High Tickover problem

[secubis3]

My Maestro has been ticking over quite high recently. I was advised to lube the cable, but that made no difference. I then found that the vacuum connecter to the carb had busted, a temp repair made no difference!!

How do I turn the revving down, it sounds like the choke is stuck, but the carb was serviced before christmas, the accelorater cable has been lubed and is ok!!! and yet she still screams at me. Any ideas???

If anyone has a spare L shaped vacuum connecter to sell, then I'm you man, local Rover dealer wanted £25 for a pack as he will not split them.

Cheers
Stewart

[maestro vans]

Not meaning to state the obvious but have you turned down the idle screw it lurks in the big hole down in the air filter it at approx a 5 O clock position down the gap between the dashpot and the air filter you may need a torch to see it. A flat blade screwdriver is needed for adjustment.
Also it might be the timing needs adjusting or some of your vacuum tubes have split or come off. Worth checking these too. Also the fuel air mixture screw will alter the idle speed as well. But if it has been working
OK I doubt it will be this
Let us know how you get on
Maestro Vans

PS also check there is a little slack in the throttle cable if its too tight could cause the symptoms u have. Also check the operation of the choke levers by the carb work ok

[talkingcars]

Which model is it?
If it has electronics turning down the idle screw may not be the answer!

[secubis3]

Hi there,
It's a 1.3 Special I have and this is what I've done so far. Removed and lubed the accel & choke cables. Oiled the moving bits on the side of the carb.

I have not dont the idle screw or mixture as I could not find them - never needed to in the past.
I have had the carb stripped before xmas and was told the float was stuck, could this be the case again?

[secubis3]

Seems like I've only solved half the problem. te tick over when the engine starts is fine but when it warms up the revs just take off. It makes no difference if the car has been driven or just idleing, after a while the revs rise to a point where engaging gear is crunching.

Anyone any ideas?????

Cheers
Stewart

[G Force]

Hi, are you saying you can't even slow it down by adjusting the idle adjusting screw?

Let us know if this is the case & will advise.

Gary:)

[secubis3]

Yip that's right. When she is cold she idles ok, then when she gets hot she revs up. When it revs high I can turn it down BUT when the engine is stopped it will not start until I reset the screw to its original position!!!! Do I have a gremlin or am I just unlucky that he car is punishing me for a past life I may have had????

[G Force]

Hi I think as you can slow the engine speed down with the idle adjusting screw then the first thing you should do is check that every thing fundamental is setup correctly

Check there is free play in the throttle linkage and that full throttle can be obtained when pressing the throttle pedal, then with the engine hot set the idle speed to 850rpm.

Check if you are getting full choke at the carburettor with the choke pulled fully out.

The choke cable should be adjusted so when the choke 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 carburettor 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 adjustment 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.

As most new cars have automatic choke or cold start systems people can get out of practice using the manual choke so as a general guide the engine should start from cold by pulling the choke lever out fully, you should start driving the car ASAP after start up to avoid idling on full choke. Gradually push the choke lever in whilst driving along until the engine performs normally and will idle on its own. When warm the engine should restart without choke, but if it has been left for longer periods a lesser amount of choke may be needed.

If none of the above is any help then let us know, as there could be a fault with the carburettor that has been overlooked.


Gary:)

[secubis3]

Seems to have done the trick for the time being. I cleaned all the bits I could see and lubed them. Then I fiddled with this and that and redid the idle screw when she was hot and it seemes to have worked!!!! It still revs a little but not as much as before. Could it be inside the carb as we had it stripped and serviced, the guy said something about a float sticking!!! How long should a carb service last???

Cheers
Stewart

[C191JOE]

It's hard to see that a float could 'stick' after such a short lapse of time. The carb float actually rotates on a spindle which screws in at one side of the carb and rocks to and fro on the other side in a hole designed to take the spindle. It is not possible to over-tighten this arrangement: it literally screws tight and that's it. A carb service should have indicated that there was no untoward wear on the spindle and if so, the spindle (with float), should have been replaced. It may be that the bottom plate of the carb has been reaffixed in the wrong place - there is a triangular indentation in the base of the carb to allow for the movement of the jet up and down according to temperature fluctuations in fuel. If this plate has been wrongly re-applied I suspect it might contribute to your problems but a competent carb refurbisher would have known this. The other thing to check is that the 'pot' , the aluminium top to the carb, held on by three screws, has been replaced without winding up the spring inside it. The pot only sits in one of three possible sitings and sometimes moving the pot round actually catches the spring. It then comes under tension, thus affecting the movement of the piston in the chamber. This might adversely affect petrol/fuel mix.

I can't think of anything else!

[bmcecosse]

Wow - a Maestro in Glasgow !! I will look out for you. The HIF carbs are very reliable and don't give much trubble. depends how far it was 'stripped' - but could be the butterfly is slightly offset on the bore and can't get fully home. Also if the butterfly has the daft wee valve thing in it - remove it and solder over the hole !

[B18 GPC]

sounds a bit carb damper sticking.. its what G733 did in winter 05.

has the oil dash pot level been checked.. ?

[secubis3]

An update on the high tickover problem. My vac tubes have been taped using duck tape and are holding quite well..Til I get a new set from somewhere.
I did the screw adjusting thing and it worked for a while then it went again. So now I sat and read all threads for the problem and with two, and not one screwdriver I went about the mixture and idle screws...hey presto after only 30 mins one grazed knuckle and a singed ear (don't ask!!!) the little lady is runnig a lot smoother. Once again thanks for your help. I'm off on holiday to the north west of Scotland again so this will be a good testing ground for the MPG figures.

Cheers
S