Engine dying on startup (And RPM Issue)

[ramykhalaf]

Hey there everyone,

I've recently bought a completely beat up 1999 2 door Nissan Patrol. Since I've bought a few weeks ago I've had the following done to it:

Rebuilt engine (new gaskets, pistons, connecting arms/rods, crank, air filter)
A few inches of lift (it was lowered at the front)
Electrics are now being fixed (new dynamo's being fitted, gauges being fixed)

Here's my question. A few days ago the car started dying on start up when cold (this was aggravated by revving which would choke the engine out if floored). It also had some massive power gaps at low end RPM where a popping sound would come from the engine if I floored it.

A few of my friends said this might be a carburetor problem and, seeing as it's one of the few things remaining that haven't been replaced on the car, I'm wondering if this might be the case?

Also, I've been told the RPM won't work because the (effectively) new engine it has now is 4.2 as opposed to a 4.5 which it was packing before. Any way I can fix this? Can you possibly point me in the direction of an aftermarket tach that'll work on the Patrol?

Thanks in advance!

[Shadow121111]

Hi mate
It does sound likely that the carby could be causing your issues, or your timing could be slightly out. Have you checked your spark leads?
I would check the timing, then clean / replace the carby.
For the tacho it should work fine as it is a simple pulse counter, if not get yourself an aftermarket one, track down the tacho signal feed (easier if you have a manual) if not you can usually trace it back from the instrument cluster.
Hope this helps

[Sharky1]

Yeah pretty much my thoughts too. It sounds as if you have a slight vacuum leak somewhere on the carb. Some cars just do that until they warm up. It's a characteristic of the auto choke but still it shouldn't & it can be a pain to diagnose. If it's dying on startup I would suggest that the auto choke isn't working which could be why it's popping which by the way is the plug igniting fuel while one of the valves is open, which then suggests that your timing could be out as was mentioned above.

I don't see why your tacho won't work. The tacho sensor on the motor will be what's different & that should have come with the 4.2 so all should work. If it doesn't I'd find out why. If it works but doesn't look like the right RPM then maybe I'm wrong & you need to find an instrument cluster to suit the 4.2 motor. If it doesn't work at all I'd say the sensor is cactus or a wire is broken somewhere.