The past couple of mornings have been in the -7?c range as well as a couple of days last week. I have discovered a new problem with my car, the needle valve in the carby sticks shut on very cold mornings. The car will start fine and motor along well until I lift off on a downhill or approacing an intersection and the motor will cut out just like it is out of petrol and when I lift the lid on the float bowl it is empty! If I wiggle the lid it will release the needle and the fuel will run out again.
The two solutions that I have found are.....
1) Carry a little hammer to give the carby a tap to release the stuck needle.
2) Drive with the foot down so that the needle valve is never closed.

The needle and seat is brand new and is the neoprene tipped type.

The car does not muck up on the trip home from work in the afternoon and only mucks up on very cold mornings.

my old mans dad who lives in scotland used to tell me when he was younger he had to hang a kero lantern in the enginge bay so everything didnt get stuck and freeze so it would start or even one of those electric lantern camping heatersor what if you made a carby warmer like a tea cosie a beanie for your carby put it on of a night and just take it off in the morning

just a suggestion
cheers bob

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1978 NUGGET GOLD 1275 LS

GR poo poos the metro manifold for the 1.75 HIF 44 or 38 mm carbies. But GR does not live in an area where we spent three months of the year with overnight temperatures lower that -2. Last night here was measured at -9 with an electronic thermometre.

The metro manifold has a water pipe that runs through the manifold and, if connected, feeds the heater. Provided the water temperature gets close to normal then the manifold solves a lots of that.

I dont drive my mini in the early frosts because I dont have too and I dont want to argue with a big buck kangaroo the appears out of the frosty mist. I have a dunnydooor for that. But i know it doesn't fluff along once the temperature is there.

Mike...generally speaking...the neoprene tipped needle, whilst great at reducing needle bounce can stick to the seat....try an all brass one and see how you go

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"Show me the Mini!"

I don't think that the water heated manifold would help as the float bowl is isolated from the carby on the HS2. I only have to drive for 6 minutes to get to work and the heater is just starting to warm up when I get there. I have the standard exhaust heated manifold and I have the air filter in the winter position. The car is running very, very well until it stops.

One solution that I have found is if I park the car nose in to the carport it seems to run better than when it is facing nose out. (still under cover but the engine end of the car is open to the world)

It can be dammed annoying to have to open the bonnet to thump the carby when it is -7!

I was thinking the same thing, I will look through my spares and see what I can find. I was just wondering if anyone else had found the same thing?

hmmmmmmaybe water in ya fuel and with the fuel flow through the coldness causes the fuel to ice up ??? drop some metho in to try and break up the water a bit
makka

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Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

Unless you have some sort of scientific access to chemicals, I defy anyone to buy metholated spirites (or the same same substance by another name).

It appears (without going into chemistry and pathological effects) that metho has been taken off the market and replaced by CSR etho. Yea. -- Bring on the flavour enhancers and the boot polish.

sorry guys i couldnt resist...



a solution to your problems?

do the fuel line pipes contract when they get quite cold/freeze? this could be the reason behind lack of fuel getting to the bowl perhaps? maybe condensation is getting in... perhaps vapour getitng in through the filler neck or tank breather?

just speculating

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

When I was a little kid, back in pommy land, I remember my Dad used to cover the engine (we had a morris 1000 traveller) in an old blanket and a big piece of cardboard on top of that, then close the bonnet. It must have done some good because he did it every night during the winter and the car used to stay out in the street. It must have worked or he wouldn't have kept on doing it and the temperatures got down pretty cold.

Just my two bobs (cents) worth

Hooroo

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Rod
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v607/Rodney/

I have heard of people doing that too, but forgetting in the morning and starting the car with the blanket on. Makes a bit of a mess when the fan catches it.
Steve.

How about getting a little hot water bottle type thingo made , something non flammable you can heat up while having the morning coffee at home and put over the float chamber just before you drive off . Either that or move to somewhere that doesn't have such god awful winters ....... I spent a winter in Goulburn (1992 I think) , talk about siberia ..... To make it worse we were working on the Cullarin range deviation , 40 k's south and several hundred metres higher , one chainman got frostbitten fingers .....

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yep, rod, same here with an old escort back in england. Blanket overnight = start next morning. No blanket = no start. Good use of 30 seconds each night to stop an whole hour (or more) of frustration the next morning. Got into that routine pretty easily.
cheers!
jon

hmm... sounds interesting.



Unfortunately most people are helping him solve a problem he does NOT have.
He said he can start, but then when backing off it dies... no problem starting though.

Your needle is sticking... but probably not because of the cold. Does sound like water in the fuel or maybe its just a sticky needle.

As you thought, try a different one and see what happens. (Maybe it wont start haha )
Peter.

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Click here for the Turbo Conversion Thread!

It is definitely cold related as it only does it when it is -5? or less. It will not do it at all on weekends or in the afternoons, it just does it in the morning.
It is not water in the fuel as I have been pulling the lid off the float bowl and checking the fuel.

It may be fuel related though. Maybe the unleaded with no additives doesn't like low temperatures.
It has occurred with two different needles and seats.

I will try a brass needle soon and see if it makes a difference.

It starts very well with the Pulsar dizzy!