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Triumph TR6 - engine surging/missing curred!

Mystery solved and am I stupid.

I had to make All British Field Meet at Portland Saturday and even if I had the problem I would go. So I went.

I'd accelerate up to cuise speed and slowly it would start to miss and loose power. I'd close the trottle for a half second and it would go away for a coupl of miles and start again. At one point for 20 miles it ran fine but returned. D/C'd the vacuum advance (yes I put one in) and it made it better but just smoothed it out. Got to the show and entered the car.

After the show we did some things in Portland before heading home. I got cool so we put up the top. With the engine acting up and the loud Falcon exhaust and exhaust fumes I was considering a Miata. It was the worst time I've ever had in a TR. By the time we got back to Eugene I was frazzled and had to stop for a Martini.

All the way home I was doing mental computer simulations on the system and focused on the carbs. What would let a car idle fine, accelerate and go up hills great but loose power at cruise. I figured there must be a small hole in one of the diaphrams. I took the top off the rear car (one with vacuum advance line) and as I pulled out the piston the needle almost fell out the bottom. There I stood looking at the thing as if it were giving me the finger! I seems that the last time I adjusted the mixture I forgot to tighten down the lock screw and the needle unscrewed from the adjusting screw and droped down. Everytime I'd let off the gass the piston would drop down and reseat the needle and as I cruised along it would slowly drop down until I closed the trotle again. I can't understand why it ran so well in town and up hills and such.
skikir

That's a good one! And you were probably contemplating getting rid of the finicky broad for a nanosecond or so. Did you do the "slap your forehead with your palm" or the "DUH!"? I hate to think of the times that stuff happens to me. But it does make you feel good to finally solve it, eh?
Tom

Yeah. No kidding. Even at that I still got 26.4 MPG over the 290 miles. I really want to get this back in tune and see what I get on all six cylinders!
skikir

Great news...it seems most problems these cars give us are caused by mis-adjustment over many years by previous owners and we spend hours trying to figure it out...or the simple goofs we all make while working on them..it's nice when we do figure it out !
Charlie
Charlie B.

I to was at Portland, wish I new you where going to be there would have looked you up. Rumors were that Berry was going to the swap meet on Sunday. I don't know what he looks like,probable walked right by him a number of times.
Don
DON KELLY

Don-Sorry I wimped out on the ABFM. I didn't really need anything from the swap meet and had plenty of projects at home. Maybe we will meet at the Spruce Goose next year at the ATDI.
Berry
BTP Price

skikir,
Man that was a good one. I loved it when you said "There I stood looking at the thing as if it were giving me the finger!".

I had the same feeling when I replaced the front engine plate gasket, front oil seal, and timing cover gasket. Had it all back together with gasket goop and all, was feeling very proud. Began to clean up my tools and found the darn oil thrower disc laying on the bench. I forgot to put it on the crank stub! Had to pull it all off again and tore the timing chain cover gasket! I missed the note in the Bentley but hand wrote a reminder for my self in red ink!

We all have a story. Thanks for the laugh. No hard feelings though. Glad you found the problem.
MRankin
MRankin

This thread was discussed between 06/09/2005 and 08/09/2005

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