My newly installed Rover V8 fitted with SU carbs won't start, I've narrowed it down to a blockage/fault with the carbs. I took them off and took the top off and took the bottom off, then gave them a clean. They didn't seem too bad and nothing looked out of place. On refitting them the engine failed to start. What should I be looking for and what do I clean/service when I'm in there? The float chambers fill with petrol but it doesn't seem to get out. Any ideas?
Cheers
No answers yet........so I'll kick things off. Firstly, can you clarify your post 'cos I'm a bit thick:doh:
It's not clear to me from your post if the engine did work, you then cleaned the carbs and now it won't work or, the engine wouldn't start, you narrowed down the problem to the carbs, tried to fix them and it still won't work.
To be honest, SU's are pretty simple bits of kit and there isn't much can stop them working. Yes, they can run badly, but 'not at all' is unusual. You also have two bites at the cherry 'cos each carb feeds two cylinders in each bank so for the engine not to fire at all is unusual because it would imply that both carbs were blocked at the same time.
Before you do anything else, check two things. Check that the damper holding the needle is free to rise and fall and the dashpot is topped up with oil. Secondly, if you haven't done it already, squirt EasyStart (three seconds down each carb throat and see if it will fire and run for a few seconds. You need to hold the damper up with a screwdriver whilst squirting. If the engine fires, this confirms a carb problem, if it doesn't, the problem lies elswhere.
Assuming that the engine doesn't fire and the problem points to the carbs, check for blockage..........
The only thing that can be blocked is the jet. This is a plastic tube in the float chamber (one side is white, the other is black). Unscrew the retaining clip, remove and blow through. If you can blow through, it isn't blocked.
Good luck
Chris
