problem starting in the morning

Hello all
I have searched for this question and can not find a solution so here it goes:
I have a 85 series 3 land rover (fuel) which has just been worked n including change of carburatur and tunng the engine, change of spark plugs, fuse, .. None the less I have a hard time staring in the mornings (cold weather). I have to repeatedly press gas till it eventually starts up. Batery is new. I get good sounds from starter. It must have something to do with fuel syste. Any suggestion. I bought this truck a month ago and I am new with land rovers.
thanks in advance

Hmmm. You need to do basic checks, once happy with ignition side check the fuel lift pump is delivering fuel.is the choke working? What carb is it running ? The carb may need an overhaul, check for air leaks on vacuum pipes and carb base. a grown up will be along soon to give a few more ideas.

either your sparks not good enough or fuel is restricted.
has it got an inline fuel filter to carb?

take each spark plug out and rest it on block and turn over-if you have a good spark on each plug and your inline fuel filter is clean come back and well pick it up from there

I don't know what carb you have but I've had both Weber ich34 and dmtl32/34 and found with both of those it was quite easy to flood the engine and cause misery. Mine usually starts first time on the button - no choke until you hear it fire then pull choke out and give it some revs (not nice to the engine really). If you don't get it first time then its wet plugs and either take em out and give em a wave to dry them or sit making a racket for a good 30 seconds or so, cue nosey neighbours....

I usually get it right about 19 times out of 20. Worst is stopping after a short journey, I picked something up from the pub the other day and forgot to push the choke in and rev before cutting the engine. on restarting got a lot of black smoke, followed by a very, very loud bang, followed by more smoke when I yanked the choke...followed by a lot of jeering!

My series 3 was hard to start first up, But after that good for rest of day. New carb, dizzy, leads, fuel filters etc to stumble on a post about coked up engines can give this symptom.
Before removing head and after reading a post on decoking dribbled a pint of water into carb. Apparently an old army trick. ATF also works if you want to **** off neighbours that are a wee bit nosy
I am no mechanic and I may have done more harm than good but She now starts great!

Thanks for replies guys. A few notes:
- spark plugs are new and work fine
- carburator is a rebuilt original of whatever was used (I am not sure since this is a Santana)
- this problem happens only in cold starts in the morning
- I have to repeatedly press gas and turn the ignition till after 10 -20 attempts it starts.
- black smoke comes out when it eventually starts
- after it starts engine runs smooth and beautiful like a clock

2 questions:
where is fuel filter ?
how can I check if air leaks in vacuum pipes (what are vaccum pipes?)

I have been trying to find a manual or at least a diagram showing what is what and what is where online since I can not find a book on landrovers where I am. can anyone suggest a source?
Thanks a million in advance and may your engine start on the first switch

you should have a fuel filter here:



your mechanical lift pump bolted to side of engine (follow fuel line back from carb) has a metal gauze in it which may require cleaning.

easiest way to check for vac leaks is to get her running and then spray carb cleaner or wd40 (flammable liquid out if a can) around the carb base gaskets and air intake manifold.. if you notice an increase in engine speed the fluid has leaked in and ignited...you've then found your leak

Do you have a choke button fitted, that is the key. make sure it works and you know how to work it - like I said in my post I've been starting motors like this since I learnt to drive and I still bugger it up 1 in 20 times!

Yours might not even have a choke cable fitted if you live or bought it somewhere warm. (put where you live in your profile helps us to know).

If it does, when starting, often less is more, start with little or no choke and quickly pull it out when it first fires and then use the throttle to tickle it to life, then give it a good rev to blast all the condensed petrol out of the manifold (What is the choke and what does it do? — Yahoo! Autos). Sorry if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs but you haven't mentioned the choke yet.

From your description it sounds like a choke problem - so don't start pulling it apart, fiddling or pouring water into your carb just yet! The only things I WOULD check are that the choke cable operates correctly, and that the spring that allows the choke butterfly to open when the engine is revved works.

Remove the air feed from the carb and with the choke pulled to top butterfly should close. push it in and it should snap fully open. Close it again and check that when it is closed a light finger pressure should open the butterfly *without* moving the choke cam.

Damp/cold electrical components = poor spark which leads to flooding and even less spark and lower cranking speeds due to the cylinder bores getting a nice de-greasing from liquid fuel (+ extra force compressing more liquid fuel).

Get some WD-40 (or better equivalent if possible) and cover your dizzy cap inside and out. Old dizzy caps get porous and let moisture through. Replace the rotor arm and check the plug leads for any splits. Check your coil. Basically coat it all in WD-40 or equivalent and see if that helps. If you flood it, after drying it out, put your foot flat to the floor on the next crank to get it to catch.

Don't assume your ignition components are in good order, when they get old and damp, they fail quite readily. If the landy was new to me and it was doing this, i would treat it to new cap, rotor, plugs, leads, coil and I would buy Bosch leads and quality cap and rotor. If you have a points dizzy, change the points and condenser although good luck finding a good quality set. I changed to elec ignition, champion plugs, Bosch leads and a brand new Weber 34ich. Started straight up even in -8c, no worries. Something is not right, but it probably just needs a good service.

Good luck

Rimmer bros points have always worked for me on Lucas parts. I'm on a powerspark at the moment though as I managed to stand on my last set of proper ones! Will get these Contact Breaker Points at www.rimmerbros.co.uk when I get round to replacing them with proper uns.

However, it is more than easy to flood even with a super powerful spark if you over do the choke or the spring load is seized...I'd concentrate on checking the choke works properly before doing anything else!

Just stumbled across this thread, my 1980 series 3 has been a problem sometimes, first turn most of the time then a pig to start, tried the no choke, then full choke method as described by Dominicbeesly, and every time first turn, well today! so far so good, Thanks.

Thanks for the answers and photo guys.
I tried some of the suggestions and:
1 - My landy does not have a fuel filter! (I guess I should add one)
2 - I could not find any leaks in the vaccum thing
3- I am not sure if the choke works or not. According to the last mechanic that worked on carburator it works fine. I am trying different method (no choke then a lot or all out ,... to see if it makes any difference).
4 - I tried pouring gas into the carb and it starts almost immediately. (Does that tell you something?)

I will try coating inside and out of the dizzy cap and other stuff with dw40 and add an update later. Hopefully it will solve the problem.

thanks for your generous help again.