[Trav]

Now everything decides to break

Hey all. problem time. as some may have read, i had a fuel problem the other week that when i was on any slight incline i would run out of fuel. started chasing this down and stumbled upon the fuel filter, it would block when the front of the car was lifted. bizzar, yes, but thought cool, i'll get a new one. also thought seeing my trip is coming up i would take out the radiator and give the cooling system a flush out, small service and also tidy up some of my electrics.
All well and good. fit up day come today, only one small coolant leak, my fault. dried that up, got all the fuel system fit back up, checked for leaks and she was all clean.
yay happy me.
Now the test drive.
I now have what i guess you could call it a flat spot where it splutters a bit up until about 3000rpm. in and out of the shed playing around for about an hour and still no result so thought i will leave this for today, cant for the life of me figure out what is causing this.
Then i look under the inlet manifold and what do i see, an oil leak, slowly coming out down the block. wasn't there when i was checking that area earlier in the day and it just keeps creeping its way down the block while i get more and more Pi$$3d off.
Oh yea thats right and its getting time to have a look at the clutch and thrust baring, its developing a crunch as i let the clutch out in second and third gear.
So the new things to fix, this oil leak and try and suss out this fuel problem and the clutch. what a joke.

 

[davway]

Never heard of the GQ or any of its engines being associated with the 'grenade' term, so i dont get how you now understand why its called a grenade.
The grenade is the ZD30.

Ever considered replacing the fuel pump itself - known to wear out and cause problems.
Tighten up the area of the oil leak and see if that stops it.
At the end of the day, if your going to get all upset about having to fix an old car - maybe an old car isnt really for you.
Its all part of owning something old - you need to fix and maintain it.

 

[Trav]

na its not that big of a deal, just frustrating because im going on a 6 week road trip next week and would like the car to be ready. hope thats a good enough reason to have a rant.
i actually enjoy working on cars and i would spend more money than most to make sure it stays in good nick. its just a head F*** of a problem this fuel situation is turning out to be.
it has a new fuel pump, new sender uint, full carby re-build, new fuel filter and timing is all good. and this problem has only started in the last week or so.
the oil leak looks like its just a gasket and the clutch would be about due for a change.
i was under the impression people were refering to the rb30 as the grenade. my bad.

 

[MikeH]

well you've checked most things.
next I'd be pulling the pickup out of the tank and having a look at it.

undo the trim at the base of the back doors, throw the carpet forward, remove the round metal plate with the arrow on it.
undo the screws in the pickup, recommend an 8mm socket not a philips screwdriver they tend to strip.

DO THIS IN A VELL VENTILATED AREA!
lift the pickup out, stuff a rag in the hole to help reduce the fumes coming out. take the pickup away and have a good look at it.
you will probably have to change the strainer.

 

[Trav]

hey there mikeh. got to this one earler tonight. jumped on hear and saw your sugestion. thanks heaps.
any ways. now a progress report.
checked the return jet today and thats all good, so took off the float level glass to check the primary jet which appears to also be good. there was a little bit of s#it in the bottom of the float bowl but i wouldn't consider it damaging.
so what im left with at this stage is to strip and clean the carby.

all the info i have is that suddenly i developed a fuel problem which signs pointed to the filter blocking so changed that. now the problem occurs on acceleration under the 3000rpm mark and only until the secondry jet kicks in, then its all good. the problem is only on petrol so by this alone i can (theoretically) rule out any electrical or timing issues (i have checked these also but correct me if im wrong). the fuel is entering the carby what appears to be normally. at idle and with stationary reving within the affected rev range it is very smooth. so the problem is now (narrowed down) only when the car is moving under steady acceleration where the secondry throat is not activated up untill the 3000rpm mark. so moving on from that, seeing the secondry jet is (or seems to be workin) fine, the problem (again speculation) must be related to the primary jet and/or its surroundings. which points to strip and clean the carby again.

well this is how the thought process is going on in my head and it helps writing it down so i know what im upto in the puzzle.

thanks to anyone and if i get to meet up with ya there will be a couple of beers in it because im stumped.

take care all.

 

[Trav]

well problem completely solved now (second time i have said this). the fuel problem was a piece of s#!+ in the float bowl. for some reason i decided to check it again tonight, sixth sence type of thing i suppose. there was a piece of crap that must have been stuck to the float of something when i checked last night because after the test drive from the inital check it hadn't changed. removed the crap tonight and all is sweet again. yay for me. only a week and a bit to sort it out but got there in the end.
now im just following up on this oil leak. cleaned the engine bay today so its free of any thing that may be misleading and will see how it goes now.
thanks all again. sorry for my rant but i find writing things down helps.
take care.