• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

A15 motor in my Midget - more problems!

Share this page

Rick, check your manifold - you might have a crack
 
Ok, well I will double check all the easy stuff first like firing order - I suppose someone may have lifted the bonnet and changed that while my car was parked but I really doubt it.
This happened midway through a trip and my car was parked at a park then on the ferry, I couldn't see it either place.
 
I recorded it this morning so you can hear what it sounds like:

 
Sounds just like a spridget to me.
And a Tecumseh lawnmower engine.

Power is what percentage of what it was before this happened?
 
I'd guess it's in the 2/3 range.
Runs rough, sounds terrible, there were some guys at my work who were running some landscaping equipment - sounds like that.
 
Most likely...broken valve spring, shot guides, burned valve.
The 20 pounds should tell you something.
Can you apply air to the low cylinder with valves closed and car set brake on in first or reverse and see where the air comes out?
Hillbilly leakdown tester.
 
The springs are all good.
Possibly one of the other problems but I won't know until I do more testing.
I like the hillbilly tester idea!
 
If you do apply air, have at least the adjacent plugs out on the hole being tested. I have found head gasket issues before. You may NOT have low on both, as compression on known bad may be enough to raise the adjacent hole.
Seen it enough to remember it.
If you do yank the head, solvent check the combustion chambers and carefully inspect the gasket.
Dave
 
Doesn't sound as bad as a broken piston so I would agree with TOC. Can you turn the engine over with the valve cover off rolling it over in high gear. You should be able to see if the valve's on 4 are opening and closing all the way. That would eliminate a cam going flat. If you had a burned intake I would expect lot's of back fireing. Exhaust burned????

Kurt.
 
The video sounded like my 1275 after the head gasket went south. The car ran extremely rough and it was more like "The Little Engine That Could" any time I pointed it up a hill. It felt like I lost 1/2 the car's power.
 
Yes I rotated the rockers several times and all of the valve springs and clearances check good and they all fully depress and whatever the opposite is called...
Maybe head gasket failure, but will have to tear things apart to be sure.
First a thorough compression test.
 
Make sure all plugs are out. Don't pull one at a time and check that hole, then re-install.
 
TOC said:
Make sure all plugs are out. Don't pull one at a time and check that hole, then re-install.
Click to expand...

That's the plan, after I repair the lawnmower and attempt to mow the "back 40".
 
Swords into plowshares....spridgets into mowers...all makes sense now....
 
If it is a head gasket I recommend using an OEM Nissan GX gasket or even a NISMO one. I've used both and they seal very well.

Good luck....hopefully a head gasket fixes her up.
 
Compression test.
#1 - 195
#2 - 35
#3 - 185
#4 - 30

smilie2.gif
 
Drove it back & forth to Issaquah like that all week - but it wasn't any fun.

I pulled all the plugs, screwed the end of my gauge in a plug hole and then turned the key for about 10 seconds with wide open throttle.
Repeat for each cylinder.
 
Methinks major issues. Two spots for a gasket failure at same time???,
 
Back
Top