Young Pretender Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I'm booked on a track day at Brands tomorrow and as luck would have it my car is playing silly b*******s with me. Anything above light/medium throttle seems to induce a sort of banging/cracking from the carbs and the power just stutters. It's a 2.o zetec with 45 webber carbs and piper cross filter (NMS tuned). I'm thinking the most likely cause is the air filter dirt retention additive that I sprayed on the filter yesterday - It does say 'not to apply too much otherwise it may inhibit performance', but doesn't really guide as to how much 'too much' is. I don't really think I was excessive. So has anyone experienced difficulties after applying too much of this stuff? I'm going to take the filter off and give it a clean as a starting point but it will take time to dry so wanted to get a post up first in case anyone can help me. The only other potential cause could be the full engine degrease I gave it a couple of weeks ago.. I've been on holiday since so it hasn't had a proper run until today. Any help gratefully received. Thanks Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstorey Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I recently changed my air filter and used a very light spray of the additive, literally did a couple of seconds spray all over. Its still wet to touch all over a couple of weeks later and no issues driving... Have you tried idling with no air filter? (In a dust free environment of course!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Tried it with no filter and still had the prob. Fuel was low so just filled up and went for a 20 mile drive to see if I couldn't blow the cob webs off her. Still doing it. Was ok for a bit then started misfiring again. Carbs (or one of but can't tell) are throwing out some umburnt fuel when it's doing it. It was quite visible even with the filter on at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Is the float needle sticking in one of the carbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 I'm not sure Terry, is there an easy way for me to check this? A quick google of this (I have no mechanical knowledge) suggests that I can either: 1. Use carb cleaner 2. Hit the float to dislodge the needle; or 3. take it apart to clean it (makes me nervous) Ok next silly question - which bit is the float? I reckon I can hit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave the Sparky Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 No way m8! Wish I could help! What about your neighbour? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 He's not at home Dave. Well I've tried 'tapping' the carbs with a mallet to see if that will dislodge the needle. That didn't work. I'm considering taking the carbs apart to clean the needle but it's late and I'm supposed to be at brands at 7:30am. I have found a youtube vid that shows how they come apart but I'm guessing it's not that simple. Can I take the float apart and clean the needle without mucking up the settings that Troy did for me at NMS? Can I take them apart with the fuel lines still connected? I could really do with some pointers from someone in the know here. Otherwise I will get up early tomorrow and try in vain to start the car then have to accept that I've lost £225 and my fisrt track day won't be happening I'm going to be a pleasure for my wife tomorrow I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackNail Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 when you degreased it you didn't get water/gunk/jizzer all over the spark plugs did you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Well I'm less inclined to think that it was related to the engine clean because it has gotten progressively worse since then but who knows. I was careful but it's not out of the realms of possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackNail Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 make sure all the electrical connections are nice & dry before dismantling carbs is it firing on all cylinders? spill a bit of water on each exhaust header & make sure they're all as hot as one another 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 You may just have saved the day TrackNail. Thought I better just take out the ignition leads and check the plugs, two of which were swimming in a small reservoir of water I obviously wasn't at all careful enough. So I've soaked the water up and left them off overnight. The engines still nice and warm so it'll be bone dry soon enough. Thank you, I have hope for the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackNail Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 get the mrs hair drier on them in the morning just to make sure good luck, now get some sleep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Ok all dry but now not firing on all cylinders. About to try some wd40 on the sparks & leads. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a fix? At brands now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Get ai bit of warmth into the engine, and then swap the plugs that have been wet, with the ones that have been dry. The wet plugs are still likely to be playing up inside the engine, so swapping might just wake them up. Or go and buy some new plugs of course.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackNail Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Halfords Unit B, Sevenoaks Retail Park Sevenoaks,Kent,TN14 5EW T.01732 454148 or Unit 2, Heather Lane Dartford,Kent,DA1 2QA T.01322 277515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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