martynharrison Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Good luck to Malcolm and Steve on the Round Britain run this weekend, and while I'm posting anyway, there's some SD1 EFI operation and test manuals for twelve quid "buy it now" on ebay at the moment, if anyone has this type of engine and has need of it. A link to the auction. Ends later today and anyway there's six left. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 We gave it our best shot, but I'm sorry to say that team 51 retired in the early hours of Saturday morning. Once up to temperature the car keeps cutting out, and no tinkering, spare bits or attempts to press on were able to fix the problem Great event though and we will be back to try again..... Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andrewt Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Bad luck, it is always disappointing to go out like that, but think of the money you saved on fuel! What symptoms did you have. For instance, does the rev counter die as the engine does, or does it show revs even though no power is forthcoming. I hope you got the car home again or was it another towrope job. If so you conveniently made sure it was after dark so no-one would see. Cheers Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Thanks Andy. Yes - a considerable fuel saving, as the car needed to be recovered. It is getting a bad name which is a little unfair as the only two breakdowns I've had in 3 years and almost 20,000 miles a have been public ones I've not found the fault yet. Symptoms: I tried it again today - car needs to be up to temperature (drove around for 15 mins or so) then just cuts out. As I cruise to a halt the rev counter is still reading. Sometimes the car will re-start almost straight away, sometimes not for a few minutes. It doesn't seem related to load (ie. not more likely uphill or under power). It isn't the coil (I tried replacing it)! Ideas?? Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andrewt Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Did you also try replacing leads, especially the king lead? The fact that the rev counter is still getting a signal tells us that the low tension side of the ignition is almost certainly ok. That leaves the high tension side & fuel. Can you test for a spark when it won't run, if so does it have one? If it does but won't start then that can only leave lack of fuel. Does it peter out or is it a hard cut(from a power point of view). If it peters out, then that may suggest fuel. If it misfires before it dies, does it backfire as it picks up again, this would point to fuel not being burnt then burning in the exhaust. I presume it is fine until it cuts, it doesn't feel different to normal i mean. Happy hunting... Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TRishaTR Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Sorry to hear you didn't make it round Malcolm - hope you get the car sorted soon. That's the things with breakdowns they always wait until it'll be noticed! TRisha tend to reserve her breakdowns for when the co-pilot is in the car, thus confidence is never high as all the miles I do on my own don't count!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ajttriumph Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Malcolm, i had a similar problem with a 7V8 several years ago. If you are using a wiring loom off an older motor you might find that there is a ballast resistor which was meant for use with a 6Volt coil, if this is the case you need to remove the resistor or change the coil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andrewt Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Or a coil that should be ballasted running on an unballasted loom & overheating....... Malcolm, does the coil get too hot to touch when the car cuts out. A. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Thanks for the advice. I've done the whole ballasted/un-ballasted, 12v/6v/(8v?) coil thing already - so I know what you are both getting at :: Rather annoyingly the problem has now revealed itself to be the rotor arm. I don't really understand how, but after convincing myself it was definately electrical I started to go through and test/change everything again. Off came the new king lead for and old spare - No. Off came the new dizzy cap for an old spare - No. Off came the new rotor arm and it's been working Ok since (with an old one I kept from a service last year). Two duff rotor arms?? Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Malcolm, for your next event, would you like to borrow our recovery truck-you could just pre-load it, and save some time waiting by the side of the road! It also has a spectacle lift onn the back if you are bringing along any friends! Rob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martynharrison Posted October 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 It occurs to me there is a good idea in all this. I have in my boot a spare distributor cap, lead set already connected in order, and a set of good spark plugs, a coil, the thing that opens when the water heats up, and so forth. These items have one thing in common, they all work ok and didn't need replacement after all. If my car was to break down, e.g. for an electrical fault, I would be able to rule out most bits (although not the rotor arm because I haven't got a tested spare.) But it makes sense to buy one cheap when opportunity arises, swap it for the (working) old one and then as and when the part in question breaks, we have a known working one ready to fix the issue. The rotor arm has me slightly puzzled though, what can go wrong? It's only a T piece with a lump of copper in the top isn't it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Beats me?! Reverting to my old (last year's service) rotor arm has resolved the problem. Up to that point I could easily re-create it - just drive around until up to temperature then *cut-out* on the RBRR and test runs on Saturday & Sunday. Martyn has a point though, which Chris Shaw also made. Carrying spare parts is one thing, but carrying known tested/good spares is much better...... Perhaps I should put the new rotor-arm on eBAY, it's amazing what people are paying for parts :: Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 I was only having a bit of a joke with Malcolm-no need for unpleasantness Alec. ??? Rob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chris turner Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 I always thought jokes were supposed to be funny. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CraigAddison Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 I'm sure it was all meant in the best possible taste, I always have a laugh at my predicament when needing a recovery truck, the best one was a few years ago when my VW camper spectacularly seized on the M5 just north of Taunton Dene, at the time I was not a memeber of any roadside recovery & it cost me £150 to get it back to Dorset, I then spent the rest of my holiday pulling the engine apart to find a nice hole in the No 3 piston, not bad for a new one the engine was rebulit just over 1000 miles previously, my neighbours held a party when they saw the tow truck!! Craig. P.S. perhaps reading posts a bit more "tongue in cheek" would lead to less offence taken. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 No skin off my nose I'm sure. I thought we had all got used to Rob by now :: When I joined the AA I had expected to have that mechanic bloke with the toolkit sat next to me and a breakdown truck following & satellite overhead like in the ad. Sorely disappointed when I waited almost 2 hours (spoiling any realistic chance of re-joining the event) for a bloke who's considered response was 'are you sure you didn't put diesel in it?'. And there's a rumour that I'm a cr*p mechanic..... Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rosey Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Malcolm, Don't beat yourself up, after spending the last 30 years dealing with some very complex technology I have now come to the conclusion that some all powerful being controls anything electrical that humans make. So it doesn't matter what precautions you take, it will happen anyway and you should just accept the inevitable. It could have been worse, you could have been locked out of your Toyota on a car park because the radio mast on the bl**dy fire station is jamming your key fob. The RAC guy told me that he towed a couple of people a week from this car park just like he did to my car! At least the Tr7 suffers from proper problems that human beings can fix. Dave :cool: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chris turner Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 I have not taken offence at Robgeevs comments, I merely pointed out that jokes are meant to be funny and his rarely are.I see he is a lot more diplomatic on the other forums than he is on ours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Chris, were you at Malvern last weekend? A burgundy TR8 won a plaque for something-was this you? Quite a good turn out of 7's, but dwarfed by TR attendance. Diplomat? Me? Never! Just like a bit of banter with you lot. Malcolm-paid my donation last night, hope everyone else on the forum is doing the samae, it's not the kids fault Malc has a ghost in his machine! Rob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JGG Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 For the record,I have had more mechanical breakdowns and heartache with my TR4 and TR6 (29,000 miles 2 owner) than all my other cars put together,hence getting rid of them. To date, never a breakdown with any of my 7's or 8's including several trips to the continent. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Of our 3 4's and 1 six, the only near let down was the 6 water pump losing it at the 2003 international-ideal place to break really, oh and dads 4 exploding its wide bottom pulley in France - when it rains it pours! It sounds like Malc has been the victim of poor quality rotor arms, we had a batch that worked for a week or so, then started tracking at high voltage (ie when running on LPG) fit the genuine expensive item, jobs a good un. Lets face these cars are going to have foibles-always something could be better, sometimes they get fixed worse. Thats life! Beter danken wij de oude spijkers af! (For Alec) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Also for the record my V8 DHC (and most TR7s I've owned actually) has been very reliable over the 20,000 miles I've owned it. Since the RBRR fiasco I've run it every day to work and been fine. It will have to come off the road for some work now, but hey it's winter - not really DHC weather anyway! I will press one of the FHCs into service as I'm still trying to prove we don't need another eurobox :: See it next season? Lets hope so - depends on funds and what is actually causing a continuing noise and vibration through the transmission. I'd not realised how bad it still is until I took out the V8 FHC and remembered what it's supposed to sound like..... Don't regret changing the 'box though. Replacement one is *much* nicer Do however think I should have stuck with ATF as with EP75/90 it is a bit baulky in 2nd when cold. Not changing it now though as I have to take the exhaust off to get to the drain and filler plugs (don't ask!!). Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 Is the gearbox an LT77? ie the same as Rover group cars? If so, the latest specification is Dexron 3. Rob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Yes it is an LT77. Dexron 3 is a type of ATF I think? Advice from some of the Rover/TR and TVR forums and some chats I've had suggested that EP75/90 semi-synthetic was a better oil for long gearbox life, being thicker than ATF but more fluid than manual gear oils of the past. As I said - personal experience suggests it's too thick when cold. Alec - 'rapid demolition' is worrying. Why is this? My thoughts would be that rapid wear is more likely using a thin oil?? Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chris turner Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Malcolm, where do we send the money or will I see you at the NEC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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