Club 80-90 Forums

Had a bad afternoon with Ritchie. 2.1 dj running carb and lpg. So...drove to northeast Friday....lovely run up van drove perfectly. ...whiny box....but that's all. Get to northeast and usual gas station shut. Very low on lpg So shoved some petrol in as had none on board. Got to lpg station ok and filled up. Drove back to parents. Next morning left to go to race track one-half hour away. Van seemed ok. Then drove to the doc shop. Van felt sluggish not wanting to accelerate through lower gears. Started to pop in exhaust when I depressed clutch to change gear. Get to 40mph and all seemed ok in 4 or 5 gear. Then I noticed that at 2500 revs (gear irrelevant) van would vibrate.....but nit just the steering...the whole dash was vibrating. Stopped completely at 2700 and was then fine. So got back to parents with the popping in exhaust at low revs low speed low gears. Not the usual backfire....more a ting sound. Let it cool checked leads and plugs...all tight....nothing lose. Water and oil ok.

So driving home today van with occasional pop and still a little sluggish but not as bad. Having done 50 miles decide to top up with lpg in case we had some bad lpg if that is even possible. Continue down the road. Then the issue start....suddenly can't get any more than 40mph in 5th going uphill...change down and it will pull again....then drove well for a while. ..then sluggish up a hill.

Now the fun started. Temp gauge started to rise....nothing serious but unusual so watch gauges like a hawk. Temp comes down. ...van drives fine. Coming off m11 to m25 temp shoots up...start to pull over...temp drops and stabilized at normal driving temp....decide to try and get to services. Then temp starts to climb...and heater went cold. Pulled over and stopped on hard shoulder as know that isn't good. Puddle by drivers wheel. Pooh. AA recovered to services and sorted connection with a couple of jubilee clips. Filled. Bled. Driven home with no further heating issues.

Will replace front to back pipes as the plastic end has broken so AA repair is not permanent.

But...the shuddering at 2500 revs still present as is the occasional sluggish feeling. Is this due to getting hot? Or the gear box starting to wear out. Also noticed fine oil marks on back door. ...hoping that the heat has thinned the oil and and oil change will stop this.

All the while we were filling and bleeding the engine wad running at 2200 to 2500 revs with no popping, no oil leaks. No nasty noises and was responsive to the throttle.

So....have I done it damage? The really weird thing is now it won't idle when the choke has come off. Could the heat have affected the log idle?

Thanks for reading....any more questions. Fire away!

Em xx

eliminate a possible poor spark first Em
Try some different components... coil, spark control, hall sender.
check advance is working ok.

then move on to fuel delivery and air leaks

Cheers Kev. Will start with the basics and go from there x

Aye, the lack of power and popping through the exhaust might be it is sometimes only running on 3, that would perhaps explain the vibration. As you will know, this is nearly always electrical and might also be the cause of not wanting to idle, though of course inlet air leaks can cause your symptoms too.

The heat won't have thinned the oil though (imho) so that doesn't explain the oil on the tail gate Likely a separate issue, have a look around the rear main engine pulley for signs of oil leaks.

An ignition lead breaking down will cause the power problems, occasionally running on three, sometimes four and so on. Ask Kev says, a rudimentary diagnosis a good idea. If plugs and leads been on for some time, change them.

Hi Em, did it drip any oil at all immediately after stopping? I had oil on my tailgate which was due to a worn crankshaft oil seal & was leaking between the engine and gearbox - once stopped it then leaked oil for a short while before stopping altogether.

Hi all - thanks for the pointers

No oil anywhere on the ground that we could see....checked the flat bed....nothing there either.

I am rather hoping that it isn't oil oil, but rather fine spray from where the (oily) coolant was leaking and being blown back along the bus. (straws and clutching...but really couldn't see anything bad in the engine bay)

Going to keep an eye.

Useful info re the leads potentially breaking down....thanks

Now - a question that makes me think there may be an air leak somewhere...

when the idle falls...it tries to hold at 900,,then falls...it will hold again at 4/500...and then fall away if I don't catch it.

BUT____ if I pump the brakes...therefore creating vacuum (?) the idle will return to 900. If I gently depress the brakes repeatedly, I can hold the idle. I can even, with a bit of energetic footwork on the pedal bring it back from near stall????

The brake pedal will make a kind of whoosh noise as I depress it....not sure if that is normal or BAAAAAD!

Just to be clear, I have got good pedal action, its firm, and it stops ok. No brake pulsing. Possibly due a drain and flush as coming up 2 years.

So - how does the brake pedal create a difference in pressure that would raise the revs? What am I looking at that could be leaking? The servo hose (its a 1990 van and has a rubber tube, not a braided one, but have no reason to beleive its not the original) so that can be changed. I am also going to compare my vacuum lines...make sure they are in the right place and not leaking.

So I don't need to change the oil? I thought that was good practice if it had got hot? And it did...alot hotter than I normally would drive it at? AT NO TIME DID THE OIL LIGHT COME ON AND I HAD NO BUZZERS OF ANY KIND EITHER...AND IT HAS BOTH BUZZERS.

thanks again...will keep you updated

Em

Doesn't the servo hose in the engine bay have a one-way valve on it. Not something I've ever had to mess with but I wonder if its failed and is creating this connection with braking/idle

Thanks CovKid,

may try this out....

Em
x

From California Dreaming:

Accepted standard test:

1) Engine off: pump the brake pedal several times until the pedal goes hard

2) Rest you foot on the brake pedal (medium to light pressure)

3) Start the engine and you should feel the brake pedal surge downwards/gaining a degree of spongyness (from rock hard to pliable) lol

However....NOTE* if the pedal WAS hard initially and didn't need pumping to become rigid (with the engine off) this indicates a vacuum leak whilst stood, as in, hole in the supply line, faulty one way valve or damaged servo itself.