The problem had to be really bad. The car wasn’t running as well as something ready to meet their junk-yard. Starting was problematic, idling a joke, and acceleration a myth. I was facing the loss of a nice investment, but having a car that didn’t run made the cost seem rather insignificant. My final words to the Shop were clear.
”If you cannot solve it come back to me with a way to pull the system and replace it with something that will.”
The first day look ominous. They were calling me, looking for the manual that I had thought was in the boot. I began to worry about how long this was going to take.
On the second day things turn on a surreal note. “The car is ready for collection.”
How can this be? What did you find? How did you solve it?
Well, it was a bit tricky. Only five of the eight cylinders were actually firing on schedule. Hydrocarbons for half of the cylinders were off the chart. We initially thought it was the plugs, but they were ok. Then we thought it was the ignition system. We spent quite of bit of time there, playing with different settings. Some actually seemed to improve things but the problem was still there. So we went back to basics.
Basics?
We checked the sequence of the sparkplug wires. Half were in the wrong sequence. That solved the start and idle, but something was still causing trouble when you were running at speed.
And…?
Well, we got to thinking and started at the beginning. Your fuel pump is looking for a 12mm hose for fuel and it has 9mm. It also faced the challenge of a filter determining how much of that it would receive. Freeing the start made a big difference.
“First plant your fields; then build your barn.” (Proverbs 24.27)
What does it run like now?
Great! You would not recognize that it was and is the same car.
Want to live, really live? It may seem a bit odd, check the source.
