Stumped - lost my idle

[Mocki]

give the inlet manifold a good spraying with wd40 and see if the revs rise.
its either a air leek, or a fuel issue have you got too many filters? should only be one near tank.
when my velle did this it was the pump push rod , replaced it and found it was a tiny bit too short, stopping the pump getting full travel.
btw, just coz the fuel cut out solenoid is clicking dont men its working correctly!

[CovKid]

Just the one filter and only a couple of months old. Seems clean. Will give manifold a good spraying in a few minutes Mocki - was my next check as it goes. Pain to drive at mo so must find cause.

[CovKid]

Are inlet manifold gaskets available seperately anywhere? - if it is one of those?

update: Nope - no leaks, been checking on and off today. Will get plugs and leads and see....

[murf]

If it aint a leak and no fuel problem, must be electical?
Tried the coil?, could be losing spark.
Had probs with mine, turned out to be idle stabilising box which I have now by-passed

murf

[CovKid]

Plugs. Definate improvement with a new set (just fitted them) although still a misfire there when decelerating. Looks to be a collection of minor ailments - coughs sneezes and generally not well at all but beyond Beechams.....

Anyway, now idling when stationary (will see how I fare at junctions on way to GSF) - rechecked timing and a new fuel pump pushrod on order for tomorrow (never encountered one that wasn't worn). Will also change fuel filter again - to be on safe side. Then see what happens.

[dooooogle]

I had an almost identical problem a couple of months ago. My low idle can disappeared and the van would cut out and roundabouts, traffic lights, junctions. It would happen after the engine got warm and came of choke.

I know you have taken the carb off, but have you stripped the carb? I found that I had FOD - foreign object damage, also known as gunk from the fuel tank. Took the inlet manifold off the carb and ran it, could see the low idle jet which was intermittently squirting and not giving the fine mist. The jets had to be stripped and everything cleaned. Needed an RAC home and a frig to the mixture as a temp fix.

Its only a suggestion you might have a more annoying problem though, but it took seconds to find once the inlet manifold was removed off the top of the carb. Hope you get your dub fixed soon Cov Kid.

Dave

[CovKid]

Aye me too. On the bright side it did seem marginally better after new plugs (well it idled anyway and it hasn't done that for a week). I won't rule out another carb clean. Will check resistance of leads tomorrow and keep working through until I iron out the issues. I'm not a great believer in throwing parts at an engine in the vain hope that it'll solve an unknown problem - from experience thats often a costly way to crack a nut. Better to isolate it really.

Oddly, when I started it after fitting the plugs, it was no better (died at idle) until I drove it 500 yards up the road to the allotment. Once parked, it fired up and idled fine so not 100% certain its actually new plugs that have transformed it, or if I've simply disturbed 'the problem' wherever that might be. New fuel filter tomorrow and a fuel pump pushrod (both cheap) may just help matters. You may well be right on there being muck hiding in that carb - could be it cleared itself hence the improved idle. Oh the fun of it all....

[chickenkoop]

if i've told you once,i've told you a thousand times,
just put a match to it and have done,

[CovKid]

Finally resolved this and never seen it mentioned in any thread. Not something I'd have noticed easily either.

It was the air filter! I kid you not. It was so clogged there was insufficient oxygen causing it to die if the revs dropped. I only discovered it when (at the same time I fitted new plugs), I actually took air filter out. What I attributed to dodgy plugs was in fact the filter. Turns out mine has a really good seal on the intake - no air gaps anywhere and the only other inlet is crankcase breather and it must have been like trying to suck through a straw. I bought a new filter today but when I swapped back to the old one, back came the idling problem. Anyway, have reduced idle speed to a more healthy level and it runs like a dream again.

Worth underlining this one. I have never in 25 years encountered an air filter that clogged but shows its possible and can cause the engine to die along with associated misfiring. Quite the opposite of an air leak (which it gave symptoms of) and hence why I couldn't find the problem. Still a breathing issue I suppose. You live and learn

[Cruz]

Nice one Covkid. Your week of frustration is finally at an end