Cylinder 4 is not firing. we know this becuase we pulled the spark lead off and it made no difference to the running of the engine. the spark lead is firing. all other cylinders are firing, and zapped us when we took the lead off!!!

is there any way to rectify this problem without rebuilding the engine? just a short term solution as we are rebuilding the engine soon anyway. picked up a 90% complete 1100 engine from the wreckers for $100! still has oil on the dipstick, but no carby or rad.

i know my engine is tired and needs a rebuild, its just a matter of getting the funds together!!!

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

hey.
have you tried replacing the troublsome spark plug??? if u have spark from the lead when you hold it close to the block, it could be that the spark plug has too much carbon residue on it or has just worn out....

give it a try

cheers

might be time for a compression test if you have spark at the plug??? is the plug sparking and if not is it wet? ive had the gap on a plug close b4 too

years ago i was a V8 man. I had a set of 8 plugs to go in, and dropped them all. Put them in anyway......one must have had a crack in it, because it ran on 7 till I changed it.

Just because they look A1 doesn't mean they are.

yeah, just swap that plug with the one from another cylinder - if they're NGK's and the car has been sitting a little while, that'll definitely be the problem, I reckon optimax does it to them when they've been sitting around, but don't ask me why. Every time I start up my cooper it's killed another plug

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Changed the plug-no difference. there is quite a bit of oil on them though, when i pull them out.

BTW i'm running on BP Ultimate, its good stuff! (with valve saver of course!)

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

Try changing the leads (both ends) in case it's the faulty lead - other than that it sounds like a cracked cap

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

I agree, cracked caps are common. Ask Ozmotorsport...
If you have a multimeter check the resistance of the coil & plug leads. If any measure over 12K ohms or so, piss them off and buy new ones. They don't last forever..!

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Is there compression in the cylinder?

as for the leads...we changed them over and no difference

as for the cap... we already checked that as we were having some ignition problems. we have spark at the end of the lead but not in the cylinder!

as for compression, i have no idea but probably not!!!!

i ahve some hotter plugs to try to burn away some of the oil that is getting into the chambers...just gotta go and put them in! soon, cos i have to go up the shop

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

I would not bother with the hotter plugs it sound like you may have a burnt out valve.

Take it to a Mechanic and get them to do a compression test on all four cylinders then go from there.

As it sounds like you have tried all the obvious things and it still has the same fault.

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I've Got One
You've Got One
We've All Got One
What Is It



A Bloody Mini

1970 Mini K, 1380cc, 1.75 HIF SU, 30 70 Cam, 2" Zorts
1969 Mini K, Stock Standard and Orginal. (Slow as Hell)

Dooooooh!! double post!!! do these count??

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"Show me the Mini!"

What about rule of thumb??? pull the plug, crank the engine, thumb over plug thread...any pressure at all???....compare with one or two others...

borrow a compression guage and check all four....

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"Show me the Mini!"

I might get pete at Bellarine Mini Center to check it out. he's a good bloke

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

i doubt it, we changed the whole head recently. there were no oil seals on the valve stems!!!

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince