Clementine's Garage
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Yellow R4
 
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a good flush.

edwin

Enthusiast
Messages
833
Location
Lichfield
Well,... I bought a new battery for Renee, and then realised that the old battery had threaded bolt connections and the new battery had lead posts. So i looked around for some new terminals with bolted connections so I did not have to remove the existing loop connectors which look nice and are original. I got the terminals off the net for 99p each (Halfords £3.99 each) So I connected the new battery on Renee, and lo and behold, the starter worked, so its working, and the engine turned over so not seized. I checked before and there was a slight oily presence on the plug, but clean and not coked. So appears to have run well when last used. The lights worked, and the period radio works!!! Yippee!

I was told by someone on here that I need to flush out things before running the engine, and then after its warm, flush some more. So I took off the big hoses either side of the water pump and flushed through the rad and then through the other pipe which I realise just flushed through the pump impeller. So which pipe's do i flush the engine through? Please can someone take a pic and arrow which pipes I disconnect and then I can have a go at that. Water that came out was a bit pinky, but no bits. And I think that may have been a French red antifreeze.

Once I have flushed, will have to do the petrol trick to start the engine. Don't want to use the contents of the tank!!. I will have to remove that and clean it out. Is there a way of checking if the sender unit works so I can replace it if required while the tank is out?

All advice very gratefully received.
 
Took the top off the carb, got the float out and cleaned it. The bottom of the chamber had about 5mm of what looked like cold gravy in it. I got it all out and cleaned with petrol, filled the chamber , put it all back together. turned start key and no start. Checked the Dizzy and contacts, still no go. Poured a dash down the throat and off it went. So the carb must be full of gravy and needs a complete clean. Is there anyone recommended for doing that? I don't like the task of re setting the needle. The carb is a 281F. Could I just take the top part off its connecting cables and hoses and soak it in petrol? Could that be enough?
 
You're in Litchfield and (to my knowledge) there's one company left in the UK who refurbish carburettors, who are not too far from you; they're called "Carburettor exchange" & they're in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

www.carburetterexchange.co.uk

I can personally vouch for this company, who have rebuilt several carburettors for both my classic cars and those of my customers.

There is another method, which involves not inconsiderable risk to your self, property and family: Remove the carburettor from the car and place in a pressure cooker, together with some hot water and baking soda. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and bring contents to the boil (gas cookers are NOT recommended for this!) Do NOT use any extractor fans, but instead open all the windows and doors in the kitchen. Once the mixture's had a good cooking, turn off the heat and allow to cool, preferably outside. Once it's cool, open, ditch the liquid (and probably the pressure cooker!) and remove the carburettor. Once the carburettor is dry, replace on the car and reconnect fuel pipes, accelerator & choke linkages etc. Pour a little fresh petrol into the carburettor & start the car..... good luck!

(I have actually used this second method, in my younger days, and I can confirm it does work, but I was somewhat cavalier about things then....)
 
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If memory serves (it was a long time ago...) just overalls.... I also bought my (then) lady friend a new pressure cooker afterwards! My current wife would probably divorce me, were I to do the same at my age!
 
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