how to check for snapped timing chain?

Take off the rocker cover, remove the plugs, turn the engine by hand and check the valves operate, or take of the dizzy cap if it has one, and check the rotor spins with the engine.

thanks for the idea. i went to have a look but found that now the car started fine! i guess it was flooded probably.the engine had stalled after i let go of the accellerator after a fast stretch.

regards the chain: i jumped to the wrong conclusion based on the symptoms i saw.

reckoning that this is a fairly common and nasty problem on carb technology engines, why didn they invent way back in the 80s a flooding sensor or flooding compensator?

back when you guys had carb engines, how often did you experience engine flooding? should it *ever* occur on a properly working carb?

beerismygas gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Not unless the driver's totally incompetent.

Now thats not being fair with me.. flooding even happens to aircraft worthiness testers:

They did. It was a called the SU carburettor .

Reasonably often in other people's cars.

You'd smell the petrol and hear them cranking the engine (and often pumping the accelerator pedal as well - making the problem worse).

The solution is easy. Put the pedal flat to the floor, and leave it there until the engine fires into life. That clears the flooding quickly and effectively.

John

Back in those days, operating a vehicle, as opposed to driving it, assumed a modicum of basic skills.

Many of the younger folk who have only driven fuel-injected ECU equipped vehicles would struggle to get something older to the end of the road on a cold morning!

Chris

Ah a smug thread for people who'd put their back out on the 1st pull of the crank handle ;-)

That's pretty true. Lets face it, even most carb cars have had an auto-choke for some time- though they can cause more trouble as they age (I'm thinking pierburg 2e2 here...).

Oddly enough the only car I've had prone to flooding was my first EFI one: a Volvo 480. Did I mention it was s*it? ;-)

If started from cold, and stopped (or you stalled it) shortly after, it would flood, and the only answer was to leave it for a while and try again later.

My BMW E39 is exactly the same - only it can't be stalled being an auto. But if you stop the engine after a cold start - moving the car out of the garage etc then stopping to shut the door - it is very reluctant to restart. You have to use full throttle - and it will misfire for some time afterwards. So not good for the cat.