lady in distress please help

please help my daily drive 1500 GL Cab is not going anywhere!!
The engine started cutting out last sunday on investigation thought it fuel filter the problem as it was black! changed the filter but engine still doing you seem to be able to drive for approx 10 minute then the engine will cut out stall and you kangaroo to a stop (doesnt matter whether your doing 70 or 20 MPH)  it will start straght away but then cuts out again severall times before you can get home.  the car has been in and out the garage this week and between then and me weve changed the Fuel filter Ruled out the fuel pump, cleaned the carb, changed the points, condenso,r  coil, HT leads cleaned & checked spark plugs.
The garage seem to think theres a loose wire somewhere but have pretty much wiped there hands of the car! Any ideas on where to start looking?
Going away for week tomorrow and think Im gonna have to buy another car when I come back (last resort) if I cant get it sorted.

Please help!  :cry:

Do a search of the forum, a couple of people have posted similar problems very recently from memory but I can't recall the fix!

Andy

maybe the comon old problem of bits in the tank, blocking up the pick up due to the rusty fuel filler neck.

Sounds very much like a hole in filler neck/crud in tank scenario. Had this problem with my 1.1 about a year or so ago. It ran fine for 10-15 miles when started up then would start dying and loosing power, as you say would ages to get it home. The problem seems to be at its worse when on heavy throttle loadings i.e going up a hill or at motorway speeds.

Spent ages trying to find cause of problem to no avail. Even took it to a couple of garages. Both were obsessed it was the ignition system. Looked at/changed coil, points HTs etc with no luck. Not once did did the garages consider the fuel system etc. In the end I sorted the problem myself.

In fact this was one reason why I decided never to pay a garage again to do anything other than an MOT. Unless you find a real good one (do they exist?) many don't have a clue when it it comes to diagnosing anything out of the ordinary. As in your case they will change and charge you for the most obvious bits, then if it doesn't sort the problem, bottle out of it… amatuers :posh: . Most everyday garage mechanic you come across nowdays are simply glorified parts fitters.

You say you had crud in the fuel filter, how old was that filter? Has the new filter dirtied again? If it has, chances are water and various muck is getting onto the fuel tank and blocking the fuel uptake etc. Everytime you stop the engine and the pump stops sucking, all the crap drops back to the bottom of the tank waiting to be sucked up a again. Give the filler neck a thorough inspection, if there is a hole you need new filler neck (worth changing rubber connecting hose frm pipe to tank), new fuel filter and check/clean out fuel tank.

Cheers

I had a similar problem on my 1.8 clipper,  bypassed the return to the fuel vapouriser, (bowl on front of engine) runs spot on now not had a prob in the last 6 weeks, uses more fuel tho, not sure if it related.

thanks guys going to have good look today will let you know how  get on.

Checked the filler neck and found two massive holes at the top! managed to get a new filler neck yesterday and cleaned out the tank using a magnet as suggested on another post. Cleaned the filter in in tank. Done about 40-50 miles now and the car is running ok (touch wood).

Thanks for all your help it much appreciated youve helped put my baby back on the road and most definatly the smile back on my face!

we all like putting smiles peeps faces.lol

fingers crossed, you should be sorted now.