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MG MGB Technical - problems starting after standing for 10 months

I hope somebody can help me or point me in the right dirrection maybe....

I have a mgb roadster 1971 and I am not proud of this but it has been standing in my garage unused for 10 months now since the end of last summer as I had a problem with the batteries going dead all the time and I did not bother to replace them till today.

So I expected to put the new batteries in and after a bit of spluttering it would start but no go and I sould point out that I did not have any problems with the car before only battery problems but they were really old and needed replacing anyway.

the car turns over but does not fire there is petrol in the tank and the lights and things come on so the new batteries are good but the one thing I think maybe the problem is the fuel pump as it normally makes a bubbleing sound when I put the key in and turn but there is no sound now.

could I have damaged it when changing the batteries ?

any help would be great

thanks

Richard
R A Holst

Hi.

The pump contacts sometimes stick if the pump isn't used for a while, turn the ignition on and give the body of the pump a tap with a screwdriver handle or something. Hopefully it will then burst into a flurry of ticking.
Don't get carried away !.

Modern fuel doesn't age well, you may find that it is grouchy until you have put some fresh in.

HTH.. Don
Don

Beyond the fuel pump, you may need to clean and/or replace the spark plugs, replace the fuel or at least dilute it 50/50 with new gas, change the engine oil, check the dashpot oil, possibly remove and clean the pistons in the carbs, and possibly clean out the carb float bowls and replace the fuel filter. You shouldn't expect it to start easily, because it probably won't. Mine sat nearly 3 years for a slow body restoration, and it took all the above to get it running again including a new battery.
Jeff Schlemmer

thanks for the advice guys Don tried the fuel pump banging thing and it is sorted

fuel is now getting to the carbs but it is still not starting so tomorrow I will get some new spark plugs and maybe drain the petrol tank what is the best way to do that ?

or should I try a few things before doing that I just need to get it started to get it to a garage for a full service as I cant really do much in my garage at home.

thanks Jeff if you had to put the things you mentioned in a list from highest to lowest what order would you try things
R A Holst

Your clutch will have seized up also. Barrie E
Barrie Egerton

Richard - A word to the wise, keep in mind that a MG is like a wife or mistress, they don't take well to being ignored. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Siphoning the petrol is one way to do it, bear in mind petrol doesn't taste too good. It will take a whole lot of carnking to get the car going. Me and a freind had a '76 that had been laid up for a year and a half, and on and off it took about 3 minutes of cranking before it started to fire on the first cylinder, and about another 2 minutes of cranking before it would start (on two cylinders) it was another couple of minutes before the other cylinders caught up.

If you've been cranking on full choke, it's possible you might have flooded the engine. I found it helped more to pump the gas pedal.
dave

Richard, the two most critical things are new spark plugs and making certain the pistons are free in the carbs. Remove the air cleaners and lift each piston at least an inch (close to full rise.) Verify that it falls slowly, but completely back to the bottom where you'll here a metallic clunk. Top off the dashpot oil first before you check this.

Personally, I would also remove the distributor cap and check the terminals for corrosion. Weak spark or bad spark may as well be no spark at all when you're trying to start an engine for the first time in almost a year. Also remove the coil wire from the coil and look inside. This is a hot spot for corrosion to develop and should be cleaned up. Don't ever use sandpaper to remove corrosion! Use steel wool or scrape with a metal screwdriver. The silicon from sandpaper can imbed and build resistance to later case serious problems.

Keep us up to date with your progress!
Jeff

Jeff Schlemmer

B's and other cars don't always like old fuel. I always put a fuel stabilizer in my B's buel tank when I know I won't be driving it for an extended period of time (Stabil or similar available at auto supply stores and home centers). This, or fresh fuel makes a big difference when starting it for the first time the next year.

If you don't want to drain the fuel tank, and the tank has room for more gas, you could add some fresh gas containing enough stabilizer for the whole tank. Mix it up by pushing down on one rear corner of the car. You might want to discommect the fuel line at the carbs and pump a pint or so through to get some of the fresher gas, and then give it a try.

Good luck.
glq Greg

hi every one thanks for all the help so far here is the status so far.

1. Drained the fuel tank and put 5 liters of new gas
2. Replaced all 4 spark plugs
3. removed carbs and emptied out bowls of all fuel
4. checked carb pistons fall/move properly
5. checked distrubtor cap contacts cleaned

all this and it is still not starting ?

I have tried turning the engine over loads of times and the engine seems to turn over but is not fireing should I just keep turning it over ?

is there anything else I could check how would I check that my distributor is not the problem ?

could there be a problem with the batters I bought I got the 6 volt heavy duty ones , but my old ones said heavy duty on them so thought it would be ok ?

could it be the coil in the distributor should I take it out and clean it if so How do I do that it seems really stuck down deep and does not not look easy to remove?

thanks for the help so far
R A Holst

I have a 25d4 distributor how would I go about removing it to clean or testing that it is work ?
R A Holst

Insert one of your old spark plugs in a plug wire and ground it to the engine. Bend the electrode WAY out! Check for spark. Are you sure your fuel pump is working? Is there gas in the carbs? Are your batteries fully charged? New batteries usually are not.

If all that is ok, you can remove the distributor by removing the 2-7/16" bolts that affix the clamp to the block. Pop it loose with a big screwdriver. Are your points good? I would try to check those before removing the distributor. Run a thin points file through the points gap to clean them up just to see what happens. Or simply replace them.
Jeff Schlemmer

hi jeff

I used the fuel pump to drain the tank by pulling the hose off one of the carbs and then letting the pump push the gas out into a bucket so I think that would prove the the pump works.

should I have the ignition on when I ground the spark plug ?

the batteries seem to be fully charged as I have had flat batteries before and the car turns over very slowly and the lights are dimm when I put them on but the lights come on bright and the car turns over fast it does just not fire

could there be a problem with the coil and if so How would I test it ?

the points I have no idea I have looked in the hayens book and cant find a picture or anything so I dont know where to look do they have another name or is there a picture on the net some where so I have a point of referance

thanks
R A Holst

Richard. My website, www.custompistols.com/ has an MG section which includes an article on troubleshooting the ignition system and a couple more articles which may be of use to you in determining if various systems are working correctly. With the ignition system working properly, a compression check (article on that) will tell you if you have good compression. With good compression and good ignition, the fuel system is the only other problem. Dave DuBois's tech article on the fuel pump will give you pressure and flow specifications. After that, it is simply a case of is sufficient fuel getting into the cylinders to allow the engine to start. Sometimes, the carb jets and passages get clogged with shellac from when old petrol evaporates, causing the fuel not to flow through them properly. One quick test is to simply pour a small amount of petrol into the intake manifold (remove the air cleaners, lift the pistons and put some petrol into the carb on the back side of the pistons) then try to start the car. If it starts briefly, you probably have a fuel delivery problem. Les
Les Bengtson

You can test the coil by pulling the center wire off of the distributor cap and putting the spark plug into that. With it grounded, you should see spark while cranking the engine.

Checkout Les's site. It should be a terrific help!
Jeff Schlemmer

This thread was discussed between 25/06/2005 and 27/06/2005

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