What to try first? new project!

[Nelson]

Hi,
We have just accquired a 1974 Renault 4 R1126. It got about 4 miles from the garage where it's been stored (unused) for 2 years and then made some popping noises and faded. we towed it home and checked fuel was getting into float chamber and after an hour or two it started again and ran for another 10 mins before dying on us again. We are currently waiting for a workshop manual so are working blind for now but need it to get to MOT station (we are in France) for "controle technique" asap. Basically, we want to know where to start - the engine is very hot after only a few minutes and the vent for the heater inside the car is smelling "hot" too. So any initial advice to keep us busy while we wait for the french postal service to deliver our haynes manual would be very gratefully received!

 

[Simon.AU]

Has it been filled with fresh fuel? I'm just wondering if the old fuel has gone off.

So are the usual things there like spark, fuel and is the timing where it should be? Possible dried out fuel pump diaphragm, but that is really rare.

Also just wondering if the muffler is partially blocked, ie the car starts running, then an excess of back pressure causes it to stop.

 

[malcolm]

First thing to check is whether there is water in the cooling system, whether it has been properly bled. These engines are prone to head gasket failure if they are allowed to overheat.

Another check on the cooling system is whether the thermostat is opening correctly. The radiator should get hot after a couple of minutes running.

Once you've made sure the cooling system is OK and the engine has plenty of oil then you should be safe to troubleshoot.

 

[Nelson]

thanks for that but anyone got any photos/diagrams to help us identify all these parts as we are not sure! Have refuelled and checked/replenished water. It was stored at a garage and le garagiste checked it over before we took it - ran ok stationary but wouldnt let us test drive it as we had no insurance. Also he revved it LOADS, made my other half cringe!!! Will update when we have tried a few more things!

 

[malcolm]

I had a car that ran OK then cut out after 10 minutes. Took me a full week to diagnose that the spark wasn't strong enough (in my case due to a faulty earth in the distributor).

New points, plugs, distributor cap and capacitor should do the job in a Renault 4 (give it a service), and pull the air filter off to make sure the choke is opening fully. New fuel is good too after a few years off the road as it goes stale.

You've filled the water system from the radiator rather than the expansion bottle right? Otherwise I'll keep on worrying about overheating.

 

[Nelson]

Electrics?

We've changed the spark plugs but now it's not starting, turning over but no spark. Still waiting for french postal service to deliver workshop manual. Going to change leads, looks like the points and capacitor are new-ish so will leave them for now. Any ideas? will keep you posted!

 

[Nelson]

water was refilled via the radiator so please dont worry!

 

[Nelson]

Well, "Cynthia" is now starting and running (new spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor arm and leads - points and condenser look recent) so she's off for a "controle technique" this week to see how much work she needs to be road legal. I'm optimistically looking ahead to fitting rear seatbelts - does anyone know if an old mini's belts would fit? I've checked out clementines photo's and strangely we seem to have the holes in the rear floor but not the mounts at the top of the boot. ideally we'd like to avoid the £50 a go belts from securon that have been previously recommended on this forum in favour of a cheap but safe alternative on ebay! Any advice?