Mind Boggling Problem,nice Gory Pic Included ;)

[Guest spanner87]

ok here goes,first up a gory pic of how i killed my tu3s i put a nice hole through the block and lost a con rod in the process lol.

pic

 

 

i then fitted a second hand low ish mileage 1360 alu block engine that had a single choke solex on it "now changed to solex z2 "(any ideas which model it was from? prefix number 1fpot)

 

 

when i changed the engine i had to use my old distributor assembly and fitted my xs carb and manifold,the new engine is also running the xs gearbox.

 

the first problem i came accross was that the engine was running lumpy on first choke so i cleaned and stripped it to no avail,it still ran badly to the point where i could only move with the pedal flat to the floor or set off using choke,even on second choke it was starting to run roughly with only 90mph top speed .

 

i then decided on new plugs,leads distributor cap etc with no luck.

last weekend i took it to work and on the way home needed petrol so stopped at tesco,i usually fill up with 95 ron unleaded but they had sold out so topped up with super unleaded 99 ron,for some strange reason first choke started working again!so next time i decided to try regular unleaded the problem came back.

 

now that im running it on super all the time the problem comes back every other day and is getting quite annoying,but if i spray carb cleaner into the jets and butterflies it clears out again yet sill runs sluggish

 

would i be right in assuming this is an ignition timing fault and that the higher octane fuel allows it to run better and the carb cleaner increases the octane further still???

 

when i changed distributor assembly over i didnt get it timed up as i dont have a strobe! i just bolted it on using the marks made by the old assembly previously removed.

 

also would not having the xs head + cam fitted yet make a difference?

 

compared to the old engine this feels sluggish and really lacking in grunt.

 

sorry for the essay but im trying to be informative as possible to fix this problem

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

I would have thought its ignition timing related,best thing you can do is get it timed up properly,or you could always go out armed with an 11mm spanner and have a play. It wouldnt have anything to do with the head as they are the same,its just the cam thats different and this would just give it abit less power,a standard 1.4 is lively enough.

 

The higher octane could be helping it.

 

Hope it helps

[AndyJ 1]

I'd say it sounds like a mixture problem, as ive never had massive problems with the advance being a bit out on mine, it just makes it a bit sluggish til you set it back properly, i never even had problems with knock having it wound round all the way on 95 octane...although i only did it for 10 minutes as a test.

 

Its easy enough to play with the timing to see if it makes a difference, even if you dont have a strobe to do it properly (theyre not expensive), just set it to different positions and see what the effect is.

 

Whack the old carb back on if its any good and see if it runs ok?

 

What can you hear at the exhaust end? is it misfiring when revved/on idle? Does it smell rich?

[Guest spanner87]

thanks for the reply guys well im borrowing a strobe light this week coming to try set up the timing properly,also at the exhaust end with the revs slightly lifted it is smoking a lot and smells like petrol,its also burbling a lot.

[Mark205 1]

What revs were you doing when that happened?

 

I remember taking my XS up to 7,000 revs in second gear, had the tappets dancing on the bonnet , dont you just love not having a rev limiter.

[Guest spanner87]

well i was going flat out lol,at first i shat myself because i thought it was the gearbox (knowing how rare they are) but was relieved to see the hole gaping before me.

strange eh lol

[Guest spanner87]

just thought i would update on the problems, i have been driving it as usual and the bogging problem has become less occurent but i noticed that when i corner hard it bogs down and the problem comes back temporarily.

so frustrating,it still seems down on power and struggles to hit 90mph

[Mark205 1]

Ah the days of TU.

Struggling to hit 90 i would think is down to the carb, mine used to play up and would struggle at times, try warming engine up and then placing your hand over the carb, it normally cuts out but once started again it seems to run better.

 

I remember my box exploding, (diff), i replaced it with one of a 1.1 and the thing flew from 0-60, beat quite a few cars with it, but that would only make a ton, although it got their quickly.

 

Try the carb thing, it might cure the struggling side of things.

[Guest spanner87]

cool thanks mark i will try that,also i just remembered when i first tried starting the car after putting the new engine in,it kept spitting huge flames out of the carb,would that indicate carburation or timing?

[Mark205 1]

Carb, i was tinkering with it one day, got a mate to turn it over and i was looking down the carb, next minute, it shot a burst of flame out with a load pop, s*it myself .

 

The solex carbs are crap.

 

Bike carbs all the way.

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

My old XS used to die when cornering hard right around roundabouts,i stripped the carb and found a hole in one of the floats,it can pop flames through the carb if the valve timing is out,when its on the power stroke the inlet valve is still open and it pops the flame back through the carb.

Edited March 8, 2009 by pugdamo

[Guest spanner87]

thanks for the reply guys,well she died yesterday now has no spark at all,changed the coil,leads,plugs and checked dizzy and rotor arm which i replaced a matter of months ago and they look fine. any ideas now? im getting really tired of this

[swordfish210 20]

Check the ignition amplifier.

[Guest spanner87]

ok swordfish ive located it on the body of the distributor,how do i check its working?

[swordfish210 20]

Well take the plug out, get a multi meter and check to see if theres any voltage coming from the pins when the engine is cranked. If it's broken i've got a fre in my garage that you could have to see if they work.

[Guest spanner87]

thanks swordfish i think i will buy a new one tomorrow so i can eliminate it from the list,i believe they only cost around £20 anyway would this part failure also be the result of all the aboe problems i stated?ranging from misfiring to bogging down?

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Without even looking i would say 95% sure its the ignition amplifier,they are so common.

[Tom Fenton 1,525]

Could also be the pick up in the dizzy failed, I had this fault a few years ago on a runabout 1100cc TU engined 205 I ran for a few months.

[Guest spanner87]

thanks for your replies guys,brand new ign amp coming tomorrow will keep you informed

[Guest spanner87]

right guys,i fitted a new ignition amplifier today and the car is running, did the ignition timing by ear and got it spot on so it runs like a dream now

the onl;y problems left now is it dies when cornering too hard and sometimes first choke bogs down

stripped + cleaned/inspected carb and its still the same lol.

[Jrod 7]

Loads of people have had this problem when rallying, the only fix we've found is to replace the carb.

 

Good ones are hard to find now.