teeth would collide until the collisions were severe enough to stop the clutch disk from spinning). But since there's no grind, why is the clutch adjustment theory so prevalent? I'd be more suspicious of a linkage issue with one of the shift rods or maybe something to do with the interlock detent balls?

Very nice! No point deductions for you!

Seriously? You're worried about changing from Philips to Allen or torx on the horns because it might be "obvious"? Seriously? I know obvious (obviously) and that's not obvious. Haha! That said, if I ever, ever, ever see your car, that's one of the first things I'm going to check for. You better thank your lucky stars that I'm not a show judge.

I don't know about "most", but a lot of them do. Maybe 50/50? Problem (my opinion) is that a lot of them have recently standardized on a web site design and I don't like the new one. Here's a couple options near you. Note that they are all running the same website. They probably enter in their own percentage discount off stock and their shipping and handling charges, but other than those customizable parameters, they're all the same. Scott Clark in Charlotte - http://charlottenissanparts.com/?siteid=216961 East Charlotte in Charlotte - http://www.nissanpartstogo.com/?siteid=216616 Harrelson in Rock Hill - http://harrelsonnissansocarolinaparts.com/?siteid=216864 Thankfully Courtesy has not succored to the temptation to standardize. Hopefully they never will. There are fewer things I hate more than searching by VIN. Courtesy - http://www.courtesyparts.com/

One "trick" that I've used to help determine availability is to check at a couple other dealerships as well. If it shows up as a good part number at other dealerships, then you can be pretty sure that it's still a good number and Courtesy can get it. But if it shows up as an invalid part number elsewhere, you're about 50-50 as to whether Courtesy can get it or not. And one other tidbit... Recently I noticed that a bunch of the other (non-Courtesy) Nissan dealers had all standardized on a new format for their website. I told the guys at Courtesy that I didn't like the new format and they said they were updating theirs as well, but weren't doing what the other dealers had done. My feedback to them was "Good. And thanks for keeping a light on for the old Datsun stuff." Now this was all in the hanger at ZCON2015, so they were clearly there in support of the Nissan/Datsun. I told them that it's great that they are willing to put in the extra effort to work on the old low volume stuff and not hate doing it.

Interesting that parts availability came up... I spent some time at ZCON talking to the guys from Courtesy about that very topic. I've had a couple occasions where I've found parts on their website with a reasonable price, but when I inquired deeper, the parts were actually NLA. I was asking the Courtesy guys if there was any way to tell without them manually looking into it, and the answer was "no". So, unfortunately, even if it looks like a good part on their website, it might not be. They'll NLA them as the situation occurs, but until they look into it, they don't know and it looks like a good part.

Yes, they were tingling. Send me some pics when you get it together. I've already told the family that I may be coming to live with you for four years depending on the outcome of the next election. If that happens, I'll teach you everything I know. Then for the remaining three years and 364 days, we can drink Labatt's and watch Second City TV reruns.

It's not unbalanced much. I suspect you won't even notice. However... There may be some issues getting it chucked up successfully. Will depend on the size of the lathe. You need either a big one, or a little one. If the lathe is big enough, you can stick the angled portion through the hole in the spindle. And if the lathe is small enough, you can run the T/C rod all the way through the spindle from the non-business end (over where the drive gears are). But if the lathe is in the middle... You won't be able to push the angled end into the spindle (because the hole through the spindle won't be large enough) and the T/C rod may be too short to poke all the way through the spindle and still have enough working length sticking out the chuck because the headstock is too long. Kinda hard to describe without pictures... Haha!! Does any of that make sense at all? But in any event, as Chickenman mentioned, make sure you put a fillet on the base of the shoulder. Don't put a hard 90 degree corner in there. Can't possibly make that scary rusty T/C rod any worse! You've got the perfect practice piece.

Glad to hear that swapping the washers around gave you enough clearance to claim victory. Kinda surprised it made that much of a difference, but whatever works! Now that you got the immediate crisis under control, here's an idea for the future if you want more clearance. Chuck the T/C rod up in a lathe and remove material to shift the shoulder that the washers sit against closer to the control arm. You'd gain clearance at the expense of caster. Blue, You got your lathe up and running yet?

Weird. I wish I had some silver bullet solution, but I don't. As far as I can tell, the T/Cs were never changed throughout the whole run. Same part number from inception to end of model. If you've got the rear nut torqued down until you've compressed the bushings to the point where you're clamping on the inner sleeve, then I don't know what else to look for. What are the chances that your wheel/tire combo is just too large and you've been masking a potential rubbing issue all along with your adjustable setup? And I know it's ridiculous to even ask, but I got nothing else... When you attached the T/C rods to the control arms, you got both bolts installed, right? You didn't do something ridiculous like use one bolt through the front hole on the rod and the rear hole in the arm and get the whole arm pushed forward? I know, but I gotta ask.

Mario, I know you're on vacation, but if I don't write this stuff down, I'll forget. Two things to look into when you get a chance... 1) Not sure if you still have an EGR valve (or if has been removed). If you do still have one, it might be leaking when it should be closed. This would lean out your idle mixture. Actually it would lean out your mixture at all times, but like any other fixed size vacuum leak, it would have the greatest impact at low RPMs. 2) Have you verified that your ECU is getting the START signal? Pin 4 should go hot in START and that temporarily richens up the mixture some.

If there is truly a clear flood mode to the ECU It seems really odd that there would be no mention of it in any of the service manuals, owner's manuals, or the the FI guide. The ECU has access to the START signal and the WOT signal, so they COULD have put something like that in there. But if they did put that in, why didn't they tell anyone about it? Yeah, if you could post a copy of that TSB, that would be a great piece of FI trivia!

Yikes! Nice snake. That'll keep them acorn hording critters away for sure! I had a hard time getting the suction cup to stick, so I've used double backed sticky tape to the valve face. If I get a chance, I'll snap a pic of my valve lapping ummm.... "tool".

Hahaha!! That was awesome! So if he made up a new Avatar with just a big blue "L" on it, we'd all know what that meant?

Zed, Thanks for the reminder. Yes, it's a 78. (Hence all the discussion about the transient state theory to the fuel pump relays and the whole priming thing.) I should know better than to get involved in more than one thing at a time. 78 was also the year they started with the gear reduction starter, right? I've never messed with one of the later starters, but is it possible that the noise you guys are talking about with the starter may be related to that? Mario, I don't think it's an ignition issue, but your module is on the kick panel wall next to the passenger's right foot. Have a good time on vacation and we'll catch up when you get back.

The thermotime can only fire the CSV when the key is in the START position. Repeatedly turning the key from ACC to ON doesn't send any power to the thermotime or CSV. You will not flood the engine by doing that. The only time the CSV can possibly get power to open is when the key is in the START position. And there is no functional link between the ECU and the CSV. The ECU does not cause the CSV to fire, nor does it even know that it ever happens. Completely independent. You're looking for the fuel pump relay? This is a 77, right? If that's the case, it's the "two relays in one case" that lives above the driver's left knee. 78 is out in the engine compartment in front of the battery, but 77 is not. But I don't think this is a fuel pressure problem. Sure, the pressure drops off when the car is not in use, but it behaves pretty much the same way whether it's been primed or not. It sounds like it holds pressure for at least a couple minutes... Something to look into in the future but I don't think it's the hot iron at this time. And about a clear flood mode? I've never seen any documentation to support that belief. I guess they could have a special mode where it could cut off the injectors completely if the frequency of the ignition pulses are "cranking engine" slow and the WOT contacts in the TPS are closed. But as I said, I've never seen any mention of that anywhere. Chickenman, What is it that makes you think your 76 has that feature?

Get well soon!

OK, so on two different days it was giving you trouble starting and on those two different days you tried two different things things... First day you gave it a shot of starter fluid and it fired right up. Second day you unplugged the WTS and it fired right up. Seems pretty clear that it really wants more fuel in order to start. The question now is "why?" And this test: Did exactly what it is supposed to do. With the WTS disconnected, your ECU put in WAY too much fuel. The engine liked it at the very beginning, just to start the engine. But once the "starting process" was over, it was way too much fuel for the engine to burn and it probably belched black eye burning smoke. But your reminder that the problems started after you put in a new WTS is interesting. The water temperature sensor is what they call an RTD ("Resistance Temperature Device" or "Resistance Temperature Detector") and it is made up of a piece of something (often a short length of platinum wire) that changes resistance with respect to temperature. There are lots of different RTD's with different R vs Temp curves and it's possible you accidentally got one with the wrong curve. Do you have an Ohmmeter you can use? Take some resistance measurements to compare your old and new water temp sensors? Here's the FSM page that lists a couple temperatures and the corresponding resistances. The ranges are pretty wide, but it might highlight an anomaly: And I agree about the plugs, they look pretty good. A little rich maybe, but not enough that it would be at the top of your priority list. They certainly aren't scary lean that would make you be looking for a huge vacuum leak. I would reevaluate the plugs again after you get the starting issue worked out and have some miles on the car.

Siteunseen's Head Shop Got a nice ring to it but I'm not sure you'll attract the right kind of clientele.

Awesome! You bought a set of ten? That's clearly more than you need, right?

Cool! Thanks for the pics!! So anyone know how long they included the puller? Was there any chance that something like that was supposed to have been included with my 77? I don't see any features or clips or anything that would hold a puller, but I don't really know what I'm looking for.