A12 rebuild - newbie seeks guidance! (Read 275 times)

[buckclean]

My quest is TO FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN REBUILD an A12 Nissan engine - I have just bought one for very little money but that I realize is not the end of it I am sure, although it does have a reputation as a dependable workhorse and so it has proven for me - I run two of these SAME engines in Prochem steam and vacuum carpet cleaning machines (direct drive to a roots blower but clutch on the pump - no gearbox at all required) they are called Performers - one of my engines has 5000 hours (the best runner) and the other less then half that figure - basicly it drives a roots (vacuum) blower and a high pressure Cat water pump which drives fluid thru two heat exchangers - a helicoil copper affair and a catalyst exhaust stainless steel hx - it is very, very efficient in terms of heat and is one of the simplest (and imo best machines of its type made) they were being used until at least the late 90s in this form by Prochem and well into the 2000s in another of their machines and beyond that in other carpet cleaning machines by other companies (Blueline is another (now defunct?) company trade name that used the engine). So the a12 was still in production by Nissan certainly for industrial use until relatively recently.

Both my engines perform well and (touch wood) are dependable and functioning fine at present so I have only bought this engine because it was cheap and I am interested in keeping the two machines going as long as possible and being able to do an engine swap at some stage if needed - they are powerful enough that for most domestic jobs they are just running at just above the pre-set idle speed - not sure what that is but the blower needs to be run at 1500rpm for optimum performance so it is less than that and there are two more 'stops' on the governor after idle.

As mentioned there are many of these engines used in industrial applications fork lifts etc and I have found a set of rebuilding components on ebay inc. rings, gaskets etc it is produced by Falcon and is item no: 170766237784 - could anyone who knows look at this and give me an opinion as to whether this kit will be useful to me.

I have just got the engine (from a member on here as it turns out) and have not yet looked for the block number which will presumably tell me more about the way forward - I have already posted about this on a US site as there are plenty of a12's in use there in this role and the only advice so far is to not use non-OEM parts - does any one know if OEM Nissan parts are available for these engines - surely they cant be just ordered off the shelf still - Any advice gratefully considered - thanks

My inclination is to find someone who will rebuild the engine for me and yet let me have a hands on interest in the project so I can learn about the A12 which is such an important part of my business. Obviously I am not looking for a free rebuild!

Dave

[Al Ramone]

i can't help with the rebuild but i'm interested to see pics of the machines.

[barnzey]

yeah this was mine, i bought it off se325919. Ill quote the info he gave me as i havent done anything with it since due to buying a ready to go a14-
"The engine was a very good runner and had just had a new head gasket, theromostat and valve stem seals replaced shortly before I removed it to replace with a A15 engine in my 120Y. Sorry I don't know the mileage as it was not the original engine to the car. Its complete other than the flywheel, because I used the flywheel on an A15 engine. The flywheel that came off the A15 was very thick, no use for a Sunny at all.

The oil pickup pipe and sump are from a A15 also. These need gaskets. These will suit a B110 or B210 up to 1975. My B210 is a late one 1976 which is why I needed to keep the other sump for mine."

The engines are brilliant and im sure will take very little to fire up, obviously the carb is seized so will need attention first. I guess depends how far you want to go with it, i was goin to take head off to check the pistons an if they were good then head skim, new head gasket, clean ports etc and put back together

[se325919]

Ah yes, I remember this engine. The final paragraph above is not mine.
As for spares being available off the shelf, I'd be surprised if there is ANYTHING you can't still get for these. It was a hugely successful engine for Nissan and there are still thousands if not millions still doing their job today in machinery and cars, particularly in less developed countries. While Nissan dealers in the UK may not be the most helpful when it comes to looking up old part numbers, I have found that if you go to the with the part number already to hand for the parts you want, they can look the parts up and order them in just as easily as if it was a 2005 Almera part for example.

In fact the A14 version of this engine could well be still in production or only VERY recently ended as the Datsun 1400 Bakkie (a version of the B120 pickup) was still being sold brand new in South Africa until very recently if not still available now.

In relation to that very engine that you have bought, I can say it was a very good runner and a strong puller. The gasket for the oil pickup you can easily make yourself with some gasket paper, and the sump gasket can still be got through Nissan. I know that because I priced one up for myself when I swapped the sumps. It was not cheap though. Somewhere close to £30 if I recall correctly. Datman on this forum may well be able to supply them cheaper, or a member called Marky is who I've got A-series gaskets off in the past.