Morris Minor Owners Club

I've asked this before I think, but I have been trying to get the traveller started and no go. Its not the fuel pump or the battery, that much I know. The distributer looks ok with no burning or black inside and the leads appear to be ok. She will turn over but just won't spark .

So what next ??? Which bits do I check to see where the fault lies. I presme I should check that fuel is actullay getting to the carb and beyond, but how and any other pointers I can try ???

Remove a spark plug, place it against the block, get a glamerous (or not it your choice ;)) assistant to spin the engine over and see if you have a spark....

Is the petrol fresh? It goes off after a few months.

Does it feel like the engine is trying to catch but not quite making it, or is it just turning over without making any signs of starting?

What has been done to the engine since the last time it ran?

alex_holden wrote:Is the petrol fresh? It goes off after a few months.

Yes. I put in about half a tank of new petrol.

alex_holden wrote:Does it feel like the engine is trying to catch but not quite making it, or is it just turning over without making any signs of starting?

No, not a bit. There is no sign of the engine nearly starting. It just turns over without any sign of catching.

alex_holden wrote:What has been done to the engine since the last time it ran?

Nothing The engine has been idle for about a year while I slowly worked on the wood. The engine always had trouble starting even from when I first got her. It would take a while of constantly turning or trying to get it to catch, so perhaps there is a real problem somewhere with getting a spark.

I must take the sparks out and see if there is any scorching on them or not, and maybe replace them to be safe and try again. To test for a spark - I just take out a plug, reattach to the lead and get someone to hold it against the engine ???? Presumably if I see a spark in all four plugs I know the electrical and starter are ok and that it must be a fuel problem down the line ???

Might be worth cleaning your carb, make sure it's clean and everything moves freely.

Take off the air cleaner and chuck a tablespoon full of fresh petrol into the carb.
If it shows any sign of life then the problem is petrol related.
If not its the spark that is wrong.
Or take one of the spark plugs out.
If its wet with petrol the problem is sparks, if not its fuel.

Dont get someone to hold the HT lead, they aren't the best insulated thing and they throw out high voltages. Spikey Haircuts might be fashionable, but its still not clever.

Position the plug so its against the block and doesn't need supporting.

Good point.
That's a favourite trick to play on an apprentice.
"just hold this plug and tell me if it sparks when I turn the engine over"
You doesn't fall for that twice

MarkyB wrote: That's a favourite trick to play on an apprentice.

Got you !!! I probably would fall for it . So just undo a plug and rest it against the engine block with no help and turn the engine over. I presume if there is no spark, start by replacing the plugs and try again. Though it will a while before I get to try as I did my back in over the weekend

I presume if there is no spark, start by replacing the plugs and try again

No as the plugs may be fine, next is to check you have a spark at the points, I assume you have checked them to make sure the gap is correct and if they look burnt or blue in colour you may find the condensor is on its way out, also check the low tension lead as they can appear to be ok when they are on their last legs.

On the subject of plugs I found a good tip in and old practical classics. When you are putting a new plug in to avoid any risk of crossthreading stick a short length of garden host over the plug and turn this, not the plug itself - then if the plug starts to cross thread the pipe slips. If you were doing it with a ratchet or even by hand you might not realise till its too late.....

Update -

Good news, She lives .......... I've just got the second of many coats of varnish on the wood and decided to give the engine a go. I took of the distributer cap and got someone to turn the engine over and I saw a spark so I didn't check out the spark plugs. So I decided it must be a carb fault and after about an hour of consulting Hayes I took the carb apart (very proud of myself ). Anyway it turned out that the vacuum chamber was dirty and didn't move up and down, so I cleaned that and put it back in. But the real fault was dirt or gunk at the bottom of the float chamber.

So, and here is my new problem for though the car now starts ( ) I had to unscrew the small nut at the base of the float chamber to drain the petrol and clean out the chamber and rescrew in back, but the plastic tube from the bottom of the float chamber to the needle came out and I can't get to go back in securely so that petrol obviously leaks out the bottom.

So does anyone have any wise workds of wisdom ? I presume I need a new tube ? Please help. Also, how tight do the choke and second lead need to be on the carb body (what is the second lead anyway ???) ???

Common problem - there should be a little rubber seal and a brass cone in there to compress the rubber as you tighten the nut - may be one or other has fallen out - or equally possible the seal has turned sideways inside the hole ?
Leads on carb - there is the throttle cable and the choke cable - that should be it ? The cables should be nipped up - but always leave a little slack in the cable to make sure they can go fully home when released at the controls.

Have a look at this LINK you can see where the little rubber seal goes.

bmcecosse wrote: there should be a little rubber seal and a brass cone in there to compress the rubber as you tighten the nut - may be one or other has fallen out

Your right. I was thinking about it last night and I thought that was the only way that would work and I vaguely remember hearing a tinkle of something small falling maybe. Can this item be replaced if I can't find it later ???

RogerRust wrote:Have a look at this, you can see where the little rubber seal goes.

Cheers Roger, Fantastic drawing. Made everything very clear, even more so than Hayes.

I looked up Bull Motif on the auld net and I see that there is a service kit available with a replacement needle jet and hose plus additional gaskets which I was going to buy too. Is the needle jet easy to remove and replace or can I just take the bit I'am missing off the end of the new hose ??

You could ask the main supplier of all things SU Burlens
http://www.burlen.co.uk/

That is one brilliant site. I found a page describing in baby detail with superb clear drawings how to dismantle a Carburetter. Its fantasitc, Cheers.

One other question - there is a third lead attached to the carb body. It appears to be coming from the distributer and is connected somehow to the outer body. In order to completely remove the carburetter for cleaning etc I would to disconnect this lead but can't see how ? Does it have to be disconnected from the distributer instead ?

I *think* you're meaning the vacuum tube that attaches to the advance mechanism by the dis. If so, it just pulls free