Has the timing been checked and set, and also the advance curves (both centripetal and vacuum) checked? Sounds to me like the timing has jammed at about 10 degrees btdc, hence you're getting naff all power and even worse fuel economy.
15mpg is worse than a carburettor-fed V8 Range-Rover towing a fairly heavy trailer.
Its well worth checking simple physical things first - like the steel fuel pipe running under the sill on the drivers side as well as all the rubber pipework particularly at the junctions.
Does the car seem to be running properly? Does the exhaust smell of petrol when its warmed up?
Not had it back long & it does now pink & run on ocassionally but it's still doing just about 140 to the tank. The same as before & since all above. It still cuts out after hard braking. After taking sharp corners it loses power/hesitates, as before. Wierd
If it comes down to it, I have a complete BX16 auto engine and box here which may provide some bits that you need.
I can also recommend a place just near me who can set up your timing and fuelling properly on a rolling road reasonably cheaply.... certainly for less than the cost of what you're loosing in ludicrous fuel consumption. He hasn't a clue when it comes to Fuel injection, but what the guy doesn't know about carburettors isn't worth knowing.
Divide and conquer --- Is it a combustion problem or is it a raw fuel leak ?
Surely it's a simple matter for your garage to determine whether the fuel is being lost before or during combustion. If it's being lost due to inefficient combustion then an exhaust gas analyzer would pick this up. In fact, because the loss is so severe you would expect it to be belching black smoke if it is a combustion problem. Did your garage check this ? On the other hand if the combustion is ok, then you must be losing raw fuel somewhere before combustion.
David
BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
if you get a smell of petrol when startting hot its probably the float levels to high, pluss it sonds like either your timming is out or carb mixture is set wrong, were abouts in sussex are you, as i have a repair shop in st leonards on sea
regards malcolm
curent ride
K reg BX 17TD TZD est
also own
K reg D special
no longer have
H reg CX saffari 2.5 TRI (now gone to Malaysia)
R reg xantia 1.9TD est (gone to meet its maker)
Over the years, I've posted this one more times than I can remember, but I had a 16Trs manual that was doing similar figures when I bought it. When I sold it a couple of years later, it was doing 7.3L/100 klms with the air/con operating (almost 40 mpg) with 3 on board.
First thing I did was re-connect the concertina hose between the exhaust manifold to the thermostatically controlled flap at the junction in the air intake that comes from under the guard arch. It seems that the trade has a habit over here of disconnecting them and causes the Weber carby to get out of calibration as it has what is known as an "enrichment device" which causes a richening of the mixture and is something most mechanics don't realise exists. (This is also on the 'non auto choke' model carbies too)
Then I removed the screw that some cowboy had fitted jamming the thermostatically controlled flap wide open ensuring cold air was constantly sent straight through to the carby.
Then I stripped the carby and cleaned it thoroughly with compressed air and discovered all jets were either half full of crap and/or moisture or the portion of the carby they fit into was. These were also blown out using compressed air.
The float level is critical and from memory is 7mm +/- 2mm measured when the carby top is upended. I set this at a minimum setting (app. 9mm) then took the car for a run. It stuttered at high revs, so I adjusted it slightly up until it was not peaking out the revs, then lowered it by around 1mm. This meant that when cold, I had to drive with the choke out slightly, but once the engine warmed up about a mile down the road, I pushed it in and it was perfect.
I then fitted a large fuel filter off an EFi car to the fuel line that leads into the pump, (I think it was off a Subaru from memory) and a smaller dsposable type between the carby and the pump. I always used premium unleaded fuel (98 octane) as I found anything less gave lesser performance and far worse fuel consumption.
Basically, it was a case of having jets spotlessly clean or you are driving with the foot almost on the floor at times to get fuel through to feed the engine at those revs, having the hot air feed to keep the carby at the temperature it was calibrated to, having the float level supplying just the correct amount of fuel when the engine is up to operating temperature (this to me sounds like your main problem; it's been set by the book without anyone actually doing a road test as described above) and using fuel with a high enough octane rating to allow for the design of the engine as these were originally made to operate on leaded super fuels and the premium grade is the best compromise; it affected my consumption as at least a 10% improvement.
When I sold the car, against my advice, the girl who bought it sent it to a dodgy specialist I know who had tried to sell her a car at the same time and was told the pipe from the exhaust manifold needed to come off, I hadn't set the float level right and even the jets were in wrong and the filters were unnecessary. He "fixed" all the "problems" and she rang me about a month later telling me how I'd done all these things wrong and asking how I'd "bodged" it so as to give the great fuel consumption that it did when she bought it as she was now only getting around 15/18Mpg.
I suggested she refer it all back to the 'expert' that I'd told her to stay away from and tell him to fix his own messes. Never heard how she went and was never interested enough to chase her up to find out.
Hope that might give you a few clues.
There's been others I have spelt this out to who have followed the advice and all have been happy with the results.
Alan S
By the time you're old enough to know it all, you can't remember why you were learning.
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