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Series 2a First Drive After Clutch Swap
Far too long after the clutch pedal went solid in my Series 2a back in December, I finally got the interior reinstalled and was able to verify if the new clutch pressure plate would solve all my problems, or if I'd need to pull it all back out again and delve deeper into the gearbox. I'm very pleased to say that the new clutch parts seem to have done the trick, and she drove for the first time in over 4 months (if just forwards and backwards a few metres)
Whilst this is excellent news, I now return back to the problems with this engine. It's a 2.25 Diesel, supposedly from a London Taxi originally if the serial numbers are to be believed, but in many ways identical to the diesels found in the series 3 (I think)and swapped into my car at some point in the last 40 years.
As can be seen in the video, the engine is really struggling to reverse up what I would consider to be an incredibly gentle slope, I had to ride the clutch the whole way and almost stalled it multiple times. I'm aware that these diesels offer a somewhat lackluster performance, even compared to their contemporaries, but something doesn't feel right here, I should be able to reverse on essentially level ground.
I'm inclined to believe that the injector pump could be a culprit here, it has been dripping diesel during and after running the engine, although it's unclear exactly where on the pump it is coming from. The fuel system also seemingly needs to be bled every time I want to start the car, likely linked to the fuel leaking. I think someone said in a previous thread that if fuel's getting out, air is definitely getting in. I also have a lot of trouble starting it from cold, partly due to bleeding issue I assume, even after bleeding it's very stubborn, and won't go without a couple of hits of easy start. It will start from warm, as seen in the video, but I'm confident if I go out tomorrow morning and try to start it it'll just sit there cranking till the battery dies.
So the questions are:
- Am I correct that this engine is producing a very low power compared to what it should?
- What could be causing this serious lack?
- If it's the injector pump what should I do about that? I've heard you can replace some of the seals in situ, but after watching a full disassembly of one of these CAV pumps it looks a lot easier to do at a workbench, plus I don't know exactly which seal is leaking, so would it be better to take it to a repair shop and get it resealed professionally?
- if I wanted to pull the injector pump off, how would I go about that in a way that doesn't mess up the timing when it comes to reinstallation? Is it pretty idiot proof or is there a specific procedure?
I believe this engine was sat for a while, so it wouldn't surprise me if just a bit of driving around would bring some life back to it, however, at the moment I don't have the confidence that it'll get me back home to attempt that.
Thanks very much,
Mike
Series 2a First Drive After Clutch Swap
Far too long after the clutch pedal went solid in my Series 2a back in December, I finally got the interior reinstalled and was able to verify if the new clutch pressure plate would solve all my problems, or if I'd need to pull it all back out again and delve deeper into the gearbox. I'm very pleased to say that the new clutch parts seem to have done the trick, and she drove for the first time in over 4 months (if just forwards and backwards a few metres)
Whilst this is excellent news, I now return back to the problems with this engine. It's a 2.25 Diesel, supposedly from a London Taxi originally if the serial numbers are to be believed, but in many ways identical to the diesels found in the series 3 (I think)and swapped into my car at some point in the last 40 years.
As can be seen in the video, the engine is really struggling to reverse up what I would consider to be an incredibly gentle slope, I had to ride the clutch the whole way and almost stalled it multiple times. I'm aware that these diesels offer a somewhat lackluster performance, even compared to their contemporaries, but something doesn't feel right here, I should be able to reverse on essentially level ground.
I'm inclined to believe that the injector pump could be a culprit here, it has been dripping diesel during and after running the engine, although it's unclear exactly where on the pump it is coming from. The fuel system also seemingly needs to be bled every time I want to start the car, likely linked to the fuel leaking. I think someone said in a previous thread that if fuel's getting out, air is definitely getting in. I also have a lot of trouble starting it from cold, partly due to bleeding issue I assume, even after bleeding it's very stubborn, and won't go without a couple of hits of easy start. It will start from warm, as seen in the video, but I'm confident if I go out tomorrow morning and try to start it it'll just sit there cranking till the battery dies.
So the questions are:
- Am I correct that this engine is producing a very low power compared to what it should?
- What could be causing this serious lack?
- If it's the injector pump what should I do about that? I've heard you can replace some of the seals in situ, but after watching a full disassembly of one of these CAV pumps it looks a lot easier to do at a workbench, plus I don't know exactly which seal is leaking, so would it be better to take it to a repair shop and get it resealed professionally?
- if I wanted to pull the injector pump off, how would I go about that in a way that doesn't mess up the timing when it comes to reinstallation? Is it pretty idiot proof or is there a specific procedure?
I believe this engine was sat for a while, so it wouldn't surprise me if just a bit of driving around would bring some life back to it, however, at the moment I don't have the confidence that it'll get me back home to attempt that.
Thanks very much,
Mike
