Hey Guys,

I was looking at a Datsun 1200 coupe a few days ago. Awesome body on it but it had a very dodgy A15 in it.
The guy had spent $2000 on the cam and head but after running it for a few hours noticed the water had somehow got into the oil (making it a milky white) Its a pretty big leak somewhere!
Hes changed the head 3 times (thinking it was the head gasket) but had the same problem each time.
He reckons the block has cracked???
Is this possible??
Anyone else seen the same problem anywhere else?

I thought maybe he had put the head gasket up the wrong way??

Any Ideas?

Oh, the car is $1000 (New Zealand $) a good price if i can repair the engine!

First thing I'd have said would be head gasket.. Could be that the head is warped?

I've not seen a split in the block between oil and water galleries before. Does water and oil go up into the head? I think it does, maybe the split is in the head.

I guess it's possible. But seriously another engine shouldn't break the bank.

I'd be interested in what the mechanics among us think about these symptoms.


Chris

Ditto dude.
I thought the head too.
But the guy has put 3 different heads on it and has had exactly the same problem!
I have a spare standard A15 engine for my rally 1200 but dont want to have to stuff around with changing the cam etc over.

If its something simple then Ill go buy the car.

What are you guys paying for datsun 1200 coupes overseas anyway.?
This one is US$500.

could be a corroded out water gallerie.. or just really crappy heads he put on....

yeah I had the same troubles on an old A15 i had, i had a copper headgasket, but never bothered to get the block and head O-Ringed BIG MISTAKE!!!!!
the head gasket wouldn't seal properly even with gasket cement.

The block was checked for straightness and it was fine and so was the head.

I changed to a normal gasket and had no troubles at all

Cheers
Damo

Someone suggested to me the head gasket was put on upside down???
Im assuming this is possible?
I have change quite a few heads but didnt realise someone could make this mistake?
anyone had experience in this area.. he he

I am by far no expert... But my A12 always has water and milky oil on the underside of the tappet cover. Ages ago i asked my local mechanic about it and he got out the CO2 meter and checked the radiator water (??). I think the logic was that the exhaust gasses would escape more readily, than oil or water, and mix up with the water first. He assumes the moisture gets in through the oil breather in the tappet cover. This would be true for a head gasket leak, but cracked, corroded galleries or other seals?

Answer to your question is all three; Head,Gasket and Block. It is entirely possible that the gasket is installed wrong but you will have to check the head and the deck. I've not heard of A-series cracking blocks other than those cracked by connecting rods. (The GT-5 racers and D-sports racers runnning A series engines twist them to 9800 RPM's)
Buy the car but make sure to pay minimum cash for it in case the motor is total trash.

Tom