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PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:02 pm 
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Posts: 20
Hey! Hopefully my car isn't too new to post in here. It does have Datsun badges on it, so I guess you'll have to put up with it.

I just sold my N12 Pulsar EXA coupe and I've bought this as I thought it would be nice to have a more comfortable car to get around in (and it was blowing smoke, which might have been too expensive to repair, I've been driving a loaner VS Statesman since May). I've had the car for one week now and it has been going well! It does consume about twice as much petrol as the EXA, but I did kinda expect that.

My background is completely devoid of mechanical knowledge. I will fix things here and there, but anything major and the car will be at the mechanics for repairs.

On to the car! It was advertised on carsales by an elderly gentleman who was the second owner since 1994 (with 125,000 on the clock). Prior to him it was owned by his uncle from 1982. The car was originally purchased from Deniboota Distributors which is apparently in or around Deniliquin. The car now has 144,500 on it, which means it has travelled only 20,000km in the last twenty years.

These are pictures I took last weekend when I got the car home.

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Broken indicator needs to be replaced.

[ img ]

Repaired tail light needs to be replaced. Bit of rust in the boot goes all the way through.

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I used a bit of hair spray as a temporary fix for the trim. It looks OK for now (no after pic).

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A couple of matchbooks, a spare globe, and a curled up 34 cent stamp.

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Both speaker covers have wasted away to nothing. It's kinda surprising that they have disappeared, yet the dash is in relatively good condition.

Over-all the car seems to be in good condition. The rear drivers side door looks to have been patched up, but everything else is OK. The only deep rust is in the boot lid, everything else is surface rust. The interior is in very good condition, and is looking even better after a quick clean.

The plan is to fix everything up so that it looks less trashy when driving around, and keep it completely stock.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:13 pm 
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Posts: 20
First thing I fixed on the car was the washer motor. I thought I had a photo of the dead earwig inside it, but I don't. The motor had rusted and seized up, so I pulled it out and gave it a clean, and put a bit of oil on it. Was pretty surprised that an earwig managed to get inside it. Works well now! Although I think the bottle might have a small leak as when I looked at it today it was empty (I didn't put much water in, so it might not be leaking!). I've topped it up now and will keep an eye on it.

[ img ]

I've also started trying to fix the inspection lamp. I don't have a multimeter so I've been testing it with some batteries. It looks as though the switch may be faulty -- so I will try to find a replacement at Jaycar. I'd also like to have it looking new again, so I am hoping to have it yellow zinc plated by one of our suppliers at work when we eventually have a job that needs yellow plating (I'll harvest all the parts to be plated when that happens).

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Some other things that came with the car. Ampol map of Victoria from the late 40s/early 50s. Owner's manual. And an insurance renewal slip from 1992.

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:24 pm 
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Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:25 pm
Posts: 20
On Friday I had the car booked in for the RWC. I now have a fairly lengthy list of things to repair! Text in blue has been repaired.
  • Secure trailer plug.
    RHR reverse light out.
    RHR indicator lens broken.
    LHF indicator lens broken.
    Replace windscreen.
    Adjust front wheel bearings.
    Replace all four front upper and lower ball joints.
    Leak in rear muffler.
    Replace four tyres.
    All drag link boots and ball joints shot.
    Oil filter leaking.
    Replace wiper blades.
    Exhaust leak.
They hosed down the engine bay while the car was in, so now it's looking a little nicer. I had already replaced a brake light, as the brake light on the dash was lighting up every time I applied the brakes. I managed to lock myself out of the car at Supercheap auto when I was buying the lights! Had to wait for my girlfriend to get to the train station, and then go home with her so she could let me in the house to get the spare car key. Then walked the 25 minutes back to pick up the car.

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:30 pm 
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Posts: 20
One thing that I've noticed whilst driving the car is that the engine temperature never gets above C, and the heater doesn't seem to work at all. So today I went out and bought a new thermostat for the car. I don't have a big enough bucket to drain all the coolant in to (10 litres!), so I decided to siphon out just enough in to my oil tray to avoid anything leaking when I opened up the thermostat housing. Not sure if the thermostat I removed is the original, but it is a Nissan part! It was stuck fairly well to the gasket, so the gasket ended up breaking. The housing is very corroded, so I think I will need to buy a new one along with a new gasket (I might actually try drawing up a gasket and cutting a new one at work -- then I have an unlimited cheap supply). Thankfully I have the Statesman for another week, because the 280C is gonna be off the road!

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:37 pm 
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Try some contact cleaner spray for the inspection lamp switch.
It is probably full of gunk.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 8:10 pm 
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Location: Christchurch - New Zealand
Nice ride - love the 430's

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 8:26 am 
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Well! My new indicator is on its way from Japan as we speak.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/184863699

I also bought a new thermostat housing gasket and a new thermostat from Bursons. I did already have a new thermostat from Autobarn but it didn't have the jiggler pin, which I am still unsure is necessary, but the one at Bursons had the jiggler pin and I thought it might be better to replace like with like.

Not knowing if there was some kind of bung on the bottom of the radiator I removed the lowest hose (and oil came out - d'oh), so now I know that the transmission fluid runs through the bottom of the radiator! Connected that up and again and removed the bottom heater hose instead. I probably should have left the radiator cap on to slow the flow of coolant down, because it all seemed to come out at once. Ran the hose through the radiator, and then again through the thermostat housing.

Put in the new thermostat, filled with radiator flush, topped up with water, and let the car run for a while. Hey presto! The temperature needle finally came off cold. Hopefully this means the car becomes slightly more fuel efficient for whatever reason it might. Drained cleaner, flushed flush with water from the top and bottom hoses, and filled with new coolant.

I wanted to flush the old oil at the same time, but it turns out I don't have anything large enough to remove the sump plug. Not even in the Nissan supplied tool-kit! I'm wondering what these tools do fit...

I've ordered the service manual for the 430 series 220, 240, and 280C which might help me to avoid doing something like removing a transmission fluid line in the future. I still can't work out where the fuel filter is, which is basically why I bought it.

I also bought a Bissell spot cleaner to spiff up the inside of the car. The only dirty area was the drivers seat. I don't have any after pictures, but I do have befores -- so I can take some afters later to compare.

Stay tuned for installing my new indicator, losing some oil, and trying to get FM working on the radio!


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 11:54 am 
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Location: Central Coast, NSW
Just drill a 3mm hole in the thermostat instead of the pin. I always remove the pin to allow some water flow even if the thermostat is closed or seized. This is just an added assurance.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:25 pm 
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The jiggle valve is to allow air to bleed out of the system when it is first filled and cold.
Not essential but certainly desireable.
Removes the need to constantly check the coolant level in a re-filled system.

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:45 pm 
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I've never struggled so much changing the oil in a car. The sump plug is jammed tight. Might help if I had something other than an adjustable spanner ... I went and bought what I thought was the correct size from Repco, but by the time I was home and found out it didn't fit it was too late to go back. I had an attempt with the adjustable spanner and a hammer, but I've stopped now before I damage the head on the bolt.

So now the car is sitting on concrete blocks until I get home from work tomorrow and buy the correct socket! I needed to put it on the blocks to get a bit of swing with the hammer. Not too pleased with it, since I've put the oil flush in. Hopefully it doesn't play havoc with anything being in the car for 24 hours, but everything I've found online suggests all it does is water down the oil so it comes out more easily.

[ img ]


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:37 pm 
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Location: Metung, Victoria
Hmm might be time to invest in a socket set and a set of spanners!
Adjustable spanners are fairly useless :lol:

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:55 pm 
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.....and I HATE those folks what tighten up drain plugs SO FRIGGIN' MUCH :-x :-x :-x

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:08 am 
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The car looks in good shape. I remember a few years ago these were more common in wrecking yards down my way. They always had that blue interior but had heaps of cool options, they would have been pretty high-tech for their day. I don't see them on the road very often though.
travm182 wrote:
Hmm might be time to invest in a socket set and a set of spanners!
Adjustable spanners are fairly useless :lol:
No, he just needs a ratcheting shifter. That will properly ruin his bolts, but at least ratchet in the process.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:26 pm 
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I have a set of spanners and sockets, but it goes up to 19mm which is less than the 22mm required to remove the sump plug. Now I've bought 20, 21, 22, and 24mm sockets "just in case". I ended up using the t-bar with a pipe on the end to get enough leverage to remove the sump plug. I've bought a new plug from Bursons, but won't put that on until next week. Not sure if it's worth it or not but I am running for one week on some new oil and filter, and will change it again on the weekend.

Two litres of oil came out when I flushed it. 4.5 litres went back in, but the level is still on the lower side.

One new thing arrived in the mail today. I received the service manual for my car. I'm not sure I will use it much, but it might be handy to leave in the glove-box for the relevant service technician.


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:36 pm 
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There is a cheap method for cleaning out an engine of unknown condition.
Pour 500mL of ATF [Automatic Transmission Fluid] in with the engine oil :idea:
Run the car for a fortnight or so making sure it gets well and truly up to operating temperature.
The detergents in that will loosen up any crud inside the oil passages and it will come out when you change the oil.

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