dpb Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 Hello I've been away from this forum for about two and a half years, mainly ignoring my 4A in the garage, and looking after various relatives' houses, grandchildren etc. Anyway, I've booked to go France in the summer, and now I'm getting the car ready. One success is getting my car radio to work with a Bluetooth speaker - getting rid of some cumbersome speakers I had added behind the radio last time I was using it. I bought a small wi-fi transmitter that plugs in to the amp output (or line-out as it used to be called I think), and a small Bluetooth speaker with volume control. Radio now plays over the Bluetooth speaker, and I can pick that speaker up and use it with other devices as needed. Total cost only about £60. One failure is really the spin-on oil filter conversion. I did this about 3 years ago, it has always leaked a little, and spews oil out on startup. I'm going to convert it back to the original. I seem to recall it should have a spring in it, but I couldn't find it after I took it all out. Anybody done this re-conversion? Does it have a spring in? And one current problem- car will start but is only running on 3 or possibly only 2 cylinders. I took out all the plugs - all sooty, and cleaned em up, no difference. So my next tasks are a)check spark, b)check petrol, c) check timing. Any other ideas? Regards to all, and hopefully I'm back on TR stuff for a while now. Cheers Dave Boswell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bob-menhennett Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 Dave Points gap and points surfaces clean whilst you're in there , although if some plugs are firing , it's not crucial. More likely the HT leads contacts inside the Distributor cup or the leads themselves. Firmly secured either end and no visible external damage ? Pulling off one HT lead at a time , if one does not make any difference to the engine running , then at least you've identified a relevant cylinder to concentrate on. People have had problems with dodgy plugs, if you have spare ones you could try substituting. If not , swopping the existing plugs might " shift " the problem to a different cylinder thereby identifying an iffy plug. Cleaning a dirty dud plug doesn't make it a good plug. Oil Filter A visit to the website www.moss-europe.co.uk will throw up a parts diagram for the Oil Filter and Mountings. Item 18 , Part Number 500319 is the SPRING ,on main bolt that you are probably referring to. Fresh washers might be appropriate if you existing ones are a bit past their sell by date , to stop any potential leaks. Good luck with it. Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dpb Posted April 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 Hi Bob Thanks for your reply. Good point about a clean dud plug not being a good plug. I'll swap them out. Found the oil filter picture thanks. I'll have a check I've still got all the other bits as well as the spring. Regards Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 (edited) Dave - make sure your petrol is new and check the oil in your carb dashpots - also the spin on oil filters do work leak free, so there must be something going wrong - make sure there are no old seals stuck anywhere in the original grooves cheers Rich Edited April 13, 2019 by rcreweread spelling mistake Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy303 Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 Is the filter head a Tecalemite or Purolator? It seems, based on various posts in this and other fora, that the former is more likely to have issues with sealing/leaking. I wonder if it would be better to remove the filter head and do the spin-on conversion on the bench, using Wellseal or other sealant, and ensuring that the seal is well and truly seated in the filter head. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 (edited) I wrote this for TRaction a few months ago - may shed some light on your leaks. Final draft Article on Improving spin-on oil filter adaptors 240618.pdf Bob. Edited April 13, 2019 by Lebro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 Welcome back dave. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lynchpin Posted April 14, 2019 Report Share Posted April 14, 2019 You probably already know but just in case be shore to use well insulated pliers if you are going to pull off leads with the engine running..Makes you elbow twitch a bit if not.. Phil.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisR-4A Posted April 14, 2019 Report Share Posted April 14, 2019 Hi Dave, for sure drain the fuel and replace with new. Then either do a compression test and/or remove rocker cover and do a short start up to check all rockers and valves are moving when they should. Good Luck Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dpb Posted April 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 (edited) Thanks for the advice everyone. It is a Tecalemite head. This morning I'm going to do a few more of the tests/changes suggested above. Confidence is low to middling. Hope is high. Bob, I did read your article a little while ago. I fear the lathe is beyond me. Just downloaded your article again. It came with a virus/spyware/security warning! Dave Edited April 16, 2019 by dpb addition Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dpb Posted April 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 Various tests seem to have revealed no (or very little) petrol getting into float chamber on the 1st - nearest the driver- carb (not a Stromberg).Petrol is in the pipe to the float chamber. I'm guessing its the valve in the input to the chamber. There was also a little bit of rubbish at the bottom of the chamber. The float is cone shaped, rather than the barrel shown in the WSM. WhileI'm at it, anything else I should be doing maintenance-wise in the float/carb area? Cheers Dave ==== Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted April 16, 2019 Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 Dave - have you checked the inside of your fuel tank - if its still the original, it's now over 50 years old and possibly quite rusty inside, and this rust will be working its way through your fuel system and will continually cause havoc. Have a look inside ( obviously be careful that you don't create any sparks!) - if it is rusty and not nice, you can go through a fairly laborious process of derusting it, and then slosh tank sealing it, or simply replace the tank - if you think you may want to go down this route, PM me as I've got a brand new alloy tank at a good discount Cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dpb Posted April 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2019 Float chamber head off, says ADU 2277 on the inside, which from sites I've looked at looks like a spitfire item rather than a 4A. Not that it matters I guess. Anyway, there is what appears to be a fixed needle inside a plastic holder, which has a spring-loaded rod at the other end. The float comes up presses the rod, and effectively the whole plastic holder into the body of the surrounding brass case, cutting off the petrol. I can't decide if the fixed needle is supposed to move in the plastic holder or if it is indeed the whole plastic holder that is supposed to move. Anybody seen this type before? Dave ===Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dpb Posted April 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2019 New needle and holder fitted. Its amazing what a difference having petrol to all 4 cylinders makes. Went for a spin on quiet and sunny roads this afternoon. Lovely. Now for the pesky oil filter/leaks. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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