The Rover-Landers of BC

Hello,

I am having a big problem with my 2.25 engine. When the vehicle is at idle it purrs like a kitten, i can rev it up, let it go and it will come back down to idle no problem. The problem is when i get it on the road and there is a load on the engine and it sputers and spurts and back fires something terrible. I have taken it in to Bristol Motors in victoria and Matt has tuned it, timed it, changed the carb to a weber, changed the plugs and just recently i have converted to an aternator with a new battery. The engine has been running like this for a while. Needless to say i have not been driving it at all :(. Can any one help me out
Thanks
Mark

Check fuel pump output. A failing pump can mimmick electrical problems with the backfiring/popping/and general doggieness under load.

Sounds like a bad coil, easy fix if it is.

can the distributors be turned 180 degrees on these engines by accident?

I would replace the coil as mentioned above by Andrew.

some good pointers listed above....

If those fail also check your fuel cap breather.
often the breather get clogged meaning that a vacuumn gets created in the fuel tank. Often will run ok at idle but when the fuel demand increases the vacuum affect restricts fuel flow and a rough running engine.

Let us know what you find when you get it sorted.
Andy

Thanks Guys, I will check it all out. The fuel pump is brand new out of the bag. The coil is new to but could defective, how can you check.
Thanks for your suggestions i will try them all and let you know what happens.
Mark

check the compression - mine had blown the head gasket between #1 & #2 cylinders

Hi Guys,

Well i have checked the breather hoses and they are clear. I have changed the coil for one i had as spare. I started it up and went for a cruise (not to far from home LOL) and it worked great. So i went home put the truck back together and went for one more tour as it was a happy moment, as i was heading down the road it started all over again with the sputtering and spurting and cut out. When it started again t went for a bit spurted back fired and went good only for a few min. This happened all the way back home. AAAAHHH!
With the fuel pump being new, it dribbles into the fuel filter. When i rev the engine it seems to get enough fuel as it does not cut out. How much fuel should the pump be putting out????
I am going to get a compression gauge from a buddy and see if there is a problem with the head gasket. If not, does anyone have any other ideas of what might be going on.
Thanks for everyones help so far it is appreciated.

Mark

My next guess is an obstructed fuel pickup pipe in the fuel tank. I had this happen with a 2.5na diesel, it would run fine until the obstruction blocked the pipe. After shutting down it would float free and the engine would start up again. I've also seen a similar fault with a clear bit of silicone floating around in the float bowl of the carb, it would block the main jet from time to time then float free again when the engine was off.

I will check the fuel line pickup, as well i just bought a compression guage and will check that also. Sooner or later we will get to the bottom of this.
Thanks
Mark

Just a quick update, I have checked the compression on all cylinders and they are all the same, at about 95psi. I was almost hoping it was different, then i would know that it was a head gasket.
I guess i will just have to keep eliminating things. I hope to get it going by june so i can get to the rover meet they have up near Duncan. Fingers crossed.

Mark

I had the exact same issue for some time, one rebuilt carb later, what it ended up being was the thin wire to the points in the distributor from the coil it was not quite connecting correctly to the coil, since you've replace the coil I doubt the issue is there but I would check that there is good contact from the coil to the points to ensure proper firing of the cylinders... I would also check your points gap as well. Also check the wire that flexes on your points as the gets brittle and my not be passing full current either... replace the damned thing any ways as out of all my experience the one thing that will leave you stranded is that damned little wire!!! I went to an electric distributor to beat that and every day is like someone tuned my points before I left for work!!


Andrew

Thanks Andrew, about how much is the electric ditributor? Where can you pick one up. I have drained my fuel tank and checked the pickup tube, I even blew out my fuel lines as well. I started it up and and it ran good, a few backfires, I took it out on the road and it went pretty good. No sputtering or spurting but not the power it used to have. I am not sure if it was the fuel lines that were dirty or if it was something else. I am not going to far with it right now so if it does die again i will not have far to go.

Mark

I think I paid $300 for mine at RoverPark... Still loving it too! Also another thought is check the spark plugs, make sure they are not fowled from oil, mine get that way as I need new rings and head so for $10 a new set of spark plugs is a cheap diagnostics too!

andrew

Thanks for the info. I checked all the wires in the distributor and everything seems fine. I replaced the coil with a brand new one and cleaned the points and rechecked all the spark plug wires. Everyting is good. I am still getting the odd back fire but things are better than before. I am still thinking about getting that electric dist it sounds like it would do the job.
Thanks again
Mark

Ok,

I am right back back to square one with sputering and spurting and back firing bad, I was lucky to make it home today, that was with a Brand new coil.
When I made it home I checked the gap on the points they are in the specs, all plugs were changed, fuel hoses checked to make sure there was no vacume, there is enough fuel getting to the engine all wires are connected properly. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! It was all going good for a while.
Helllllppppp!

Mark

Please define "Back fire". Do you mean flame and a loud bang coming from the carb into the air intake pipe/filter? or do you mean popping from the exhaust?

If it is the first one, you have a timing issue, way to far advanced! If it is out the exhaust, you have an air leak into the intake manifold after the carb or possibly air getting into the exhaust system. A bad valve(s) can also cause these problems. Usually air into the exhaust gives popping on deceleration.

As it sounds as if it starts doing this after it is warmed up, you might not have a good gasket or tight bolts on an intake manifold and it changes shape when heated, or--or--

It also sounds similar to problem connected with a dirty fuel filter or lack of adequate fuel delivery. (Has that been said before?) I fixed a fuel problem by adding a $40 Faucet electric fuel pump in-line with my mechanical one. Available at NAPA or probably any other auto parts store. You want one that puts out 4 to 6 psi or close to it. For that matter you could always put a fuel line pressure gauge on you line going to the carb and test what your present pump is putting out.

The back fires are a loud bang out of the muffler and then some pops in the carb. I have an inline fuel pump on now and have bypassed the mechanical one. It is in the same setup as when i first bought it and it ran great. I will check the bolts on the head and intake manifold. It was running good there for the last little while and then started up again.
Thanks for your suggestions I will try them all.

Mark

So yesterday (Sat) I took the whole day and checked everything possible. I made sure all the nuts were torqued to the right amount, I bought new plugs gapped them and put them in, checked the compression which was 95-100 psi. I also replaced a few parts in the distributor with parts off of another one and gapped the points and put the new coil back on.
I started it up and it ran great. No back fires no sputtering and spurting. I took it for a run and it seems to be good. Fingers crossed, rub budda and all the good luck stuff that this will last for a while. I looked at the price for an electric dist at wise owl, not a bad price. maybe next pay LOL.

Thanks guys for all your help

I remember I picked up a Pertronix Electric Ignition and Pertronix high output coil at my local Lordco. I gave them the part number, and they ordered it in for me. This was years ago, so I'm afraid I don't remember the price, but I know it was reasonable.

Devin

I picked up an old sckool electronic ignition coil for 70's spec Dodge electronic ignition in mine. I even put in a ballast resistor for the same. (I know, some hate these, unreliable, yadda, yadda) It has worked flawlessly for about 5 years in a daily and the spark will jump an inch. Not bad.

Just a quick update of how the old girl is running, No not my girlfriend LOL my mistress. So from the weekend distributor tare down and rebuild with other parts she is running pretty good. In the morning I let her warm up for about 10 min before I head off. Right now i am happy as a Pig in Shit.
Thanks again to everyone for all your tips and help, I will definatly look into the electric dist.

Mark

Glad to hear all is well.

Put a Petronix in my dizzy...best thing I have ever done to the truck...and I've done lots :shock: :lol: