4 replies to this topic

[kpmini]

Mini City e:
1983:
Right i am new to this mini scene, just bought a mini city last week knowing it didnt run. I have had a wee look at it over the past couple of days and I am completely stumped!
It has a brand new starter motor and turns over well, the is fuel in the carb bowl and it has good strong sparks. Occasionally it will back fire and very rarely will start and run HORRIBLY for about 15 seconds. The only conclusion i can come to is the cam shaft not being set up correctly but i was hoping someone with more knowledge than me could shed some light n the situation before i rip the head of my mini to find out its was like a fuse or something rediculous!
Cheer for your help in advance guys!:



Any non-standard parts that might be involved with the problem?

[dklawson]

Since the car is new to you, start with the basics. Assume it is horribly out of tune and go through the whole process complete with some checks along the way.

With the engine cold, check and set the valve clearances.
At this point, do a compression check. Look for uniformity across all 4 cylinders... not a specific value. Tell us what you find.
If the distributor has points, fit a new set of points and condenser and set the points gap.
After the points have been set, fit a new cap and rotor to the dizzy and check the plug wires are on in the correct order.
(Order is 1-3-4-2 counterclockwise around the cap). Rather than tell you where #1 plug wire would/could/should be, download the PDF in the link below and determine where #1 is on your engine, then fit the wires.
http://home.mindspri...taticTiming.pdf
Check the condition of the plug wires. If they are at all hard/brittle/cracked, replace them.

Once you have the basics set for the valves and ignition system, turn your attention to the carb(s). Save this for last. Try the ignition and valve related steps first and let us know how you make out.

It goes without saying that you should invest in a service manual to help you through this.

[kpmini]

Since the car is new to you, start with the basics. Assume it is horribly out of tune and go through the whole process complete with some checks along the way.

With the engine cold, check and set the valve clearances.
At this point, do a compression check. Look for uniformity across all 4 cylinders... not a specific value. Tell us what you find.
If the distributor has points, fit a new set of points and condenser and set the points gap.
After the points have been set, fit a new cap and rotor to the dizzy and check the plug wires are on in the correct order.
(Order is 1-3-4-2 counterclockwise around the cap). Rather than tell you where #1 plug wire would/could/should be, download the PDF in the link below and determine where #1 is on your engine, then fit the wires.
http://home.mindspri...taticTiming.pdf
Check the condition of the plug wires. If they are at all hard/brittle/cracked, replace them.

Once you have the basics set for the valves and ignition system, turn your attention to the carb(s). Save this for last. Try the ignition and valve related steps first and let us know how you make out.

It goes without saying that you should invest in a service manual to help you through this.

Cheers for that, the link you gave me was really useful! Got her running in the end! Sadly water went EVERYWHERE because the thermostat housing has cracked in two! but the main thing is i know the engine runs!

[kpmini]

Cheers pal, that haynes manual helped a lot. Got it up and running but the thermostat housing is cracked in two, so water is going everywhere. Gonna leave it until i get another housing.

Cheers!

[dklawson]

I'm glad you got the engine started. Sorry to hear about the t-stat housing though. It sounds like you will be back on the road soon. Keep us posted.