83 King Cab 4x4 4cyl engine questions

[83kingcab4x4]

Hi All

I just towed home my first Nissan.
An 83 Kingcab 4x4, 4cyl, stick.
Nice little truck, only a little rust on the bed sides.

I was told that it had a blown head gasket.
The PO did not want to deal with it anymore and sold it.

Looking through my initial insprction here's what I found.
The Radiator is empty.
The oil does NOT have any water in it.
All 4 plugs on the drivers side are consistent and dirty, as you would expect from an older engine but when a head gasket goes I thought the cylinder pulling in coolant was supposed to look cleaner.

I went to pull the disty cap and saw 8 wires and 2 coils, then I noticed the 4 plugs on the passenger side. HUH?

As I said earlier this is my first Nissan and I have never seen a 4 cyl with 2 plugs per cylinder.

So here's my first questions.

1) Any other thoughts on diagnosing the possible head gakset w/o pulling the head?

2) What's the deal with the 2 plugs per cyl? How does that work and all?

3) It only has a small paper exposed element air filter and all the smog was pulled. Lots of vac hoses plugged as well as 2 bigger ports coming off the front of the exhaust manifold. Anyone have pic's os what the smog stuff should look like and how it should be hooked up?

Once I get this running it looks like it should be a capable fun little truck.

Thanks in Advance for any info and help or advice on this stuff.
Bill

[mud_addiction]

I am fairly new to nissan and mechanical stuff in general but I can tell you that the 4 cylinders with 8 plugs that you have described is the Z24 model that came available in some nissans. depending on the person you ask, some will tell you that the Z24 model runs close to the V6 models. I have not personally drove a Z24 but have heard about them and seem them on the trail some and am impressed considering the small engine size but quite a bit of power. and am working on a deal to buy and put one in my 91 king cab possibly depending on what I decide to do engine wise.
hope this helps.

[bbagwell]

The two plugs per cylinder is for emissions. They are good trucks and motors. There just is not much aftermarket support. I had an 84, I spent more time working on it then driving it. I finally sold it and cut my losses. My 94 ran much better.

[jefftino]

How many miles on it? I just took my (86 HB)to a mechanic who said it was a cyl. head gasket. The plugs all looked the same to me but one piston was cleaner than the other. If you do it expect to remove the front cover where the timing chain is. You'll need new gaskets. Mine jammed down there and I had to do it to get the chain on the cam. It is a tall undertaking! I got mine running again but I need to find an EGR tube since I sawed mine off. This might explain the loss of power I have. I can't get it out of the driveway. Good luck!

Jeff

Anyone located in western NC, wanna buy a truck?

[cheesemaker]

It was real common for the head to go if the coolant wasn't changed more often. I know this for a reason, lost a motor due to a water jacket that is in between two of the four cylinders, that gives the head gasket less than 1/4th of an inch material between the jacket and cylinder! After that I replace the coolant every year! Best thing to do is get a used motor from those Japanese take outs. I got mine through the nickel ads, and with a warranty and less than 30,000 miles on them, you can't go wrong! I've seen the only good rebuilds are directly by nissan, and they want $2500 for one! As for the spark plugs, its nissan's version of a MSD type of ignition! My 85 720 was faster than most of the 2.4 efi versions! Same block, just used the intake spark plug holes for the injectors!
What I'd would do is get a used take out, get a weber carb, and a header. That should give ya some serious power! www.4x4parts.com should be able to give alot of info! It's a strictly nissan site!