67_gt6 Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Hi, what do others do when they empty the crud out of the glass bowl? I really need to do this however none of the lengths of flex hose before the pump are very long and I am concerned that if I use a clamp on one I may damage one of the solid pipes. Problem is that I have 8 or 9 gallons of fuel onboard... Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Hi, what do others do when they empty the crud out of the glass bowl? I really need to do this however none of the lengths of flex hose before the pump are very long and I am concerned that if I use a clamp on one I may damage one of the solid pipes. Problem is that I have 8 or 9 gallons of fuel onboard... Andy Andy apart from the obvious comment about go out and use it till its empty Best thing is jack the front up as high as you possibly can. then you have some chance of doing it without it going everywhere. Oh and no naked lights Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
67_gt6 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 (edited) Andy apart from the obvious comment about go out and use it till its empty Best thing is jack the front up as high as you possibly can. then you have some chance of doing it without it going everywhere. Oh and no naked lights Stuart. Hi Stuart, thanks, instinct would be to use however I have been having problems with pinking that I've been unable to cure, thought I maybe had bad fuel...you can see where this is going! So having had no joy with that I am trying to rule out fuel starvation - there is quite a lot of sediment in the bowl and the flow into the secondary plastic filter up at the carbs doesn't look quite "right". Think I may go the siphon route and then get the front up high as per your suggestion. cheers Andy Edited January 12, 2009 by 67_gt6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lynchpin Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 hi my tr4 has a tap in the fuel line at the tank end near the rear axle which made the job easy, i assumed it was fitted as standard but could have been added by a previuos owner.. Phil.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Badfrog Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 get an old bolt of the right size as a plug and be real fast when doing the swap. Breathe deeply for a good time. When you recover, resume the repair. Works for me all the time. Rodger loves the smell, too. Cheers, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor S Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Andy, as part of your experimentation you might want to try doing away with the secondary plastic filter for a while and see if it makes any difference. I have met a few 4 4a owners whose running problems ceased when they did away with the secondary plastic filter. Some of the filters have a plastic internal gauze which I have been told can get softened by unleaded fuel causing the holes in the gauze to become smaller hence giving problems. Not sure if this is true or not but for what ever reason some folk I know would not now refit a secondary plastic filter, and it has got to be worth a try as being one of teh easy possible solutions before considering more extreme and more expensive measures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
67_gt6 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Thanks Trevor that is worth a try. re the pinking - at first I thought my head might need a decoke. However I also did a stone cold compression test and all my cylinders were showing about 190 PSI which seemed very high - previous gauge showed 150PSI on a "summer" cold engine. Could it be so coked up as to show this sort of increase? or is it more likely the cold air, in which case maybe the K&N filters may be the culprits? - does very cold air show as higher compression on a gauge? andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Hi Andy, cold air is denser than warm air therefore it should give a higher reading - don't know by how much though. When doing the compression test were the throttle valves fully open on each occassion. Also why not take off the K&N's and see how it goes. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smokey Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I cleaned out the glass bowl on my fuel pump by applying a purpose-built hose clamp (fairly gently, but enough not to leak fuel) to the fuel hose that connects the steel pipe running through the chassis to the fuel pump. That isolated the fuel tank. Then I disconnected the pipe that runs to the carbs from the pump, and carefully collected the small amount of fuel that drained into an aluminum tray, being careful that the ignition was turned off, etc. It was only an ounce or so, and then I poured this back into the fuel tank. The glass bowl did have a lot of sediment, and since my car had sat for a long time during restoration, I ended up installing a new fuel tank as well, even though the existing one had been cleaned and checked. Not advising this as the best procedure - just my experience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Andy - My early TR3A came with a petrol stop-cock and I can turn off the fuel line. If the rubber sections are still fliable, you could clamp the rubber with a "vice grips" or a "C" clamp. Like Trevor, I have heard that the secondary fuel filter can be the cause of fuel starvation. As for pinking, I think your ignition is too far advanced. Try re-adjusting the distributor in the retard direction till the pinking is gone when you are driving up a long hill in 4th gear at 1500 RPM. Keep re-setting it and re-testing it like this till the pinking is gone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smokey Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 The "pinch-off pliers" I used to temporily close off the fuel line are shown here Pinch-off pliers and hose pliers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smokey Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Aplogies - I don't know how to post a link Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR4Geoff Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Hi, what do others do when they empty the crud out of the glass bowl? I really need to do this however none of the lengths of flex hose before the pump are very long and I am concerned that if I use a clamp on one I may damage one of the solid pipes. Problem is that I have 8 or 9 gallons of fuel onboard... Andy Hi Andy, A slight variation on Badfrog's suggestion if you don't want to use a clamp - my wife is a keen gardener and has a double ended dibbing tool (for transplanting seedlings). It is plastic, both ends are rounded, tapering and of different diameters - one end is absolutely right for stuffing in to the end of the flex hose. Obviously I clean it before use - the only problem is I get a right bollocking if she catches me using it! Have a look in your local Gardening Centre. Cheers Geoff PS. If you've still got a lot of fuel on board I would get the front wheels off the ground to reduce the 'pressure'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 This is an excellent opportunity to install a (modern) valve in the connection to the fuel pump. Once installed, you'll never have a problem when wishing to clean the filter bowl. Make sure you get a valve that's suitable for petrol - it will look like the valve used by plumbers for isolating the feed to a washing machine, with a small handle which one turns through 90 degrees. It always struck me as stupid that Triumph removed the isolator valve when the TR4 was introduced, just as they removed the plug from the differential case later on (was it with the TR5?). Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Menno van Rij Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 My TR3A came without the fuel tap. When I rebuilt my car, I installed a modern style fuel tap like this: Note the fuel filter's clamp Menno Quote Link to post Share on other sites
67_gt6 Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Well, pressures of work etc led to the 4A sitting unused for 3 months, and it was pinking so badly when I put it away I didn't feel inclined to do any of the winter jobs as I had lost heart a bit, and combined with a cold garage...well you know how it is. However nice weather today so set to it, gave it a good service...and replaced the plastic fuel filter in front of the carbs. No more pinking, runs like a dream! andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisR-4A Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Hi Andy, to stop the fuel flow I remove the rubber hose and push a 5/16 rod or drill into it and re tighten the clamp. Don't forget to remove the round flat brass filter and wash it out. Don't trust your eyes to check the plastic filter, take it off and try blowing through it, one let me down some years ago. To check the flow from the pump remove the fuel hose from the carbs and place it in a jam jar, crank the engine for about 3-5secs and you should have 1.5-2 inches of fuel in the jar. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrianC Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 To check the flow from the pump remove the fuel hose from the carbs and place it in a jam jar, crank the engine for about 3-5secs and you should have 1.5-2 inches of fuel in the jar. ...but make sure the ignition is disabled first (e.g. remove LT cable) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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