TR2/3/3A Are these Knackered?

[RobbieP]

Robbie,
Did you per chance remove all the spark plug wires at once during the installation of the new plugs? The firing order is 1-3-4-2 but the rotor goes counterclockwise. If you have it backwards it will still show spark but at the wrong moment. Thought numder one.

Thought number two - check your oil level and make sure there is not a bunch of fuel in it now. If so, you will want to check the floats and needle valves. You could be flooding it and the fuel has no where to go but into the sump.

I always remove/replace the plugs one at a time so they don't get mixed up. I'll check the sump, see what's in there

 

[Got_All_4]

Did you readjust the valve lash and get them too tight and a valve could be open and no compression no fire. A quick compression test would revile that.

 

[RobbieP]

Did you readjust the valve lash and get them too tight and a valve could be open and no compression no fire. A quick compression test would revile that.

I didn't touch the valves.

 

[NutmegCT]

Thanks Robbie. A couple thoughts:

You mentioned cranking the engine, then checking the plugs. You said the plugs were dry. To me that would indicate no fuel is getting to the plugs. Are the fuel bowls on the carbs filling up with fuel?

If you've checked that the plug wires are correctly installed, is there any possibility that the distributor itself has rotated on its shaft? Is the dist. head oriented correctly? and is the dist. fastened tight so the entire dist. can't be turned by hand?

Does the engine fire when you squirt starting fluid into the carb inlets, turn on the ignition, and try to start? (There's a starter button on the back side of the solenoid relay.) Similar to this:



Tom M.

 

[RobbieP]

Thanks Robbie. A couple thoughts:

You mentioned cranking the engine, then checking the plugs. You said the plugs were dry. To me that would indicate no fuel is getting to the plugs. Are the fuel bowls on the carbs filling up with fuel?

If you've checked that the plug wires are correctly installed, is there any possibility that the distributor itself has rotated on its shaft? Is the dist. head oriented correctly? and is the dist. fastened tight so the entire dist. can't be turned by hand?

Does the engine fire when you squirt starting fluid into the carb inlets, turn on the ignition, and try to start? (There's a starter button on the back side of the solenoid relay.) Similar to this:

View attachment 52703

Tom M.

I didn't know that! Very helpful, thanks Tom.

My plan on Saturday is to remove the bowls, inspect the floats and needle/seat. As fuel is getting to the carbs(I removed the pipe that goes into the carbs and cranked it and fuel came out) I think it's stuck in the bowls. Then double check the firing order is right disty to plugs, check the disty position and try some starting fluid.

I think it's something to do with the floats/needle seat.

 

[sp53]

Yeh another common problem, crud at the needle seat. Drop out the needle and blow some air through. If they are old time brass ones, I would reused them because they seem to last plus I think they are N/A.

 

[RobbieP]

Yeh another common problem, crud at the needle seat. Drop out the needle and blow some air through. If they are old time brass ones, I would reused them because they seem to last plus I think they are N/A.

Brass ones are available on Moss Motors site for $11.49 each!

 

[RobbieP]

Good News! She runs! I replaced the floats, levers/pins, needle and seat, cleaned out the bowls and put in new gaskets around the lids. I noticed that the rear carb bowl had nearly no fuel in it. So perhaps the fuel wasn't making it to the rear carb for some reason, vacuum leak from the bowl lid maybe?

On to the next problem, the car wants to stall when the choke is in. Doesn't matter if it's warm or not, still dies if the choke isn't out. Any ideas? I can't get it to idle long enough to tune the carbs with my carb syncrometer OR adjust timing.

 

[CJD]

There is a small amount of fuel there, and more there when the choke is out.

You should see a puddle within the jet, not just a little. I suspect you still have a bowl fuel level problem, as in still too low.

 

[TR3driver]

Set the timing with the engine not running, to roughly 3/16" (measured at the rim of the pulley) before the marks line up. Usually you can go a bit more, maybe as much as 3/8"; but it should run fine at 3/16".

Then give it enough mixture and throttle to keep running. You can slip the return springs off of the jet levers and pull them down as far as you need. Turn the fast idle screw in to open the throttle a little.

No need for a fancy tool to check synchronization, just listen at each carb throat for roughly equal hiss. No rocket science here, just needs to be somewhere in the ballpark.

Check that the radiator is coming up to temperature, the top tank should be too hot to keep your hand on before trying to tune the carbs. A bad thermostat can let it idle so cold that you'll never get it tuned right.