Lots of updates.
Around mid December, I dropped my car off at Bosch in Hoodi, for fitting of the replacement fuel tank. The work was carried out well and out of some miracle, the fuel meter now works even though they did not put in the new float I gave them. They said the float taken from the old fuel tank was fine. I went to Bosch to collect the car. When they were taking the car in for a wash, the ignition key unit developed a fault and did not disengage the starter motor. This resulted in the armature going for six. Bosch sent it to TVS and got it fixed though it took a good two weeks for the starter motor to come back.
My car was the official ride for FM tharian's wedding. The car mildly decked up with flowers on the hood and boot lid. It was also a very stressful day. As soon after we left the flower shop, the engine died and refused to start. We pushed the car till tharians house, which was fortunately down hill, I made a call to the mechanic who was happy to assist. In the mean time, I noticed no fuel reaching the carburetor. I tried mouth to mouth therapy with the fuel line and it was taking some effort to get fuel out. I left it at that. I got the mechanic over and he did the same thing. He got out some fuel from the pipe and then blew into the carburetor inlet nozzle, post which the car fired up. As it turns out, the heat build up within the engine bay resulted in the pump not being able to supply a steady pressure of fuel to the carburetor. My mechanic suggested leaving a damp piece of cotton waste cloth over the fuel pump. This helped and the car did the honors of taking tharian to church and also driving the newly wed to their reception.
Over a few days, I got the fuel pump replaced. What was in the car was S.E.V brand. I don’t recall the brand but the new pump was made by a Chennai based company. During the process of fitting the new fuel pump, my mechanic re did the plumbing of the fuel delivery hose. We used Maruti Omni petrol rubber pipes and clamps to secure the pipe and also fitted a Purolator fuel filter just under the battery frame. This addressed concerns of fuel delivery. The real test will be driving around on a hot summer day.
After a gap of a week, one morning I start the car and the engine does not sound right. One cylinder isn’t firing. Mechanic comes to the rescue and identifies a faulty plug, 2nd from the radiator side. We replace it and it is all good. I am not sure whether to read this as good intention or just a way to make money, my mechanic suggested we replace some key electrical components. They were the Ignition Coil, new spark plugs, new high tension cables, Condenser and contact breaker points inside the distributor. For the Distributor, Condensor and contact breaker points, I got original Lucas TVS parts. The high tension cable was of some brand called Bharat and the plugs used are of Maruti Omni with spacers as they are longer than the original short plugs. I don’t understand the reason behind the mechanic using these plugs instead of stock. He claims the stock plugs are not as good as they used to be. Unfortunately, the third plug is jammed so we replace only three plugs. I instruct the mechanic not to force open the jammed plug. For now, I’ve sprayed WD40 and hope that I can get the plug out. In parallel, I picked up NGK BPR5HS plugs. I hear they are the best plugs out there for this car. I have not fitted them yet.
Next step was to clean the carburetor, put in new carburetor seals, a new jet, adjust the tappets, put in a new rubber grommet between the carburetor and air filter and do a tune up. I got some brand called Kappco but the seals for the jets were no good. I picked up original Solex seals this morning. Though it seems like something I can do myself, I’ll wait for my mechanic to come and fix them.
I am looking for a little rubber grommet that sits beside the oil filter canister. The rubber grommet is to route the fuel delivery pipe from the fuel pump to the carburetor. Right now, the fuel pipe runs through the loop beside the oil filter canister. The presence of the rubber grommet will secure the fuel delivery pipe better. Basically, it won’t sag as it travels to the carburetor. Do look at the image of the engine bay and observe the fuel pipe going towards the oil filter canister.
After all this work, I seem to have a car that sounds well tuned. There is one peculiar problem though and this is a recent development. After the car has run and I turn off the engine, I can hear a single click noise coming from somewhere in the engine bay. It comes in intervals of 30 seconds and takes a few minutes before it completely stops. It is the sound of something metal clicking or expanding/contracting. This is a noise that is louder than the cat converter tingling noise you hear from a modern day car. I can’t figure out what this is and I am little worried. The engine sounds perfect while running though.
Starting problem has not gone away though. It is no problem if I start the car every day. Cranking problem occurs if I haven’t cranked the car in a couple of days. It still takes about 5-6 cranks which isn’t normal. I am not too worried about this as once she cranks, it is no problem at all while running or any re cranks with a hot engine.
That is all folks.