Stalling on overrun

[iMacThere4iAm]

Good evening you fine, knowledgable people! Felicia my 1991 GTL has a tendency to stall when coming to a stop, and suffers from 'lumpy' idling otherwise.

The distributor cap contacts are covered in corroded gunk, although the points look clean. Tomorrow I'll find a feeler gauge and check the points gap.
I'll replace the distributor cap and points for sure, as well as setting the timing correctly. What else is worth replacing at the same time? Coil? Condenser? HT Leads? Spark plugs? Rotor arm?
And is there a good place to find them all in France?

For this particular problem of stalling when coming to a stop, where should I look first? From reading around, it seems to suggest a vacuum advance problem, does that seem right?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm learning a lot at the moment!

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Sounds more carburettor related to me. Get this checked out first and in particular see if the air filter element needs replacing.

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

Right-o, I'll start checking that tonight. The air filter is new - I already looked.

 

[benchseat]

I had a stalling and lumpy idling problem on my R4 which was only cured when I had the head skimmed - there was a very small leak past the head gasket. There was no mayonnaise in the engine oil which was why the problem went undetected.

This was an 845cc but I believe that the 1108cc engine is somewhat more prone to head gasket problems owing to the (shorter) cylinder head bolts working loose.

Take the top off the coolant header bottle with the engine running and see if any gas bubbles appear when the engine is revved. Or try torquing the head bolts.

 

[jonigel]

Oscaro.com will deliver everything you need for 4 euro,s and try adjusting the slow running screw

 

[malcolm]

Those points are knackered! I'd go a good service and get everything set as it should be to see if it still misbehaves. Normally sorts these things.

Mine used to stall on overrun when it was way past a service - it's the poor thing's way of reminding you.

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

Woo, just ordered 60€ worth of ignition parts, spare bulbs and some other stuff. Just 3€ postage on oscaro.com, thanks jonigel!

Once I fit all that, I'll set about tuning the carburettor if she still runs rough.
After going for another spin yesterday, I'm realising that my driving is to blame for a lot of the stalling! I'm still getting the knack of using a manual choke.

 

[Simon P]

I would change the condenser at the same time as the points.Thay look a bit burnt.

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

They are toast. When I took it off, I could see the fixed point has a huge hole in it where there is supposed to be an electrode!

I'm replacing the condenser, points, distributor cap and arm to start with. I'm going to check the spark plugs and consider replacing them too.

Edit: The dust cover over my points is disintegrating, is it possible to get replacements?

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

Just thought I'd mention - I filed the points back down flat (temporary measure - new ones are arriving on wednesday) and reset the gap, and she runs like a charm now!