Club 80-90 Forums

morning all,

so started to have a issue with my engine, it was fine last year and now i dragged it out to work on the poptop, the engine worked fine for about 5 mins then going at 50 down the road it started to hold back and popped quite a bit. it lost all power untill i lifted my foot off the pedal a bit then it seemed to pick up and then back on, it did it more.

its a 2l aircoled engine with twin 40 webbers. does anybody have any ideas what it can be. had new plugs and leads last year.

would the icu be a problem? all the vacuums are good and connectors.

cheers all for any help 

No ECU on the CU as standard.

more likely to be fuel , either contaminated, old , or restricted . 
check the filter down by the tank ( that should be the only filter by the way ) and chEck the fuel lines are not perished or breaking down , leaking or causing contamination in the carbs .

fuel lines are really important, especially if the van has been stood 

hi,
its has an ignition control unit on the side of the engine bay that works the hall sensor.

i put a new fuel system in it last year front to back, tank, breathers, lines and a pressure regulated electronic fuel pump and 2 fuel filters, 1 between the tank and pump and one between the pump and carbs, just for peace of mind.

since doing all this work i have done about 500 miles with no problem at all, but got it out 2 weeks ago and now its playing up.

cheers for the reply

Unsure if this is help full but does it only conk out whilst underload, does it have the same symptoms after leaving it stationary and idling for a while.

hi tony,

It doesnt as such conk out but when it is under load it will go from 50 down to 30, like its massivley holding back then the back firing starts and a smell of fuel a little, take my foot off as im still rolling and it seems to stop doing it then back under load it starts again. if i let it idle after this problem but without turning it off its fine.

im pulling my hair out about it as i want to start using it again now that the weather can only get better and the days last longer.

cheers tony

There should not be any fuel filters in the engine bay , especially on a air cooled . 

condensation in the metal tank causes water in the fuel , and this modern petrol "goes off" very quickly, as proven by many lawn mowers not working after being not used for the winter .

I stand by my original answer , check the filter down by the tank , check for water . 

there isnt a filter in the engine bay. both filters are under the van with the fuel pump.

i will check that out mocki, check the obvs first.

cheers mate

As has been said, it’s been sitting a while so there’s probably a bit of condensation about - I’d give all the electrical components a clean up including the distributor/cap etc.

I’d also put some super unleaded in and then give it an Italian tune up on an A road.

The dying sounds like fuelling, but the popping ignition, check for damp in the distributor cap
Etc

I'll have a go at that aswell,

Cheers guys for your help and I'll keep youbposted

Rotor Arm

so i just purchased all the ignition bits, from the icu all the way to the plugs and everything in between. someone is coming to look at the carbs and tuning it on sunday, also doing the rocker arm gaps. looked at the fuel filters and there is no water in them both or grime/sediment.

lets hope this sorts it out, ill then have to give it the italian tune up the a road

if that doesnt then it will be in the classifieds!!

cheers all again

father of 2 wrote: ↑31 Jan 2021, 17:44 so i just purchased all the ignition bits, from the icu all the way to the plugs and everything in between. someone is coming to look at the carbs and tuning it on sunday, also doing the rocker arm gaps. looked at the fuel filters and there is no water in them both or grime/sediment.

lets hope this sorts it out, ill then have to give it the italian tune up the a road

if that doesnt then it will be in the classifieds!!

cheers all again

It gets very expensive very quickly just keep throwing money and parts at stuff, it need diagnosis

With the weather conditions lately it may be carb icing this will cause it to run lumpy and rich with no power used to be called '8 stroking' if it restarts after standing when run with these symptoms, the heat from the engine will de-ice the carbs and it should run properly again. Worth checking, if you leave the engine cover off and drive it, when it starts to play up, look around the manifolds and base of carbs for frosting.

I would suggest considering the time of year and the time unused it’s almost certainly damp in the ignition system