New to the forum, have a few questions

[jdmzachw]

Hey guys im zach and im from central Kentucky, im new to this forum but so far i like what iv seen here. Iv owned several nissan trucks and cars over the years and currently own 2 nissan 4x4 hardbodys. My daily driver is my White 85/86 Ext cab, Z24, 5speed with auto locking hubs, roll bar, and has the stock chrome wheels powdercoated black to make it look pretty sharp. From what iv learned over the years, its rare to see a hardbody like mine that was made in 85 with the body style that i have, i believe its one of the first made and i love it, but lately im having a few small issues that i cant figure out for the life of me.

First and foremost, im having a small oil leak, seems to be coming from the back of the oilpan close to the transmission but i cant pinpoint the exact spot, i just know that every morning when i come outside im seeing drip spots under the truck, 2 of them side by side to be exact. i crawled under it last night and attempted to locate the cause of the leaks and from what it looks to me, the oilpan gasket may be shot from someone overtightening the bolts in the past, and i noticed the majority of the pan bolts werent very tight at all so i tighttend them up a little and its still leaking, leading me to believe im gonna need a new pan gasket soon. Any advice on how to solve this would be greatly appreciated.

Another issue im having is that im getting bad fuel mileage, like iv read that several people get on these 4cyl trucks. Id like to try advancing the timing a little and see if that helps, but my truck runs great and doesnt miss, stutter or anything like that, and it has decent power except climbing hills, which i have to be in 3rd to climb the steep ones and sometimes have to go to 2nd to get up the real steep ones, im wondering if this is normal? Once again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Im wondering if it could be the EGR or something but i have no idea where any of the emmision stuff is located on these motors as i havent really worked on them much, just basic maintance and service.

To make things easier, here are all the new parts on my truck:
Starter, alternator, brake master cyl, clutch master cyl, complete clutch kit, belts, and spark plugs. All tires have about 35psi air pressure and are 30x9.50 Roughrider radial all terrain tires.

[Fastazz240]

well cant help you with the power issues as im not too much on the hardbodys i do have a couple 240s the leak from the rear of the motor is either the ream main seal or where the oil pan meets the rear main plate did you change it when you changed the clutch? When i replace the clutch in my cars i just pull the entire pack and fix it all if need be. as far as power i would say seafoam the entire engine. Intake, block and tank. Aslo think about replacing the rotor and cap on the distrubitor. Just suggestions could also do a compression or leak down test.

[carloslebaron]

I had a similar problem, and replacing the sealer twice didn't work, always was a leak in the back side of the oil pan. I decided to do it differently, and I bought the after market gasket, and I put sealer on the oil pan and the gasket over, and reinstalled the oil pan to the engine. I adjusted the bolts with enough pressure -this is the of the job part when you must "feel" how much pressure will be the right one- and I have no problems since then. Well, I also had to replace the front oil seal, but that was a different leak location.

This job was performed on July, and no leaks so far.