Out of Time! and patience

[Tthom88]

I would like to start by thanking this forum for the knowledge that got me to where i am now.

 

To start, I am 90% done with a vg33i swap into my 88 hardbody SEV6 that came with a fantastic but gutless vg30i that met its end when the mixture heater honeycomb crumbled and found its way into cylinder #6, beat into the head and gernading the motor. I went the route of machining the harmonic balancer and smushing the oil pan a little to fit into my truck and accept my accessories. Put it all together, put my 1988 dizzy at what i though was cylinder number one with the pulley at 12 degrees before TDC as specified by the sticker under the hood and fired her up. It ran like absolute dump, only firing when i gave it gas and sounding like 2 cylinders were firing at once and then none and then all over the place. I then realized the dizzy and their caps changed between 89 and 90 and then again with the vg33. So once i found which contact in the cap was truly #1, i put the distributor on what i believed to be correct tooth and tried it again...no improvement. After exploring basically all the ways the old dizzy could go in (13 teeth, 13 ways) i made no progress. I even went as far as to tear the front of the motor back off and re-do my timing belt (it was correct before redid it) and try again...no improvement. All i can point towards is the distributor was in my shop for 2 years with the cap off, still in the old 3.0 head while i decided which route i wanted to take in getting this old dog back on the road and maybe some corrosion has gotten on the pick-ups. Am i missing anything?? Any help would be great because i'm running out of time, money, and wits....also, I hope i'm not the first to ask a hardbody question on the pathy forum...you guys just seem so much more knowledgeable.

 

Thanks in advance

[Slartibartfast]

Always fun when you're so close and something is fighting you.

 

It does sound like the distributor's gone off. Probably easiest to check for spark (either the old-school way or with a timing light). If the spark's not strong and consistent, the dizzy's most likely the problem. You might also check for codes at the ECU, but IIRC it only codes if it doesn't report TDC within a few seconds of cranking, and I don't think you'd have fire at all if that was the problem.

 

If it is strong and consistent, then you're back to fiddling with the distributor position. Pull #1 to make sure you're actually at TDC, make sure the balancer's on properly (it can be bolted up the wrong way around), verify firing order and wiring, point it somewhere close to #1 and try again... sounds like you've been down that road pretty far already.

[Chadius]

Any other link to this subject that might help him fine tune it? I've heard of people swapping vg33 Accessories on a pathy.

[Tthom88]

Thanks for the replies guys, sorry i've gone so long without an update.

 

Got the truck to "run" but it doesn't run quite right. The best running condition comes with the dizzy turned as retarded as it'll go resulting in firing at 0 degrees. Pulled the codes from mode 3 and it gave a 12 code (MAF). I was hoping this was the case, but my throttle body runs just fine on another truck we swapped it onto. Unfortunately, that truck is a Z24i truck and I couldn't switch distributors. I am at a complete loss...when resetting the distributor to try and get to 12 degrees BTDC, it doesn't run at all. The truck will fire up and drive but has absolutely no power until 3000+ rpm and takes forever to get there on the road. I can't find any evap leaks and i'm sure it has to have something to do with the timing. The pulley is on correctly because at TDC the indicator lines up with the 0 degree mark. There is a local Nissan guru that says he has no doubt he can get it right, but i'm so low on $$$ after all the work on this pig, i'll have to wait until next year until i would even let him poke at it.

 

I should probably also mention that the air pump rotted out long ago, i gutted the heater plate, and deleted the EGR when i put on pacesetter longtubes. So frustrated and getting close to seeing what i can get for the money pit on craigslist so I can pick up a proper running truck. Any other suggestions would be great or if anyone is interested in an 88 vg33i KC truck on 34's with 160000 miles and completely rebuilt front end (wheel bearings, hubs, cv axles, shocks, tierods, literally the freaking works), let me know.

 

Thanks again

[RF600]

If I understand correctly, you set the timing mark at 12 on the balancer, then stabbed the distributor? If so set it balancer at 0 then stab the distributor. Then time it.

[Slartibartfast]

Does sound like it might be a tooth out.

 

I also wonder what's making the computer suspect the MAF. I would check the MAF wiring harness in case it got squished somewhere during the engine swap, then have another check around the intake for any possible leaks. It sounds like you did a few mods to the intake, and I've read that the TBI intakes can be kind of finicky buggers in general. Probably good to check your work there and make sure you didn't leave something uncapped.

 

Do you have a TBI FSM? I've got an '89 HB FSM on my hard drive (can't remember where I got it) that might have something relevant as far as troubleshooting. Let me know if you need screenshots.