I am experiencing a complete loss of power in my Rover Metro (no jokes about not having any power to start wit please!).
When at idle, she will rev fine, but as soon as she is under any load (eg going uphill), she loses power completely, and needs to drop into 1st or second just to keep going. The engine does not rev highly when this happens, so its definately not the clutch.
She did overheat on Friday night, and she has been getting worse since then. There is no mayo on the oil filler cap. She has always lost coolant (throught the heater fins), so its difficult to know whether she has lost more than usual, but I have a suspicion she HAS lost coolant. No bubbles in the radiator filler tank when running though.
I am hoping (probably in vain) that the overheating and the loss of power are unconnected, and that I haven't blown the head gasket. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
D7
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It could be that you have a leak/failure in the vacuum advance mechanism. A mates metro was doing something similar although it wasn't as pronounced. Some weird fuelling problem would also cause this and if the car were trying to run very lean then it would tend towards running hotter. How high did the gauge go? What colour are the plugs when you take them out? They should be a biscuity colour if the car has a proper mixture.
teabelly
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Years ago I had a similar problem in a Hillman Avenger which was due to a partial fuel blockage at the input to the carburettor.
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Brian,
I also remember fuel starvation as a problem on an Avenger. It took ages to find the cause, which turned out to be the paint on the inside of the fuel tank coming adrift and being dragged into the pipe to the carburettor.
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Loss of power and overheating can be the result of retarded ignition timing. Should be simple to check so worth doing.
Valve leakage or gasket blowing usually shows up more at idle than when the engine is running faster so it doesn't sound as though that is the problem (the gases have more time to escape when the engine is running slowly).
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In addition to the advice already given, check that the carburettor dash pot damper has enough oil in it - 3 in 1 will do if it's empty.
Ian Cook
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Spot on, Ian! I'd forgotten that one!
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d7
Did the symptoms appear suddenly, or has the problem developed over time?
I recall you've had the head off this car a while back, and I wonder if you checked head bolt torque and valve clearances after a period of use (eg 500 miles). Failure to do this could cause gasket failure. Did you have the correct head gasket? There are several types for A series engines, which look superficially similar. I was once sold the wrong gasket and it soon failed.
If it's not gasket failure, the no power under load must be something like lack of fuel (fuel pump, carb needle valve, dirt in carb and jet), blocked air intake (is the carb piston free?), very retarded timing, poor spark (condenser failure; points closed up).
Regards
John S
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John, I am very impressed with your memory!! Yes, I had the head off her back in April! I checked the head bolt torques after 1000 miles then. As far as I know, I fitted the correct head gasket, but didn't realise there were several different ones available, it seemed to fit perfectly at the time...
I don't think it's timing, as I had that checked recently (only a week ago, in fact). Vacuum advance seems to work (disconnecting the pipe from the distributor end changes the tone of the engine completely - it sounds much more laboured. You can feel the vacuum in the pipe too).
I limped the car up to local garage this lunchtime (and popped into the local pub for a pint on Smuggler's afterwards), so we will see what they have to say about it tomorrow. Will keep you all posted anyway - thanks for all the advice so far!
d7
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From the symptoms you describe I would get a suitably equipped emission tester to test your expansion tank for hydrocarbons and do a compression test when hot!
NormanB
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Possibly a bit of a long-shot, but I had this baffle me for ages (at a distance)on my wife's Metro ages ago - head had been off, exhaust started to blow (as they tend to) at the HORRIBLE manifold-downpipe joint (use an OE one - which is a swine to fit, needing 2 spanners onto bolts you can see but not touch or vice versa, rather than the Thick-Fit bodge equivalent which is hinged, easier to fit and doesn't work...) anyway, the escaping exhaust gases at that joint were being pulled into the air filter intake and the hot gases 'laminated' the filter - it didn't look bad, but exact symptoms - fine at idle or light load, chugging hopelessly under load. So - take air filter out, try it, if its 'cured' remake your manifold joint properly and replace with a new air filter. Incidentally, the fault happened when the car - but not me - were in France for several months and she limped it around all the time she was there - then 'surrendered' to the AA at Dover when she came back - who "diagnosed" a "burnt out exhaust valve on No 2 cylinder" (I kid ye not!) and Relayed it 400 miles. I found the blocked air filter in 5 minutes in the dark once I had the car at home. Still, the AA bloke did manage to fit one non-matching used spark plug, which was kind of them! Hope this helps...might be worth popping round to the garage before the infidel get hold of your wallet!
Neil
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Lots of good advice above, but suggest you also check:
1. SU HIF carbs have a gauze fuel filter above the float needle valve.
2. Some have a small black plastic filter fitted to the side of the carb on the float chamber vent port. If this becomes blocked the vacuum supply from the throttle plate prevents fuel being drawn from the main jet. Remove it as a test, and replace if this cures problem (available from Rover dealer only).
3. Check fuel pump pressure and flow rate.
HTH, Adam
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Check the inlet manifold is properly sealed and not leaking air in. Check by spraying the join with WD40 or similar while the engine is running and look for smoke.
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I had a very similar problem on a Metro a few years ago.(loss of power on hills)
It turned out to be a blocked air filter!
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Thanks for all your advice on the previous postings. As usual - the back-room boys win! Turns out the air filter was completely clogged as the seal between exhaust manifold and down pipe was spewing exhaust fumes, which clogged up the filter.
I never even considered the filter as I only changed it about a month ago...
thanks all,
(fingers crossed until the next time)
d7
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Awww, you beat me to it! I was going to say, my first car, an Allegro 1.1, had exactly the same problem. I even had to leave it halfway up a hill one night and walk the rest of the way home to fetch me dad! Turned out the air filter element was black and soggy, take it out and full (!) power (!!) returned.
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