driv'n through hades and back (vapor lock)

[greenmeanie]

Scott,
Are you absolutely sure it is vapour lock? I ask this because I have a late SIIA in Phoenix and have run her on the freeway in 122°F without experiencing problems. I even have the dodgy line routing running through a P clamp over the top of the rocker cover. I confess this most liely doesn't help power on a hot day. I run a stock mechanical pump, bit of rubber hose with in-line filter up to a Rochester carb. I also put a piece of that woven heat proof sleeving over the fuel line as it passes over the manifold.

Two questions:
1. Have you pulled the fuel line to check that you are getting fuel through? Have you pulled the tank pick up to check everyone's favourite - the filter screen on the end of the tube.

2. Does your carb have the insulator block between it and the manifold?

I know what you mean about the heat. My 101 is decorating the driveway at the moment waiting on me to fix an intake gasket leak. As my IIA is runing well I am quite willing to wait until the end of Sept. for things to cool off.

Cheers
Gregor

[scott]

meanie

i've had the pick up tubes out and the have no screens, new tanks. i guess i'll pull 'em again and blast 'em with an air hose. i have a 3/4" block between my intake manifold and my weber 2 barrel. i think i have the same problem this morn'n and temp was only 85. left the parking lights on all night, dang it. it hand cranked right up but idle just long enough for me to throw the crank in the tub and get in, started to throttle up and it sputtered and died. maybe a 7 y/o optimus battery needs to be retired. i run a lucus 42 amp alternator and i believe if the bats dead the bugger won't run. i too had no problem on the hwy. this all started while crawling through a sandy wash in 117 degree temps.

[scott]

[quote=daveb]hi

if that was the case then it stands to reason the rest of the cam is quite knackered as well, and you would probab ly notice the severe lack of power. LR 2.25 cams are not known for wearing out. you can see the cam lobe quite well if you pull the rectangular plate that the fuel pump mounts to.quote]

thanks dave i'll take a look at that lobe and put the mech pump back in service and route the line forward

[LaneRover]

I had a semi re-occuring problem with my 65 a while back. Every once in awhile it would just die. I thought it was vapor lock but it was so sudden that I really questioned that. I couldn't figure out what was happening at all. One or twice I was towed home but usually after a bit it would clear. Luckily one of the times it cleared was when I was on Tabletop Mtn east of San Diego with a friend who has a type of Dystrophy.

It wasn't until it happened on a film set that I finally figured it out. At some point in the rebuild someone had tried to seal something up with some silicon somwhere in the fuel system. Bit by bit is was coming lose. Some would zip right through, some would jam up the system but eventually get pulled through. When I dropped the fuel sediment bowl it looked like I had a cup of Landrover 'Mojo'. I cleaned everything up, doublechecked the tank and repaired the screen at the end of the pick-up tube and have never had the problem repeat.

So as we all know, it can sometimes be something we don't expect and just because it seems to have cleared up doesn't mean it won't come back! (though to this day I rely on that second one a bit too much!!)

and this may be my shift into 1st gear....

[scott]

I like the idea of a cooler with the bottom cut-off. Cool fuel and brews - just glad I don't have a series III so that I always have a bottle opener with me!


Brent

remember, saftey first if you beer and 4 wheel always know that when you are asking yourself can i make it up or down that, you probably can't.

[LaneRover]

Thats why you keep sodas at the top of the cooler and when you are done at the end of the day the beer is cold and in reach!

Believe me, though I will fully admit that I have had a beer while going down a trail that last thing I can even imagine doing is to be driving impaired up or down the side of some mountain or through the desert.

Brent

[daveb]

bingo

Im going out on a limb here.

your fueling is fine and you've got a bad connection on the battery. do you know how to check for voltage drop?

connect a multimeter to both sides of a connection with the connection still connected. in other words, say if you want to check for voltage drop on a battery terminal:

set your multimeter to volts DC. with the cable still attached to the battery terminal, put one test lead on the clamp and one on the battery post. any voltage that shows on your meter is not getting through the connection.

try this on both battery posts, alternator to negative battery post, battery cable to battery clamp, cable terminals on solenoid or starter button. alternator 12v connection too.

if you find a bad connection then pull it apart and clean it up. if your meter reads 0 or .001 or soemthing you are fine. remember three places where voltage drop is .5 v means you are losing 1.5v., enough to leave your batter ydischarged if you are using the headlights etc.

I have seen this phenomenon stop a vehicle dead in its tracks. sometimes you just touch the connection and a spark will jump acrss and all of a suddedn the truck start fine until the next time you hit a bump.

btdt...

oh, you might need a new battery too.

and once you get it so you can crank it on the starter you can test the fuel pump pressure.

one clue that it is a voltage drop or bad connection problem is when you can't jumpstart it. btdt too...

let us know what happens

dave

meanie

i've had the pick up tubes out and the have no screens, new tanks. i guess i'll pull 'em again and blast 'em with an air hose. i have a 3/4" block between my intake manifold and my weber 2 barrel. i think i have the same problem this morn'n and temp was only 85. left the parking lights on all night, dang it. it hand cranked right up but idle just long enough for me to throw the crank in the tub and get in, started to throttle up and it sputtered and died. maybe a 7 y/o optimus battery needs to be retired. i run a lucus 42 amp alternator and i believe if the bats dead the bugger won't run. i too had no problem on the hwy. this all started while crawling through a sandy wash in 117 degree temps.

[4flattires]

Greanmeanie,

Just sent you a PM.

Jeff

[Jim-ME]

When my 65 started acting up like yours I found out that the connections at the solinoid were loose. I knew it wasn't vapor lock simply because i live in Maine.

[greenmeanie]

I 2nd that its an electrical problem.

My idiot story:
My engine would suddenly stop in unpredictable places. I jumped out and did the usual checks on battery terminals etc & fuel. It all seemed fine except that I couldn't get a spark. After a bit of head scratching and threatening her with the starting handle and then my favourite BFH I noticed that the push/pull cable to control the heater with its spiral wound metal casing was grounding out one of the terminals on the coil. A piece of rubber hose over the cable sorted it out permanently but i did feel like an idiot as I did the cable install.

Another favourite I have seen on a few Rovers are:
- The ground lead is either loose or has enough corrosion around it to prevent good contact. A second strap from the engine to the frame is always a cheap and effective improvement for reliability.
- The lead from the solenoid to the starter motor runs round the back of the engine. I have seen a few rovers back in the UK where the insulation wore through on the lead creating intermitent problems until finally it just shorted to the block.

Moral of the story is that it pays to check the simple and perhaps too obvious things before digging into the more complex/expensive stuff.

Cheers
Gregor