Poorly 450!

[royalexander]

Hi Everyone!

Having waited far to many years I purchased a 450 (2 year old and 10K on the clock) about two months ago, first month no probs but there is now an intermitent problem when the engine cuts either in the cruse at idle or when accelerating. Had it serviced by Dave Batty and he though changing the fuel filter may help but it now seems to be getting worse. Always picks up or restarts but it can be 'intersting' if it does while overtaking!

Anybody come accross anything similar before I start having it pulled apart? Still the best thing I have purchased for a while.

Regards,

Roy.

[craigalsop]

Hi Roy,

is the problem there from start, or only appear when the engine is hot?
If it only happens when hot, then check your coil - pull off the top lead & see if there is any oil present - if so, replace the coil, as it is b*ggered.

cheers,
Craig

P.S. You aren't the Roy Alexander that went to Stirling Uni are you?

[royalexander]

Thanks for the reply Graig,

Seems to be only when hot, Thought possibly a coil / HT lead issue and will check as you said.

Never been to Sterling Uni (or any other for that matter)

Regards,
Roy

[matoakley]

a hens tooth problem but probably worth considering. My 350 had a piece of solder the size of a 10 pence piece that fell over the out let of the collector chamber between the two fuel tanks. The car ran fine at cruise and for short bursts acceleration but sustained accelleration produced missfire. took me ages to find it!

[Leadfoot]

Check the vacuum advance module on the side of the distributor is secure. They work loose & cause some interesting problems!
Coil as mentioned before.
When were the distributor cap & rotor arm last changed?
Plugs/leads as above.
Someone has mentioned before that they had an inlet hose was collapsing under (increased) load, worth a look.
The list goes on & on. Start with the simple stuff.

[fatsteve]

Could be the infamous dirty stepper motor. Mines done that a few times (especially dying at low revs). Just whip out the stepper motor (back of the plenum chamber) and give it a clean.

Steve

[IPAddis]

craigalsop said: Hi Roy,

is the problem there from start, or only appear when the engine is hot?
If it only happens when hot, then check your coil - pull off the top lead & see if there is any oil present - if so, replace the coil, as it is b*ggered.

cheers,
Craig

P.S. You aren't the Roy Alexander that went to Stirling Uni are you?

Ooh ooh, why? The king lead recently fell off my coil and when I looked inside, the terminal was covered in oil. Is this bad then? The car seems to run alright.

Ian A.
Griff 500.

[trefor]

IPAddis said:

craigalsop said: Hi Roy,

is the problem there from start, or only appear when the engine is hot?
If it only happens when hot, then check your coil - pull off the top lead & see if there is any oil present - if so, replace the coil, as it is b*ggered.

cheers,
Craig

P.S. You aren't the Roy Alexander that went to Stirling Uni are you?

Ooh ooh, why? The king lead recently fell off my coil and when I looked inside, the terminal was covered in oil. Is this bad then? The car seems to run alright.

Ian A.
Griff 500.

I was told they like to sit upright and not horizontal like in a TVR. Mine was replaced at a recent Mark Adams tuneup - he commented that the Lucas and whatever TVR fitted in 1995 as std were not very long lasting. He sold me a Bosch unit. Certainly works - went from 207 to 241hp/245lbft on a std 4.0L with Mark's Tornado chip, so I suggest changing yours - £40ish.

T/.