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MG MGA - Carburetter Problem

My 1958 mga 1500 started acting up recently. I had been driving it around town and it had worked well all day, but then I felt a noticable loss in power accompanied by a rumbling noise coming from under the hood. It seems to be coming from the front carb, and is only noticable when the car is accelerating. Also the recently installed plugs were severly blackened. Is it possible that a rich running front carb could cause this noise (in addition to the blackend plugs and power loss). I was planning on driving it from Massachussets to Ohio in a few weeks and I wanted to fix it before I left. Thanks.
R Egge

It sounds as if the float or needle and seat in the float chamber stuck open and fouled out the front two plugs. Missing on two cylinders could cause a rumble as the engine will be shaking quite a bit. Pull the front float bowl cover and check for dirt in the needle and seat or a float that has sprung a leak and no longer floats.
John H

Make sure to take the float out and shake it to listen for fuel inside. A pinhole leak can cause it to fill partially and raise the fuel level without overflowing the carbs. A fully submerged float or stuck open needle would cause fuel to come out the overflow tube when the ignition switch is on.
Jeff Schultz

Well I took apart the float chambers, and while they were filled with particulates, the floats and needles moved freely. Tomorrow I'm going to try adding a carb cleaner to the gas and with any luck this'll clear things up for me. Thanks for the help.
R Egge

Filled? Even if there are particles covering the bottom of the chambers, they should be cleaned out of course. And probably time for a new fuel filter. All pretty normal maintenance for these cars. I am trying not to mention cleaning the tank, but it has to be said.
Tom

Chech the tightness of the mounting screw on your carb needle. It may be loose causing it to have changed position. The shoulder of the needle should be level with the base of the damper.
Gordon
Gordon Harrison

This thread was discussed between 15/08/2007 and 16/08/2007

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