keep you eyes open

saint gaz · Post by **saint gaz** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:11 am

as i have lent my bx to my brother today. he has to go to hollyhead and back. he has been warned so if you se a white bx being driven in a "cavmad thrashing" sort of way

let me know and i'll paste him...

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:04 am

In the extremely unlikely event of anything passing me I`ll keep me eyes open

Post by **docchevron** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:04 pm

Eye's peeled and No.4 coal shovel in boot!!

Cheers
Chris G

saint gaz · Post by **saint gaz** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:47 pm

I have just spoken to my brother he is back home. He said he had a bit of trouble on his way back home. On the A55 around St Asaph. Going up the hill at a steady 60-65 he said the engine started to misfire and a bit of smoke apeared from the rear. He pulled in at a safe spot and checked the obvious plug leads dizzy cap ect. He said he started it up and drove back with no further problems. I will have a check later tonight but any one any ideas?
he did say he had put some fuel in could this be part of the cause?

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:07 pm

Few bubbles in the fuel line?

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:28 pm

That hill is a killer and VERY steep mate, perhaps the car got a little hot and misbehaved slightly?
I frequently managed 3 figure speeds going down it in a 7.5 tonner though coming back up was always a challenge

saint gaz · Post by **saint gaz** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:26 pm

Have been on a little test run myself up a reletively small hill on the a580 neer me it cruised fine at 65 untill about half way and started to "judder". i am thinking along the "coil breaking down" line. can the coil be checked? i do have a spare on so i might replace it tomorrow and see what happens.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:41 pm

I'd start by changing the fuel filter. This is a carburrettor car isn't it?

Fuel supply is adequate until the system is stressed - then it starts to misfire and loose power. With reduced fuel supply it can cope until stressed - then it uses fuel at a greater rate that its supplied at - and basically runs out.

I remember driving a Truimph Stag belonging to my Father mny years ago - and it had a lazy fuel pump - which meant that you had about 2 or 3 seconds full acceleration - then it dies. Great fun - he wouldn't believe me that there was anything wrong and accused me of driving it too fast - which I thought was the whole point - and a month later it expired completely on the motorway - fuel pump failure! (SU electric - probably wanted its points replacing)

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:54 am

My BX16 did exactly the same. V worrying trying to overtake something on a steep hill around 65-70 in 5th and it starts juddering.... especially with gf in the car!! In fact on one particular journey along the A3 between Gosport and Guildford a month or two ago it lost all power TWICE. Accelerator pedal would do nothing. Changing down to 3rd... Nothing. and I was forced to pull over to turn off and restart.

Since I cleaned and lubricated the carb linkages and the autochoke pulldown mechanism which I found to be sticking, the overall performance of the car has been completely transformed and I can once more put my foot down on hills/joining m'ways with confidence. No more juddering under high-stress load.

Maybe a silly question, but did your brother remember to push the manual choke all the way in.... or maybe it is not fully closing properly? That's what I guess was happening to my auto one, so at heavy load the mixture was too rich... Just an idea. But yeah, I'd change the fuel filter as well - that's the other thing I was told it might be.

Also is the lever on the airfilter box now set to the winter position?

Mark.

saint gaz · Post by **saint gaz** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:09 pm

Right an update on this as we have been away for the weekend. (Can this thread be moved to technical)?

The problem is now constant as just before we went away I nipped to the local shops and all of a sudden the engine started to misfire.

The fuel filter is only 12 months old so I presume that it is ok. The manual choke also apperars to be opeing and closing ok.

I have changed the spark plugs and the engine still misfires. The dizzy cap is only 18 months old and looks fine as does the rotor arm but I did remove a slight pitting of the electrodes with fine emery cloth.
Looking in to the engine from front to back with engine running, (driverside to left) I carefully removed each plug lead in turn. The first two the engine almost died but on the third one nothing changed. The fourth, the engine almost died.

I changed the second and third leads over at the plug and cap but still the misfire. I repeted the removing of leads with engime running with the same results. I am Presuming by doing the elimination process that there is a problem with the third cylnder. (from the drivers side). There is no aparent smoke from the exhaust.

Any ideas chaps?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:23 pm

Do a compression test - all should be close.

If you haven't got a gauge try jacking up a front wheel and turning the engine by turning a wheel with the thing in 4th or 5th gear - and you may be able to feel the compression and some variance - ie 3 compressions then one missing.

If there is a compression problem - its either rings (usually accompanied by blowby - take off oil filler cap with a hot engine and you'll choke yourself - and the engine will be filthy, gasket - but it'll probably blow into the waterways and pressurise the cooling - or leak between 2 cylinders and affect another.

Or it could be a valve - with luck just tight - which is adjustable - or burnt out in which case its head off, new valve and get the seats professionally cut (you'll never manage to gring them yourself - they are so hard!)

saint gaz · Post by **saint gaz** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:17 pm

I have been to my citroen man and explained the problem. He has lent me a compresion tester so I will try that later tonight. In his opinion (obviously he's not seen the car yet) he recons it could be a valve. If so to strip head change valves and all the other bits about £250-£300 is that reasonable?

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:31 pm

saint gaz wrote:I have been to my citroen man and explained the problem. He has lent me a compresion tester so I will try that later tonight. In his opinion (obviously he's not seen the car yet) he recons it could be a valve. If so to strip head change valves and all the other bits about £250-£300 is that reasonable?

For a garage probably Yes, but this would not be expensive to do yourself. Only external work would be to get the head ground. Only need to change a valve if its holed, otherwise regrind seats of all when off for good measure etc.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:46 pm

I gave up trying to grind valves years ago as I could never get adequate results - ie good all round seats with no pits, rings or concavity. I have always found professionals surprisingly reasonable in their costs for this work. Chances are that if the valve has been leaking it will be burnt - but even if its not it will have been overheated which won't improve it.

If it has shim adjustable tappets its worth getting them done at the same time unless you are convinced that you can get the right shims and know the cost.

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:44 pm

jeremy wrote:I gave up trying to grind valves years ago as I could never get adequate results - ie good all round seats with no pits, rings or concavity. I have always found professionals surprisingly reasonable in their costs for this work. Chances are that if the valve has been leaking it will be burnt - but even if its not it will have been overheated which won't improve it.

If it has shim adjustable tappets its worth getting them done at the same time unless you are convinced that you can get the right shims and know the cost.

In which case, how much would a professional head refurbishment (take in/collect) be from suitable engineering company?
Can you get an exchange head for the car & what cost?

This limits the task to straight dissassembly and reassembly on the car. (+ fluid work of course

)