Carbs and fuel pumps

Yes, but if everything is working ok, it should only take a few seconds cranking to be able to start.

For future reference, if/when you do this again, manually operate the pump with the pipes connected, this will prime the carb and make starting easier. With some older cars, you may be able to prime it by siphoning fuel in from a can. Carefully, natch.

HTH Steve

Yup. At one time such pumps had a hand lever to get round just this. If the car hasn't been run for a while, remove the plugs and spin on the starter - will help with oil circulation too. Just don't spin it for too long to avoid overheating the starter. Say about 5 seconds, or so. Then repeat after a pause.

Makes sense. Hasn't run for 18 months, but I thought I'd better do some work on it now.

If it manages to splutter into life, I then have to work out the mess of disconnected vacuum pipes controlling all sorts of pointless gubbins under the bonnet.

Unfortunately the BoL doesn't show how to connect everything back up.

shazzbat ( snipped-for-privacy@spamlessness.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

If the fuel line's empty, then it could well take longer to start to suck it up from the tank.

Steve - depending on the carb, you might want to dribble a bit of fuel down the throat to help it along, or even lift the carb lid and fill the float chamber manually.

I've pumped fuel into the line manually before I installed the pump, so the only bit that doesn't have fuel in it is the bit between the pump and the carb, IYSWIM.

It's one of those evil Pierburg 2E3 or something carbs. Evil things with auto choke and stuff.

I'd love to find a way to molish a twin-choke Weber from a Ford Escort MkIV onto it.

So you have proven the pumps working - is the cam OK?

Are you cranking the engine to make sure the pumps fully primed?

got it in one - a flick of the key isn't enough - its a mechanical pump - so about 30 seconds on the key should give you fuel

You need a good battery - in the past Ive thrown a bit of fuel down the carb to help out.

Bill

Charge the battery and give it whirl

all the pointless gubbins like what? - if you have unconnected vacuum pipes - the likehood this will add to your starting problems.

Lets put it this way, it's pumping plenty of fuel through the inline filter.

Yes.

I've got past this stage now - to the stage of an engine revving it's nuts off but dieing when I touch the throttle

I used brake cleaner :-)

I've decided it's got to be the carb, pretty usual symptoms of a buggered Pierburg - so it's going off to be refurbished next week. Ouch.

If you have done this why didn't you pump some into the carb?

Pierburgs ain't that bad, but if fuel ain't getting to the carb it won't start.

Well, the important one has been sorted - that's the dizzy advance / retard pipe.

Then there's the one from the acellerator pump to the back of the carb, that's sorted.

The missing ones (currently just blocked off) are the two into the 'clean' side of the airbox and one at the 'dirty' side controlling some flappy thing.

All of which strike me as totally OTT for a 60bhp 8v petrol lump.

In news:hQPOd.879$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net, Bill decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

I've never known a Pierburg on a Golf to last the distance.

I scrapped a perfectly serviceable (bar the carb) Mk2 Golf a couple of weeks ago due to similar symptoms to the ones Steve's describing

Why not diconnected the carb pipe and kick it over? This will prove the pump and the cam are working correctly. Remember though Ive had petrol coming through in the past which just wasn't enough to get a car started.

So it sounds like you have proven the pump and the cam are working.

sounds like petrol starvation - back to my point about the pump not delivering enough. Ive had lots of these in the past. Is the fuel filter clean?

These cleaners sometimes push dirt into the jets.

Pete,

D'you reckon refurbing the carb is a sensible solution? - I mean, it's the only thing left that hasn't been replaced / cleaned / tested now.

It's not a small amount of money (up to £100 depending on the bits needed) - but it seems to be my only option as the 2B2 carb was a rare fitment in the UK from what I can tell.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I've used these guys for refurb of an odd '60s Solex, and they were excellent. The carb came back better than new, and not expensive.

Aye, looked at their link, they look as though they'd be a bit more expensive than my other option (there's a guy selling refurbed 2E carbs for the MkII Golf on ebay), after exhanging emails he'll do it for £100.... your link suggests rather more than that, 'cos they quote £100 for a 1B which is a simple single-pot carb.

Right.... sounds like a trip to a couple of yards is on for the morning.

Just take the old one up with me and check the bolt pattern.

What I'm really hoping for is that the twin-choke Weber from an Escort

I doubt it will.

Even although it might be an easy physical fit, rejetting it to work properly will not be a 10 a penny job - or easy.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk, Dave Plowman (News) decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

It's a ShiteOldGolf.

If you removed the carb and just squirted fuel in from a fairy liquid bottle it'd be better jetted than a Pierburg, probably more economical too.