Now the fun really begins

Hi Guys

I guess now my car has passed the mot and I'm all road-legal the fun begins.

I went out for a spin yesterday done around 20 miles and she pulled great no issues.

today i went around 3 miles and noticed several issues.

Firstly she seemed to rev to high before going into 3 rd gear, but believe when she was warmed up the gear change did improve.

secondly, i started to hear a fast clicking almost like a relay click, from within the car and when i pressed the accelerator she started to die, there where serious lack of power,  only for around 500m before i got her on the drive, she sounded fine when home but worried now, checked all the relays and they seem to be fine.

any ideas guys

What year is the car and does it have an in-tank fuel pump?

Hi Paul its a 88  auto cabby

Sounds like fuel starvation due to sucking up some dirt/rust and temporarily becoming blocked. It often reveals itself on a normal/fast drive, when running stationary or at slow speed it doesn't show because the contents of the tank aren't stirred up.

There are probably a million posts on how to clean the tank out already……

ETA not sure if an 88 carb has an in-tank pump or not! But in any case…its sucking up some rubbish

Thanks Pal

You dont think its carb icing do you ?

duplicate.

I've just had this, fuel filter and Weber full of debris, some corrosion of the float chamber alloy from a winter lay up didn't help. I'm currently waiting for a new float needle valve and then the cleaned carb can go on. I initially changed the fuel filter and thought I'd got away with it, but further road test left the new filter clean and the fault remained, so the carb had to be stripped.

What you don't want, is for a piece of rust/dirt to make its way into the carb and then block up one of the very few unobtainable/obsolete jets in your carb! (Don't ask me how I know this….)

okmate said

Thanks Pal

You dont think its carb icing do you ?

Nope! Its above the exhaust manifold and there's a hedgehog in there too.

ok thanks lads its a process of elimination, i was thinking though to get it through the mot i did turn the fuel mixture in considerably could this be  the problem ?

No, that's not going to make it run intermittently.

Do you have an inline fuel filter and is it clear? Definitely worth looking at, and probably changing it. Buy a pack of 10 then do it frequently, its not a permanent solution but it will save the worst of it getting to the carb for now.

Unfortunately the permanent fix is to clean out the fuel tank and lines etc.

Fuel filler neck could be rusty too.

Fuel filter neck is fine th fuel filter has only been fitted for 30 miles. So under the rear seat do I remove the pump and have a look at the tank ?

Hi guys I've been looking at the fuel system diagram and want to start by having a good look at the fuel lines and the tank, when looking the diagram i can see 2 fuel lines going from the pump to the engine bay but have to confess i only thought there was one when last changing the fuel filter, it does have the Webber carb on to as that may make a difference, anyone shed some light on this for me, surely 1 with a filter and one without doesn't make much sense.
My plan is to undo the lines and inspect and blow out with compressed air.

Look under the rear seat and remove the inspection cover and then the fuel gauge sender from the tank. With a torch look in the tank and check for water, rust and road debris. This is a very common fault on MK1s. I have had experience going back the the late 80s fixing this problem after garages have replaced everying else at vast expense and never removed the source of the problems, i.e. a tank full of muck. The car starts and runs fine for a short while/distance and stops, won't restart for a while, the does start, repeat adfinitum…..

Don't fall for the 'you just need a magnet on a string', if the filler pipe rotted its got rust, muck and water in the tank, only 1 of which is vaguely metallic.

Seeing has your car has a new filler pipe(?) and new fuel pump and starts runs stops, wait a while restarts etc These are all symtoms/attempted fixes for the above.

Check in the tank so you know what you are dealing with.

Thanks pal

The 2 fuel lines are a send and return. Only the send has a filter from it.

Some carburettors have a send and return. Others just have a send, but the Mk1 Golf should have a fuel vapour separator after the fuel pump, which has a return line on it.

You don't need a compressor to blow down the fuel lines, remove the fuel filter and blow down the fuel line into the fuel tank (I just use my mouth) and you should hear bubbles from the tank.

thanks, lads i was going to have a look at it today but ive ordered a fuel pump as i may as well install a new while when inspecting

mark1gls said

You don't need a compressor to blow down the fuel lines, remove the fuel filter and blow down the fuel line into the fuel tank (I just use my mouth) and you should hear bubbles from the tank.

I love the taste of fuel in the Morning, Right before I have a cup of coffee and a smoke….. . I usually use a small tire inflator off my 12V battery charger, and a inflater nipple….