1.6 L problems

[D813YBB]

I’ve recently been experiencing a number of niggling problems with the car that someone hopefully may be able to shed some light on:

• In the recent warm weather there is a smell of petrol in the car after the engine has been run. There are no signs of leaks except the inside of the fuel filler pocket which always has a slightly wet patch below the filler tube.
• When reversing out of a car park there is an occasional clicking noise from the front wheels, but it goes away when I drive off.
• The erratic idle has returned. I disconnected and reconnected the fuel ECU in the glove box which fixed it for a while, but it has come back again.
• The car passed its MOT recently but one of the advisories was play in the steering. I have to agree with this as the steering does feel vague and floaty. What parts I would need to change to fix this.
• When the engine is cold the clutch sometimes bites at the bottom of the pedal travel instead of normally at the top.

Any advice gratefully appreciated.

[G Force]

I’ve recently been experiencing a number of niggling problems with the car that someone hopefully may be able to shed some light on:

• In the recent warm weather there is a smell of petrol in the car after the engine has been run. There are no signs of leaks except the inside of the fuel filler pocket which always has a slightly wet patch below the filler tube..

If the wet patch is just under the filler cap then fit a new cap. If the wet patch is lower and around the filler cap is dry the filler tube may be corroded and leaking which is fairly common. Look closely under the wheel arch to inspect the filler tube.

Petrol smell can also enter through the heater drain tube, there have been various modifications over the years. Namely a check valve for the heater drain and a small asbestos gauze fitted to the carb vent pipe. If the carb is flooding intermittantly this will cause petrol smell and erratic idle/ cutting out/ poor mpg.

• When reversing out of a car park there is an occasional clicking noise from the front wheels, but it goes away when I drive off..

This could be a few things but a single click when you start reversing could be excess wear in the slide pins of the caliper carrier, a new carrier is the only remmedy for this problem.

If the clicking is constant then the pads might have been fitted without the anti rattle clips. A propper look at the front brakes should reveal what the problem is.

• The erratic idle has returned. I disconnected and reconnected the fuel ECU in the glove box which fixed it for a while, but it has come back again..

A bit more info will be useful here, but if you fixed the problem by removing the ecu plug it would suggest a connection problem at the ecu plug or the large connecter where the harness passes through the bulkhead.

• The car passed its MOT recently but one of the advisories was play in the steering. I have to agree with this as the steering does feel vague and floaty. What parts I would need to change to fix this..

I would say that this is your first priority, to find out where the play is you should first make sure the steering wheel nut and the pinch bolts on the universal joint at the bottom of the steering column are tight. If these are ok then play in the universal joint/ steering rack / track rod ends are the likely culprits. When you discover where the excess play is let us know and we can advise further.

• When the engine is cold the clutch sometimes bites at the bottom of the pedal travel instead of normally at the top.

This is likely to be either the clutch plate sticking on the gearbox splines/ oil on clutch or the clutch has broken up in some way. Whatever the problem I would say you are going to have to remove the gearbox to investigate.

[D813YBB]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. Please find some further info which may be of use:

• Each time I remove the filler cap, the rubber seal on the cap is always wet and the damp patch is always below the filler tube, so it may be that the rubber is degrading and I’ll look into obtaining a new cap to see if it fixes the problem. I’ll also investigate the pipe inside the rear wheel arch. I’ve had no experience of the engine cutting out and have noticed no change in the fuel economy.
• It was a series of clicks on reversing instead of a single click. I will investigate the anti rattle clips if some one could direct me where to look.
• Regarding the erratic idle, I recently posted about this problem with symptoms of idle speed randomly increasing and experiencing the car speeding up when coasting to a junction or roundabout (leaving the engine in gear). Unplugging and re-plugging the ECU in the glove box did cure the problem for a while. I didn’t know there is another connector at the bulkhead. Is it worth checking it out?
• I have booked the car in the local garage to get the steering checked on Saturday morning so they can identify the source of the excess play. I’ve just seen new racks on Ebay for prices ranging from £15 to £30 which seems reasonable.
• I have a feeling the clutch problem may be due to oil as another MOT advisory was that there were ‘numerous oil leaks’ around the engine. I think that this problem will have to wait for another day.

[G Force]

• Regarding the erratic idle, I recently posted about this problem with symptoms of idle speed randomly increasing and experiencing the car speeding up when coasting to a junction or roundabout (leaving the engine in gear). Unplugging and re-plugging the ECU in the glove box did cure the problem for a while. I didn’t know there is another connector at the bulkhead. Is it worth checking it out?

Yes definitely, any poor connection in the circiut between the coolant sensor and ecu can cause that condition. The plug is under the bonnet on the N/S of the bulkhead close to the windscreen washer resevoir.

A faulty ecu or coolant sensor would also cause the same condition. I would expect the temp gauge to fluctuate coinciding with the episode of speeding up.

[D813YBB]

The car was inspected at the weekend and it was decided the best route for the steering was to fit a new rack.

I have found some on ebay so could anyone please confirm that part no GSR107 is the correct part for my car, as there are about 10,000 different part numbers for the same part. The seller has confirmed it is a unipart part.

[D813YBB]

Anyone...?

The rack comes in a unipart box but partco don't have GSR107 listed. Yet on my parts CD Rom its listed, but not clear if it fits my car (chassis no. 460253).

[SimonR]

Sorry for the late reply.

I've had a look at the Electronic Parts Catalogue:



It appears that that part is not suitable for a 1.6 manual car.

I think you're after NAM 5110, GSR 108, GSR 314, GSR 343.... - the part numbers at the top of the list which are listed as being suitable for 1300cc and 1600cc manual gearbox.

GSR 107 appears on the second half of the list and it appears that it's suitable for 1600cc Auto, 2000cc Petrol MG EFi etc.

Can anyone else shed light on this?

[E_T_V]

Steering racks for the 1.3 and 1.6 have an extra bracket welding on that is used as a pivot point for the gearlinkage. The 2 litre cars use the honda PG1 gearbox which has a totally different gear linkage and so the extra bracket is not needed.

[Guest]

In the recent warm weather there is a smell of petrol in the car after the engine has been run. There are no signs of leaks except the inside of the fuel filler pocket which always has a slightly wet patch below the filler tube.

I had a smell of petrol which was very difficult to locate as there were no apparent leaks. Having replaced some of the pipes under the bonnet I finally tracked it down to a leaking fuel pump and replaced that which cured the problem.

[Simon]

Steering racks for the 1.3 and 1.6 have an extra bracket welding on that is used as a pivot point for the gearlinkage. The 2 litre cars use the honda PG1 gearbox which has a totally different gear linkage and so the extra bracket is not needed.

Hence GSR 107 is not suitable for your car. Do not buy it!

[D813YBB]

I’m still having problems with an erratic idle.

So far I have

• Disconnected and reconnected the plug into the fuel ECU (the one in the glove box).
• Disconnected and reconnected the plug in the wiring loom by the washer bottle in the engine bay.
• Bought a new fuel ECU off ebay and connected it up.

All of which has made no difference apart from what seems to be a temporary fix that lasts one journey.

Also fiddling with the plug on the ignition ECU (the one next to the battery) seems to provide a temporary fix.

Is there anything else to try in order to fix this annoying problem.

[G Force]

I’m still having problems with an erratic idle.

.

Hi can you try to describe what & when is happening? It will be easier to try and point you in the right direction the more info you can supply

Cheers Gary

[D813YBB]

Hi Gary

The problem can be described as follows:

When the engine is at idle the revs randomly rise and fall. This can be observed with the bonnet open by watching the throttle mechanism next to the carb moving or twitching of its own accord as the revs increase and decrease.

On driving the car the problem is experienced by a feeling of the engine ‘hunting’ or an increase of speed when under very light throttle or coasting down an incline with the engine in gear. Its similar to the engine trying to accelerate by itself although my foot is off the pedal or just applying light pressure to the pedal.

It does not happen under acceleration or when driving under power up an incline.

[G Force]

Hi, all the symtoms you describe can easily be caused by incorrect carburettor settings.

The idle speed increasing and decreasing when just left to idle is most likely to be the idle speed set too low.

The speeding up and slowing down when on light throttle is probably due to the throttle cable not having enough free play or a short circiut in the throttle switch or its wiring, causing the ORFCO valve to cycle at the wrong time. If you disconnect the ORFCO valve this should stop, confirming the source of the problem, if it does not then we need to look elsewhere.


If you are fairly competent at doing your own repairs then following the steps on tuning the S series engine in the frequently asked questions section should sort all the problems but if not try the following.

First put some free play in the throttle cable by adjusting the cable at the carburettor end.

Disconnect and tape up the ORFCO valve wires.

Then when the engine is hot (and with no electrical loads on i.e. H.R.W., blower, radio, lights, etc.) turn the idle screw in (clockwise) half a turn and wait a full miniute to see if the engine is still speeding up an down, if it still does turn the idle screw in a quarter turn and wait a miniute, and repeat untill the idle stays constant.

Once you have the idle stable you will probably find the idle speed is now too fast, so now turn the idle screw out (anticlockwise) one eighth of a turn and wait a miniute until you have a nice idle but with no speeding up and down.

If cooling fan cuts in at any time stop adjusting and wait a miniute after it has gone off before you continue.

Regards Gary

[D813YBB]

Hi Gary

Thanks for the reply.

Are the plugs I need to remove, the ones circled in the attached photo?

Thanks
Martin