Smokey after long rest

[Guus]

Hi there,
My Rover has been standing still for quiet some time, and now I'm starting it up on a more regular basis, to 'wake him up'.
It starts roughly and smokes badly!

Any advice to make him wake up a little easier? I've already cleaned the carbs...

Thanks!
Regards
Guus

[dorsetflyer]

It all depends on how long is quite a time.
I would suspect contaminated fuel.
Normally it is recommended that if you are not going to use the car for a length of time to make sure the tank is full to the top. Otherwise it's a case of adding some fuel stabiliser to stop it degrading. They use the same thing for petrol mowers and it's cheaper.
If your tank is only partially full try filling it right up and then giving it a good blast out.

[johnwp5bcoupe]

What colour is the smoke Guus? is she running on all 8 cylinders?

[stantondavies]

Stale petrol will certainly cause rough running. In bad cases, it is like putting a new engine in when you have fresh fuel.

[Phil Nottingham]

Has it still got the AED?

[Deleted]

Valve guides worn ? Oil seeping in to bores while standing ? It's a common problem on lot's of cars.

[Phil Nottingham]

Strangely smokey V8's are not common - I think it may be servo trouble - what colour is it? Valve guides is the usual problem on most engines but I have seen some faily slack ones on these without any smoking?

[stantondavies]

I would think that the smoke results from the car running rich because it is misfiring on stale petrol. The post infers that the smoking started with the rough running.

[Guus]

Thanks a lot for all your replies! I have fixed the chokes on both carburettors in the 'open' position (since the choke cable has broken...).

Tha car has not run properly for I think two years now. I have started it every once and awhile and drove a few meters in order to save the (new) tyres and exercise the brakes.

The colour is dark grey and smells badly! There were also some little 'explosions' in the exhaust to be heard. I strongly suspect the car NOT to run on all 8 cyllinders...

Sorry, but wat is AED?

Oil level is still the same (dipstick), does this mean no oil has leaked into the bores?

Yesterday I gave it another try. It got worse and finally didn't fire at all. I checked the carbs, but there were filled with petrol. Perhaps I have drowned the engine so I let it stand for a few days.

Thanks in advance for your good advice!

best regards,
Guus

[stantondavies]

AED = "automatic enrichment device" or something similar, ie automatic choke.

Are you using fresh petrol Guus? Because until you do, you cannot make an objective judgement as to what might be wrong. Believe me, the improvement can be miraculous. If it doesn't improve then you need to look at other things, but I am almost certain the problem is the fuel.

The scenario is this: you start the car eventually, it coughs and splutters, you give it throttle and clouds of grey/black smoke come out of the exhaust. Once the engine warms up it runs ok (just), but come to a road junction/traffic light and when you start off the engine almost dies, just like a flat spot on the carburettor, so you have to slip the clutch and rev the engine with clouds of smoke emitted. Fill up with fresh petrol and the car runs like a greyhound. The difference is incredible.

[Guus]

Ok thanks!
Will get some jerrycans of crispy fresh petrol...

Enjoy your weekend!

[DanielSheard]

If you've fixed the chokes open that might well be the problem. Start it with the chokes open and then let them go back.

Daniel

[Phil Nottingham]

Chokes "open" means to me "off" Until its clear what your starting procedure actually i then its diificult to diagnose.

To clarify are you trying to start it from cold with mixture enriched? If you are, then if this is not the right enrichment you can expect the problems you report. If you are not the you be using some enrichment just to satrt it and gradually reduce - how much depends on a particular engine and the prevailing conditions

[roedmose]

I had a problem like that last year. The smoke grey and heavy and bad smelling. Turned out to be the brake servo, where the engine sucked the brake-fluid in (as Phil mentiones) and burned it off. Try to take of the vacuum pipe from the servo and block it at the engine side. Be aware it will still smoke some minutes after that beacuse the fluid is everywhere in the inlet. I opened the servo at the big clamp after I had isolated the problem in this way. and the servo was full of fluid. Bought a new servo and it ran like a dream (again)

Frank, Denmark