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lclark0624

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sad is right.

got my 75 "B" out of the shop for front brake rebuild and every thing was fine.

stopped for lunch and when i came out, the b was sluggish -- as if hitting on two cylinders instead of 4. No knocking, no smoke. would hardly make it up a hill in second with the petal down!!!!!


any ideas? I'd like to fix it myself if i can.
 
brakes binding? you can tell be seeing if the rotors are hot, i dont suggest you touch them cause if they are binding they will most likely burn you. But you will feel the extreme heat.

does the car want to roll easily? is the engine idling smoothly? does it seem to work hard when trying to move it? how about after a couple of minutes driving?

mark
 
Sounds like a fuel problem to me. ((choking on that expensive gas in CA probably!)) Could it be an issue with your fuel filter? Check your lines/hoses?

Wouldn't it smoke, or wouldn't you smell something if your brakes were involved?
 
kinda like a pig in a poke? need lots more info, B for knowing Where to B gin. Starting with the last thing that happened to the car is as good as anywhere.

Depending on how far it has been driven, there may or may not have been smoke, but you are correct you might smell hot brakes.

mark
 
((oh good grief now Mark's doing it!))
 
Took the B out again. No hot rotors.

Went up a hill and still very shuggish. This time clouds of white smoke followed me. No knocking or rattling.

Any more clues.
 
that doesn sound good. white smoke usually means water is getting in some where, Blown or cracked head gasket, maybe. sounds like it is time for a compression or leakdown test. This will help to diagnose the trouble a little further. Have you checked your coolant level? is it low? how about the oil is it milky?


mark
 
compression tester are fairly cheap. take your readings and compare them generally they should be within 5-10 % of each other. abnormally low readings on one or adjacent cylinders are usually indicative of problems. let us hear what you get.

mark
 
you got me thinking about the brake job, so i jacked up the front wheels seperately and they spun freely, so the front brake job appears not to be involved, right?

I got a crompression tesdter and i'll test the compression in the morning. i don't think the close neighbors would appriciate the noise tonight.

Any more suggestions would be appriciated.

lclark0624
 
Take a good look at your spark plugs when you pull them to do your compression tests...are they wet? (assuming in was run recently)...discolored (grey, black or tan)?...gunky?...dry deposits??? Spark plugs can tell you lots of things about your engine, if you know what to look for.

Bruce
 
mark,

compression test:

#1 - 112.5
#2 - 112
#3 - 118
#4 - 120

this look ok? they are all within 10 % of the others.

the plugs were oily and black when i took them out.

what do you all think?
 
mark,

the compression test:

#1 - 112.5
#2 - 112
#3 - 118
#4 - 120

all within 10 % 0f the others.

Bruce,

plugs are oily and black.

car idles as it did before problem with no white smoke at idle.

tail pipe is black and oily.

lclark
 
Sounds to me, and I don't know nuffin, the plugs are fouled. Could be bad seals? Maybe the oil's fouling up the plugs and they aren't arcing or arcing properly? Did you check your seals? Piston rings? Has to be some oil getting in there somehow.

I probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about though!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif
 
well , those numbers dont look to bad,are there alot of miles on it? with the plugs being black and oily, and white smoke i assume when your driving it, my guess would be you need to investigate your choke, Is it a water choke? sounds to me like it my be sticking. here is a good page on the zenith water choke https://www.theautoist.com/zs_water_chokes.htm


mark
 
of course a good inspection of the ignition system is in order as well. R&R any questionable parts.
 
I don't know the mileage, bought it from the second owner after engine work.

What's this about a water choke? This is new to me.

Where's the best place to get a 75 B repair manual guick?
 
Haynes my good man. I don't know if you can buy it out somewhere, but Moss has it.

You may not have a water choke, a lot of MGs are converted to manual chokes.
 
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