So, at about 7pm, after the rush hour had died down (and, hopefully, those nice VOSA guys had knocked off) I set off. After about 15 miles, the temperature gauge was reading about three-quarters hot, but I figured it was a warm evening, and it was carrying a pretty heavy load. I joined the M6 at junction 15, and by 16 it was boiling so I pulled off the motorway feeling something like this:
This was Jessie, and clearly the Hook A Duck stall at the local travelling fun fair was just too much for her. Although, to be honest, this was the demeanour of most of the visitors to our local fair. And the staff, too.
Anyway, I let the truck cool down and got the water out to top up the radiator. Hmmm, it hasn't lost a drop. So I set off again. This time, I made it to Knutsford before stopping again. Same thing - boiling, but no water loss. I'd also noticed that if I put it in neutral and coasted down hills, it'd cool down a bit. While i was stopped, I had a bright idea - remove the in-cab engine cover and get some air circulating, cool the engine bay down a bit. It didn't make the damnedest bit of difference.
What I did notice, after coming off at junction 20-odd, was that it was now dark, but my exhaust downpipe was glowing bloody orange! WTF! It was running beautifully, but must be running so lean ... well, that could account for why it burned its valves out before.
The following day, before setting off, I thought a quick carburettor rebuild might be in order. I hadn't touched the carb previously, thinking "if it ain't broke...", but it clearly was so I had it apart, cleaned it, had the jets out, blew through everything with compressed air, removed the crap from the built-in filter and put it back together, then set off homeward. I would say I was going home empty, but a combination of circumstances meant I was actually going home with a scrap, engine-less Rover 620 on the back...
Same bloody scenario - still running way hot, and occasionally boiling. I stopped at a petrol station near junction 20-odd, as I'd had an idea. The built-in filter had been full of shite. There's a filter screen in the fuel pump too, isn't there?! The petrol station couldn't sell me a Philips screwdriver. Dog food? Yes. A bag of flour? Naturally. Sixteen different flavours of air freshener? No problem. A screwdriver? Fat chance. I pressed on to Lymm truck stop, and went to the 24 hour shop at the fuel station there. It was shut. Clearly it's open 24 hours, but not in a row. I ended up borrowing a screwdriver from the lady behind the counter at WH Smiths, who apologised for her newsagent shop not stocking screwdrivers - bless her - and lent me one from behind the counter. I had the top off the fuel pump and found this:
Crud, metal shavings, insects..?! But it still didn't make any difference. Two more stops on the way home and I finally got back five hours after setting off, still none the wiser about why it's running lean.
I have since had a brainwave. The brakes are shite, but the pedal is rock solid. The servo doesn't seem to do anything at all. It certainly doesn't lessen the pedal effort. Could the engine just be sucking in fresh air through the servo vacuum pipe? But surely it would affect the idle more than anything, whereas mine seems to suffer more at high revs/cruising speed? Any ideas?
Eugene
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