TR6 - BANG, fuelling advice please?
Discussion
I took the TR6 out for a run yesterday, everything was fine until around 30 miles, it then backfired in spectacular fashion and died on me. It turned over but wouldn't run.
My mechanic chap round the corner had a look at it and saw that the fuel filter was filthy and blocked. He replaced it and it ran fine again for the rest of the day.
However, this morning I walked into my garage and it stunk of petrol. I fired up the car, it ran for a few seconds and then died. It would turn over but I couldn't re-start it.
I'll be having a look at it after work but does anyone have an idea of what it might be?
Fuel pump?
Split fuel line?
Something related to yesterday's shenanigans?
My mechanic chap round the corner had a look at it and saw that the fuel filter was filthy and blocked. He replaced it and it ran fine again for the rest of the day.
However, this morning I walked into my garage and it stunk of petrol. I fired up the car, it ran for a few seconds and then died. It would turn over but I couldn't re-start it.
I'll be having a look at it after work but does anyone have an idea of what it might be?
Fuel pump?
Split fuel line?
Something related to yesterday's shenanigans?
Start with the really silly one - if you can smell petrol is there still any in the tank. Ignition on for 10 or so sec. and see if the gauge responds, but also give the car a rock with the filler cap open and listen for some actual sloshing noises. Also try and work out where the smell is coming from. Around the tank or the engine bay? If you roll the car out of the garage any damp patches? Is the fuel pump wet with petrol? Are the carsb/float chambers wet with petrol?
Assuming there's something in the tank and no obvious leaks cranking it over for 10s (or using the mechanical primer leaver on the fuel pump if it has one), then removing the float chamber covers. That should be long-enough to suck fuel from the tank and get something in the float chambers. If they are dry, well it's an issue somewhere on the wet side.
If you have petrol in the float chambers wheel the car outside, away from the petrol fumes and make sure you have a strong spark from each plug. If not it's an issue on the dry side.
Assuming there's something in the tank and no obvious leaks cranking it over for 10s (or using the mechanical primer leaver on the fuel pump if it has one), then removing the float chamber covers. That should be long-enough to suck fuel from the tank and get something in the float chambers. If they are dry, well it's an issue somewhere on the wet side.
If you have petrol in the float chambers wheel the car outside, away from the petrol fumes and make sure you have a strong spark from each plug. If not it's an issue on the dry side.
The US guys on the TR6 facebook group are always posting up this kind of carby problem, if you're not a member I'd recommend it they probably have the answer. There are so many of them. And TRs are still dirt cheap there. I get the impression that the PI blokes in the UK and around the world actually have fewer problems than the US boys have with their Strombergs.
Thanks chaps.
The tank is 3/4 full.
The garage still stinks of petrol but oddly enough there's no wet patch on the garage floor, and I can't find any obvious signs of a leak.
Busy today but tomorrow afternoon I'm going to get Mrs A to turn it over whilst I'm under the bonnet, maybe I'll see some petrol coming out of a split hose then?
I'll join a US TR6 forum, good shout
The tank is 3/4 full.
The garage still stinks of petrol but oddly enough there's no wet patch on the garage floor, and I can't find any obvious signs of a leak.
Busy today but tomorrow afternoon I'm going to get Mrs A to turn it over whilst I'm under the bonnet, maybe I'll see some petrol coming out of a split hose then?
I'll join a US TR6 forum, good shout
Smell could be residue after a filter change, which will inevitably spill some.
The question you don't ask and your mechanic friend ignored is, where did the gunk in the filter come from, and what was it? It could only be from the tank.
Have you or your DPO had that lined, painted inside or otherwise leak-treated? Modern alcoholled fuel is very destructive, and may cause that to flake off. Or, was there rust in the filter?
Either way, there will have been more, so inspect the filter. Is it blocked, again? That would explain the symptoms this morning.
Can you look into the tank? One of those mobile phone endoscopes might be a cheap, safe way to do so.
JOhn
The question you don't ask and your mechanic friend ignored is, where did the gunk in the filter come from, and what was it? It could only be from the tank.
Have you or your DPO had that lined, painted inside or otherwise leak-treated? Modern alcoholled fuel is very destructive, and may cause that to flake off. Or, was there rust in the filter?
Either way, there will have been more, so inspect the filter. Is it blocked, again? That would explain the symptoms this morning.
Can you look into the tank? One of those mobile phone endoscopes might be a cheap, safe way to do so.
JOhn
tapkaJohnD said:
Smell could be residue after a filter change, which will inevitably spill some.
The question you don't ask and your mechanic friend ignored is, where did the gunk in the filter come from, and what was it? It could only be from the tank.
Have you or your DPO had that lined, painted inside or otherwise leak-treated? Modern alcoholled fuel is very destructive, and may cause that to flake off. Or, was there rust in the filter?
Either way, there will have been more, so inspect the filter. Is it blocked, again? That would explain the symptoms this morning.
Can you look into the tank? One of those mobile phone endoscopes might be a cheap, safe way to do so.
JOhn
I really think the old fuel filter was just exactly that, very old, it certainly looked it and after 50 odd miles with the new one it was still spotless.The question you don't ask and your mechanic friend ignored is, where did the gunk in the filter come from, and what was it? It could only be from the tank.
Have you or your DPO had that lined, painted inside or otherwise leak-treated? Modern alcoholled fuel is very destructive, and may cause that to flake off. Or, was there rust in the filter?
Either way, there will have been more, so inspect the filter. Is it blocked, again? That would explain the symptoms this morning.
Can you look into the tank? One of those mobile phone endoscopes might be a cheap, safe way to do so.
JOhn
Grumbly said:
When I first got my TR6 it would regularly grind to a halt with a blocked fuel filter. A replacement aluminium fuel tank cured the issue eventually, all attempts at cleaning out the original tank having failed dismally.
Something like this?https://www.ebay.de/itm/Passend-Triumph-TR6-Alumin...
Yertis said:
I get the impression that the PI blokes in the UK and around the world actually have fewer problems than the US boys have with their Strombergs.
That's just because people in the UK either got their PI sorted or swapped to carbs, as there's not really the same range of 'sort of works' with PI there is with carbs. And that 'sort of works' with carbs leads to many cans of worms over time.//j17 said:
That's just because people in the UK either got their PI sorted or swapped to carbs, as there's not really the same range of 'sort of works' with PI there is with carbs. And that 'sort of works' with carbs leads to many cans of worms over time.
I agree, I was thinking about that afterwards. PI either works, or doesn't, and if it doesn't there's only a small number of things to check. (Unless you get inside the metering unit but I'll leave that to the experts.)
k it all up over the weekend now 
Adenauer said:
Yes, bought from Rimmer Bros.Grumbly said:
There is little point in changing fuel lines without resolving the source of the blockage. You could be lucky and it is just debris in the tank, but if it's rust from the tank itself the issue will reoccur and you will be back at square one.
I'm changing the fuel lines because a few of them look old and look to be splitting (hence the cause of the petrol stink).I've checked the fuel filters and they're all clean.
Plugs and distributor rotor change tomorrow, fingers crossed.
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