30-03-2018, 09:04 AM
(This post was last modified: 30-03-2018, 09:12 AM by Thowdfella.)
(27-03-2018, 05:03 PM)Nick Salmon Wrote: Stale fuel is my pet bete noir. How I crave a dose of leaded 4 star that would stay good for months and months on end!
Point is this - I too had a fuel tank out, cleaned and sealed. Put in fresh fuel straight from the pump. Car ran fine. Went back to it again about six weeks later and it would not start. Put newer 'fresh fuel' into the float bowl and it fired up immediately. Next day - same thing. This is on an RP saloon by the way.
So I drained the tank and refueled it. All ran fine and with regular use is continuing to run fine..
I put the drained fuel in my MGB and although it would start, it ran like an utter pig.
This is not the first time fuel I have had fuel go off in a relatively short period. Perhaps it is atmospherics. Perhaps it is ethanol causing it.
So now, whenever I get a problem with starting a car that has been standing for more than a very few weeks, and the cause isn't obvious, I always begin the hunt by using absolutely fresh fuel in the float bowl. This has solved the problem more times than not.
Finally this is the end of this Saga. Got a similar carburettor off eBay and stripped and cleaned it. No different got a new distributor head and rotor arm - no different. I have been listening to all the comments re fuel and have filled the float chamber with fuel but still wouldn't start.
Yesterday I got new fuel in a container at Morrisons and rigged up a pipe from the pump inlet into it and the car started. Again this morning - it started no problem.
The fuel I was using previously was less than three weeks old but it won't start on it. I have been advised to use super unleaded - I believe Tesco has one at 99 octane and this doesn't deteriorate. Can't quite believe that but at least it's starting from a higher level!!