TR4 AJJ
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Posts posted by TR4 AJJ
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350 miles in 4 hours Andy - you must know some VERY good Spanish B roads!!
Tim
I failed to mention that my car is a hybrid TR4A / DeLorean
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Thank you Gentlemen,
I will try all the above. Just to say, the water only appears overnight. There's nothing there during running but i suspect anything that escapes is evaporating with the engine heat.
Andy
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A bit closer pick from this morning.
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Hi Andy,
it is a newly acquired car. So you don;t know what has been done for certain.
The water can't come from the push rod tubes under normal conditions.
Unless the head is not tight down perhaps water is wicking from a water way (which is not near) and appearing at the tube. Unlikely in my mind.
However I would re-torque the head. Undo each head nut 1/2 a turn and then torque to 100lbs/ft.
Whilst at this could you clean the area around the suspect plug hole and take a sharp focus close photo square onto the plug hole .
This may show, hopefully not, a crack if present.
Check that heater pipe.
Roger
Thanks Roger,
What i do know, is that engine had a rebuild in 2011 and has done about 4000 miles since. In that build the head was converted to unleaded and new cylinder liners, pistons and big-end bearings and gaskets & seals, etc.
I will have a thorough clean up of the area and remove spark plug and take a further look.
I will also tighten down the head too, like you say. Am I right in thinking that a head should be tightened back down again after a rebuild after a certain time / miles ? If so, I can't be certain that has been done.
From your picture in post #1 the coolant looks quite clean so to my mind looks like an internal not external leak. As Roger said check the metal pipe from the water pump that runs along the edge of the cylinder head.
Even if it is an internal crack I really do not think it will stop or hinder your 1,000 mile trip. Put some K-seal in to be on the safe side if you want. What I would do is drive 500 miles with no sealer, if the water persists put the sealer in. It is amazing what a good drive does to niggly problems.
Simon
Thanks Simon,
I plan to give it a good run over Easter weekend. But will do other investigative works prior as suggested by Roger. The road trip is split into lots of short stays with maximum drive being 4hrs (350 miles). These are on B roads avoiding tolls and motorways.
Is tis a holiday trip to Spain and is your wife with you?
If yes: say nothink what you now know or what could be to her.
I would take another car.
Thanks Marco,
Yes, it's a road trip from Satander up through the top of Spain and into West Coast of France over two weeks. Ferry back from Caen. I need to be reasonably confident the car will be OK before taking it, however, it was pretty much the whole point of the trip. We've done many similar road trips and some in cars with as much 'risk' as the TR4A.
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Hi Andy,
don;t worry about coating the car behind - that's the fun of ferries.
Regarding the water. Check the union of the steel water pipe going into the pump.
The various leak stoppers (K-seal, Barrs etc) are temporary things. All very good but not permanent answers.
Clean off the are where the water is and go for a drive.
If there is water there again, check for water in other places - rad cap, top of expansion bottle, under the bonnet etc. It may be coming for elsewhere.
Roger
Thank Roger,
I fear Marco (Z320) may be right. The water had cleaned off yesterday after the short 10 mile drive but is back this morning. It certainly appears to be around the spark-plug and also the push rod tube. It may have run from the spark plug to the push rod.
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With a crack from the water lines to the plug thread water also runs in the cylinder.
That brings us back to your dusty cardboard.......
Worryingly, that does make some sense ... I wonder if K-Seal would resolve this ?
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Thank you for all the replies.
The choke / soot thing I think is definitely just the need for a good tune-up. I will have a go later today starting without / a little choke. It's something i need to get sorted before we go on our road-trip though. My main concern is that we're getting the Ferry to Santander from Portsmouth and so the car will sit in the ferry for 24hrs. I worry about covering the car behind in wet soot and filling up the ferry with smoke when initially starting it to exit ......
With the water thing - we'll I'm about 99% sure it's coolant and not condensation or water from any other place. It is actually coloured with the anti-freeze. It certainly appears to be around the push-rod tubes. It's actually around each of them but only seems to be enough to form a puddle on No. 3 (as pic) and a tiny amount around 1 too, at the moment. I will clean it all away and see if i can see exactly where it's from. I'll also keep an eye on coolant levels.
Are there any issues using 'K Seal' as post #9 ? (thanks Andy). It's certainly worth a try if there's no detrimental effect on engine.
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Take off the oil filler cap and see if you have any evidence of emulsified oil - it looks like this, but hopefully not..........
Cheers
Andrew
Thanks Andrew,
I've already done that check and it's completely clean, as is the dip-stick. Just very clean oil shown there on both ..... thankfully !
I just took it for a 10 mile trip. That water had clearly gone by then and no new water evident. I'll check on it a little bit later to see if anything has appeared.
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Hi Andy,
the choke action is way too rich.
If the mixture is good under normal running then you need to investigate what is causing the excess fuel with the choke pulled.
The simple solution is to pull the choke out less and less and see where the best position is. Next cold start use only half choke
What is the general condition of the carbs.?
Roger
Thanks Roger,
The whole engine had a rebuild in 2015 and generally looks 'tidy'. I know that's only surface but it does seem to run nice the rest of the time. However, I think it is generally running a bit rich. I know a chap that's good with these carbs so will get him to take a look.
The water is collecting next to two of the pushrod tubes. I would be inclined to remove the rocker cover and see if there is evidence of water up top. You might have a bit of a problem there and I would not travel any distance until it was sorted. Are you losing coolant? Could it just be a splash from somewhere else? I hope so.
Thanks Pete,
I don't appear to be losing any coolant but as i say, I've limited miles in it so far. The first and longest journey, which was mainly motorway at 70MPH, was about 150 miles and I've done about 50-100 on a collection of short journeys.I don't think it's coming from elsewhere.
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Hi All,
I'm a little concerned about my newly acquired TR4A
Firstly, when I initially start it with full choke, there's quite a bit pf smoke from the exhaust. This quickly goes once it's warm and being driven. But because i start it in the garage, I have placed some cardboard behind the car to stop the 'splutter' going all over the walls. There is quite a bit. There is a picture below of what initially comes out and hit's the cardboard. You can see I've run my finger through it and it was like damp soot. ,
I'm thinking it's running a bit too rich ... well, that's what I'm hoping. It runs & drives nice once warm. However, I've only owned it for a month and just done about 250 miles in it so far.
The second picture is something new I've seen today. Water, presumably coolant, sitting just inside the top of the engine. The car is kept in a garage kept at about 10 degrees with a dehumidifier too so I don't expect it to be anything else. I've only seen this today and not before, although that area always looked like it had oil or something there but not a collective puddle.I'm not sure what i think this is.
I have a long two week journey 1000 mile planned for a fortnights time - it's not looking good ....
Thanks for any replies
Andy
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ANY recommendations for these green LED lights ? Make / supplier ?
Thanks in advance
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Ok, LED instrument lights going on the to-do list .... once its above -20 degrees !
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I presume I could short out the dimmer and just have the original gauge lights on full ?
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I shall disconnect and buy a head torch ....
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Sorry to double post ...... but i've now worked out what the issue was.
I found a piece of paper with a fuse board chart on it. The second cable was feeding the instrument lighting via the dimmer thing. I do recall having a good old twist and pull on that knob ..... just before noticing the gauges had stopped working ..... that'll teach me
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Thanks all - now sorted .... for the time being.
I found the voltage stabiliser, it was a tiny box with the word 'instruments' written on it ..... obvious really. Anyway, traced it back to blown fuse. The fuse carrier has another cable coming out of it and i suspect that's the item that may have blown the fuse. I couldn't trace that without undoing the entire loom. I'll keep en eye on it all but it's fixed for the minute.
One thing for sure, the wiring diagram that came with the car and all the other paperwork about the electrics .... well, they may be used to start the log burner tonight because that's about all they're good for. And, as I'm now going for a spin in -30 degrees ... I'm going to need the log burner !
Cheers
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Hi Ian,
Thank you for the welcome. Im beteeen Hatfield Peverel and Terling near Chelmsford. A lovely country lane thats used by many classic sports cars at the weekend ... and me !
For the moment Im sorted for parts, the car came with a boot load of bits that I need to sort through. Hopefully, I wont have to shell out for much as its already restored but if I do, Ill let you know.
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Thanks Ian.
I have a detailed wiring diagram with the car but the voltage meter is about the only thing not shown. Ill have time to investigate further today.
BTW ~ For anyone following this thread ~ i changed my user name for something simple half way through thread. Realised using my full name on an open forum was probably not sensible in this day & age.
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Yes, Its a voltage meter.
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Ha Ha.
If you have an alternator conversion then quite often the ammeter is discarded for a voltmeter so the ammeter wring is obviously changed.
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Hi
Normally, and mine is, under the dash, driver's side. Look for a rectangular metal box the shape of, but smaller, than a pack of cigarettes (remember those?). When they go wrong, as mine has, you get erroneous readings of fuel and temp gauges. As you have no readings you will probably have knocked off a wire. A strange quirk of the TR electrics is that it all goes through the ammeter, so if one of the hefty wires comes off the ammeter you loose all electrics. I tried to get a new voltage stabilizer from Moss but they only have positive earth ones. Perhaps somebody knowledgeable here knows if this can be fitted to a - earth car but with the wires attached differently.
Welcome to TR ownership. There are plenty of parts suppliers (Moss, TR Shop TRGB) to name a few. There is a wealth of knowledge and help through the forums on this site. have fun, although I am sure Ferraris and Spitfires are not boring!
Cheers
Simon
Thanks Simon.
With part of the new electrics fitted by the previous owner, there is a complete new fuse box and various controls. It's a rather neat box of tricks but there are a shed load of wires coming out of it ! I think that one of the differences is that not all the electrics are going through the ammeter now. However, there is a lot going on behind the four gauges.I'll get in there today .....
Spitfire is nice and simple .... The Ferrari (now sold), was ......not !
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Thanks Alan ... that's tiny !
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Hi,
New member and new TR4A owner but not new to Triumphs.
Ive only had the 4A a few days and very impressed. It was running lovely and had a great first journey home in it .. all 200 miles with no issues.
I wanted to fit a cigaret lighter / charger socket so was having a little look at the electrics. Actually found it already had a triple lighter thing under dash. The electrics have been completely replaced and an excellent job too by a previous owner.
Anyway, before you lose interest, some how during my looking and poking about, Ive managed to dislodge sometime as none of my meters now work ( Fuel, Voltage & Temp). Looking through the wiring diagram that came with the paperwork, the supply comes from a Gauge Voltage Stanilzer.
Im assuming this is what Ive moved but I dont know what it looks like. Could anyone give me a brief description / size and where it would normally be found. Its likely mine has been changed and could be somewhere new but I need to start somewhere. I dont really want to open up the lovely neat wiring loom to trace it, if possible.
Thanks in advance for any advice
Andy
Big, Little or No Problem ?
in TR4/4A Forum
Posted
Thanks Simon,
That is basically the plan.
We've done a few road-trips now in various new & classic cars and have had the misfortune to have to send one car back on a low-loader and complete the trip in a hire-car. This wasn't a mechanical issue, just an Italian Lady who decided to remove the rear end .....
Don't worry, I will inevitably bore you all to death with photos ! Good & Bad days !!