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1990 Gtl Engine problems

Teodor

Enthusiast
Messages
64
Location
Istria
All of a sudden, yesterday while driving home, my 4 turned off, it took me a few minutes to turn it on, and i barely made 100m.
It runs irregularly, as if it is not receiving fuel, but it is. Runs for a few meters and stops again, i have to wait a minute and try a few times before it turns on. It has no power but for a second it does and revs go high by themselves, and then shuts off again. Also, i've been told it sounds as if it's running on only 3 cylinders.
Any kind of help and advice is welcomed. Thx.
 
Try and get it to run with full choke.
If it does you might have some air leaking.

Then you will have to start looking for the source.

If it is cutting of all the time. It is no use doing a balance test. To rule out a faulty cilinder.
 
It runs with full choke, but turns off after a minute or a few meters.
This happened out of nowhere, no signs before that.
Air leakage where?
Could it also be the ignition? It's as if, when it heats up a bit, it starts to have those issues, when cold, runs fairly well considering the hiccups.
I'm a bit scared to drive it to the mechanic since I'm not sure when will it stop running.. hmm..
 
Try another condenser.
And look at all the bolted parts for air leaks.
And the breather pipes. Usually a broken T joint gives such problems.
Spray some brake cleaner on the manifold and the joint of the breather pipe. If it runs better you found the air leak
 
Could it be the dirt screen on the inlet to your carbie? I've had similar problems when it was blocked up- runs until float bowl empties, then stalls. Then slowly fills up bowl while cranking over, starts again, repeat etc. Also had similar when a garage jacked up the car under the fuel tank, partially blocking the fuel pickup. Or if you have an in-line fuel filter, that has got to the point where it needs changing. Problem for each is it doesn't completely block up, just slows the flow down enough to run out and stall.
 
Could be fuel pump, if flow is low due to failure of, say, the diaphragm, then as has been previously noted, it probably can't keep pace with the engine's needs. The engine then uses up the contents of the float chamber and fizzles out, but cranking then refills the float chamber and the sequence repeats itself. Try pulling the fuel line off the carb and cranking the engine. You should get a good healthy squirt out of it, anything less suggests either pump issues or a blockage. (Get a jam jar or tin to squirt the fuel into)
 
Thank you very much. You have given me some directions so at least now i know from where to start. As it could be a few things, it'll take time to identify the problem, so i will probably check everything you suggested.
Just so you know, the fuel filter is full and the pump is new, so no visible problems there. I will open up the carb and check for issues, that should be the easiest part.
 
So, cleaned the carb thoroughly and and now it runs better than when the mechanic supposedly adjusted and fine tuned it. I just adjusted the little screw by feeling and went for a test drive. Now it even drives with the choke fully closed, but it does not accept a full throttle and chokes if i don't apply the throttle slowly.

Also, i noticed this after cleaning the carb. It's 2 minutes worth of idling and some revving.

20171016_170947.jpg 20171016_170958.jpg
 
Sounds like a weak mixture. I would still check the fuel flow. Just because the pump is new doesn't necessarily mean that it is working properly.
If that is okay, look for air leaks. Spray the manifold joints with WD40 whilst the engine is running. If it is sucked in (via an air leak) then the engine note will change as the WD40 enters the combustion chamber.
 
Before you carry on, have a look at your spark plugs. They probably look like that stuff on the floor and will need a clean.

I had the same symptoms as you, I had to apply the throttle slowly otherwise it cut out. Like Harbourseal said in his post, it was an air leak. And I found it at the base of the carburetor, the 2 nuts were a little loose.
 
Thank you guys, really appreciate your replies.
I'm off to a cousin to pull out the rear bearing in the morning, and to cut my hair since i look like a dirty hippie(i actually like it :D) driving this trap on wheels, so i'll definitely check everything you all wrote. I'll be sure to share if there will be improvements.
 
After my experience in June, the coil would be my choice to kick-off the process of elimination.
Almost identical symptoms to those described
N.
 
I have the same problems with engine during the drive.
While running at idle, it works relatively well because it hiccups once in a while. When I give it full throttle while it's stationary, it starts running erratically and won't take full throttle.

I will try to troubleshoot according to the instructions above.
 
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