Maestro Van running problems

[maestro vans]

I am after some advice really. One of the vans pretty much since day one has never really run right. When cold it coughs and spluts untils it has warmed up. I have checked all the obvious things ie vacuum pipes, timing, compression tests etc. Once it has warmed up it is fine. I did suspect the head gasket had gone but after doing a compression test getting about 180 Psi per cylinder I have discounted this. The van runs really sluggish and almost as if its starved of petrol until it warms up.It has manual choke on it too. Wonder if its worth playing with the mixture settings etc. Any help tips or advice greatly welcomed as I have come to the end of my ideas on this one. Thanks

[B18 GPC]

if you can ;

If the vehicle has a fuel filter , change it , adding injector cleaner to the tank {or simular , as a recomendation} ..

if this doesnt help , id go pump at an un-educated guess . . .

Other people Obviously know more about the Maestro though...

[ben rawlings]

hi maestro vans

have you checked/topped up the dash pot oil?

normal engine oil is fine to use in here.

[D87 SMW]

Probably running rich in which case check the mixture - or as Ben says, low on dash-pot oil.

[G Force]

Hi before you touch the carb settings I would check out the ignition componants, as it sounds more like an ignition problem to me.

Remove the distributor cap and check for corrosion of the rotor arm and cap, remove the carbon brush and check the spring is not burned. Any problems with cap or rotor then renew them.

If no problem is found inside cap & rotor then give the cap a good clean along with the ignition coil tower, then fit a new set of good quality plug leads as they are the most likely cause of the problem after the cap & rotor.
Since you have done a compression test I asume the spark plugs are good and gapped correctly;)


cheers gary:)

[maestro vans]

Hi guys, thanks for all the suggestions. The dashpot is checked and filled every week. The van has new HT lead set rotor arm and distributor cap. Im stumped as to what it could be. After it warms up for 5 minutes it runs a lot smoother. As I said when cold its almost as though it has no oomph almost as if it was low compression or something. Any more suggestions greatly appreciated

MAestro vans

[tony]

can you check to see if the advanc and retard works on the dizzy

[G Force]

Also check if you are getting full choke at the carburetter with the choke pulled fully out.

The cable should be adjusted so when the lever is pulled out to the first detent, the arrow on the fast idle cam lines up with the centre of the fast idle adjustment screw head on the carburetter choke linkage. Then recheck you are still getting full choke. Once the cable is set correctly with the engine hot then pull out the choke lever to the first detent set the fast idle speed to 1150 +-50rpm with the fast idle adjustment screw. It is a good idea to lubricate the fast idle cam with high melting point grease to stop it sticking.

The adustment can usually be made by unclipping the outer cable spring clip and moving the outer cable in or out as necessary. this can sometimes save you undoing the inner cable clamp.

Can I ask if the engine runs perfect with good power when warmed up or just a little bit smoother but not quite right?

Gary:)

[maestro vans]

Hi Gary,
Thanks for the replies, it does run a little better when warm but lacks any kind of power still. I will check the choke cable adjsutment tomorrow and the dizzy retard advance weights. Im still unsure as to why it runs so rough when cold

thanks

[G Force]

Hi I think Tony mean't more the vacuum advance mechanism, To test this put a single pipe on the vacuum unit connection at the distributor and suck, if you can suck air through then the vacuum unit is faulty. If you suck on the pipe whilst the engine is running on tickover if it is functioning correctly the engine note should change and speed up a little.

If everything is ok I would try turning the mixture adjustment screw on the carburetter 1/2 a turn clockwise to richen the mixture as from the description you have given it is most likely running lean. If you take care to notice how much adjustment to the mixture screw you make you can always go back to the original setting if no improvement.

I think if you look at the faq I described a more in depth way to perform platau tunning (mixture adjustment) under tuning s series and the procedure is the same for a series. Also ETV wrote a good faq about specificaly the a series.

If you still have problems just come back and we will have a rethink untill we get to the bottom of the prob.

Regards gary:)

[e692wtt]

Does the carb have O rings even though it's got a manual choke? Setting the mixture for the MoT (as well as sometimes being dificult to get down to the required limits) often leads to generally poor running afterwards also, if the original rubber O rings on the choke spindle are 'shot' and they usually are :banghead: .

A B-reg Monty 1.3 manual choke carb I once worked on has O rings, and the aftermarket choke kits do so I am guessing this manual choke carb has them also.

Viton O rings solve this problem, and are (breaking news!) available from the Club. I'd say they are worth changing anyway, I always change them on any Maestro or Montego new to myself or immediate colleagues and this makes a big difference to how the car runs (simple retune of the carb is also needed, takes a few minutes).

[G Force]

Does the carb have O rings.

Hi Rich, Yes the O rings are still used and will be the same sizes as the stepper motor type.

Gary:)

[e692wtt]

Hi Rich, Yes the O rings are still used and will be the same sizes as the stepper motor type.

Gary:)

Cheers Gary :thumbup: , it was something that was niggling me generally rather than specific to this thread - but it may come in useful here also :) .

[maestro vans]

Thanks for the replies guys.
The carb I have on the vans is a manual choke version and doesn't have the O rings as it doesnt have a stepper motor attached to it.
I adjusted the mixture setting this morning by turning it half a turn inwards thus richening the mxture.
This seemed to impove things. I wanna recheck my timing adjustment
When I checked thetimimg previously I plugged up the vacuum advance pipe that goes to the dizzy and run the engine at 1500 RPM and adjusted to 12 degrees BTDC as per the haynes manual. Can you confirm these are the correct settings as last time I took it for a Krypton tune the mechanic adjusted it with more advance i think 16degrees. Would this have been to compensate for running it on umleaded?
Any help appreciated

[Austin-Rover]

The carb I have on the vans is a manual choke version and doesn't have the O rings as it doesnt have a stepper motor attached to it.


Just for information...your carb still has O rings even though it doesn't have the automatic choke. Manual choke vehicles have them too!

[maestro vans]

Thats news to me. Where would these O rings be. I thought the o rings only
existed on the carbs with the stepper motors. Where would these be as I cannot see for the life of me where they are and what they would be doing.

thanks

maestro vans

[e692wtt]

There is a spindle from the stepper motor into the carburettor body, on autochoke models - the O rings are on that spindle.

On manual choke models, the stepper motor is absent but the choke mechanism on the outside of the carb has the same effect as the stepper motor (but manually). Remove the external choke mechanism (probably one or two screws - not the 3 that hold a stepper motor on - and probably the throttle operating mechanism will come away too, make notes as to how it fits together) and it will come away, bringing the spindle with it. Et voila, O rings.

If the old O rings have been affected by Unleaded, they will fill their 'grooves' on the spindle, and possibly be split. Replacement ones do not fill their 'grooves' completely as fitted.

[G Force]

. I wanna recheck my timing adjustment
When I checked thetimimg previously I plugged up the vacuum advance pipe that goes to the dizzy and run the engine at 1500 RPM and adjusted to 12 degrees BTDC as per the haynes manual. Can you confirm these are the correct settings as last time I took it for a Krypton tune the mechanic adjusted it with more advance i think 16degrees. Would this have been to compensate for running it on umleaded?
Any help appreciated

Hi 12 degrees BTDC @ 1500rpm with Vacuum pipe off and plugged is the correct setting, I think your Krypton man just got it wrong. If anything usually engines need less advance to run unleaded but this is not necessary on your engine.

Did you get chance to check to make sure the vacuum advance is working as this would give similar symptoms to what you are experiencing if it was not working.

Gary:)

[B18 GPC]

if you can ;

If the vehicle has a fuel filter , change it , adding injector cleaner to the tank {or simular , as a recomendation} ..

if this doesnt help , id go pump at an un-educated guess . . .

Other people Obviously know more about the Maestro though...

Sorry - I was in a diesle mind at this post..