Vulgalour's Vehicles - 10/03 Ignition Switch Woe

Post pictures and stories about your cars both present and past. Also post up "blogs" on your restoration projects - the more pictures the better! Note: blog-type threads often get few replies, but are often read by many members, and provide interest and motivation to other enthusiasts so don't be disappointed if you don't get many replies.
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vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 03/12 Renault Engine

#881 Post by vulgalour » Sun Dec 04, 2016 4:22 pm

Today was almost momentous. Almost. The short version is here:

https://youtu.be/MhJeSrz4XfM


The long version then. Got all the various wires and pipes plugged in that needed to be to get the engine running, got fuel in the tank from the last attempt, got things timed to the best of my ability, stuck the key in and decided to see what would happen. Unfortunately, where before I had fuel and spark but bad timing I now have spark and good timing but no fuel. When Mike was available we hooked up the Corsa with some jump leads so we wouldn't flatten the battery, put a little bit of fuel in the carb and got a cough of life out of the engine.

I'll take the fuel pump off and take it apart. It's probably blocked or the diaphragm has failed so it's unable to get fuel to the engine room. All the electrical things that did work that are still connected still do work. Feeling optimistic and only a little bit frustrated.

vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 04/12 Renault... nearly

#882 Post by vulgalour » Mon Dec 05, 2016 3:39 pm

Another day, another failure to get the car running. Sorry to disappoint there. However, I do at least know what was causing the issue with fuel not getting where it should. Because absolutely nothing was coming out of the pipe I did what I should have done ages ago and pulled the pipe off the sender and removed it from the tank revealing immediately the problem which is a missing filter bag and a completely clogged pick up line as well as lot of sludge.
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I know, I know, I should have dropped the tank and flushed it all through and checked this before even trying. I didn't, this is the result.

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It didn't look like rust, so I let it all dry out before doing anything about it and it now looks like it's covered in what I assume to be refining sand.
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I'll clean it up as best I can so at least it can be used to suck fuel up if not tell me how much is actually in the car. The fuel gauge has worked, once, while I've had this car so I'm hopeful this can be salvaged. It will of course need a new filter bag too since that's either dissolved or rolling around in the bottom of the fuel tank somewhere.

With the sender out, I checked that there is definitely fuel in the tank, which there is, you can just make out the reflection of it.
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Bought a couple of fuel filters, the only ones the shop had, connected one to the fuel line and dropped a length of hose in the tank then connected the electric pump to the other end to see if it would pull fuel through.
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Unfortunately, the fuel line that runs the length of the chassis has a blockage in it somewhere. Mike's going to bring the little compressor home so we can blow the line through back towards the tank to hopefully clear it and we'll retry a start with the current fuel filter set up. If the old sender does clean up and work then that's great, I'll get it refitted. If not, I'll look for a new one in the new year, I shan't have the funds for one before then.

I'm getting, at most, 3 hours play time a day on this car and that includes any errands Mike needs to run me on to pick things up. It's really frustrating as I'd like to get a lot more done in a day, there just isn't time with the short nights and no space in the garage if I had the car in there.

vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 05/12 Fuelling Issue

#883 Post by vulgalour » Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:05 pm

Right then, I had a go at cleaning up the sender to see if it was salvagable and I think it is. Once it had dried out, most of the grime was quite powdery, sandy stuff and could be literally brushed off with an old toothbrush and no cleaning agent. There is some surface corrosion to the mild steel components but nothing terminal. The tattered remains of the old filter bag completely disintegrated so I need to find a replacement but other than that, it's all good. The blockage in the pick pipe was quite minor too and cleaned out with welding wire, I then ran some water through it to check it was flowing freely, which it is, followed by some WD40 to make sure it was all dried out. The rubber sealing ring is still supple so should be reusable and the float is free moving and submerging it in water didn't result in any bubbles coming out or water going in so I assume they're both good. The float arm moves very freely now too. Usefully, the little square of orange you can see to the side is a removable panel that slides out of the main body of the sender so you can clean out all the sediment from inside it.
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The float tang and the resistance wires (at least I assume that's what they're called) are all in surprisingly good shape with no corrosion to speak of and what corrosion you can see in there is just on the steel backing plate and looks worse than it is because of the flash and things still being a bit wet.
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This stands a fighting chance of working I'd say, which I wasn't expecting when I pulled it out of the tank. I'll get the multimeter on it tomorrow (it's not here at the house) to see if it is actually doing what it should. If it works, the only thing I'll need to find is a small replacement filter for the pick-up pipe.

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JPB
Posts: 10319
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 3:24 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 05/12 Fuelling Issue

#884 Post by JPB » Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:22 pm

I'm not seeing any carbon on the end of the wiper - maybe it's just hiding in the image - but yes, that apart it has to be said that far worse rheostats than that have been pulled out of fuel tanks and provided a reading for their gauge. I should think that another day will see the engine starting. Fingers are being crossed here so don't keep us all in suspense for too long please!
;)
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 05/12 Fuelling Issue

#885 Post by vulgalour » Mon Dec 05, 2016 11:11 pm

It was supposed to run today until it did this! Tomorrow I'll have the fuel I need to gravity feed it and we should have it running. I hope. I know I've said that a lot this week. :lol:

vulgalour
Posts: 674
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Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 05/12 Fuelling Issue

#886 Post by vulgalour » Tue Dec 06, 2016 1:34 pm

Right chaps, important update.


The Renault ran.


Then it didn't. The problem is the carburettor. I've got fuel, spark, compression and combustion and the car will run but only if you put fuel directly in the carb, bypassing the important twiddly bits of the carb. I do have a rebuilt kit coming in the post so I can get the carburettor sorted out properly. Until then, I'm bolting stuff back on because, fundamentally, it is all working now.

Apart from the fuel gauge.

kevin
Posts: 856
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 7:49 am

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 06/12 It Ran!

#887 Post by kevin » Tue Dec 06, 2016 2:17 pm

Well done on firing it up, The carb will most likely need a strip down and blow through anyways given the state of the tank and pipe run etc so perfect time for a rebuild.

Keep going

Kevin

vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 06/12 It Ran!

#888 Post by vulgalour » Tue Dec 06, 2016 4:49 pm

Kevin: agreed. I really should have sorted that tank out as the first job, I do know better than that but for some reason I decided not to do it. More fool me!

Report in full then on this.

I knew it couldn't be much stopping the car running so before Mike got back from the unit with extra tools, I hooked up a jerry can of fuel by the front wheel below the pump to see if the pump could pump fuel and it can, very well. I double checked for spark at the sparks which I'm getting and I already knew I was getting decent compression. All the ingredients were in place so it should run.

After a few attempts to start fuel had got all the way up to the carb but it clearly wasn't getting further. When Mike returned, we blew the main fuel line through that runs the length of the sill and it spat a few bits of sandy stuff out and then just fuel vapour so that's probably clear now. I'd also got the top off the carb and found the float was free moving and still being a float and there was very little by way of sediment in the float chamber. The fuel passages I could get to without fully dismantling the carb off the car were a bit gummed up and I cleaned out what I could so fuel flow into the float chamber was now very good, but fuel flow out of it wasn't happening at all. That, we decided, was the cause of the problem.

So, we put some accelerant down the intake and attempt to start the car, which happened surprisingly willingly. However, it's virtually impossible to run a car like that so we very soon didn't have a running car again. It was, however, a moment of great joy to know that it does work and should work very well once the carb is completely cleaned up and rebuilt properly.

That means my next job is to refit the front sheet metal, put the steering rack on and connect anything that still needs connecting so the car is ready to go once the rebuild kit arrives. It's a really good place to feel like I'm at after a very long and frustrating slog.

vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 06/12 It Ran!

#889 Post by vulgalour » Tue Dec 06, 2016 7:23 pm

Let's have some more good news.

Tyres - Full set of five, brand new, arriving from the UK.
Radiator - the German company I ordered from have found an alternative supplier when the one they had listed wasn't in stock and a new one is being delivered.
Rear screen demister switch - also in the post, coming from Spain
Carburettor rebuild kit - also in the post, coming from Croatia
New choke stop/arm - mine is pretty mangled, doesn't really work. One in the post from the Netherlands.

Everything is due to be here between the 8th and the 20th

The only thing I haven't decided on yet is the best solution for the in-tank filter. The next few days are predicted to be quite mild, for the time of year, so I should be able to crack on with quite a bit now.

vulgalour
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Princess, 414, Corsa, 6TL, etc. - 06/12 It Ran!

#890 Post by vulgalour » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:35 pm

Since I'm waiting on parts and had lots to do I didn't fancy tackling that fuel tank today. Instead, I just cracked on and got a lot sorted out. It rained last night so I was delighted to discover my headlining wasn't wet at all at the windscreen edge.
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Then I just went through and bolt all the bits and pieces back together. The engine bay is a terrible looking thing, it's a right mess as standard and there's not really any way to tidy it up. Everything is back in place, even the radiator, so that I have my garage back.
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That took less time than expected, especially with it being such a mild day today, so I got on and started fitting the exhaust. You don't even need to jack up the car or take off a wheel to do this which is incredibly satisfying. Front silencer in.
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I haven't got the exhaust paste at home so the main pipe isn't connected yet. Popped the clamp on just so it's all in place ready to go later this week.
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There's one hanger under the passenger door.
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Another under the boot.
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To hold up the back box, there's one hanger under the rear end. I couldn't get this to come undone as I don't have a socket or spanner large enough or anything strong enough to grip the rubber part while I undo the nut from the captive bolt.
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Rear mud guards went back in. These did such a good job of keeping all the mud out of the upper reaches of the rear bodywork I thought it would be daft not to reinstall them. They're a previous owner made thing I think and just push into place and hold with friction for the most part.
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I'd already refitted the face and bonnet so there wasn't much else to do. Decided to clean out all the dust and bits of rust flakes and stuff from the car being full of old parts and the like. I also removed the boot liners so they wouldn't trap what little water is coming in through the side windows and aren't at risk of being damaged. I leave the parcel shelf dropped because I don't want any more water getting on it through the rear screen which I really need to remove and reseal.
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There was a lot less water coming in through the doors than usual after last night's rain so I think the seals are sort of filling out the spaces they need to now. Still not perfect, but much better. Mopped out what little water there was and all the rest of the scaff before putting the back seat up again.
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In the front I tidied up and vacuumed out the talcum powder now its done its job. I am missing the return spring for the throttle pedal but I can get a new throttle cable with the spring and other fittings from Italy which might be a good idea given the condition of my current cable.
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There's hardly anything left to go back on. Some side trim, the mud flaps, the front undertray and the back box. Other than that, there's a few jubilee clips to refresh and the parts I've ordered to arrive.
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So yeah. Nearly there now. Just niggles to work through and parts to arrive. The front suspension has even settled nicely now the engine has been in the car for a bit.
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