Carburetor replacement

[Researchingreg]

I took my 1968 Morris Traveller to a garage today as it is only doing just over 12 miles to the gallon and is running very rich. I have an SU AUD 13 carburetor, which according to the mechanic cannot be adjusted and needs replacement and he asked me to get a replacement and he would fit it. Where can I buy a reconditioned or new carburetor?. Can anybody help? See attached photos

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20220322_160321.jpg (1.29 MiB) Viewed 827 times

[mobylette]

You don't need a new carburettor, you need a new mechanic!!. SU carbs are the easiest carbs to adjust the mixture on. Get better advice or a workshop manual and you can easily adjust yourself.

[Researchingreg]

Thanks for the info I will try someone else.

[simmitc]

I'm not being flippant, but take the car to a garage where there is a mechanic. Your carb may be worn and in need of servicing, but to say that there is no adjustment is just plain wrong! There is an adjustment on the jet. plus you can change the needle, the spring and the jet itself, and check the float too.

However, before going down that route, can we get some history and examine other causes of high fuel consumption?

How long have you had the car?
Has it always been heavy on fuel?
When was it last serviced?
Have you checked for leaks?
Are any of the brakes binding?
Is the air filter clean?
How do you know that it is running rich?

A reconditioned carb may be the simplest solution, but let's just check that you need it before you spend you money. You can see the AUD 13 here: http://sucarb.co.uk/carbspec/carburetto ... s/id/1907/

[Classiccars]

Getting harder to find good mechanics for classic cars

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Actually, if the jet tube and needle are severely worn it is possible that the mixture adjustment nut is screwed up to the top in a vain attempt to weaken the mixture. So your mechanic may well be correct. Fortunately it is straightforward to ascertain if this is the case or not.

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Sticking choke is another possibility. Is the jet tube exposed above the black plastic end under the carb, or flush against the carb base with the choke knob pushed in? Ask someone to operate the choke knob whilst you observe the carb end.

[Researchingreg]

I think the nut might be screwed right up to the top and cannot be adjusted further so the mechanic could be right. However I am taking it to another mechanic on Friday to get a second opinion. If he says the same I might have to get a reconditioned one, however that does seem to be quite expensive. Thanks for the reply.

[kevin s]

It probably needs a new jet, I've replaced them on loads of Su's and every time it transforms the way they drive, My V8TR7 went from sub 10 to the gallon to close to 30.
Burlen do a rebuild kit for around £60 and it takes a couple of hours to strip clean and re-build one, ESM do a rebuilt carb for around £190 which if you are paying someone else may work out much the same cost wise.

[MCYorks]

I took my 1968 Morris Traveller to a garage today as it is only doing just over 12 miles to the gallon and is running very rich.

With that kind of consumption and the current price of petrol, it wouldn't take long for a carb rebuild kit to pay for itself I thought mine was bad when it dropped to 23 MPG

There are some excellent suggestions on the board as to what the cause could be. I've certainly found the SU carb to be one of the easiest to work on. With my car it turned out to be a sticking choke and poor carb adjustment. The float and needle valve are worth checking, because if the petrol level in the float bowl is too high, then it's impossible to adjust the carb correctly.

I wonder how many mechanics have experience with carburettors these days. Since almost all cars have had electronic fuel injection for the last 30 odd years. Trouble with the Minor is, the garage can never find the OBD2 port to connect their Diagnostic Tool Code Reader

[Researchingreg]

I went to another garage and the mechanic did adjust it this morning and it is not running so rich now. He asked me to get some 3 in 1 oil and put some in the carburettor, which I have now done. It is still running a bit fast. But I will see how it goes fuel wise now.

[Classiccars]

Can always be turned down a bit in the future.At least you now have someone that can do it