Fuel issue

craig r

craig r

Member
yet more tales of woe with my 2200TC haha. Further advice needed guys.

The car pretty much lay unused over the winter and as a result the fuel that was in the tank went a bit manky. This became apparent when the car died on route to the mechanics to get some other work done two weeks ago. After I got it to him he diagnosed the issue and ran some fuel cleaner through the tank and cleaned out the carbs. All seemed fine although he did tell me to keep an eye on things. Unfortunately I let what small amount of fuel that was left in the tank run down to almost empty and I started to feel the car struggle a bit again. I quickly put half a tank in and added more STP fuel cleaner and gave it a quick blast along the dual carraigeway. All seemed fine although it was just a couple of miles worth of driving.

I parked up and didnt run the car for around 5 days. I went back to it last night to give it another run and it was running very badly again. It was really struggling to get up any sort of incline at speed (around 50mph) and i could tell there just wasnt any power.

I got into a supermarket car park and it duly died on me again. However after letting it sit for around 10mins it started up and i was able to nurse it home.

so, im wondering how effective the fuel cleaning additives are? have I not allowed it to run through fully? Or do I need more serious remedial work (fuel tank fully cleaned out/carbs stripped and refurbed?).
 
I'm a v8 guy, but carbs are carbs right? :D

So is the car idling normally etc and just lacks power or is it running like a bag of spanners? If running like spanners, have you tried (carefully and with appropriate PPE) pulling ht leads to see if the bad running is confined to certain cylinders?

Wondering if you have sucked up some crud into one of the carbs, has happened to me before many times over the years with various cars...

If it is running fine in all other respects and just lacks poke then I will be quiet and let a proper 4-cyl person try to help you :oops:
 
well in terms of last nite it started fine and drove seemingly well until i hit the dual carraigeway. it was only when i was up at around 40/50mph and trying to get up hill that i felt it was struggling. when i pulled in i went to the shops, started up on my return and when i tried to pull away it died. started a couple of more times and died again straight away each time. then wouldnt start at all.

definitely got the sense that it was an issue with fuel. i was getting a pretty strong smell of petrol also.

But after 10 mins of sitting with the engine off it started ok and i managed to get home. so im thinking it is still an issue with 'cruddy' deposits getting into the carbs. If so is there a sure fire way to clean everything out? the STP cleaner I got was only around £5 but ive seen more expensive ones.
 
Willy Eckerslyke said:
What can you see through the glass on the fuel pump?
Have you tried using the reserve feed to see if it makes any difference?
Click to expand...

willy, i havent tried either of those yet as it was late on when i got back to the lock up last night. but i'll check those first thing tomorrow. I know that when the issue first arose the mechanic ran the car from a fuel can and it ran perfectly. this was how he realised there was an issue with dirty fuel in the tank. Will the fuel in the reserve tank be ok?
 
Quagmire said:
Running badly and smelling strongly of fuel it could be a stuck float and dumping out the overflow?
Click to expand...

do you mean in the carbs? is this easy enough to resolve?
 
Worth looking at the plugs. If they are sooty that will be the struggling for power.
 
craig r said:
Will the fuel in the reserve tank be ok?
Click to expand...
The reserve is just the bottom of the main tank with a lower inlet.
I also resurrected a P6 recently after it had been laid up for 15 years, and had trouble with dirty fuel. I'd flushed the tank through by pouring in a gallon of petrol, running it through, filtering it and repeating several times. The car was then fine for a month before breaking down after dislodging crud, which was visible through the glass of the pump. It's now running well but only through the reserve - the main pipe has become blocked despite the intake being higher than the reserve.
 
Willy Eckerslyke said:
craig r said:
Will the fuel in the reserve tank be ok?
Click to expand...
The reserve is just the bottom of the main tank with a lower inlet.
I also resurrected a P6 recently after it had been laid up for 15 years, and had trouble with dirty fuel. I'd flushed the tank through by pouring in a gallon of petrol, running it through, filtering it and repeating several times. The car was then fine for a month before breaking down after dislodging crud, which was visible through the glass of the pump. It's now running well but only through the reserve - the main pipe has become blocked despite the intake being higher than the reserve.
Click to expand...

how did you filter the fuel?

I had an idea to completely siphon/drain the tank then pour in a couple of bottles of STP fuel cleaner, let that sit for a bit to see if it broke up any deposits in the tank, then pour in neat petrol and either siphon/drain it out. Then repeat a few times. Do you think that would work?
Also im guessing I would benefit from fitting a fuel filter?


Craig.
 
My method was clearly insufficient as it clogged again a couple of weeks ago. :(
All I'd done was drain the tank, pour in a gallon of fresh fuel, drain this via the hose which I had disconnected at the reserve tap. I then poured it through a couple of thicknesses of cotton (an old lab-coat) which removed lots of rusty flakes of crud. I poured the filtered fuel back into the tank and repeated the process until no more flakes were coming through.
It worked for a while but fine brown silt collected in the fuel pump. I cleaned this a few times then broke down when the hoses from the tank both clogged some 6000 miles later. Disconnecting the hose at the pump and blowing through it at the side of the road cleared it enough to get home. I then used an airline to blow through both hoses (main and reserve) until bubbling could be heard at the tank (filler cap open to prevent it pressurising) but will have to do the job properly soon.
I have two options:
Swap the whole tank for a cleaner one;
Undo the hatch (and fix the fuel gauge sender which isn't working) and wash/mop out as much silt as possible. Not a job I'm looking forward to.
 
I've used a steam cleaner to clean tanks. Worked really well as long as you can get reasonable access, which I think you can with a P6 tank.

Also, the reserve tap can trap crud and surprise you after you have cleaned the rest of the system.

Good luck.

Yours
Vern
 
How warm is it where you are? I'm in the US and have to use fuel with ethanol added (terrible stuff). I've found it likes to boil at quite low temps and the HIF carbs I have fitted (same as yours) have the float chambers very close to the heat shield. I added extra insulation to the shield and that seems to have helped, fingers crossed.
 
Vern Klukas said:
I've used a steam cleaner to clean tanks. Worked really well as long as you can get reasonable access, which I think you can with a P6 tank.
Click to expand...
I am thinking of trying a pressure washer which should shift the fine silty deposits, then an air-line to dry it out. But it can wait until I have my Land Rover back on the road first...
 
Willy Eckerslyke said:
My method was clearly insufficient as it clogged again a couple of weeks ago. :(
Click to expand...

Why don't you just swap the tank from the car that you were using until recently?
If i remember correctly, you swaped quite a few parts from it.
 
Demetris said:
Willy Eckerslyke said:
My method was clearly insufficient as it clogged again a couple of weeks ago. :(
Click to expand...
Why don't you just swap the tank from the car that you were using until recently?
If i remember correctly, you swaped quite a few parts from it.
Click to expand...
You're right, that would be the most sensible option. Trouble is, I haven't mentally written off that other car yet so I feel bad about stealing bits off it. :?
 
Willy Eckerslyke said:
Demetris said:
Willy Eckerslyke said:
My method was clearly insufficient as it clogged again a couple of weeks ago. :(
Click to expand...
Why don't you just swap the tank from the car that you were using until recently?
If i remember correctly, you swaped quite a few parts from it.
Click to expand...
You're right, that would be the most sensible option. Trouble is, I haven't mentally written off that other car yet so I feel bad about stealing bits off it. :?
Click to expand...

I understand how you feel, but you won't really steal anything from it, just swap any necessary parts that will keep your everyday car trouble free. Then you can take your time and clean / repair / source another tank for your "other car".
 
I had similar issues with my Rover 2000 TC. To overcome them I removed the fuel tank, took it to a radiator repair place, where they cleaned it, and lined it with epoxy. You can clean the tank yourself. I believe a technique that has been used it is to use old bolts inside, shake around to dislodge rust, then remove the bolts, and the line the tank with epoxy stuff. I am sure that others here will have an idea on that.

I then replaced the fuel lines. 1/4 inch fuel lines will work, clamped over the stubs of the lines that are blocked, and cut away. You can use compression fittings, and hard fuel line if you have access to them.

I would take off the fuel line going to the carbs, and hand pump the fuel pump. You should get a good squirt of fuel coming out. If it just dribbles out then that is a sign of blocked fuel lines. Also check the engine oil for signs of fuel contamination. If the diaphragm of the fuel pump fails, then petrol will end up in the oil.

James.
 
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