Distributer vacuum tube missing...?
Discussion
Belle427 said:
The vacuum advance canister had failed in mine so wasn’t working. God knows how long it was being driven around like that but the car ran and does run perfectly well without it.
Don’t worry about it, just enjoy the car.
I agree with you, I know a lot of folks have given very detailed arguments for using the hose, but TBQH, 99% of who I've actually spoken to in the flesh, mechanics, club members have expressed your opinion. I'm not saying advocates of using the hose are wrong, but they seem in a monitory, I think in this context it's a "personal opinion" rather than a "right or wrong fact"Don’t worry about it, just enjoy the car.
My mechanic has told me not to connect the hose until he's had a look at my ECU, as it may have been set-up to run without the hose, I'll do that at the cars next service, and not before, it's just not worth it.
Edited by griff59 on Wednesday 25th July 18:51
Edited by griff59 on Wednesday 25th July 18:53
RogerDodger said:
This is way too funny. "personal opinion" - it's how vacuum advance works - 100% fact :-)
OK, but it's still a marginal, or a case of "no" improvement on some people's cars, connected or disconnected. I could book my car in to my local TVR mechanic, and get him to fit the hose, and set up the timing, I could drive away after paying the bill with no discernible difference, and if there is a difference it probably won't be in proportion to the amount my bill came to.
Next service, that's when I'll ask him to connect the pipe, I'll keep you all posted as to the results, I'm sure they'll make headline news.
OK, I said that I've now got the hose, can someone please tell me if it's just a matter of going out to the garage and connecting it? or, do I have to get the engine timing checked as well? The reason im asking this again is that I'm not capable of timing the engine myself, I'd have to take the car in to have it done.
Belle427 said:
You should get it checked but in reality it probably won’t make a huge difference by reconnecting it yourself.
The issue is that it could cause detonation/pinking which is almost impossible to hear on these engines and is a bad thing if left like this.
Yet another reply that confirms my doubts about this whole thing. It's like having the ever so slightly cracked sound board replaced in my grand piano just because an expert said it would make a huge difference to the way the instrument sounded, and played, even though it sounds great and plays superbly to me. I've had a few piano technicians around and all gave conflicting opinions, the last guy said if it plays well and if you like the sound leave well alone, I'm adopting the same attitude with my Griff. The issue is that it could cause detonation/pinking which is almost impossible to hear on these engines and is a bad thing if left like this.
ChimpOnGas said:
If buying a strobe and learning how to use it to check your ignition timing scares you, please step away now, are you really trying say you don't know how to check your timing?
What's confusing me about your above response is if you have doubts about this whole thing why are you still contributing to the post and why did you buy the hose? Don't be critical of something you don't understand, no one said this is something you can do without engaging your brain to understand they whys and hows.
It seems you're doubting the validity of something many have have seen success with because you're being advised to check your timing first, Belle427 is just giving you good advice. All he's saying is you should always check what you're doing and measure the changes you've made, this is just common sense, if common sense and proceeding with caution is a pain for you my advice is simply... 'do not proceed at all'.
The only risk would be if switching to full manifold vacuum added timing when the engine was under load, this of course is impossible because when you're accelerating there's little or no vacuum to act on the vacuum advance unit, so it will be adding nothing. The truth is when you take the time understand how the system works you'll soon realise the the vacuum advance unit only adds timing at idle and cruise, and in both cases the engine is under little or no load so there's really no risk of detonation. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't check what you're doing and measure the timing changes you're making by switching to manifold vacuum, that's just common sense!
There seems to be either an underlying inability or perhaps an unwillingness understand the theory here which has been very clearly explained, if this rings true perhaps you should accept making changes to your car is not for you. If you're not completely confident in what you're doing and why, and you're not prepared to do some basic ignition timing checks when you switch to full manifold vacuum my best advice would be to leave it alone and let others enjoy the benefits.
If your real frustration here is this isn't quite as simple as unplugging your brain and blindly moving a hose from one place to another without putting the minimum effort in to understand exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it in the first place.... then maybe it's best to accept it's not for you.
You're absolutely right, I should step away now. But my mind is open, I am willing to try the hose based on your advice, but it's best if I leave it to a TVR mechanic, if it was just a case of fitting the hose even I could do that, but it seems more involved. I used to work on my cars when I was younger, but for some reason I've lost all of my confidence to do even the most basic things now.What's confusing me about your above response is if you have doubts about this whole thing why are you still contributing to the post and why did you buy the hose? Don't be critical of something you don't understand, no one said this is something you can do without engaging your brain to understand they whys and hows.
It seems you're doubting the validity of something many have have seen success with because you're being advised to check your timing first, Belle427 is just giving you good advice. All he's saying is you should always check what you're doing and measure the changes you've made, this is just common sense, if common sense and proceeding with caution is a pain for you my advice is simply... 'do not proceed at all'.
The only risk would be if switching to full manifold vacuum added timing when the engine was under load, this of course is impossible because when you're accelerating there's little or no vacuum to act on the vacuum advance unit, so it will be adding nothing. The truth is when you take the time understand how the system works you'll soon realise the the vacuum advance unit only adds timing at idle and cruise, and in both cases the engine is under little or no load so there's really no risk of detonation. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't check what you're doing and measure the timing changes you're making by switching to manifold vacuum, that's just common sense!
There seems to be either an underlying inability or perhaps an unwillingness understand the theory here which has been very clearly explained, if this rings true perhaps you should accept making changes to your car is not for you. If you're not completely confident in what you're doing and why, and you're not prepared to do some basic ignition timing checks when you switch to full manifold vacuum my best advice would be to leave it alone and let others enjoy the benefits.
If your real frustration here is this isn't quite as simple as unplugging your brain and blindly moving a hose from one place to another without putting the minimum effort in to understand exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it in the first place.... then maybe it's best to accept it's not for you.
Belle427 said:
I initially connected mine without checking the timing as my strobe was mia, not ideal but my right foot had a tremendous itch to scratch.
I took it for a gentle test drive, avoiding large hills and larger throttle openings and all was well.
Minor adjustments were made when i obtained a strobe.
In reality your timing may be at 8 to 12 btdc at the moment, maybe chimpongas can confirm but adding vac advance to this should still see you at safe levels.
Thanks a lot, that's all I wanted to know, just wondering what you found when you got your strobe?I took it for a gentle test drive, avoiding large hills and larger throttle openings and all was well.
Minor adjustments were made when i obtained a strobe.
In reality your timing may be at 8 to 12 btdc at the moment, maybe chimpongas can confirm but adding vac advance to this should still see you at safe levels.
ChimpOnGas said:
Including Franky boy's latest feedback that's five clear positive results so far and nothing negative at all reported from switching to full manifold vacuum, like I say it's probably just a coincidence 
To the five converts I say "Enjoy"
To the doubting Thomas' I say "Study the science, read the evidence, take a more open minded approach and try it, what have you got to lose"
It's free, takes five minutes, and if you don't like the results it's 100% reversible just as easily too
I'm going to book the car in for a check up soon, I'll get him to fit the hose and check the timing, I'm suffering from a bit of shunting, and rough tick-over, especially after long runs, this might not have anything to do with the hose but after reading people's replies here, it's worth putting it back to see if it improves things. To the five converts I say "Enjoy"
To the doubting Thomas' I say "Study the science, read the evidence, take a more open minded approach and try it, what have you got to lose"
It's free, takes five minutes, and if you don't like the results it's 100% reversible just as easily too
ChimpOnGas, I'm working my way through your info, and even though I don' understand most of it, the positive replies from others means it's got to worth trying.
Belle427 said:
I initially connected mine without checking the timing as my strobe was mia, not ideal but my right foot had a tremendous itch to scratch.
I took it for a gentle test drive, avoiding large hills and larger throttle openings and all was well.
Minor adjustments were made when i obtained a strobe.
In reality your timing may be at 8 to 12 btdc at the moment, maybe chimpongas can confirm but adding vac advance to this should still see you at safe levels.
I'm going to reconnect the hose today, maybe ChimpOnGas can advise if it's OK to temporarily do this without checking the timing? I took it for a gentle test drive, avoiding large hills and larger throttle openings and all was well.
Minor adjustments were made when i obtained a strobe.
In reality your timing may be at 8 to 12 btdc at the moment, maybe chimpongas can confirm but adding vac advance to this should still see you at safe levels.
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