SLROC Forum

Hey again!

Manifold is tight to the heads.

Ill check the sparks tomorrow morning and see if there is fuel getting through. Ive had them out before but they were very black so i gave them a clean up and im definately getting a spark.

Like i said, im certain its a carb problem.

I did have it running on 4 cylinders (driver side) for a bit when it started to go wrong and then that stopped too and now im in the sorry state i am now!

Cheers again

Ally

I know you have checked the timing, but how did you do it? Just look at timing marks?  I had a V8 jump one sprocket on the timing chain because tensioner had retired. Check valves are actually both closed when at TDC on no1 cylinder.

If there is fuel passing unburnt through the engine there should be a smell of petrol at the exhaust pipe.
Do you have oil in the dampers of the SUs? If not the pistons will be clattering up and down.
What makes you so sure there is no fuel at the needles?
There needs to be an airflow through the venturi of the carb for fuel to be drawn up through the jets.

The timing hasnt been altered since it was running and when i checked the plugs i made sure i did them one at a time just to make sure i didnt  get the leads mixed up so thats why i dont think its the timing but i could be wrong. And pardon my ignorance but i dont understand what you are saying when you said "check the valves are closed when at TDC on number 1 cylinder", do you mean the valves in the carbs or elsewhere?

The reason i dont think there is fuel getting through the carbs is because when it first started to do this, if i took the air filters off and poured fuel through the carbs down into the block it would start but only run on 4 cylinders like i mentioned above and when it did this i could see the carb barrels floating and fuel getting sucked up from the needle, now i cant see that at all. The carb barrels just flutter up and down about 2 mm when i turn it over.

The distributer bolt is also loose and it can rotate which i know is not helping matters but it has been running like that, could this be the root of the problem?

There is definately oil in the pots of the su's, i took them apart recently to check if there was something stuck in the intector but it was clean and i put fresh oil in them when i put them back on the car.

This is a pretty steep learning curve for me, ive mostly just done breaks, hubs, altenators ect till now, never anything engine based so i feel a little out of my depth!

I was intending on having another look this morn but suprise suprise its pissing down! Ill have a look if it clears up later on.

Thanks again

Ally

Ah................
I think before you go any further the timing needs to be set from first principles.
The loose dizzy explains many symptoms.
The position of the dizzy is critical to fractions of a mm and the timing will have to be set statically to start the engine and then dynamically with a stroboscope to get the timing at full advance correct.
Then any fuel problems can be addressed.
The procedure is perhaps too complex to explain in a forum and I think you need to find someone who is familiar with V8s to peer under the bonnet.
I'm sure once you find someone in your area you'll be on the road again soon enough.

Good luck!!

 

Hey

Right, cheers for that, ill look into it.

Might have someone coming up next weekend to have a gander but until then ill keep trying.

Realistically could i do that myself or should i just get it to a garage who knows what they are doing and get them to do it?

Thanks to all who have left comments, its been really helpful!

Ally

Ally, the simple explanation of what we are all saying is that there are various mechanical adjustments that can be made in the engine. They are simple once you know what they are, and where they are. A bit like working on brakes - if you turn the adjuster the wrong way, the brakes don't work. Some of the adjustments are tiny but critical. Any reasonable mechanic can work through them and check/reset them - just takes time. Once that is confirmed correct is the time to start looking for oddities, but just getting these adjustments right will probably get it running again.

Is there any possibility that the fuel supply and return pipes/connections have become crossed?
Geoff

Ok

Ive pretty much come to the conclusion that this problem is beyond my mechanical skills!

I'm speaking to rangerovering about coming to take a look at it for me and failing that its going to a garage because it is in too good nick to ignore!

Thanks again to everyone who has helped out, ill let you know how it goes.

Cheers again

Ally

Right, back again.

"rangerovering" and i spent most of the afternoon trying to get it running, it came closer than it has in ages but it still wont run.

The carbs have been switched back to the strombergs that were on it (altough refitting the throttle linkages seems almost impossible)

The timing has been re-set

The plugs have been checked and they are not the recommended ones but they are still ok and are sparking

The ignition coil has been switched to a better one.

Anyone have anymore ideas?

"rangerovering" might have a bit more to add!

Cheers again

Ally

Ally,
 sorry read your posts but hadnt read the first bit.

If you are still stuck & need someone local there is
'The Land Rover Doctor' Martin beside Loch Side Farm.
'some degree of cheapness possibly'


 ;)I would just get 'Jim' up from 'MoTech' to look for you,
Its the price of a call out but he will tell you in just a few minutes.

Or go into Charles Butlers behind Farm Foods, If you are not too far away
Geoff or Gav ight come out & have a looky for you without great expense.
Probably the best & cheapest option.
please call in to see them tho, dont phone.

Sorry not at home at present so cant have a looky, probably would be no further on than you
other than i would have changed the fuel for fresh petrol,
&
I would have started with new or 'perfect plugs'
 are the plugs absolutly perfect,
each gap
& none cross threaded (NGK BP6ES or Bosch super plus,
what Gap do you have 0.8mm ??)

Are you sure of the leads coming out of the dizzy cap & the firing order?
Is the cap perfect & the rotor arm?

have you checked each thing your self & trusted nobody elses word.
Coil earthed OK?
You appear to have done a very splatter gun approach to finding the fault & several things can now be wrong.

I would change the fuel now,before doing more, thats a safe thing to do.
good luck.
george

PS are you turning it over with a battery with lots of cranking power? not just some jump leads fitted.

balast resistor

Is "ballast resistor" the cause or a suggestion?

balast resistor

Its electronic ignition like all V8s from the early 80's onwards.

Started out checking for spark, which it had albeit weak. Then checked timing which I got to within firing tolereances (or so I thought!). Tried it and no joy.
Fiddled with the SU's for a while, tried a trickle of petrol in each intake and got a couple of coughs. Problem still seemed to be fuel related.
Rather than mess around with SU's which I know very little about, we refitted the previously perfectly functioning strombergs. The throttle linkages had been removed and it was a difficult one to fathom out how they went back together.
Put the fuel feeds and returns on and gave it another go. Bit more coughing this time but still no fire. Put the timign light on but couldn't get it to strobe. Eventually traced it to a naff pattern part coil. Put another better brand on and we had a strong spark again, but still no fire.
By this time the daylight was going and it was getting more and more frustrating! I have a feeling the timing is still not right, even though rotating the dizzy had little or no effect. Thats said there is still a problem with getting the right amount of fuel in.
cheers

ballast resistor increases the power of the spark when cranking