car running rough

[Deleted]

Well I picked up my Mini today in Hailsham ;D
And it lasted less than a mile
Basically he said it was running rough, but its running REALLY rough. Its missing a fair bit and gets worse under load. Also a lot of black smoke is coming out of the back. Ive adjusted the mixture Hif44 carb but that doesnt seem to do anything, checked for oil in the dashpot, checked the electrics (pulled dizzy cap off and there wasnt any points or anything under there so im presuming its an electronic ignition module, and ive just put £20 of petrol in so it isnt that.
Does anyone think it could be the electrics, or shall i carry on my plan and strip the carb down?

[paul1275s]

carb rebuild kit is £45 for a hif44 from burlen fuel systems, it probably needs it anyway, is easy to do and then means you can take the carb out of the diagnostic equation. Sounds like it could be more than just the carb though....Leccy ignition should be pretty reliable, Do a compression test on each of the cylinders, think about taking the head off and checking valve seats, at the end of the day you have an unknown quantity of an engine, it's worth doing these checks to try and work out it's overall condition.

[Simon1275mpi]

As Paul really, start with the basics. As its running we can assume you have fuel. make sure you can return the carb back to how you found it. Did you note down the turns and driection you made to the mixture screw?

As its running like a dog its probably electrical. Especially as it breaks down under load. New leads, rotor arm, cap and plugs is a cheap investment. The coil if orginal will need replacing by now that provided the same issues to Mumsies BOC. The rest of the system is a very reliable electric ignition as Paul said.

Excessive black smoke out the back would not be promising though. Compression test and strip down. I'll be in Hailsham tomorrow if you want to borrow my compression testing gauge thing. PM me your mobile no.

[Miniböttcher]

how long has it sat for, some times it could be old dirty petrol got in to the carb and engine and that could be the reason for it running rough, then it needs a good clean out,

AS SAID START WITH THE BASICS

compresson test does not cost any thing if you have to tool, i have one if you need it

check you exhaust, some one may of put something up there and it not letting the exhaust fumes out and burning the crap up there

its a possiblity

dean

[Simon1275mpi]

Dont panic Mr Mannering! Dont PANC! ;D ;D ;D ;D

Start with the basics! Start with the basics ;D ;D ;D ;D

Think we need a fault finding flow chart thrown together.

[Deleted]

Well ive been upto the the Birmingham Nex doing a deal today so just got in. Tomorrow evening I will have a look at it to see if I can see whats wrong.
Basically the car failed its MOT on a bit of welding (I can sort that easily)
Brakes shot all around (due to being stood for the last 6 months). For this I have bought 2 rear slave cylinders and some uprated green stuff front pads. The car came with a spare set of brand new uprated 4 pot calipers so i will put hem on at the same time before bleeding it all through.
Other than that its just minor nigly electrical issues which being an electrician/electrical engineer I can easily sort out. Already had a load of 8 year old kids too interested in it though being parked outside

[Deleted]

Well i changed the plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor arm and it still hasnt helped. Its backfiring quite nicely at the moment so its either the mixture all over the place in the carb, or timing. Do you just adjust the timing as per any other distributor ie turn the whole distributor until the strobe shows 5 degrees?

[Darren Divall (BMC)]

darrel said:

Do you just adjust the timing as per any other distributor ie turn the whole distributor until the strobe shows 5 degrees?

yes ;D

[Miniböttcher]

what the spindle on the distrubor like, if thats worn and has a lot of movement it can make the car run rough.

[Deleted]

Well I sorted it ;D
Basically it was the plugs, but also 2 of the new plugs were faulty also
Speaking to a mate of mine it isnt that rare for new plugs to do that. Anyway swapped them and its running much better now ;D
All ive got to do is find somewhere to tune it now because ive messed around with the mixture etc, but once thats done it will be good. I forgot how well tuned 1275's went

[Deleted]

Gerald dale in Ninfield is best place to go, has rolling road and gives a discount to club members on production of thier membership card i believe

daz

[Deleted]

Im really disheartened now. I was going to go the Gerald Dale route, but he is just too far to be in the middle of nowhere. To leave the car there for the day ive got to get back to Eastbourne etc by bus??? So it just wasnt feasible. I went to some guy in Commercial Road Eastbourne who said he has worked on Mini's since the 60's. Great I thought. I explained to him what ive done and that it has a massive flat spot in it, struggled to idle etc, and got him to replace a rear wheel cyclinder for me (I supplied the new cylinder).
Anyway when i got back I paid the £100 asking fee ?? for him to explain that he has done the brakes...Great and that the car has a massive flat spot?? Well i know that already.
He didnt have a Mini manual so set it up similar to a 1.3 Metro engine. He's changed the timing to 11 degrees, got the emmisions down to 3 something and now the car is running terrible. Its pinking all over the place and has half the power of when I took it there .
Is there anywhere or anyone local I can pay that can sort this please. Im hjust so close to giving up on it

[Deleted]

theres a plce called stirling behind grahams i think, bear with me see i what i can find out
daz

[Deleted]

Here you go mate, specilises in rover and mg, i know 1 member knows off them. hope it helps

www.sterlingautomotive.co.uk/

Dont give up on the mini, we all have our off days with them, mine been almost put up for sale umpteen times hehe

daz

[Stephen]

well if he has charged you for a service that hasnt been done correctly then you must demand that he finishes the job as agreed