help with misfiring Metro

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PaulTugwell
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Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:30 am

Re: help with misfiring Metro

#11 Post by PaulTugwell » Tue Jul 07, 2015 4:16 pm

Hi Terry

The metro has a mechanical fuel pump, interesting that you have seen something similar with mini's

Perhaps this will be the next step although I may try extending the heat shield first.

Will probably wait and see what other responses I get but I think this is on the right lines.

Paul

Richard Moss
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#12 Post by Richard Moss » Tue Jul 07, 2015 5:32 pm

PaulTugwell wrote:The rotor arm has been changed, admittedly for another black one but it would be very unlucky if it had exactly the same problem.
I had exactly that happen on my MGC - fitted a new rotor arm which was faulty right out of the box.

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JPB
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#13 Post by JPB » Tue Jul 07, 2015 5:34 pm

Agreeing that it's quite likely to be fuel vapourisation since most SU equipped cars are experiencing this now, as petrol has changed massively since the A+ was introduced and would have used leaded two star ((Auotdata, 1981-1991) or four star if it's a 3+E example, though I think that these were phased out around the end of miniMetro badging).

However, it may yet be an ignition issue. Your Metro could have either the Lucas or the Ducellier distributor and if it's a Ducellier, they're more prone to condenser failure than the Lucas types. As well as most plastic rotor arms, Lucas and Ducellier, the condensers available now are poor and tend to be leaky from the box. O/E (resin) arms are still available and these don't deteriorate in storage so look for these, they're black but if you scratch at the surface, you'll see a brown powder under the lacquer. I didn't think that the older brown arms were ever available for A+ applications so the only way you can tell plastic arms from phenolic resin ones is by scraping the surface.
I've known a whole delivery of condensers to be bad so I recommend that you buy capacitors of the appropriate value and either fit these externally to the distributor body or hollow the failed one and fit the new cap in the can.
Sovcom (eBay specialist supplier of passives to CV [military] spec for the use of the Russian forces) and Just Radios (based in Canada) are both sources that can be trusted and Just Radios' range of polypropylene caps are small enough to fit in even the tiny cans found in the older Lucas 23/25/43/45D ranges.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

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TerryG
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#14 Post by TerryG » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:31 am

John, condensers are so last week. haven't you seen the new environmentally friendly version?
click here

Personally I wouldn't extend the heat shield, I would just wrap the manifold. It's quick, easy and 100% reversible in 2 minutes.
Understeer: when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.

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JPB
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#15 Post by JPB » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:49 am

:D Splendid, I'll add Spud-u-like to the list of cap suppliers! Not being a potato aficionado myself, I'd have gone with Denso tape & aluminium foil layers - in a suitably oil packed empty beer tin - which would have worked and in the interests of eco-friendliness, I'd have replaced the vehicle's battery with a dozen lemons at the same time.
8-)

More in line with the O/P's intention of making the Metro work properly, I've just remembered that the screw which secures the fixed contact to the baseplate - in Ducellier distributors on A+ motors - has a habit of working loose and closing the contacts. Not the solution here I know, but one to be aware of for when the present issue has been addressed and the car next decides to misbehave.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

mr rusty
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#16 Post by mr rusty » Wed Jul 08, 2015 1:06 pm

Fuel evaporation is not an issue where the Metro is concerned, it never has been. A 1988 car will be unleaded, and quite happy on modern fuel. I would be looking elsewhere.
You're looking at an ignition problem, if you have a Lucas dizzie, is the rotor arm black, with a rivet holding the brass bit on, and out of a green Lucas box? If so, start by throwing it away and replacing it with a decent quality one from the distributor doc. Failing that, swap the coil, but I bet a decent non-riveted o/e type rotor arm will sort it.
1968 Triumph Vitesse Mk1 2 litre convertible, Junior Miss rusty has a 1989 998cc Mk2 Metro, Mrs Rusty has a modern common rail diesel thing.

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JPB
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#17 Post by JPB » Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:43 pm

mr rusty wrote:A 1988 car will be unleaded
Not necessarily so. If the filler cap is above the crease then definitely but if the filler is one of the earlier, hinged ones below the crease it's by no means for sure that the car is suitable for unleaded. "Official" change point was - according to that decade's copy of Autodata - from 1989 and some 1.3s are marked as unsuitable right to the end of A series production, though in practice they'd have the seat inserts but may need the distributor to be swapped or modified or super rather than premium be used.
Depending on how original the O/P's car, there should be a crossed out Pb sticker on the slam panel if it's one that was sent out ready for (95RON/"Premium" as opposed to Super) unleaded fuel.

In the following quick phone pic from the relevant page in the '81-'91 Autodata, the solid blob means that the engine is suitable for unleaded, the outline circle means that it isn't:

Image

Same story on the previous side, which covers the Ducellier distributors.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

tractorman
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#18 Post by tractorman » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:24 pm

IIRC, there was a bit of a hiatus with unleaded Metros (and other "Austin" stuff) at around that time. Mother bought her second one in 1989 (a 1.3L to replace a 1984 1.3 HLE) and was asked if she wanted to have it unleaded or not. Then the salesman checked and realised that she HAD to have unleaded - I seem to think the law that required all cars to be unleaded came into effect just before she bought the car (our only 1st of August one!) as the garage courtesy car we got when the Metro went back in its first week was an "F" reg which used leaded.

History
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Re: help with misfiring Metro

#19 Post by History » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:39 pm

Re check valve clearances.

PaulTugwell
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Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:30 am

Re: help with misfiring Metro

#20 Post by PaulTugwell » Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:20 pm

Hi all

Thank you for your interesting responses.

They have generally followed my thinking on the problem.

I have today fitted a heat shield below the carburettor and will see if that helps, my thinking being that it cost nothing to do and certainly wont do any harm, the test this afternoon was promising but I have thought that before so wont jump to conclusions.

If this does help I will purchase another set of ignition components from a different source to try and positively eliminate those parts from the equation.

I will let you all know how it progress's

Best regards

Paul

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