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TR2/3/3A TR3 Stalling Issues

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curdy

curdy

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Hi everyone, I'm having a very confusing and frustrating stalling issue with my TR. Either I or a local shop has done most everything we can think of to address it and it's still an issue. The stalling was not an issue until after the shop rebuilt the carbs and changed the aux fan over to auto switch. The car will seem fine then randomly begins to sputter and stall when stopped at a red light. This only seems to happen after the car has warmed up. If the car stalls, it doesn't like to start back up until it has sat for a while. You can imagine the frustration in keeping it running when stopped on a hill and the fear of not getting it started again if it is allowed to stall. Don't have much more detail to give other than it maybe being heat related. Meaning it does seem to be less of an issue now that the temperature has cooled down some. I did have an issue last weekend and got stranded for a while when the temperature was just above 80. Kept a close eye on the water temp when driving, stopped and when it begins to stall and it's been in normal operating temperature almost always right at 185. My guess at this point is that it's carb related in some fashion. Please let me know any ideas you may have. Taking it back to the shop that did the work is not an option. I'll refrain from going into detail of why.

Between my own work and the shop here are the main things that have been done:

Rebuilt fuel pump
New ignition coil (I confirmed it is the correct type), distributor cap, points, cables and plugs
Rebuilt carbs
New radiator
New water pump
New thermostat
New generator
Aux cooling fan now set up for auto switch
 
Gasoline supply to the carbs, float levels, and carbs themselves are on the check list. What do you know about assessing these items?
Bob
 
Last edited:
Petronix can fail like this if the wires are NOT resister style. If not, suspect fried wires at the cap, resister wires
are prone to problems where the screw pierces the wire. Fuel filters ahead of the pump can do this too.
Mad dog
 
It sounds like flooding. Here is a check for you...

Remove the air filters so you can easily look into the carb bores.
Start the engine, and let it warm up so it will run without the choke.
When you look into the carbs, you will see where the needles come down and enter the jets. The fuel level should be just below the top of the jets.
Shut the engine off and check the fuel level again. If it flows out of the jet and down the carb throat to the intake, then your float levels are set too high. The fuel level should remain 1/16 to 1/8" below the top of the jets.

I suspect you will find one or both float levels are set too high, so the fuel is running out at idle and stalling the engine.
 
Thank you all for the replies and help. Found out I'll have to address a hydraulic leak first then I'll see what I can do with this stalling issue.
 
you state you changed the points, this may be a stupid question but did you change the condencer too.
If you can do it, when it stalls pull the plugs to see if they are wet, what colour are the plugs after a good run.
 
mezy said:
you state you changed the points, this may be a stupid question but did you change the condencer too.
If you can do it, when it stalls pull the plugs to see if they are wet, what colour are the plugs after a good run.
Click to expand...
I did replace the condenser as well. I'll try pulling the plugs next time.
 
Stalling and hard to start when temps are high, and engine is hot and idling.

Sure sounds like vapor lock to me; might be related to the shop rebuild of your carbs and location of fuel line near manifold.

Just sayin' ...

By the way, didn't you have a very similar problem back in 2016?
 
Yes with these cars it always good to have 3 sets of new plugs as you sort out stuff or a good way to clean yours. Probably carb cleaner and a wire brush.

steve
 
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