10 replies to this topic

[Maverick + Geordie]

Hello Forum,

I have a 1988 Austin City 998

...and she is not starting.

Over Christmas it started becoming difficult to start, which I put down to the cold, then a couple of weeks ago it progressed to needing a jump or push start every couple of days (would usually be ok if jumped in the morning and then used through the day, but the following morning would be a struggle again). I gave the battery a good charge and I'm satisfied that it holds its charge around 12.8v, put the problem worsened this week when she just would not start, even with a boost pack on.

Throughout the engine has been turning well and the issue has been the firing/sparking into life.

I called out homestart, and he couldn't get her going, his recommendation was changing the coil, leads and plugs, which I have now done, as well as the points, rotor arm and condensor for good measure. I have also cleaned up the relevent connections and earths.

She still does not start, the engine still turns well, there is a smell of fuel after a few attempts and I'm pretty sure I've flooded it a couple of times, so I think the fuelling side is fine.

Am I missing anything or should I be looking elsewhere?

As a parting thought, the homestart guy did suggest that the head gasket was going, but that replacing the recommended parts should get her going and if the gasket was failing then I'd have a similar problem in the future.

Is this the most likely issue? The temperature on the car hasn't been a problem and I've not been losing more water than is usual, which I understand to be symptoms of a blown head.

Any help is greatly appreciated guys,

Geordie

[Dan]

Were the plugs you removed badly fouled?

[Maverick + Geordie]

They are a bit coked up, although I hadn't cleaned them for a while.

Not a great pic, but they're all similar:
 IMAG0077.jpg   730.46K   15 downloads

[Its a min]

Hi Geordie,

Not sure if you've sorted your problem but I had a similar problem. Turned out to be a couple of things:
1) the distributor cap. It was approx 6 months old and started fine at first but started giving me similar problems. On inspection, there appeared to be no damage or wear but I wasn't getting a spark at the plugs.
2) I found that my timing had gone way out but this could have been that I hadn't tightened the dizzy retaining bolt enough (doh!).
For the car to start, you need: fuel, air, spark & compression all occuring at the right time.
Have you done a compression test? This may give you an idea if there's a leak (pistons/head gasket)
Have you checked you're getting a spark? When I checked, I was getting a spark from the coil lead to the dizzy cap but not at the plugs.
Have you checked the carb? Dashpot oil, fuel mixture, jet not clogged, no debris from dirty fuel in the float chamber etc.
Have you checked for leaks in the manifolds?
Hope this helps.
Good luck.

[Maverick + Geordie]

Guys,

thanks for the suggestions for things to look at, unfortunately still not running.

Doing the holding the leads near the head test there are sparks from the ht leads and the coil lead.

I've done a compression test, it had to be with the engine cold as I can't get it started, and I got the following:

Cylinder 1 - 9.5 kg/cm2 or 135 psi

Cylinder 2 - 7.5 kg/cm2 or 105 psi

Cylinder 3 - 8 kg/cm2 or 115 psi

Cylinder 4 - 6.75 kg/cm2 or 95 psi

Does this tell anyone anything? Anything there that might prevent ignition?

On the carb I've topped up the dashpot and the jet looks clear, I haven't touched the mixture since its m.o.t. last May. I've not looked in the float chamber yet.

With the timing, I'm finding the Haynes explanation a tad confusing, can anyone simplify what I should be looking at/for and where?

Your help is appreciated, thanks guys.

[lrostoke]

Those figures look low, did you do the test with the throttle full open.

You coil should be the ballast system on that year. check that the white/yellow lead is connected to the solenoid lower spade terminal.
When the starter is cranking this wire should supply a boost to the coil to aid starting.

Is your new coil a ballast coil ??

[ArneBrys]

I did a cold compression test on a very similar engine (in quite good condition) and got around 150 psi on all cylinders so these numbers are looking quite low and uneven.
Did you also try a wet compression test (just put some drops of oil in each cylinder before testing). If the numbers rise a lot it will point to worn piston rings.
If not there could be some problems with the headgasket or valves.

[Maverick + Geordie]

I believe the ignition is ballasted, has the yellow and white and pink and white wire to the coil + terminal, and have replaced the coil with Lucas DLB102 which I think is the correct one.

The compression test was with the throttle open.

Have just performed a wet test, again with throttle open and with the engine cold:

Cylinder 1 - 10.25 kg/cm2 or 145 psi difference of 0.75 kg/cm2 or 10 psi
Cylinder 2 - 8.5 kg/cm2 or 120 psi difference of 1 kg/cm2 or 15 psi
Cylinder 3 - 10.75 kg/cm2 or 155 psi difference of 2.75 kg/cm2 or 40 psi
Cylinder 4 - 7.75 kg/cm2 or 110 psi difference of 1 kg/cm2 or 15 psi

Is that a big enough difference to indicate a problem?

[Its a min]

Hi Geordie,

Have a look at this link. Looks like it might be piston/headgasket prob.

http://www.mra-minis...ter-testing.htm

Edited by Its a min, 24 January 2012 - 08:01 PM.

[Maverick + Geordie]

Thanks a lot Its a min,

Looks like the head is gonna have to come off. That'll be fun.

If there is an issue with the pistons (which is looking likely), is there a way of working on them with the engine in the car still? How would I get them out of the cylinder?

[Dan]

No, if you have to remove the pistons the engine comes out.

I don't think you'll have to though. The difference across all the cylinders is about the same dry and wet, and the wey test only really made a massive difference to #3 which could easily have been due to not having done it right the first time round. Compression tests are a bit useless like this really, they only point to massive failures that you can usually spot anyway and don't tell you about anything subtle. A leakdown test is far better. Get the head off and have a look, it's not hard to do.