TR 5 New starter

[Chris Berridge]

Well, almost 50 years after getting my first TR5 at 19, I have now got another one. That last one was a complete dog and I had no money to spend on it. I never learn! This one could be better, but i've got the spanners out already. I bought it with a known problem of the engine running roughly. Before I hand it over to the garage, I wondered if any of you guys had some insight. Symptoms:

Very rough on start up, but reasonable power when warm and higher revs. and slightly better on tick over but still running rough

Plugs sooted up, I assumed too much fuel or not enough air? Took them out and put some new ones in and sooted up almost immediately. Changed the air filter, but made no difference. Don't know about timing.

Infra red thermometer says cylinder 4,5 & 6 (150,150&130 respectively) much cooler than 1,2,3 (about 220 ish)

Decent pulse on the injectors but feels weaker on 4,5,6  Next step is to take the injectors out I guess, but watching the videos, it seems there there could be a whole range of injection issues.

Fuel pump noisy but I though they always were from memory. It's a Bosch replacement system and probably only  a few years old.

Thanks

Chris

[DenisMc]

Hi Chris,

I am relatively new to TR5 ownership but am learning all of the time. I have been greatly helped by this forum and was expecting one of the more experienced members to have responded by now. Perhaps this will prompt them to!

On start up are you using the choke? When the choke is pulled fully out it opens the throttles and operates an enrichment lever that is on top of the fuel metering unit (MU). If you are using the choke check that these two things are happening. Also make sure that this is reversed when the choke is pushed back in again. You should go ahead and check that the injectors are working properly. With care, this can be done with the engine running, as is shown in this video:

You do need to take great care though. When I did this check I had my fire extinguisher to hand and my trusty assistant (my wife!) sat in the car ready to switch off the engine. The video explains what to look out for.

Beyond this have you checked the cylinder compressions? I checked mine earlier this year and they were all in the range of 180 to 185 psi, which I was pleased with. If you have some cylinders significantly lower and different to others then this could indicate that the valves are leaking or there is a problem with the piston to bore area. 

Jumping ahead a bit perhaps the problem could lie with the MU. Although my car has always run pretty well, friends following behind mentioned a strong petrol smell. The over richness was confirmed by my local garage when they did an emissions check during the MOT test. Although this is not a requirement it did provide useful data. After a lot of other checks I sent the MU along with the pipes and injectors attached to Carl Flitchett of Prestige Injection. He found a worn linkage that he replaced and recalibrated it to the Lucas specification.  Back on the car, and once I had got air out of the injectors (I had to disconnect two of them for routing), it ran brilliantly. A further emissions test showed good improvements in CO, HC and Lambda. Also, my friends are complaining less about the petrol smell. I highly recommend Prestige Injection.

My Bosch fuel pump is in the boot and it makes a whirring noise, but it is not excessive. One of the cars I looked at before buying my car made a shrill high frequency noise, which was unpleasant. I think that this is caused by a resonance occurring, which I understand can be fixed by increasing the outlet pipe length. If I am wrong I imagine others will correct me!

I hope that this gives you something to be getting on with.

Regards,

Denis

 

 

[ntc]

For me it sounds like you need to invest in a sync meter as should anyone with a pi system 

[stuart]

25 minutes ago, ntc said:

For me it sounds like you need to invest in a sync meter as should anyone with a pi system 

Like this one .Sync meter

Stuart.

Edited November 17, 2021 by stuart

[RogerH]

5 minutes ago, stuart said:

Like this one .Sync meter

Stuart.

I have one of those - where do I now get the TR5.

Roger

[stuart]

1 hour ago, RogerH said:

I have one of those - where do I now get the TR5.

Roger

With a deep pocket

Stuart.

[ntc]

2 minutes ago, stuart said:

With a deep pocket

Stuart.

Nope there are some that are coming back on the market that was restored sometime ago and I predict the current climate will address the price’s 

[Waldi]

Chris,

welcome back to the world of TR-ing.
I would start checking the ignition (do all cylinders have a spark), point gap and timing. Condition of condensator, cap, rotor.

Then check valve clearance and while the plugs are out, do a compression test. 

The above will ensure you have done the obvious and relatively easy things. 

Next check the injectors ( do they pulse?) and balance the throttle bodies (but not before the rest is checked and corrected where needed.

It could be a MU or PRV issue, but I would leave that for later.

Good luck and enjoy the spanners, it is part of the joy (for many of us).

Waldi

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

19 hours ago, RogerH said:

I have one of those - where do I now get the TR5.

Roger

You already have the body shape all you need is a howling cat in the boot and one plug lead disconnected to get that genuine PI sound.

 

I'll get my anorak.

[RogerH]

25 minutes ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said:

You already have the body shape all you need is a howling cat in the boot and one plug lead disconnected to get that genuine PI sound.

 

I'll get my anorak.

[Waldi]

Peter,

If only we could give “likes” and “dis-likes”

Waldi