QuestionQUESTION: hi,i have a mgb 1980 which hasnt been used in 5 years,been up on axel stands for this time,decided to get it running,i changed the oil 1st removed the rocker cover to oil up tappits and rods,put all tyres on,put new battery on,put a couple of gal of fuel in,rolled car to check brakes were not stuck,
turned on ignition got red light,all electrics working,lights hazzards wipers ect,heard fuel pump kick in,checked fuel was reaching carbs,checked ht leads,rotor arm,dist cap,pulled out manual choke turned over a couple of time which was fine,decreased choke,turned over engine but it failed to fire tried numerouse times but didnt want to know,
took out plugs could smell fuel,
is there a risk of it flooding or is there some thing i havnt checked.
thanks martin
ANSWER: Hi Martin
Before you do anything else, you must confirm that you are getting a spark at the spark plugs. If you don't know how to do that, get back to me.
If there IS a spark, then I would diagnose stale fuel. I presume there was some 5-year-old fuel in the tank and you just topped it up with 2 gallons of fresh fuel. Trouble is, it didn't mix and the heavier old stale fuel got sucked into the supply pipe. If I am correct, you will now have to drain ALL the fuel from the tank and blow through the fuel lines to clear them. Then fill up with fresh fuel and the car should start. It may take a couple of minutes before all the remains of the stale fuel is sucked out of the float chambers, so be persistant.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: hi there again,have drained down fuel from the tank and hopefull cleared the fuel lines and put in fresh fuel.
have put in four new plugs and checked that they are all sparking which they are,thought it might need a new condenser but on removing the dist cap after checking for any cracks and rotor arm that there isnt one and they are electronic points which having checked on paper work the previouse owner had installed.
turned it over a couple of time removed a plug which i found were wet with fuel so i know the fuel is getting through.
thanks very much for your advice
martin
AnswerThat all sounds good, Martin.
If you remove the plugs from the engine for half an hour, that will allow any liquid in the cylinders to evaporate. Whilst out, clean the plugs with a dry cloth, then wrap them in tinfoil and pop them in the oven for a few minutes. Heat them up to 100 degrees C. (The tinfoil is to keep the oven clean). Using gloves, fit the heated plugs back into the engine and immediately try to start the car. Since it is winter, use full choke and the engine should fire immediately. Once running, reduce to about 12mm of choke so the car runs at about 1200 rpm. As it warms up, push the choke fully home. Job done.
If you still have problems starting and the plugs come out wet, then either you have a faulty float or a worn float needle. You have a 1980 car with HIF type carbs, so it could also be a disintegrated O ring on one of the enrichment devices.
Check all 4 plugs. It will probably show up on cylinders 1+2 (front carb) or cylinders 3+4 (rear carb). It is most unlikely to be all 4 cylinders.
