37 replies to this topic

[tomdale86]

morning all

so ive been thinking my carb might need a rebuilt- its uses the oil up super fast.

ive tried searching, but cant find a guide on how/what needs doing etc. Has anyone does this and got any advice!?

its std carb attached to a 1275 (im running a stage 1 too)

all help appreciated

Tom

[finch661]

buy a rebuild kit (mini spares) and check this out http://www.sucarb.co.uk/Technical.aspx <== click on HIF series (i assume you have a hif38) and it shows how to strip down

[jaydee]

Some tips...Fit a plain butterfly, replace jet and needle valve, follow the intial settings as per hynes, and take some pictures of the carb before dismantling choke assembly.

[tomdale86]

cheers guys

[tomdale86]

its leaking oil really quite quickly-even when the car isnt running-it needs topping up each time i start the car atm, anything obvious that this could be?

to be honest ive never really fiddled with the carb so am a complete novice with it!

[jaydee]

Check if dashpot and cap are correctly fitted, probably screws arent thight or the cap isnt fitted correctly.
Also check if the piston has a lot of play, it could cause an oil leak, but not that much, i'd say its more likely just the cap fitted uncorrectly.

[tomdale86]

Check if dashpot and cap are correctly fitted, probably screws arent thight or the cap isnt fitted correctly.
Also check if the piston has a lot of play, it could cause an oil leak, but not that much, i'd say its more likely just the cap fitted uncorrectly.

been over it. at first it looked like oil was leaking through the front left screw, which did need a bit of tightening, but it is still leaking oil.

its not appearing on the floor and i cant see where it might be running to.

is it possible it could be leaking into the manifold or somewhere else?

[tomdale86]

Check if dashpot and cap are correctly fitted, probably screws arent thight or the cap isnt fitted correctly.
Also check if the piston has a lot of play, it could cause an oil leak, but not that much, i'd say its more likely just the cap fitted uncorrectly.

been over it. at first it looked like oil was leaking through the front left screw, which did need a bit of tightening, but it is still leaking oil.

its not appearing on the floor and i cant see where it might be running to.

is it possible it could be leaking into the manifold or somewhere else?

having topped it up couple of times earlier when tyring to determine the leak, obv a bit more oil went through.

just took it for a run-seemed to be a bit (more) grey smoke come out the back on start up. would this back up the leaking into the manifold suggestion?

what do i need to do to fix this!?

also its got a stage 1 fitted-before me-could this be the cause?

[Craig Tett]

What oil are you using in it? Could always try a slightly thicker oil and see if it helps and if it doesn't have any detrimental effect on how it runs could be just the trick.

[tomdale86]

What oil are you using in it? Could always try a slightly thicker oil and see if it helps and if it doesn't have any detrimental effect on how it runs could be just the trick.

atm im using normal engine oil. i think its leaking too fast for thicker oil to fix it.

any other ideas?

[tomdale86]

also, further info for you wise old folk, when the dashpot oil is low (i.e if i forget to top it up prior to a journey) the mini is takes a couple of goes to start. i dont know if that is just due to low oil in dashpot or something else too!

[T.Harper]

Are you filling up the right thing?

As in you only need to fill up number 7 on this picture



Don't go trying to fill the whole dashpot.

Reasons for this leaking include too thick an oil, or dirt in the piston (on the rod that you unscrew), which is stopping the oil from flowing back down into the tube when the main piston descends, causing it to overflow. Get this out and give it a clean, see where you get.

The brass bit here:


Worst case scenario, the main piston is cracked allowing oil to leak. (Very unlikely)

Edited by T.Harper, 09 March 2010 - 10:25 PM.

[tomdale86]

thanks for that.

i fill the oil up so its just above the shoulder of the dashpot.

it pretty much runs down before my eyes, without the car turned on (so it cant just be the piston thing, as presumeably that would only have an effect when the car is running)

it must be running lower than the shoulder (although that would be hard to tell) as the car is difficult to start if i dont top it up, but will start first time with the dashpot topped up. im presuming these are linked.

if its not leaking out of the carb itself, could it being going anywhere else (i cant actually SEE the leak)? if not, must I have missed anything?

[T.Harper]

Pull it apart. Should only be a couple of screws holding the dashpot (bell housing) down. Be careful as the main piston will pop out and you don't want to drop it as you could damage the needle (there's a big spring that will push it out too).

Take the piston with the needle out, (the shiny bit in the middle here):


Turn upside down and drain the oil out. Try to get a rag and screw driver down the oil tube to give it a wipe. Have a look down with a torch. Try filling the tube up with oil again whilst it's in your hand and see if it's leaking from anywhere (look to see if there are any cracks near the base).

[tomdale86]

thank you very much.

ill do this tomorrow hopefully and get back to you!