Engine Dies on Idle... Where to start

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HELLO mike just read the thread (mustabin asleep?) looking through it no-one mentioned about checking the flange on the carb for being bowed,,,,use a steel rule to check,it can happen if to thick a gasket is used,nipping down at the ends and bending the flange ,,,,,,,it can be cured no bother by rubbing the flange on a sheet of glass with grinding paste only thing is it requires a carb clean up afterwards to get rid of the grinding paste,,,,,,if its bowed it will cause an air leak at the joint and give the sympoms you describe,,,im not saying this is the cause but its worth checking mate ....best of luck dave
 
MikeDowson said:
Hi,

right, had a bit of a play now.

I took out the first spark, it looked ok, put it back in and snapped the ceramic. So bought a complete new set of sparks, stuck one in to replace the broken one and before replacing the other 3 i went for a drive as i needed to move it out of the way and it seemed to work perfectly - just on one spark. So i will do the other three now and see if that has solved the problem or if the run around this weekend was a fluke or the solution.

I had adjusted the idle revs whilst out on a green lane a few weekends ago - that did seem to solve the problem a bit, but then it slowly got worse again.

I think cleaning up the carb. will be a good job to do and can only help matters though so will definitely aim to do this soon - the Landie had been standing for a year or so before i got it

Thanks for your help everyone :)
Click to expand...

Sorry wasnt clear, by looking at the condition of the spark plugs you can often tell were the problem is coming from using the info i gave you. :):p
 
Apologises!

They were kind of orange / burnt around the bottom, but otherwise looked ok, a bit of oil on the threads, thats about it. I don't quite know what you mean by 'dry' though - they weren't wet... but ... compared to the new ones which went in they didn't look much different - except fot the slight burining around the bottom
 
Well compared to those pics they are somewhere between Normal and Lead Fouling. I am obviously adding too much additive into the Unleaded petrol...

Thinking about it - that is the main thing which has changed from when i collected it and now - i have been adding lead additive type stuff - maybe the engine is just happy on Unleaded???
 
Hi Mike,

Mine has the Weber carb...and had the same symptoms.

You can get a refurb kit which includes needles, gaskets, diaphragms and float valve. I stripped it down, blew out thoroughly with an airline, clean the outside so everything moves freely and rebuilt.

If you google Weber and the model number you will find refurb instructions. I will try find mine. You only need the instruction for setting it up on completion as its really easy.

Since then it has been running perfect. I can leave it standing on tick over and it will run till the tanks empty. After suffering the frustration of your symptoms it's now an absolute dream...

Cheers,
Steve.
 
The permanent solution is to get in touch with Roland at ACR in Chester (Automotive Component Remanufacturing) and ask his about his unleaded heads. Not a lot of money and a whole heap less hastle. You could even drive yours for a while without additive till it burnt out the valve seats, then swap the head for one with high temp modifications. The best I have found seem to come from ACR, and you get the option of power upgrades if your wallet fancies some gentle exercise.
 
Well I would doubt it mate, but if you managed to burn out your valve seats by using unleaded with his unleaded head he may well be more helpful.
 
i had a GS 109 2.25 petrol here the other day doing the same - was the distributor cap mucking around.
 
Hmm... think i'll try cleaning up the carb first as thats probably the cheapest option then will progress to look at the distributor, etc.

Any i will bare in mind a new head so i can run straight unleaded, but, got to watch the pennys!
 
All already mentioned but if youve done all of the obvious things like plugs, leads and checked the distributor cap, set the points correctly, put a new condensor on you've eliminated all of those problems.

with that and cleaning the carb and setting it up correctly should cure it, I'd also check the timing by the sounds of it.

I ran mine for a long time on unleaded putting additive in every now and then, Ive only just changed the head on mine but I'd put that on the list to do at some point but wouldnt worry about it too much.
 
Last edited:
Just wanted to thank everyone for their helpful input.

I took off the carb. this afternoon and cleaned it all up, new gaskets, etc. and she now runs perfectly on idle! I have turned down the idle screw so much now I might even get better fuel consumption (lets face it, i cant get worse than £70 worth of fuel in one day)

Thanks
 
MikeDowson said:
Hmm... think i'll try cleaning up the carb first as thats probably the cheapest option then will progress to look at the distributor, etc.

Any i will bare in mind a new head so i can run straight unleaded, but, got to watch the pennys!
Click to expand...

I've (still) got a Turners head stashed away that's got less than 100 miles on it if your interested - can't see me finding a use for it this decade
 
Nice one, pleased u got it sorted.

I know how good it feels as it was exactly the same with mine. There is always an inclination to think it must be electrical but as you now know - it isn't always.

Hopefully you saved yourself quite a bit too.

You may want to get a decent fuel filter in line before carb to stop it muckling up again.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Hopefully should be the proud owner of a new head soon :)

Back to the Webber Carb slightly - the air pipe doesn't actually fasten onto the carb. it just bascially sits on - even with the jubliee clip done up all the way.
I assume the Webber carb has a smaller air inlet than the old carb - is there a converter i can use to get a snug fit or should i just conclude that it really isn't that important and if some air gets in its not going to affect things that much as it is in the air inlet anyway?

And, yes a descent fuel filter is on the 'to buy' list!
 
MikeDowson said:
Just wanted to thank everyone for their helpful input.

I took off the carb. this afternoon and cleaned it all up, new gaskets, etc. and she now runs perfectly on idle! I have turned down the idle screw so much now I might even get better fuel consumption (lets face it, i cant get worse than £70 worth of fuel in one day)

Thanks
Click to expand...

What did I say the problem was? Fück, I'm good!
 
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