engine hesitating, not idleing properly cutting out at the l

[elmo makaroy]

hi,

i have a problem with my 2ltr Aircooled cu bus that i need some help with, up untill friday i was really chuffed with how the van has been running, no hesitation easily accelerating up to 70mph idling lovely,

on saturday morning i parked the van up outside my girlfriends were it has sat for the weekend,

i have just jumped in the van to drive it home and when i fired it up it started straight away but didnt sound like it normally does, kinda sounded like something was knocking abit, i just drove it home and got about 10 miles down the road and when i pulled up at the lights the engine just cut out,but the sound of it was normal by this point, turned the key and it started straight away but wont idle, and every now and then it seems to be hesitating unless i put my foot to the floor, like the power is there and then suddenly not and everytime i pull up to stop it cuts out and both the battery and oil light come on,

if i turn the key again to start it on the spot it will start but it will idle very poorly like the engine is barely able to run and then it will cut out a minute later,

im not sure wot the problem is, like i say untill now the van has been running brilliantly, i am wondering if maybe it has just kicked up some dirt from the tank and just needs running through abit but i have just done a 30mile trip home and it is still no better,

any help would be greatly appreciated, the van is completly standard apqart from the idle stab unit has been disconnect and the 2 wires connected together,
it does have a slight oil leak but the oil level has not fallen below the minimum mark and it was rainging on friday when i last drove it (if that helps)?

this bus is my only car so i need to get this problem sorted fast

many thanks in advance

[kevtherev]

was it left out in the rain?

do you have water in your fuel filter/fuel tank?

[elmo makaroy]

it was left out in the rain, i dont see how water would get in the fuel tank, it has no holes in it but this is a posibility,

if it has will it just run through and sort itself out do you think, im not sure how i test it for this

[ermie571]

The kncoking a bit - that will most likely be tappets. They are known for drying out when sat still - a few miles drive and its fine.

Water floats on petrol (or vice versa - can never remember) - find you filter, carefully disconnect from tank...allow some petrol to drain into clean jam jar...look for petrol/water distinction.

Em
xx

[elmo makaroy]

ok, so if i do have water in the fuel wot can i do about it? if i stick some more fuel in will it sort the problem do u think?

[kevtherev]

drain it from the tank outlet
water sits under petrol

[elmo makaroy]

ok, i think that you are right as you can tell it is the fuel causing the problem when u drive it, (kinda like the octane is too low),

rather than draining it out and wasting half a tank of fuel, i will keep using it untill it runs through and is near empty and then ill top t up with fresh fuel as it does run ok i just have to keep up the revs at the lights, do you think it will be ok to do this or will i cause more damage to my motor?

thanks for your help

[elmo makaroy]

oh only other thing i wanted to know is, were do you think the water has got into my tank? i do have some tinware missing so maybe it went directly into the carbs? wot do you think? i am pretty sure there are no holes in my tank as it has a new 1 fitted a while back and i cant smell fuel when i fill it up full

[kevtherev]

Usual suspect is the filler neck rotted
or the breather tubes (two each side) that perish. They might look ok but under the braided cover they leak.

Mine did, so I disconnected them and bunged the ends up
never had water in the tank since.

It may well not turn out to be this, but it's worth eliminating it, before other things are explored

[elmo makaroy]

were are theese breather tubes? on the actual tank? can you show me a picture 9if you have any) i will check them in the morning

[kevtherev]

Ah yours is Aircooled I think you'll see them at the back of the front wheel arch, they go from the tank to the expansion bottles tucked up high in the arch..... and I think yours are metal

[elmo makaroy]

ok, so you disconnected them from the expansion bottles you mean?

[81AirCooled]

There's a hose that connects to the bottom of the right hand carb that might have popped off if your fuel isn't actually the problem.

My CU has never ran well but I had a problem as bad as yours and it was the hose that popped off.

[elmo makaroy]

ive just check all my hoses and found none disconnected, i did find that 1 of my ht leads was slightly blocking the linkage from getting full throttle though ive been trying to fix this problem for ages,

just went for a test spin and the van will sometimes idle and pop and misfire like its the fuel, my hoses and expansion tanks look ok but i think my filler neck may be the culprit as it seems a little wobble, the part i need is the one going from the thing that holds the cap to the pipe, looks like som kinda metal connectoir thingy, any ideas???

thanks for the input

[Ian Hulley]

the part i need is the one going from the thing that holds the cap to the pipe, looks like som kinda metal connectoir thingy, any ideas???

thanks for the input

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/shop?page=s ... ory_id=114
http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/shop?page=s ... ory_id=114

Ian