Campaign 'woken up'. - out again for 2018 and meets my latest Golf

Tyres only really have a life of 10 years, I thinks its going to come into the MOT soon as tyres now have the date on when they was made. The tyres are the only thing that keep the car on the road so don't risk it for the sake of 4 tyres.
Also have a look and best to replace the rear brake wheel cyinders as the rubber seals go hard and check the front calipers, new brake fluid and coolant and while you're at it change the gearbox oil… 

As you might guess by the change of title, today did not quite go as expected. Ross who was coming over to fit the new fuel pump and try and get everything running , broke down himself when the fuel pump went on his van - a bit ironic.
So, having booked a day off work it was either do some work around the house, go shopping for a valentine present , or have a start at it myself.

The last option looked much more appealing so set about draining the fuel tank, which seemed to take ages and despite the four star being about 15 yrs old it still let off some potent fumes - tip if you are going to do this yourself wear a mask even if in a well ventilated area. Took my time with the fuel pump, but everything came apart once I had got rid of all the old waxoyl/engine oil. And being a genuine Bosch one, it all went back together well, along with a new filter.

Now for the disappointing bit, whilst the engine turned over and started to fire up, it backfired and misfired badly and would only run for a few seconds, tried quite a few times including removing fifth injector, but still would not run.This is when I decided to give up and wait for Ross to get back in touch as I did not want to do any lasting damage - hopefully it's something simple like the timing being out just have to wait and see.

Very jealous my friend! looks so nice! the complete car!

Hi,

did you check the metering head plunger, this often sticks if left unused for a long time, its easy to check and would cause the symptoms you are having. I can't see how the timing could be the issue if you haven't disturbed this why would it be out?. You may possibly have an issue with the advance being stuck and not working, but that wouldn't affect its running at idle or low revs.

thexvw said

Hi,

did you check the metering head plunger, this often sticks if left unused for a long time, its easy to check and would cause the symptoms you are having. I can't see how the timing could be the issue if you haven't disturbed this why would it be out?. You may possibly have an issue with the advance being stuck and not working, but that wouldn't affect its running at idle or low revs.

No I did not check that, thank you. I had read about it causing problems but thought it was just stopping firing up all together. I'll do some searches on the forum and have a look at the weekend.

Hi, the plunger was stuck on mine, wouldnt idle or rev past 3000 rpm. I tried just about everything to unstick it, ended up changing the metering head in the end.

thexvw said

Hi, the plunger was stuck on mine, wouldnt idle or rev past 3000 rpm. I tried just about everything to unstick it, ended up changing the metering head in the end.

Thanks for the picture, now I know what to look for, just been reading my Haynes manual but not very clear. Should it move easily or does it usually take some pressure do you know?

Hi, should move quite easily, in frustration I hit the plunger down with a hammer which didn't help at all! I stripped it down but still wouldn't budge:-

Unlucky with today, almost there!

O well just have to wait for another day to get it running...........but a bit closer

thexvw said

Hi, the plunger was stuck on mine, wouldnt idle or rev past 3000 rpm. I tried just about everything to unstick it, ended up changing the metering head in the end.

This advice was spot on! the plunger seemed to be stuck, however pressing it in with a screwdriver it moved then stuck in, managed to pull out with some small pliers, and then I have spayed liberally with Carburettor cleaner to try and free it up. This has worked to the extent that I can press it in with my finger, but it stays in, I would expect it to come out again on its own accord. Am I right or would it stay depressed until the engine starts?  I have sprayed it again and will leave to soak in over night, just wanted to know how it should operate before I have to go and get a new metering head.

the best thing to do is just pull the plunger out fully, it's ok theres no springs that will pop out

remove it, spray it and clean, then put it back in it should naturally fall

jellybelly said

the best thing to do is just pull the plunger out fully, it's ok theres no springs that will pop out

remove it, spray it and clean, then put it back in it should naturally fall

You absolute Star!!! It's all freed up and now falls naturally down.  I never would have pulled so hard on the plunger if you had not said it will come out if you do.  I took it out, although a spring did come out with it, cleaned it with more carb cleaner and then sprayed more cleaner up inside the bore. As I had taken off the fuel pipes to make it easier to get at the plunger I also sprayed carb cleaner in the holes on the meter unit. Pushed the plunger back in with the spring and it went in easy and then came back down when I pressed it fully in.

Put everything back together but unfortunately it still does not start, but at least the metering head seems sorted now - looking in the air pot the flap also moves easily after cleaning.  Now I am going to leave well alone until Mr Irvine comes and works his magic.

Jellybelly and thexvw thank you so much would not have got this far without you!

these to parts are a machine fit, meaning there is very little tolerance between the male and female but, so the smallest amount of rust or dirt in there can cause the plunger to stick

will it start at all?

Just starts to fire on the starter motor for a few seconds then big misfire and then grey "smoke/vapour" comes out of crankcase or the power rohr tube if you undo it.

Hi, glad to help.

Did you check the condition of your plugs, were they all wet with fuel?

Its probably worth putting in a new set of plugs if you haven't done so already. Have you fitted the new filters distributer cap\arm yet?

I would think about getting your injectors cleaned, I used a guy on ebay, Mr Injector, did a good job, returned them in about a week with a before and after test sheet, cost about £10 each?

Good luck!

thexvw said

Hi, glad to help.

Did you check the condition of your plugs, were they all wet with fuel?

Its probably worth putting in a new set of plugs if you haven't done so already. Have you fitted the new filters distributer cap\arm yet?

I would think about getting your injectors cleaned, I used a guy on ebay, Mr Injector, did a good job, returned them in about a week with a before and after test sheet, cost about £10 each?

Good luck!

Yes replaced everything, but interested in your comments about the injector cleaning - looks much more cost effective than new ones - will see next week when we test them to see what condition they are in.

When you 'replaced' everything are you 1000000% sure you didn't mix up the ign leads?

I once spent an happy afternoon working on mates mini after he'd serviced it inc changing the plugs, dizzy cap and rotor arm. He adamantly swore he'd very carefully made sure he'd kept the leads in the same order….but as you can prob guess he'd mixed them up. They were all one position out at the dizzy cap, 1 was on 2, 2 was on 3 etc.

The dizzy position looked OK when I compared it to one of his other working minis which lead me to go down blind alleys looks for other issues.

It was only when I went back to basics with a screw driver down a plug hole working out TDC that I figured out what he'd done. Caused very similar symptoms, difficultly starting and very rough running and back firing.

The only other thing I can think of, esp if its not run for years is that the inlet/out let valves are sticking in the head?

Good luck and keep up the effort, it will be worth it.

Early-1800 said

When you 'replaced' everything are you 1000000% sure you didn't mix up the ign leads?

I once spent an happy afternoon working on mates mini after he'd serviced it inc changing the plugs, dizzy cap and rotor arm. He adamantly swore he'd very carefully made sure he'd kept the leads in the same order….but as you can prob guess he'd mixed them up. They were all one position out at the dizzy cap, 1 was on 2, 2 was on 3 etc.

The dizzy position looked OK when I compared it to one of his other working minis which lead me to go down blind alleys looks for other issues.

It was only when I went back to basics with a screw driver down a plug hole working out TDC that I figured out what he'd done. Caused very similar symptoms, difficultly starting and very rough running and back firing.

The only other thing I can think of, esp if its not run for years is that the inlet/out let valves are sticking in the head?

Good luck and keep up the effort, it will be worth it.

I am thinking the same last might about the ignition leads on the cap. I took them all off at once and thought I put them back on the same, but really went by the lengths of the leads.  Is there a simple way of checking  - ie when you stand at the front of the car and look into the engine, from the left hand front one, then going round clockwise should every engine have the same pattern, or do I need to do the screwdriver test to get TDC?  Don't have much time today to fiddle about.

Had a moment of inspiration, I had taken some photos of the engine when first pushed it out of the garage and manage to zoom in and see which lead went where. I had got 1&2 the wrong way.

jumped in and it fired up - very lumpy and noisy, exhaust blowing from joints, grey smoke for a few mins and idling at 2000rpm.
next big test, is the clutch gone. - no- moved out of garage fine and down the quiet close where we live. Brakes are shot as you would expect . Left it running for about 30 mins, idle settled down a bit, fan came on. (Another box ticked) .  Did not rev much util cambelt replaced, just in case. Left to cool down now to see if any oil in water, there was a tiny bit of mayo on oil cap, but probably not unusual seeing how long sitting for.

Thanks Early-1800 for promoting me to check the leads.  A momentous day!

update :  went to check coolant after it had cooled down and was nearly empty, topped up and ran for ten mins with top off expansion tank and could see brown water pumping out of the small top hose, then all of a sudden a gush of blue/ green coolant came out of the bottle and emptied it. I quckly switched off, and then topped up and ran again for 5 mins and the level stayed constant, even when I opened the cap.  I am hoping it was just a massive air lock from when I tried to drain off some of the coolant a few weeks ago.  Temp gauge fine , no smoke from exhaust and oil cap clean - keeping my fingers crossed now it's not the Head Gasket,