What have I done! (R4 GTL)

[JonathanT]

Hmm I've just trimmed my door rubber down and now wish I hadn't ! It's a bit of a hit and miss design here . The only straight edge the rubber can close against is the one on the lower edge of the stepped rail attached to the boot floor.
How about getting someone to drive the car while you sit in the boot and pull the door around to find out exactly where the squeak is coming from and how it might be stopped

 

[Paul Narramore]

Hmm I've just trimmed my door rubber down and now wish I hadn't ! It's a bit of a hit and miss design here . The only straight edge the rubber can close against is the one on the lower edge of the stepped rail attached to the boot floor.
How about getting someone to drive the car while you sit in the boot and pull the door around to find out exactly where the squeak is coming from and how it might be stopped

With the rear hatch door catch, where metal meets metal, any flexing or slight movement will result in a squeak. Wrapping the whatsit with insulating tape would help, and Frosts sell a product where metal items can be dipped into a liquid plastic which then sets. A bit extreme but I'm certain that that would work.

 

[petak]

It looks it will be like you say JonathanT. Siting in boot while someone is driving. Wife (with funny face) for example and try to locate squeaking noise

Paul...i have noticed that new cars has plastic cover around bars on door locks.....that could be way to solve this problem. Can you give me some link to that Frosts product as i can not find it on net. Please!

 

[Paul Narramore]

It looks it will be like you say JonathanT. Siting in boot while someone is driving. Wife (with funny face) for example and try to locate squeaking noise

Paul...i have noticed that new cars has plastic cover around bars on door locks.....that could be way to solve this problem. Can you give me some link to that Frosts product as i can not find it on net. Please!

www.frost.co.uk Get them to post you a catalogue. I find searching through a paper catalogue far more satisfying than searching through a website.

 

[petak]

TX Paul!

I have trouble to find what you were thinking about....
Is it maybe Plasti Dip what you have in mind?

 

[Paul Narramore]

That's it Petak!

 

[petak]

Alright!
I was thinking that you mean something stronger..... Not sure will plasti dip be good enough for door catch.
I saw how it works and it is little stronger than paint. Afraid it will peel off after few opening and closing

For the start i put insulation tape around that door catch bar.
Will see from there.

 

[petak]

On Wednesday and Thursday i have made one more hard test with my R4.
Vodice - Pula and back

800 km in total in to days.
local roads with beautiful countryside and wiggling road with many curves.

Turned 180000 km on that journey, and had one half breakdown on my way back home

Suddenly there were hard grinding noise coming from left front side somewhere around gearbox and drive shaft.
Pressed clutch pedal but grinding continued.
Stop as soon as possible, and then grinding stop.
Looked under the hood and could not see anything big.
Get back in car and tried to start drive, and noticed that my clutch pedal is now engage gearbox at top (before it was at bottom) of pedal travel
Looking closer under the hood find out that my clutch cable almost fell off.
Adjusted it little bit with nut not to fell off the lever as much as i could around hot exhaust, and start to drive like that.

Now grinding was still present but not all the time but only when i releasing clutch pedal and in moment when i press or releasing gas pedal.
Beside that clutch is working fine, does not smell or slipping while drive and can not hear bearing.

I have installed brand new valeo clutch set at my rebuilt. It have done only 6000 km since new.

Can you figure out what went wrong to lose up my clutch pedal so much?

 

[petak]

I owe you some pictures from my second road trip to Pula

180tkm


view towards Pula


Lunch brake at parking at Rijeka with my dear friend who surprised me with wealth on the table (or should i say car bonnet)




Pula sightseeing




And on my way home
Abandoned gas station


And Maslenica bridge that was bombed down in war 1991
Build again

 

[mojobaby]

are those Roman ruins in Pula? It looks like the Colosseum in Rome.

 

[JonathanT]

Wow Petak looks like a real adventure. Great to see photos.
My clutch cable has an adjusting nut but no lock nut. It would be easy for it to rattle undone so maybe I should fit one hearing your news.

Idea for covering closure bar. How about the shiny type heat shrink sleeving sold for electronics? That would certainly be cheap and easy to do if you can slide it over?

I still think test out with someone in the back pushing tailgate in places to try and isolate the squeak . But if the rubber held the door still at the bottom I think there would not be a squeak

 

[petak]

Mojobaby: Yes, Pula is ancient town populated back in Roman empire time. This Colosseum is like one from Rome but smaller. They say it is best preserved Colosseum in world after that from Rome, and it is still very much live. Inside is stage so concerts and performances are held during warmer part of year.
At whole Croatian territory you can find "left overs" from roman time.
Town Split is formed by Roman emperor Diocletian after he was retired and made him self summer residence.
Near me there is roman military town BURNUM that was fortress for Roman troop. It habitat around 5000 people (soldiers and common people). There are performances held during warmer part of year.
And this is only three places...some history was going on here....
I could talk whole day

JonathanT.....i have lock nut.......something happened inside clutch...it feels like push bearing is not in his place.....now after few days grinding is still present when i releasing clutch pedal.

For test period i have put insulation tape over that bar and squeaking stopped.....




But hitting is still present....I plan to sit in boot and let my wife drive around as hard as possible (she would be happy) to try to locate where noise is coming from.

Heat shrink insulation for cables was my idea also but to put it on bar you need to dismantle door lock bar and that is not possible...You need to brake it and weld back again

 

[petak]

Olive harvest in progres today.


Family ocupation for next 10 days

Today we harvest 320 kg od olives.
Half of it in my lovely R4



I adore that car

 

[Paul Narramore]

Petak, That closure bar. Why not saw through the bar itself, drill holes in the L-brackets then replace the bar with a bolt? You could then fit some shrink wrap or thin plastic tube?

 

[mojobaby]

I had my car for 5 years before I discovered that the back seat could fold up like that. Such a clever design that gives a lot more space

 

[petak]

Thanks Paul....you gave me idea how to try to make "new" door lock catch.
How did not see it before !


Mojobaby....better ever than never.....it is brilliant detail in R4.....one of the reasons it is so popular here......many even remove whole rear seat...

 

[petak]

As i still fiddling with my carb i need to say that yesterday managed to get it "almost there".

I have already talked here about choke cable housing position.
In my mind it was totally irrelevant to carb performances.
But at my Dubrovnik meeting i talked to guy who is much more into R4 than me and he again suggested to fiddle with it.
Again i was ignoring that suggestion and made trip to Pula and back where car did not work right. I needed to pull choke cable at all time driving, even when engine temp was high. Quite a loot, some 5-6-7 mm. Hot start was bad, long cranking time before start. And 4th gear below 70-75km/h was useless. Speeding up was very much lumpy even choke was on.
When i return choke cable full than car did not wanted to speed up nicely but lumpy (but even worse)

Yesterday i have moved (finally, just to see what will happened) choke cable housing at beginning at went to work. It felt better. Still needed choke but much less 2-3mm. Hot start was much better. Engine started as soon as you turn key. I could go down to 60km/h in 4th gear without lumpiness, and acceleration from 60km/h in 4th gear was steady...slow but without jumping.
Need to see consumption at this setting.

Still not convinced (it might be due to weather condition, or stars in the sky, or percentage of moisture in the air ) but for now it feels promising.

Will left it like this and drive little bit to see how will work.

Till next time

 

[malcolm]

Have you set the choke so that it is always a bit open, or have you fixed a problem that was keeping the choke open?

There is a balance between carburettor mixture and ignition timing. Add to that the blocked jets and air leaks we might get and modern fuels and it can get complex, but my very neglected F4 van runs OK without any choke. I would never use the choke to fix some other problem.

 

[petak]

I did not done anything with carb. I have send it away for refubishing and setting. It was done on vacuum table.
I have just put it on manifold and connect pipes and cables.
From the start is working in same way.

If i return choke fully than car is not working good at all.

Air tightnes qas checked with engine start aerosol and car did not react on it.
Everithing else is set up more than once.

It seems to me that i will have to dismantle this carb and see what can be done.
I have opened zenith once long time ago but not shure did i make any progres out of that job. Never get to situation to try that carb on car.

I have heard that zenith 28 can get ovaly shaped inside from heat and then it is imposible to set it to work right.
Second one i have measured tube where butterfly is and diferance in diameter is from 28,2 to 27,4 mm. To me it seems quite round.
But i am not expert and can not tell is is alright or not.

 

[malcolm]

The zenith 28 is reliable and I have never had any problems with them. Don't believe anything on the internet - including me!

First thing I would check is ignition timing (with the vacuum advance disconnected) using a strobe light. If that looks OK and if the vacuum advance is working then I might start to worry about the carburettor side. First thing at this time of year is making sure the air hose is in the winter setting sucking hot air from the exhaust.

The common reason for a lean mixture is the restrictor is missing from the rubber hose that connects to the inlet manifold. You might try blocking that hose completely to see if things are improved.