GeneralDisorder

(slaps forehead) Man - someone PLEASE post the HTKYSA for him. I've lost the PDF..... GD

I had an 84 DL parts car with 316k on it when I got it. Coverted it to 2WD (I needed the 4WD parts), and last I knew my friend gave it to his niece who needed a car at around 360k. Original engine - actaully has a LOT of power, due to carbon build up in the cylinders. Cant set the timing over 5 or 6 degrees or it will ping up a hill. GD

Always liked the SX4's - I've seen some pics.... there's a few rock crawling type SX4's out there. Complete with spoiler! With some mods you can more or less fit up a whole cherokee setup in them. But of course.... still a jeep/chrysler product. "used to be a jeep thing, but all that s#@t broke". Or my favorite from the show this year "I got your jeep thing, now it burns when I pee". GD

OR GD

They wouldn't have stretched enough to make it run like that. You have some other problem. Pull both belts off and do the timing procedure top to bottom over again and only then do the disty. GD

This one looks kinda ugly on the outside, but it must not have been touched much because inside it's nearly pristeen. Works great, and it's actually pretty bright. That could be the lamp I put in it. It's nice and shiny inside and I didn't even have to clean the contacts. It didn't have a lamp in it at all, which I found a little strange, but hey - can't be too picky. The grounding issue is easily solved with a little cleaning of the metal contacts. You are right tho, it's pretty primitively designed so corrosion is something that will always have to be dealt with. A little careful cleaning and a coat of dielectric grease can do wonders. GD

Wild AC current and over voltage output. Not good for the battery. Replace your alt NOW. GD

Sure - but even here on the west coast they are starting to become scarce. Remember the last year for our EA81's was 89, and that was only for the hatchback of which not many were sold. 87 for the Brat. For off-road I run nothing but the EA81. But for street the EA82 (non-turbo) is really a decent engine. The belts are not much hassle with the covers off. Plus the few extra HP is nice, and they rev a little higher. All that together with their dime-a-dozen quality right now makes for a winning combo for cheap transportation around here. I value my EA81's highly - I've got four engines in various states, and ALL of them will run again eventually. Hell - I just ordered a Delta cam for one. But all that's not stopping me from taking advantage of sub-$100 vehicles. GD

Definately. MC always wants bleeding it seems if the level goes down too far. The rear discs are nice, but a well adjusted set of drums does very well too. The biggest difference for the EA81's is the disc's are self-adjusting. Now they did make self adjusting drums too for the later EA82's, and the adjusters should fit without any trouble. The discs are great - set of pads, and forget about them for another 50,000 miles. Self adjusting drums are ok, but I've had a few catostrophically fail and lock the wheel up when the shoes get worn out.... the non-self adjusting style SUCK cause they are out of adjustment 90% of the time. GD

Your alternator is dead. The recifier is allowing AC current out. The dash lights aren't expecting current flow in the opposite direction, so they are flashing. GD

Yep - those are the ones. When they come up is one sprocket mark up and the other down? (doesn't matter which is up and which is down, so long as they are 180 degrees apart). GD

Yep - I already know how I'll do it. I'll use a spare sprocket, and weld two bolts to two of the holes on the inside, and then weld an old socket to the center for attachement of my torque wrench. I've already made a tool to hold them while removing the bolts, so this will be a nice addition to my "EA82 timing belt tool kit". GD

You have it timed with the valve marks and not the ignition marks on the flywheel right? Time the belts first, then do the distributor - ALWAYS do the distributor after you move the belts as it's driven off the cam. GD

I've known about these for a while, but just today I got one from my local yard. They are a bit hard to find, because they come from late 70's and early 80's Datsun Z cars. Got this one from a 280ZX this morning. It anchors with two bolts, and needs only a single hot lead (use a fuse) and grounds through the chassis. The lamp pulls out with about 4 feet of cord and it's a mini drop light! Complete with hanging hook. Way cool factor upgrade for those who off-road, or just like to see. After some searching, I found a few on ebay. Look for "Datsun Trouble Light" or "Datsun Trouble Lamp" or engine bay light, etc. Here's a few reasonable ones from the bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DATSUN-280z-260z-240z-ENGINE-BAY-LIGHT-TROUBLE-LIGHT_W0QQitemZ330022434861QQihZ014QQcategoryZ42613QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (mis-labeled at a plymouth part ) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Original-1952-Plymouth-under-hood-small-trouble-light_W0QQitemZ190026908508QQihZ009QQcategoryZ42606QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1978-83-DATSUN-280ZX-HOOD-TROUBLE-LAMP_W0QQitemZ8014885954QQihZ019QQcategoryZ42613QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem GD

Sweet - I think I'll build myself a socket for it. GD

Watch your guages and such carefully - many have come before you, and none have suceeded. Off the top of my head I can think of at least 4 or 5 members of just this board that have tried it, and the usual result is either cracked heads/blown gaskets, or catostrophic piston failure - ring lands collapse, etc. Good luck! GD

No - the side lamps are "markers" they do not flash. That's intentional. The signals are in the bumper. GD

Holy light wallet batman! Last one I did about 2 months ago I took to Napa and it was $30. I dropped it off at 9am, and picked it up at 4pm! And I thougth that was expensive - I was expecting more like $15 - $20. GD

Tool?!? What does it look like? Can we make one easily? I'm all about using the right tool if it might make the difference. Not having an EA82 FSM is starting to get annoying. GD

NA as in? Carb, SPFI, MPFI pistons? EA81 carb pistons are 8.7:1 EA82 carb pistons are 9.0:1 EA82 SPFI/MPFI pistons are 9.5:1 EA82 stock turbo pistons are 7.7:1.... GD

+1 on that. The CAS disties have an actual bearing for the shaft, and aren't as prone to failure as the sleeve bearing older carb style units. Clear the codes, fix whatever *other* codes you get FIRST before you suspect the disty really is bad. Basically ignore the CAS code till it comes back repeatedly by itself.... and if it still runs OK, I might still ignore it . But definately give the shaft a wiggle just for fun. GD

I keep running into pressure plates with no mark on them . A lot of aftermarket units don't seem to have this. I'm not sure if it's an oversight, or the manufacturing process has now exceeded the need for the balance marks. Flywheel I installed last night had one, but not the PP. Oh well - not a lot I can do about it. heh GD

There are test mode connectors that were supposed to plug into *something* that the dealer had. At least that's what I thought. Being there are two modes - test mode, and "u-check" or something like that it seems likely. Who knows tho - I've seen diagnostic plugs on military equipment that the military never bought the diagnostic gear for. We simply never got the goods cause it was too expensive, and in someone's opinion not needed. GD

Have you actually checked for spark? Checked all your fuses? Could be a lot of things - timing belt could have broken which if it's the drivers side belt would cause the distributor to not turn, and thus no spark. Fuel injected or carb? GD

They be a dime a dozen it seems these days. Just got a $100 '93 with a bad 4WD auto. If I had the time I would start buying/fixing/selling the silly things. I'm almost literally in the same situation - I've got EA82's falling out my butt, and I'm starting to have a hard time finding EA81 parts :-\ GD