Newby FE Owner from SA

[Hobbo]

Hi Guys and Gals, I have just purchased an FE Special Sedan and have some Tech issues to sort out before I can drive it. First is the Vacuum Wipers are not working? I connected up the Vac Tube to the Motor which has Vacuum OK but Wipers not working? Wiper Switch is not Connected as I can't feel any Tubes on the back? What do you think I should do first? Indicators don't work either? I now know that rears are part of Tail Lights or Brake Lights but nothing is working? I have an Original Workshop Manual. Next is the King Pins, they are History, what is the best, easiest and cheapest way to fix them? I can get a Disc Brake Ball Joint Front End from a HR Complete with VH44 Booster, Is that the way to Go? Lastly Fuel Gauge is not working as it goes straight to full and I can't find wire to the sender unit? Your Help would be Much Appreciated. Lloyd

[stapla]

Well done on the purchase Hobbo.

I'm in SA too.  I can't comment on the HR front end since I don't have one myself but they sound good. 

If you decide to repair the kingpin front end, try Light Wheel Alignment Specialists in adelaide city.  The guy there has good experience back to FJ.  Currently they are reconditioning my FC front end with new pins and shafts.

Rarespares do a kingpin changeover kit, however I'm told often these are too tight and might take 5 - 10 thousand kms to wear in.

 

[Hobbo]

Thanks for the advice Stapla, How do I post pictures of my FE on this Forum?

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Plenty of picture posting instructions about the forum, do a search or there is one set of instructions pinned in the "Real Cars Section"

[mcl1959]

1. Vac wipers - is the switch being pulled completely on? They get a bit tight and sometimes the cable wont pull hard enough. Or the grease in the motor has dried and the flap is stuck in place. I either case pull it off, clean it out and regrease with rubber grease.
2. Tubes on the back of the wiper switch are for washers, not wipers. If wahers are not fitted you wont have any tubes. The wiper switch has a cable.
3. Indicators - where to start - could be so many problems from a fuse to burnt out wiring. Earthing is another common problem area. Difficult to diagnose without more specifics.
4. King pins are easy to fix using Rare Spares changeovers. They should be fine, if you have concerns about tightness - refer the question back to head office & they will advise. There is no point in fitting a HR front end if you are keeping the grey motor. Pretty hard to get the best easiest AND cheapest method to fix. HR front end would be the best fix. Easiest is the Rare Spares changeover, Cheapest is find a good set of second hand units and fit them yourself.
5. Fuel guage. Do you mean there is no wire on the sender unit in the tank? The wire comes from the driver's side loom near the taillight and has a plastic shield around it.

Ken

[Hobbo]

Thanks Guys for the quick response, I'll pull wiper motor and switch off and check them out. I've found some wheel cylinders are seized so will also have to buy new rubbers and repair them. I'm probally going to bite the bullet and do basic conversion to the disc brake HR suspension with booster. Can I fit an EH 173 Red motor to Grey Gearbox as I don't want to cut floor to fit Trimatic just yet?

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

EH 173 Red motor to Grey Gearbox as I don't want to cut floor to fit Trimatic just yet?

I have an FC Sedan in storage with a 186 and (I assume) a red motor 3 speed with what looks like a stock floor, if that helps. There may be some minor mods needed for the swap.

[RET]

Yes, red motor bolts straight up to grey crashbox. Very common conversion, as very few other boxes fit under the tunnel. Red boxes don't, Datsun 1600 will, but from experience with that setup I wouldn't recommend it.

Red motor with grey box works well as long as you don't thrash first gear (also from experience :-/ )

RET

[Hobbo]

Thanks RET, that will buy me a bit of time till I'm prepared to do the Big Floor Cut. What is the best rear crossmember and tailshaft to use to suit Trimatic? And what Quadrant can I use for original colume shift? Does HR Diff housing match up on the existing rear spring position?

[mcl1959]

The rear mount depends on the floor conversion you do. If you fit a chassis kit, then a HQ type rear mount is a good option. Or if you use an EK auto floor like I did, then a HR type can be made to fit really well. Or you can make up your own from scratch which is also not hard to do.
I believe there is a Torana tailshaft that will fit, but I bought 4 different tailshafts and none fitted so I just had one professionally cut and balanced so that it is the perfect fit.
The quadrant is a little difficult. The trimatic I used has the shift linkages on the driver's side and when I linked up the EH auto column shift to the gearbox, the pattern was backwards. I could have used a bell crank to reverse the shift, but my engineer was OK with the pattern being reverse to normal, so my Park position is all the way down instead of all the way up.
I wouldn't recommend using the original FE FC column because it has no lock out mounting spot and no neutral safety switch position.
The HR diff will mount up to the FC springs OK - I used HD U-bolts instead of the HR method though.

Ken

[Hobbo]

Thanks ken, thats good new with the tailshaft and diff housing. Might have to do my our floor conversion and use custom crossmember. I'll try an Auto EH Column with a LC, HG quadrant?