Mechanical Fuel Pump - MG Maestro 1600 R-Series

[Doctordiesel77]

No more than a cup ful, some will run down past the pistons & end up in the sump, the rest you will have to get back out before you put the plugs back in... Spraying penetrating oil in might be less messy on the other hand, diesel is cheaper & might be more effective.

[matthewsemple]

No more than a cup ful, some will run down past the pistons & end up in the sump, the rest you will have to get back out before you put the plugs back in... Spraying penetrating oil in might be less messy on the other hand, diesel is cheaper & might be more effective.

The penetrating oil has arrived so I decided to give that a go. I have a can of derv in the garage so I can try that if the penetrating oil fails to work. So far I have only done two cylinders (it was getting dark). The R-Series has the spark plugs on the back of the engine and access is limited because all the fuel pipes and other gubbins get in the way. I'll do the other two cylinders later this week...

[ian drew]

A bit of advice, but just my opinion:
Before using the starter motor to try to free the engine, I would get it freed by hand. The starter won't be very gentle! To do it manually, jack up ONE of the front wheels, leave the engine in 4th or 5th gear and try to turn the raised wheel by hand. It will take a bit of effort to do. Make sure that the spark plugs are still out to remove compression.

Good luck!

[matthewsemple]

I have put penetrating oil in two cylinders (it started to rain and get dark). When I've done the other two I am going to leave it a couple of days and then do as Ian has suggested with some axle stands. I am also going to take off the alternator belt so it has less to turn.

But why one wheel? Surely easier to do with two wheels raised?

[E_T_V]

If both wheels are raised if you turn one wheel one way, the other will rotate the other way and the engine won't go around. You need to lock one wheel and turn the other to turn the engine over that way.

[mn757]

If you've bought a new pump from ebay be careful that the metal pipe stubs are securely fitted in the body of the pump. A poor pattern pump saw my Maestro reduced to a shell after a fire due to the pump stubs falling out

[matthewsemple]

If you've bought a new pump from ebay be careful that the metal pipe stubs are securely fitted in the body of the pump. A poor pattern pump saw my Maestro reduced to a shell after a fire due to the pump stubs falling out

I'll look out for that. The part I have fitted is a pattern part but the quality of it is very high. I was impressed when it arrived.

[matthewsemple]

I have done as advised. After putting penetrating oil in all four cylinders and leaving it a couple of days, I was able to rotate the one wheel when it was lifted (whilst the other one was on the floor). The wheel turned quite easily (with the gearbox in fourth gear) so I turned it round several times. I was expecting my new fuel pump to start operating but I could see no fuel coming through to the filter. I now need a new battery to give it all a proper test.

[matthewsemple]

I borrowed the battery from my Rover 416 GTi this afternoon (they are both the 063 size) and knuckled down to work. The car was turning over nicely and I could see the alternator belt was turning and when I checked the cam through the oil top up, that too was turning but no fuel was coming through the pipework (I could see there was nothing in the see-through filter after the pump). So I took the pump off again and manually worked the arm so that fuel would get through to the carbs. Then I put it all back together again, got back in the car and turned it over and it gradually spluttered back to life. Lots of smoke and steam came off the engine (that was all the penetrating oil that I had got everywhere!) and there were a few leaks from all those pesky fuel pipes. I trimmed and refitted them all as they were just split at the ends. Then I ran it again until it got warm and it slowly reached halfway on the temp guage (I had previously sorted all the fluids).

So all is good and it runs very nicely. Thanks for all the hints and tips above that were invaluable in getting the car started. If I'd taken it to a mechanic it would have cost a fortune and they probably would have given up trying!

[toonarf]

Well done getting it going. Its always a massive boost to a project when the engine will run.
It looks a lovely car, my Mum had a an A reg MG Metro that colour. A lovely car until it set on fire at 3 weeks old with a wiring fault behind the dash.

David Marsden

[matthewsemple]

Well done getting it going. Its always a massive boost to a project when the engine will run.
It looks a lovely car, my Mum had a an A reg MG Metro that colour. A lovely car until it set on fire at 3 weeks old with a wiring fault behind the dash.

David Marsden

Thanks David. This car is nearly 33 years old but any story of an engine fire is sobering. I will need to replace all the fuel hoses before this car is used on any journeys because although I have stopped all the fuel leaks caused by split ends on the pipes, they are all looking a little too brittle for my liking. The old pipes look like plastic rather than rubber and have some signs of cracking.

[toonarf]

It was an electrical fault. The car did not burn out it was just smoke damaged inside and repaired under warranty, but quickly traded due to my mum having no confidence in BL cars any more.
Please replace any doubtful fuel hoses (any 30 year old hoses are doubtful). Use Gates fuel hose, it looks original and is about the best you can get. It says Gates on the hose every 6 inches so that you know you have the correct stuff. Available from any good motor factors, where the local motor trade get their car parts. Also use the correct hose clips and if worm drive make sure they are the correct size and not too big..

Hope this helps

David Marsden.

[matthewsemple]

Cheers David - I have ordered two metres of the Gates piping. It is good to have a recommendation because there are lots of similar products and I wouldn't have know which to order.

The MG1600 pipework is more fiddly than other Maestros because there are several small sections due to breaks in the line to accommodate the fuel flow transducer and the fuel filter that sits before it. So you have a line in from the tank that goes to the pump, a small section then the filter, a small section then the transducer and a final longer section to the carbs. Each section has two ends (obviously!) so that is a lot of potential for cracking and perishing. When I trimmed some of the pipework to remove the frayed ends it put pressure elsewhere so I was chasing the leaks.

Now I have a temporary fix with the freshly trimmed old sections but I am not going to take the car anywhere before fitting brand new pipes.

[Doctordiesel77]

One thing I'd add to the above, if you are using worm drive clips, make sure that they are lined, I usually use things like these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-FUEL-...-/222027976420 which get a uniform hold of the hose, down side is that they just fit one size of hose..

[matthewsemple]

I wondered if anyone could help on the sizing of the fuel pipes. I ordered 5mm piping and it is way too narrow. The exterior of the pipe looks similar but because the walls of the cross section are much thicker, the hole is much smaller.

So I know I need a bigger sized pipe - but there are 5, 6, 7, 8 mm, etc. and I unsure what to get. Does anyone know what size Austin Rover used or how best to calculate the right size.