Well seeing as for the best part of last year I was chasing an intermittent misfiring, rough running and cutting out issue and then throwing some less than satisfactory new parts in to confuse things. So during its winter layup I removed and flushed though the fuel tank and internal filter.
And considering it would have been lucky to make it to the end of the road without misfiring or cutting out, and hasn’t moved for 5 months I’ll take it a success. (I was also bloody knackered having forgotten how heavy the steering and brakes were)
I’ve brushed the plugs off and adjusted/leaned off the mixture two flats and I’ll see how it goes. What I was more concerned with was the plug for no3 (second on the left) as although it’s a been a little smoky on start-up (could well of been down to old fuel) it doesn’t appear to be burning too much oil.
What colour is the smoke on start up? How much oil burn is "too much oil"? The fact that no 3 is still showing darker than the rest suggests a possible problem with compression or oil control rings on that cylinder. Is there any chance you can get a compression tester on it? That said, even a worn engine with even compression on all cylinders can be a smoke bomb if the oil control rings are shot. Ask me how I know...
The colour of the smoke on start up is blue, worse if it has been left for a few days. It doesn't always but it's the first start from cold on choke and first run under load, which as I live on a bit of a hill is unavoidable. Once warmed up from driving (not sitting idling) and off choke there's no noticable smoke of any kind while driving.
It must be using some oil (it's also got the mini gear selector seal dribble) but it never seams to show a noticeable amount used on the dipstick, too the point topping it up could lead to accidental overfilling. But as I've just done a fresh oil change I'll check it again after a set mileage.
I had thought about rechecking the valve clearances, even though I've only recently just done them. As I have noticed (it could just be me though) that when hot and idling (nice and smooth around 850rpm) on the drive while I'm unlocking the garage there's a light metallic rattle/knocking. Which could be nothing, or if one of the plugs isn't firing properly...
And the other reason for doing the oil change is when hot and idling the oil pressure gauge (if it wasn't fitted I wouldn't worry about it) instead of sitting steady flutters about normally just below 40psi, even though the idle is smooth and not at all lumpy.